BLACK POWER: A BRITISH STORY OF RESISTANCE + FOOTBALL'S DARKEST SECRET

This article was originally published in The Courier on 20th March 2021. 

NEXT WEEK'S TV

Black Power: A British Story of Resistance – Thursday, BBC Two, 9pm

This stirring 90-minute documentary traces the dramatic rise and fall of the British Black Power movement in the 1960s and 1970s. 

Inspired by the civil rights struggle in America, and in particular the uncompromising rhetoric of Malcolm X and Black Panther leader Stokely Carmichael, these young black and Asian radicals fought back against the brutal institutional racism they endured on a daily basis. 

The film features compelling testaments from some of the still-defiant members of this hugely important yet often overlooked movement. 

A vital piece of social history, it also reaches out to the Black Lives Matter movement and considers the lessons that can be learned from their pioneering forebears in the self-empowering revolt against racial discrimination.

Football’s Darkest Secret – Monday to Wednesday, BBC One, 9pm

This landmark series examines the shockingly vast amount of cases of historic child abuse which took place in British youth football from the mid-1970s until the mid-1990s. In doing so, it exposes the culture of silence that surrounded these heinous crimes. 

Preview copies weren’t available at the time of writing, but this is quite clearly an essential report.

For decades, coaches and scouts connected to top football clubs abused their positions of power to prey on vulnerable young boys. Many of the victims were shamed into silence until, in 2016, former player Andy Woodward chose to speak out publicly. This encouraged more than 800 other victims to follow suit. 300 suspects have since been identified.

24 Hours in Police Custody: Bedfordshire’s Most Wanted – Tuesday, Channel 4, 9pm

The umpteenth series of this bleakly compelling observational crime-doc begins with 23-year-old Barry, who is being held on suspicion of multiple burglaries and numerous driving offences. Barry reckons he’s been in custody more than a thousand times. Due to a lack of fresh evidence against him, the police have no choice but to release this smirking recidivist. He clearly thinks he’s untouchable. 

But within a few weeks, the police receive calls from two terrified teenage girls who accuse Barry of sexual assault. And then the tense, queasy interviews, for which this series is renowned, begin. Barry, his bravado visibly disintegrating, insists the sex was consensual. Barry is a liar. It’s a timely episode, for obvious reasons.

The Detectives: Fighting Organised Crime – Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

Filmed over two years, this disturbing five-part series follows Greater Manchester Police officers as they struggle to cope with the ever-growing problem of organised crime groups.

 “It’s the biggest threat to the UK in terms of security,” says one of the detectives tasked with infiltrating this violent criminal underworld. Drug-trafficking, people-trafficking, extortion, fraud, kidnap and murder, these groups will do anything to make enormous sums of money and consolidate their power. Despite the detectives’ best efforts, the entire situation feels hopeless. 

Warning: like 24 Hours in Police Custody, this is strong stuff. It’s not gratuitous, but we do encounter a victim with severe injuries, and the descriptions of violent acts may prove upsetting for some viewers.

Strangers Making Babies – Tuesday, Channel 4, 9:15pm

Co-parenting is the term used to describe people who decide to have children outside of a conventional romantic relationship. In this sensitive new series, we meet single people who, for various reasons, feel that time is running out. So now they’re ready to enter into mutually beneficial platonic arrangements. 

As cold as that may sound, Strangers Making Babies is a touching dating show. It’s overseen by trustworthy experts; I have no reason to doubt their extensive vetting and matching process. There is nothing in this show to suggest that anyone is being exploited or coerced. 

Emotional complications inevitably ensue, but not to a traumatic extent. The overall tone is encouraging and sympathetic. Good luck to ‘em all.

This Is MY House – Wednesday, BBC One, 9pm

A sort of reverse polarity version of Through the Keyhole, this daft new series asks celebrities to correctly identify a luxury house-owner from a group of suspects. Three of them are actors, and the only one who knows the truth is the owner themselves. 

The fundamental flaw in this format – which was co-devised by media powerhouse Richard Bacon – is that the actors are visibly acting throughout. You can instantly tell who the ordinary member of the public is, but the celebs have to pretend to ignore that for the sake of the game. 

Okay, I’m willing to be proved wrong, as my preview copy cut off before their identity was revealed - presumably to prevent this nail-biting spoiler from leaking into the public domain prior to transmission - but I suspect I’ve got it bang to rights.

First Dates Hotel – Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm

Time now to return to that glamorous five-star hotel in sun-kissed rural Italy, where Fred and co play host to another nervous gaggle of amour-chasers. 

First up is Thalia, a young woman whose confidence has been shattered by her ex. Thalia’s date is Jack, a cancer survivor. We also meet Tony, a dapper septuagenarian widower from Essex. Tony has, shall we say, robust political opinions. His date, Lesley, does not. So you can imagine how that goes. 

As always, it’s all rather lovely. The First Dates franchise is basically a benign endeavour, it doesn’t mock or judge its participants. We’re nosy by nature, but I do believe we want the best for people. Naïve of me, perhaps.

LAST WEEK'S TV

Billie: In Search of Billie Holiday – Saturday 13th March, BBC Two

In the early 1970s, American journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of the late jazz great Billie Holliday. Her stated aim: “to go beyond the romantic myth of tortured artist and hopeless junkie.” 

Her research involved numerous lengthy interviews with Holiday’s friends, lovers and colleagues. But the book was never completed, as Kuehl died in 1978 at the age of 38. The police deemed it suicide, but her family believe she may have been murdered. 

This documentary, while undeniably interesting when it focused on Kuehl’s interviews with Holiday’s confidantes, failed in its attempts to tie the lives of these women together. What was the director trying to say exactly? A confused endeavour.

Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency – Tuesday 16th March, BBC One

Last year, Roman Kemp’s best friend, Joe Lyons, took his own life. Kemp had no idea that Lyons was struggling with mental health issues. There were no signs as far as he could see. 

In this commendably honest, delicate and responsible programme, the TV presenter and radio DJ went in search of answers: why do so many young men feel unable to talk about their problems? 

Teenage suicide rates in Britain are on the rise. The pandemic has exacerbated feelings of isolation, depression and anxiety. People feel hopeless. But Kemp’s message was clear: it is so important to open up about your feelings. Talking provides a cathartic release. You will not be judged, you are loved. Help is out there.