CHRIS PACKHAM: THE WALK THAT MADE ME + HARRY BIRRELL PRESENTS FILMS of SCOTLAND + BAPTISTE

This article was originally published in The Courier on 24th July 2021.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Chris Packham: The Walk That Made Me – Wednesday, BBC Two, 8pm

The affable naturalist deserves plaudits for making this immersive programme about mental health. It’s a beautiful piece of television. 

Filmed by Packham using a hand-held 360 degree camera, it follows him as he revisits his favourite childhood walk through the gorgeous Hampshire countryside. There is no music telling us how to feel: the soothing soundtrack is almost entirely composed of Packham’s voice, a babbling river and birdsong. 

Occasionally he bumps into people along the way, but for the most part this is an introspective journey during which Packham talks eloquently about his Asperger’s and struggles with depression. He knows how difficult it is to summon up the energy to commune with nature when you feel bereft of hope, but his advice is tender and wise.

The Bhangra Boss – The Story of DJ Vips – Monday, BBC Scotland, 10:30pm

The Edinburgh-based bhangra DJ Vipen Kumar passed away in 2019. A cult hero with an impressive legacy, he’s given his due in this enlightening documentary. 

Kumar emigrated from India with his family when he was a child. He later went on to open an Asian music shop in Edinburgh, before becoming an in-demand wedding DJ who instinctively knew how to work a crowd. A dedicated entrepreneur with a fervent passion for music, he also promoted live events and started his own successful record label, via which he nurtured emerging bhangra talent throughout the UK. 

A modest visionary, Kumar comes across as a friendly soul who was liked and respected by everyone he met. A good man.  

Harry Birrell Presents Films of Scotland – Tuesday, BBC Scotland, 10pm

Paisley schoolboy Harry Birrell was gifted with a cine-camera in 1929. For the rest of his life, it rarely left his side. This fascinating series delves into the man’s vast archive of life in Scotland during the 20^th century. 

Birrell’s footage is so evocative, it’s like travelling back in time. His films are populated by ordinary people enjoying themselves; they aren’t transluscent ghosts from the past, they’re tangible human beings. 

And Birrell was no mere amateur. As the programme makes abundantly clear, he was an unschooled artisan with an innate understanding of how to compose visual narratives. Highlights in episode one include the construction of the Forth Rail Bridge and a visit to the inaugural Edinburgh Festival.

India’s Rape Scandal – Tuesday, Channel 4, 10pm

In India, a woman reports a rape every fifteen minutes. But it is estimated that over 90% of attacks are never reported at all. This disturbing report from C4’s Dispatches team highlights the growing national outcry surrounding a vile network of politicians and their powerful allies who are silencing women they have raped. 

These high-profile men regard themselves as above the law, and employ a regime of intimidation, violence and murder to enforce cover-ups. 

This is a family newspaper, so it would be inappropriate of me to quote some of the horrific details contained within the programme. All I can do is respectfully guide you towards an important and deeply angering expose of institutionalised corruption and abuse.

Yorkshire Firefighters – Thursday, BBC Two, 8pm

This solid frontline series follows the firefighters responsible for protecting over 2 million people in West Yorkshire. 

Filmed under Covid conditions, these men and women continue to do their difficult job during a particularly anxious time for everyone. As one of them says: “I think in terms of your mental health… getting out there and actually being able to fulfil your role as you’ve always done, it’s been massive for us really.” 

It begins on the 5^th of November, which is always one of their busiest nights of the year. The absence of organised firework displays triggers more opportunities for antisocial public behaviour. The team must also deal with a raging fire in a former go-kart track.

A Year in the Beacons – Thursday, STV, 8:30pm

The Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales is a hive of activity. This undemanding series spotlights some of its residents as they adapt to seasonal changes. 

Against an epic backdrop of mountainous vistas, we meet characters such as Harry Legge-Bourke, a textbook toff and full time custodian of the Glanusk Estate. An ex-military officer and former pageboy to the Queen, Harry is a keen traditionalist on a constant stressful mission to keep the estate afloat. 

