EVERYONE seems to be at it in Ordinary Lies.

Jason Manford's character Marty slept with his colleague Grace (Rebecca Callard) after pretending that his wife had died.

Car showroom boss Mike (Max Beesley) is having an affair with his head of admin Beth (Jo Joyner) but cannot leave his wife Alison (Belinda Stewart-Wright) because her father owns a majority share in the business.

Meanwhile, Beth discovers that Marianne (Manjinder Virk) was making moves on her husband Shaun Dooley just before his disappearance.

No wonder the team John Stuart Car Superstore, where the drama was set, wanted to make clear that real life at the showroom does not mirror what happens in the programme.

But viewers may feel a bit more sorry for Sally Lindsay's character's predicament in episode three.

Perceived to be the moral compass of the office, PA Kathy's secret is that she has gone without intimacy with her husband Ralph (Tony Maudsley) for six years.

So she finds estate agent Niall (Edward MacLiam) on the internet for a series of no-strings-attached hotel liaisons which, of course, go spectacularly wrong.

The first half of the episode left me groaning – Kathy's 'ordinary lie' was yet another affair.

Series creator Danny Brocklehurst's version of JS Motors has to be the most sinful business in the country, let alone Warrington.

And the lies will have to get more inventive, like in last week's drug smuggling episode starring Michelle Keegan, if the show is to continue holding viewers' attention.

That said, things get more dramatic when Kathy and Niall witness a man being brutally beaten by loan sharks.

But the pair risk their affair being exposed if they do the right thing and come forward to help the police with their investigations.

Kathy has that moral dilemma and her feelings about her betrayal weighing heavy on her mind on the eve of her 40th birthday.

But it seems like the show's producers can't tell the difference between the Warrington Guardian and Manchester Evening News as Kathy read about the assault in the wrong paper!

What was satisfying about this week's story though was that strands from previous episodes were acknowledged and developed.

Receptionist Tracy (Keegan) is still racked with guilt that her friend Viv (Cherrelle Skeet) is locked up in the Dominican Republic for trying to get drugs across the border.

And Beth finds some resolve after her confrontation with Marianne.

- Next week's episode focuses on mechanic Rick (Shazad Latif) and is on next Tuesday at BBC One at 9pm