BANNED! THE MARY WHITEHOUSE STORY + CONCERT FOR UKRAINE

This article was originally published in The Courier on 26th March 2022.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Banned! The Mary Whitehouse Story – Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

Mary Whitehouse isn’t someone who should be regarded with any affection whatsoever, she was an awful bigot. But her curtain‐twitching reign is a fascinating piece of social history. 

This thoroughly researched series attempts to understand Whitehouse with far more wit, courtesy and depth than she ever demonstrated. It illustrates what happens when a small‐minded yet fairly charismatic and articulate person decides to launch a campaign against a world they can’t comprehend. 

It also confirms that Whitehouse had no concept of nuance or satire. A strange, oblivious, exasperating person. 

But she also had a canny knack for getting her puritanical message across in the very mass media she despised. A pioneering grifter. She’d be all over GB News these days.

Rescue: Extreme Medics – Monday, Channel 4, 9pm

This urgent new series follows the fine men and women of the Scottish Trauma Network, an elite team of roving clinicians who serve as an emergency lifeline for the entire country.

Episode one focuses on medical emergencies in some of the most remote parts of Scotland. Patients include a man from Skye who is trapped under an all‐terrain vehicle, a middle‐aged cyclist who has experienced a head‐on collision with a digger in rural Aberdeenshire, and a teenage tree surgeon who has injured himself with a chainsaw. 

We’ve all seen shows like this before, you know what to expect in terms of tone and structure, but that doesn’t detract from the inherent drama and humanity of it all. 

Police Custody USA – Monday, Channel 4, 10pm

Fans of 24 Hours in Police Custody are advised to check out this sombre new series, which is basically the same thing but set way over yonder in that there America. 

It begins with the tragic news of a Kansas man being shot dead at point blank range in broad daylight. A veteran pair of homicide detectives are tasked with solving this brutal crime. Interviews with witnesses lead them to believe that members of the victim’s family may be involved. But who was directly responsible? A young AWOL woman becomes the prime suspect, thus instigating a large‐scale hunt. 

If you fancy a binge, the entire series will be available on All 4 straight after this episode airs 

Concert for Ukraine – Tuesday, STV, 8pm

ITV and STV have joined forces with the Disasters Emergency Committee to stage this two‐hour fundraiser for the people of Ukraine. All sponsorship and advertising revenue generated from the broadcast will be donated to the DEC appeal. They expect to raise over £3 million. 

It’s a live event, so I’m afraid I can’t inform you of the line‐up (deadlines being what they are, I’m writing this nine days before the concert takes place), but the organisers have promised some big names from the musical stratosphere. So do keep an eye out for announcements as they unfold. 

And if you would like make a donation to the appeal, details of how to do so will be shared throughout the programme.

Gordon Ramsay’s Future Food Stars – Thursday, BBC One, 9pm

The television career of Gordon Ramsay is one of life’s great mysteries. He’s a talented chef, no doubt about that, but even after all these years he looks utterly ill at ease in front of a camera. The man is not a natural broadcaster. 

And yet here he is with a derivative new series in which he promises to inject some of his own cash into the coffers of various food and drink entrepreneurs; but only if they’re deemed worthy of such a magnanimous gesture. It’s Gordon’s Den. Ramsay’s Apprentice. The format writes itself. 

I’m recommending this only because you might enjoy seeing what happens when desperate TV executives run out of ideas for their golden‐handcuffed Talent. 

Horizon: How to Sleep Well with Michael Mosley – Thursday, BBC Two, 9pm

Like so many of us, genial medical man Michael Mosley suffers from deeply frustrating sleep problems. As always, however, he’s here to help. 

We’re all aware that a comfortable sleep pattern can improve our physical and mental health, but what’s the key to a good night’s slumber? Mosley, a broadcaster you can trust, meets various experts while trying out bits and pieces of brand new sleep‐orientated technology. His wide‐ranging essay is largely informed by some pioneering Oxford University research. 

As someone who has struggled with insomnia for years, I found the programme quite helpful and informative. I daresay you will too. May the candy‐coloured clown they call the Sandman tiptoe to your room every night. 

Joanna Lumley’s Great Cities of the World – Thursday, STV, 9pm

The great Dame concludes her latest escapade in Berlin. She places this vibrant city in its deeply troubled historical context while showing how it’s moved on and thrived, albeit without ever forgetting the horrors of its past. 