His galumphing lifestyle is contrasted with that of the Phillips family, who have been farming in this area for five generations. They’re nice people. We also spend time with the local mountain rescue team, who are often called out to assist unwary (some might say foolhardy) tourists. 

No Body Recovered – Thursday, STV, 9pm

Early last year, Michael O’Leary from West Wales went missing. A middle-aged family man, his disappearance made no sense. 

The last text he apparently sent to his loved ones read: “I’m so sorry.” His car was found abandoned not far from where he lived. The police initially suspected suicide, but they eventually discovered that O’Leary had been involved in an affair with the wife of one of his friends. Her husband then became the prime suspect. 

We all enjoy a good mystery, but I’m always torn when it comes to these true-crime documentaries. The death of Michael O’Leary was a terrible tragedy, but should we really be watching a programme about it? What purpose does it serve?

LAST WEEK’S TV

Baptiste – Sunday 18th July, BBC One

The second series of this spin-off from The Missing got off to a leisurely start, presumably because writers Jack and Harry Williams - a prolific pair of superior hacks - are secure in the knowledge that viewers trust them to deliver the addictive twist-strewn goods in due course.

Sure enough, the various threads of intrigue rapidly entwined in the last ten minutes. 

Baptiste is one of my favourite TV 'tecs. A careworn Frenchman who exhibits an almost pathological obsession with solving missing person cases, he’s driven by a sort of self-serving altruism: helping people makes him feel like his life is worthwhile. And that quietly commanding performance from French-Turkish actor Tchecky Karyo is key to the programme’s appeal.

Professor T. – Sunday 18th July, STV

This adaptation of a Belgian TV series is woefully misjudged. It nominally presents itself as a classy, whimsical Sunday night detective yarn starring comedian Ben Miller as a ‘quirky’ Cambridge criminologist who assists the police in their enquiries. The antagonist in episode one? A masked serial rapist. 

You simply cannot broach that harrowing territory for the purposes of shallow entertainment. Professor T demands of its audience a willingness to tolerate whiplash shifts in tone. Dunno about you, but I’m not prepared to do that. 

Not only is Professor T distasteful, it’s also entirely rote and derivative: a pedestrian crime caper with a dubious tone-deaf streak. Baptiste isn’t perfect, but at least it has some sort of moral compass. 

RECLAIMING AMY + UPRISING + THE SKY AT NIGHT: E.T. AND THE BBC

A version of this article was originally published in The Courier on 17th July 2021. 

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Reclaiming Amy – Friday, BBC Two, 9pm

Amy Winehouse passed away in 2011. She was 27. In this intimate documentary, her family and closest friends address some of the lurid myths which engulfed her. 

It’s essentially a firm yet gentle riposte to the Oscar-winning documentary, Amy, which, according to her parents Mitch and Janis, presented a misleading account of the family narrative. Janis speaks here on camera for the first time.

It’s not a self-serving or angry programme. The participants want to help people understand the complex nature of addiction and mental illness. A portrait emerges of a vulnerable young woman who was supported by her loved ones, but in the end there was nothing they could do to block her path towards self-destruction.

Taken: Hunting the Sex Traffickers – Monday, Channel 4, 9pm

Filmed over three years, this new series boasts unprecedented access to a covert police unit dedicated to the surveillance and capture of human trafficking gangs. We also meet some of the women who have been brutally exploited by these gangs. 

Episode one focuses on the unit’s mission to bring down the head of one particular gang, who have made a vast fortune from trafficking South American women and forcing them to work as prostitutes in the UK.

Uprising – Tuesday to Thursday, BBC One, 9pm

This is an absolutely vital jolt of television. Over three consecutive nights, filmmaker Steve McQueen presents an uncompromising account of racial conflict in early 1980s Britain, while exploring the lasting impact of certain key events. 

A documentary companion piece to his exceptional Small Axe anthology, Uprising is fuelled by anger and compassion. There is no narration; McQueen allows this story to unfold via the words of people who have experienced vicious racism throughout their lives. 

Far-right groups, incessant police harassment, ethnic minorities scapegoated for all the ills of society, McQueen’s point is clear: this isn’t ancient history. Just last week, those disgusting events in football confirmed that racism is still a toxic stain on our society.

