The eponymous subject of Cold Feet writer David Nicholls' second novel must be close to his own heart. Nicholls gave up acting for writing because he simply wasn't a very good actor, he has said.
This bittersweet tale follows the life of understudy Stephen C McQueen.
Stephen, whose career highlights have so far been largely limited to playing dead people in TV shows and Sammy the squirrel in a children's video, is reluctantly divorced from his wife, hates her new worthy-but-dull investment banker husband, Colin, and worries about his relationship with his seven-year-old daughter, Sophie.
It is only when he begins a friendship with the philandering Josh's stunning American wife Nora that his life begins to hot up - and he gets the chance to step into the spotlight for his one big chance of success.
Anyone who read Nicholls'' best-selling debut novel Starter For Ten, or enjoyed the TV series Rescue Me and I Saw You, which he wrote, will know how skilled he is in the art of creating comedy drama.
The Understudy by David Nicholls is published by Hodder & Stoughton priced £12.99
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