She also rides pillion with a female biker gang, meets a gay and trans model/dance troupe, and sits down with a Holocaust survivor. If that sounds like a jarring shift in tone, please rest assured that Lumley handles it sensitively. 

At the risk of sounding overblown and trite, this series has been a much‐needed balm. It’s just a TV travelogue, I know. Nothing particularly important in the grand scheme of things, but it provided a little bit of hope for humanity. You enjoy your crumbs of comfort wherever you can find them.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Top of the Pops: The Story of 1992 – Saturday 19th March, BBC Two

I was a pop‐crazed youngster in 1992, so no wonder I adored this retrospective. We’ll ne’er be so innocent again.

The nation's favourite pop show was in flux at this stage, it had jettisoned the old guard in favour of presenters who were utterly bland as opposed to pathetically Jurassic. Some of the previous presenters were perfectly pleasant, of course, Janice Long and Kid Jensen chief among them. But in 1992 TOTP tried to keep up with the times, often to hilariously strange effect. Some wonderfully odd and brilliant television ensued. 

These compendiums are vital time capsules; warm‐hearted yet understandably amused essays that revel in the glorious madness of popular culture. Hats off to everyone involved. Get your kicks from it on iPlayer.

Killed By a Rich Kid – Monday 21st March, Channel 4

Three years ago, seventeen‐year‐old Yousef Makki was fatally stabbed on the streets of his affluent Greater Manchester neighbourhood. 

This crassly‐titled yet surprisingly thoughtful documentary paid tribute to Yousef while chronicling the events that led to his eventual tragic fate. It was terribly sad, messy and complicated. 

The programme challenged media‐led preconceptions about knife crime. After all, these young lads weren’t from a disadvantaged area. They had wealth served up on a silver platter, what could possibly lead them to senseless acts of violence? 

Yousef’s story didn’t conform to the usual (simplistic and patronising) narrative. But above all else, this stark document exposed innate failings in the judicial system and societal attitudes in general.  

KATHY BURKE: MONEY TALKS + GOLD RUSH: OUR RACE TO OLYMPIC GLORY + STORYVILLE: RASING A SCHOOL SHOOTER

This article was originally published in The Courier on 3rd July 2021.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Kathy Burke: Money Talks – Monday, Channel 4, 10pm

Like all good people, Kathy Burke is concerned about economic inequality in Britain. In this ruminative and insightful two-part series, the preternaturally likeable actor – who grew up poor - examines one of the most pressing issues of our time. 

She meets people with money, and those without. Episode one focuses on the rich. Her interviewees include a self-aware aristocrat, a National Lottery winner, a self-made millionaire and a gang of TikTok influencers who live in communal luxury (they’re not as objectionable as I thought they’d be). 

Burke is wise, frank and non-judgemental; her sole note of scorn is reserved for our incumbent government, who have no idea what it’s like to be poor.

Gold Rush: Our Race to Olympic Glory – Monday, BBC One, 9pm

The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games in London are officially The Best Thing That Ever Happened in Britain. Even a curmudgeon such as myself became swept up in the triumph of it all. However, as this drama-packed series reminds us, there was once a time, not so long ago, when the British Olympic team were regarded as perennial disappointments. 

It tells the story of how they gradually evolved from “full-time amateurs” into world-class competitors. In 1996, to avoid further embarrassment, PM John Major decided to support promising young athletes with National Lottery funding. His successor, Tony Blair, continued that initiative. 

Episode one features talking head contributions from Blair, Major, Linford Christie, Chris Hoy and Kelly Holmes. 

High: Confessions of an Ibiza Drug Mule – Monday and Thursday, BBC One, 10:35pm

At the age of 20, Michaella McCollum from Northern Ireland was arrested at an airport in Peru when her luggage was found to contain 11kg of smuggled cocaine. She received a six-year prison sentence. 

In this kinetic series, McCollum tells her side of the story. Buzzing with dramatic reconstructions, it’s a cautionary tale that doesn’t wag its finger too sternly in McCollum’s direction. She comes across as naïve and foolish, an easily manipulated person whose non-stop Ibiza party lifestyle made her lose touch with reality. “Nothing at that time was serious at all,” she says. 

If we are to take her at face value, then McCollum’s ordeal illustrates that one should – shall we say – always err on the side of caution when fraternising with drug dealers. 

