BBC’s new dramedy Rain Dogs stars Daisy May Cooper

The world can’t get enough of Daisy May Cooper at the moment.

Since shooting to fame alongside her brother Charlie in This Country, the 36-year-old Cirencester-born actress has been seen in The Personal History of David Copperfield, Avenue 5, The Witchfinder and Am I Being Unreasonable?, as well as Celebrity Gogglebox, Taskmaster, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and even donning an Otter disguise for The Masked Singer.

Her latest project is an eight-part BBC/HBO dramedy, created by acclaimed writer Cash Carraway, telling the story of a single mum living with her 10-year-old daughter in the landscape of austerity Britain.

Cooper plays Costello Jones, alongside Jack Farthing as Florian Selby, Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo as Gloria Duke and Fleur Tashjian in her debut role as Costello’s daughter Iris.

They are a makeshift and dysfunctional family living a life of chaos, but with a deep and complicated love.

Costello is a struggling writer and single mother with a sharp tongue and a glint in her eye.

Although she appreciates the character of the gutter, she is prepared do anything to keep her beloved daughter from it.

In tonight’s opening episode we see Costello, at her lowest – struggling financially, making ends meet by working at peep show Flesh Pot, and constantly moving from place to place, with Iris.

Costello is convinced that she can write her way out of their problems with her current project, but there are little signs of that happening anytime soon.

Meanwhile, her friend, the privileged but quietly menacing Selby, has recently returned from prison.

He frequents shady gambling dens, carries out sex acts with men in toilets, slips Iris money, telling her to keep it quiet, and has a debt to a fellow inmate for protection on the inside that is sure to be due at some point.

As Costello’s circumstances worsen, she has a run-in with Brett (Stephen Wight), who overhears about her predicament and offers her a place to stay with conditions attached.

Afterwards, she comes to rely on Selby more and more, and he eventually uses some gambling winnings to clear the debt on her flat, so she and Iris have a place to stay.

However, the threat of eviction is never too far away, suggesting that the cycle isn’t quite broken just yet.

Costello is also concerned that Iris is growing up surrounded by total pandemonium, and that the wealthy but damaged felon Selby, who she clearly loves, isn’t really their saviour.

Recently sober, Costello does have one or two people around her who also care about her that we will get to know.

They include Gloria, who works at her father’s funeral home yet ends up running into some troubles of her own.

Although she doesn’t feature much in tonight’s opening episode, she does play a vital part moving forward.

Due to its dark subject matter – it’s a hard-hitting indictment of Britain’s social welfare system – Rain Dogs can be bleak at times.

But there are flashes of humour and it certainly has a potential to be a sleeper hit, much like the Coopers’ gem This Country.

It also proves that its leading star Cooper can mix drama and comedy with ease.

Little wonder she seems to be in everything at the moment.