Mean Girls, the Fantasy Island edition.

January is a good time to transport ourselves – from the comfort of our sofas – to the idyllic setting of Elena Roarke’s Fantasy Island.

There’s an obvious reminder in this opener that the island gives you what you need rather than what you want. If you were wronged at your high-school prom by those glamourous, nasty girls from your year, of course you’d want them to see how fabulous your life was at your reunion. That’s what happens for Tara and Jessica, but only initially… as their dream fades away and reality rudely gate-crashes their party, they learn to overcome their self-made barriers to their true happiness.

It seems a tiny bit of a stretch, narratively speaking, but eventually there’s enough of an explanation, and it’s a sweet conclusion to their tale – no surprises there! We’re very much in for more of the same Fantasy Island this series, it would appear. I don’t suppose there’s anything wrong with that, it worked before.

Throw in some humour in the shape of a mischievous cat taking human form and being… well… very much a cat, and it’s the caramelised cherry on top of the sugar-iced bun.

With the main crew, there’s a set up for some new relationships – with fates flipped as there’s trouble in paradise for one cute couple.

Verdict: Get swept away to the gentle shores of an island where everything’s always resolved in under an hour. 7/10

Claire Smith