Dawn French leads charming BBC sitcom about a faked death and hidden cash

Dawn French stars as Debbie Fendon in Simon Mayhew-Archer’s debut sitcom Can You Keep a Secret?, playing a speed-walking, recently widowed stalwart of the local community and mother of one with a mix of Vicar of Dibley energy and the wildness of her earlier work. The central conceit is that Debbie’s husband, William, was mistakenly declared dead after taking too much of his Parkinson’s medication by a germ‑phobic doctor, and Debbie persuaded him to stay “dead” so they could claim a life insurance payout.

The cash is now in a large holdall under the stairs and William, played by Mark Heap, has become enforcedly hermit-like. Their son Harry (Craig Roberts) is traumatised by the deception, in part because his wife Neha (Mandip Gill) is a police officer, and he cannot safely tell her the truth.

The script keeps the audience on the Fendons’ side, noting they were denied the payout after William’s diagnosis and that the money is for ordinary expenses: “A dodgy boiler and a garden full of fox shit.” The review finds an underlying melancholy familiar from traditional British sitcoms alongside some weaker jokes and set pieces, and says Heap’s odd presence is underused while Roberts and Gill do solid work.

Key Topics

Culture, Dawn French, Debbie Fendon, Simon Mayhew-archer, Mark Heap, Craig Roberts