There was an interesting Facebook exchange about Mum recently. Some were saying that the only ‘real’ character in it was Lesley Manville’s long-suffering widow Cathy. Some were saying that others were also real, but some were cartoonish. What everyone seemed to agree on, however, was that this is a warm, lovely series.

In the latest episode it is definitely warm - it is August and the sun is beating down on suburbia. Cathy is about to go on a first post-bereavement date – not with old friend Michael (Peter Mullan) of course. This is with a stranger who will be wearing a pink cravat so that Cathy can recognise him. Alarm bells should be deafening at the mere mention of a pink cravat. 

While Cathy prepares we meet youthful Debbie (Seline Hizli), a friend of Kelly (Lisa McGrillis), who makes Kelly resemble both a member of Mensa and the apotheosis of tact. I do have a bit of a problem with the young people in Mum. They might be well-meaning but frankly they are all idiots. Debbie isn’t 12, she is 26, but she still thinks Cathy, 59, started dating in the 1940s. 

Debbie happily puts her foot in it without even realising it: “You’d only wear it now if you were your age, no offence.” Yet there is something deeply humane about the way Stefan Golaszewski comes up with their lines. He is even able to make grotesques such as Cathy’s grandparents and her brother’s snobby girlfriend feel like people you might know.

It’s interesting to see that Cathy has now given up smoking. Does this mean she is starting to get over the death of her husband and wants to start living again? It’s the attention to detail that makes this a stand-out series – Michael tidying a random towel, son Jason drinking from a milk container and casually dumping it on the side for Cathy to dispose of. Terrific performances all round obviously help too. I can see why Mum might seem packed with caricatures to some, but it all feels real, sometimes too painfully real, to me. 

Fridays, 10pm, BBC2. Catch up here.