Storyville: Raising a School Shooter – Wednesday, BBC Four, 10pm

A stark opening caption lays out the facts: “As of 1970, there have been 1,677 reported shootings in schools across the U.S… these have resulted in 598 deaths and 1,626 injuries.”  

This meditative and commendably sensitive documentary focuses on the parents of school shooters. Chief among them is Sue Klebold, whose late son committed the Columbine High School massacre alongside a fellow pupil. Eloquent and open-hearted, Klebold is still coming to terms with what her son did. His crime made her question everything about herself as a parent. 

Without a shred of self-pity – Klebold’s sympathy for the victims and their families is paramount – she talks movingly about her guilt, grief, and the gradual process of piecing her life back together.

The Great Food Guys – Thursday, BBC Scotland, 8:30pm

From their countryside kitchen in Aberdeenshire, Nick Nairn and Dougie Vipond return for another series of culinary tips. 

This week, our be-aproned hosts welcome special guest Rory Bremner, while supping responsibly from bottles of stout and cooking up an Asian daube of beef. For the sake of vegans and vegetarians, they issue a gentle warning at the start of the episode: a voracious meat feast is about to commence. 

Meanwhile, they chat to Bremner about his life and career. Impressions abound, of course. His tour around various Scottish dialects includes cameos from Billy Connolly, Neil Oliver and Malcolm Rifkind. “It’s the musicality,” he explains. “Every voice has got a song. It’s just kind of having the ear for that.”

Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted – Thursday, Channel 4, 10pm

Preview copies of this new series weren’t available, but I’m recommending it because Ramsay is a weirdly fascinating TV presence. Despite his many years of experience in front of the camera, he still comes across as perpetually nervous, frantic and uncomfortable. 

Ramsay presents television with the panicked demeanour of a man trying to blow out a match in a cave full of dynamite. A most unusual fellow. 

This time, according to the press blurb, he’s travelling to some of the world’s most remote locations in search of culinary inspiration. His quest begins in Peru, where he straddles a motorbike en route to the Sacred Valley of the Incas. High-altitude cooking ensues. 

One worries for the man’s blood pressure.

Wonderful Wales with Michael Ball – Friday, Channel 5, 8pm

This cosy travelogue is all about Ball rediscovering his Welsh heritage. Yes, folks, he’s on a literal and spiritual journey. 

In episode one he has afternoon tea with his dear old auntie, celebrates the once thriving Welsh coalmining industry, and goes digging for cockles. It’s all very light-hearted and corny – that’s the Ball way; his narration is entirely composed of clichés – hence why I braced myself during the sudden swerve into a segment covering the Aberfan tragedy. 

I’m relieved to report that it’s handled sensitively. Ball, who is showbiz through and through, is clearly ill-equipped to hold forth on such a serious subject, so thankfully he gently recedes into the background during his interview with a survivor.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

I Am a Mutoid: A Glastonbury Hero – Sunday 27th June, BBC Four

Since the mid-1980s, Joe Rush and the Mutoid Waste Company have been building sculptures out of scrap metal and junk. A politicised collective of underground artists, they live life on their own terms. This inspiring documentary paid tribute to their free punk-infused spirit. 

The MWC have always filmed themselves, so director Letmiya Sztalyrd was able to tell their story in vivid detail. 

In Thatcher’s Britain they were regarded as pariahs, as evinced by some disturbing footage of them being brutally harassed by the police. In 2012 they were invited to take part in the Paralympics closing ceremony. Which isn’t to suggest that modern Britain is a pristine oasis of tolerance, but we have at least moved on. A bit.

Extraordinary Twins – Wednesday 30th June and Thursday 1st July, STV

I only had preview access to the first episode of this tender two-part documentary about conjoined twins from all around the world, but what I saw was fascinating. 

Candid and compassionate, it gave voice to various twins alongside parents fearful for the future of their children. They were all faced with a terrible dilemma epitomised by the recurring thread of an operation on seventeen-month-old craniopagus twins; separating them could result in brain damage or death. 

Episode one followed specialist surgeons from Great Ormond Street Hospital as they undertook that risky and complex procedure. A moving yet unsentimental programme, Extraordinary Twins didn’t treat disabled people as ‘others’. There was no condescension, just some honest reporting.