This article was originally published in The Courier on 3rd June 2023.
NEXT WEEK’S TV
Extraordinary Escapes
with Sandi Toksvig – Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm
The
latest series of Toksvig’s staycation travelogue, in which she enjoys tranquil
rural breaks with various comedy chums, kicks off (gently) with the brilliant
Suzy Eddie Izzard.
Their getaway destination is the Republic of Ireland -
Counties Clare, Kerry and Cork to be exact.
Toksvig tries to encourage Izzard,
a famously driven person, to relax via apple crumbles, fried eggs, healing
herbs, a treehouse and fly fishing.
Izzard talks movingly about losing her
mother at an early age, as well as her recent decision to come out as trans. “I
don’t mind [being called] Eddie Izzard, I don’t mind he, him, she, her. I’m
keeping it very loose, baby, so that the entire world can just have a warm
bath.”
Once Upon a Time in
Northern Ireland – Monday, BBC Two, 9pm
In
episode three of this exceptional five-part oral history of The Troubles, we
enter the horrifyingly bleak era of dirty protests and fatal hunger strikes.
A
key contributor is the wife of a former IRA member, a man you’ll be familiar
with from the first two episodes.
She talks openly about how difficult it was
being married to someone who, despite promising to leave the IRA behind, spent
time in prison due to his staunch beliefs. While clearly not used to expressing
outward displays of emotion, his regret is palpable.
We also meet the widow of
a rural Northern Ireland policeman.
I can’t recommend this series enough (hence
why I keep recommending it). It’s terribly sad, powerful and revealing.
Vicky McClure: My
Grandad’s War – Monday, STV, 9pm
97-year-old
Ralph McClure, a working-class man from Nottingham, played a significant role
on D-Day. In this poignant programme, Ralph and his adoring granddaughter, Vicky McClure, return to the beaches of Normandy.
Ralph was eighteen
when he joined the Royal Navy. His powers of recall are undimmed by age. A
delightful man, he provides a fascinating eyewitness account of an absolutely
pivotal moment in 20th century history.
Celebrity-fronted docs are
often rather superficial affairs, but this is nothing of the
sort. Ralph and Vicky are united in their mission to pay heartfelt tribute to
every brave soul who fought, and who continue to fight, against fascism.
Britain’s Forgotten
Pensioners: Dispatches – Wednesday, Channel 4, 10pm
I
urge you to watch this devastating documentary about older British people
desperately struggling to make ends meet during the current cost of living
crisis. As the old saying goes, if you’re not angry, then you’re not paying
attention.
They can barely afford to eat. They’re literally sitting in
darkness. These pensioners have worked hard all their lives, and for what? This
is how the government and energy companies repay them. 13 years of enforced
austerity and mounting bills.
“I’m sad all the time,” says John, who’s
completely on his own. “I’m just here, and that’s it. Existing.”
No one should
have to live like this. No one’s mental health should be impaired by the
constantly overwhelming pressure to just survive.
Significant Other –
Thursday, ITVX
This
black comedy-drama stars Katherine Parkinson and Youssef Kerkour as lonely
neighbours, Anna and Sam.
It begins with Anna knocking on Sam’s door after
she’s suffered a heart attack. Sam has just attempted to take his own life.
When the medics arrive, they’re both rushed to hospital. A bond gradually
forms.
Significant Other doesn’t, of
course, make light of loneliness and depression. Any subject, no matter how
dark, can be mined for humour, just as long as it’s coming from a good, honest,
intelligent place.
If episode one is anything to go by, that’s what’s happening
here. It appears to be a humane and oddly life-affirming exploration of terrain that so many of us struggle to traverse.
Five Star Kitchen:
Britain’s Next Great Chef – Thursday, Channel 4, 8pm
Another
week, another ho-hum culinary competition. Your all-powerful overlord on this
occasion is five-star
hotel chef Michel Roux Jr.
“There is so much on the line here for me, my
reputation as a chef,” he declares. Mate, unless this show is somehow hijacked
by actual ghosts and aliens, no one will ever remember it. Your career will
continue to thrive.
Anyway. The series follows 13 budding chefs as they compete
for a potentially life-changing grand prize – running the Palm Court restaurant
in London’s exclusive Langham hotel.
As you would expect, the contestants are
faced with a series of challenges to prove they have what it takes to succeed
in this high-pressure world.
Davina McCall’s Pill
Revolution – Thursday, Channel 4, 9pm
Now
here’s a genuinely responsible and informative piece of public service
broadcasting.
A recent Channel 4 survey asked over 4,000 women and people
assigned female at birth about their experiences with contraception. 77 % of
them experienced debilitating side effects. 33 % stopped using contraception
because of those side effects.
Following on from her excellent documentary
about the menopause, Davina McCall challenges some of the myths and
misconceptions surrounding contraception.
She’s shocked to discover that so
many women just aren’t being made aware of the range of contraception
treatments available to them.
This programme, which covers a myriad of
solutions for anyone who’s struggling, will hopefully make a difference.
Television really can be a force for good sometimes.
LAST WEEK’S TV
Close to Vermeer –
Tuesday 30th May, BBC Four
Johannes
Vermeer is one of art’s great enigmas. His small body of work includes classic
paintings such as The Milkmaid and The Girl with the Pearl Earring. They’re
familiar to millions, but little is known about the man himself.
In this
elegant documentary/mystery yarn, renowned art expert Gregor J.M. Weber
followed his dream of curating the largest Vermeer exhibition the world has
ever seen.
While on the verge of retirement, Weber – a quietly engaging guide –
was determined to refute controversial claims that one of Vermeer’s
masterworks, Girl with a Flute,
wasn’t actually painted by him at all.
I won’t spoil the ending in case you
haven’t seen it, but no wonder Weber was moved to tears.
Who Do You Think You
Are? – Thursday 1st June, BBC One
Series
nineteen of this unstoppable genealogical warhorse began with Andrew Lloyd
Webber discovering that his four times great uncle Peregrine fought at the
battle of Waterloo, and that a sixteenth century ancestor, Katherine Duchess of
Suffolk, married a 49-year-old man when she was only 14.
Never has the
euphemistic phrase “different times” been more shockingly apt, so much so that
the programme swiftly glossed over this uncomfortable finding.
Lloyd Webber’s
ancestors weren’t all frightfully posh. His paternal great, great grandfather
was a compassionate working-class missionary. And he did, of course, discover
that musicianship runs in the family.
I’m no fan of Lloyd Webber’s work or
politics, but he came across throughout as a genial old satchel.