Louise Delamere, who plays nurse Lia Costoya, talks about her role in No Angels...

The first series of No Angels proved a hit with critics and viewers alike. The show's irreverent take on the life and loves of four nurses in Leeds was entertaining, witty, and risqué. The show got re-commissioned, the format was sold to America, and everyone was happy.

Well, not quite everyone...

The Royal College of Nursing suggested that the show was 'a missed opportunity' to show what nursing was about.

It's true that the programme doesn't focus on the daily grind of nursing, the various complicated situations and pressures nurses face, or their struggle for the recognition and salary that they doubtless deserve, but Louise Delamere says that's missing the point.

"I think you’ve got so many other shows where nursing is very, very well represented. In that context, I think being up in arms about No Angels was a complete over-reaction. It's not really about what they do as nurses, it's more who they are as people. They just happen to be nurses. It's a comedy drama, not a documentary – it's not trying to be realistic, and it never set out to be."

According to Delamere, most nurses she's spoken to actively enjoyed the programme. "Most nurses who I come into contact with seem to really like it - they take it for what it is, which is a piece of fun with occasional deeper moments in it."

One of the secrets of the programme's success is the closeness of the cast. Delamere maintains that being comfortable with each other can only have a beneficial effect regarding the end product on screen. It also makes the show riotously fun to work on. "The first series was a really good time, but if anything the second series was probably even better, because we knew each other better as people, and who we were as characters. And we’d spent so much time with each other over the year, it was great."

It’s not all fun and laughter, though. The programme has a serious side, and deals with some raw emotions, which can be hard work to film. "There were some emotional scenes I found really tough," admits Delamere. "There's some really hard stuff later in the series, it's really sad, and I found that quite difficult. You have to put your mind somewhere that you may not choose to put it. You have to access stuff that you don’t really want to think about or deal with."

In this series, Delamere's character finally breaks a spell of chastity stretching back to the dark ages when she gets a boyfriend. "It’s a really good story, and it's nice to have something going so well for her. Sometimes, Lia can have a bit of a cloud hanging over her, but she cheers up a bit in this series.