Secrets of the Museum – Tuesday, BBC Two, 8pm

Time now once again to revisit the Victoria and Albert Museum in London’s fashionable London, where nimble-fingered artisans toil behind the scenes of an absolute treasure trove.

The undoubted highlight this week is the restoration of a shiny red suit which was once worn by Jim Lea from Slade during their imperial Glam phase. Face facts, Hockney, this is what we want. 

A sacred pop artefact, Lea’s suit requires some careful stitching and tender loving care. The great man himself, who rarely makes public appearances, eventually turns up to wax lyrical in typically humble fashion. Lea’s mother, who is now aged 95, is apparently more impressed with his V&A exhibit than she ever was with his raucous chart success.

Craig and Bruno’s Great British Road Trips – Wednesday, STV, 8pm

There are very few cast-iron guarantees in life, but I’m 100% certain that celebrity travelogues will never die. An immortal TV format. 

This one stars Strictly’s very own Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli doing what’s required of them: savouring some of Britain’s most scenic drives, while occasionally stopping off to look at things and ‘muck about’. This week they’re in the Yorkshire Dales, where they (sort of) play some cricket, hang around with a traditional blacksmith, lead a classic car convoy, and attempt to herd some sheep. 

It’s a cheerful piece of formulaic filler, ever so slightly elevated by the fact that Craig and Bruno genuinely like each other. You can’t fake that camp rapport. They’re pleasant company.

George Clarke’s Remarkable Renovations – Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm

The charity organisation, Crisis, estimates that around 200,000 people are homeless in the United Kingdom. Something to think about while Richard Clarke returns with yet another phalanx of upwardly mobile visionaries who just can’t wait to renovate abandoned buildings.

The latest series kicks off with Richard and Sarah, who have purchased a Grade II listed bank for £50,000. We’ve all been there. Richard and Sarah – who come across as a pair of oblivious middle-aged hipsters – convert a massive 19^th century safe into a luxurious pantry. They also melt down a chunky door and remould it into a freestanding bath. 

Clarke, as always, oversees proceedings in the manner of a slightly bemused yet earnest child.

Fishing Scotland’s Lochs and Rivers – Friday, Channel 5, 7pm

If the choice phrase “five fish-loving celebrities” doesn’t automatically entice you towards this series, then nothing I can say will change your mind. 

Your celebrity anglers are Ian Botham, Fern Britton, Linford Christie, Les Dennis, and Rosemary Shrager (see my review of Cooking with the Stars for more urgent Shrager news). They’re an avuncular bunch. Blatantly inspired by the easy-going success of Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, it’s an undemanding mosaic of tranquil – if you will - piscenery and semi-scripted banter. 

Episode one begins just outside Arbroath, home of the legendary smokie (not the 1970s hit-makers), before heading off to the banks of the River Tay. Some friendly local experts are on hand to help them out.

LAST WEEK’S TV

The Sky at Night: E.T. and the BBC – Sunday 11th July, BBC Four

This delightful delve into the BBC archives unearthed several fascinating reports on the search for life on other planets. 

Patrick Moore was a lifelong sceptic, this wasn’t a subject he ever took seriously. His close encounter with UFO-spotter Arthur Shuttleworth – a wonderfully Python-esque name – was a particularly amusing highlight. 

The programme also featured contributions from estimable broadcasters such as Alan Whicker and James Burke, and some inevitable guest-spots from the uniquely soothing Dr Carl Sagan (very much the Bob Ross of cosmology), science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke and that arch charlatan Erich von Daniken. 

The programme is available on iPlayer. You know what to do. And remember: keep your eyes on the skies.

Cooking with the Stars – Tuesday 13th July, STV

A formulaic competition in which various celebs learn how to become professional-standard chefs, this is nothing you haven’t seen a thousand times before. The budding chefs include Shirley Ballas, Griff Rhys Jones, Denise Van Outen, Johnny Vegas and the drummer from McFly. One of the mentors is the aforementioned Rosemary Shrager. 

Naturally, Vegas provides a few amusing moments, but that’s all there is to recommend. Also, some of these people claim to have never cooked before. I find that baffling. I’m no Galloping Gourmet, but it’s really not hard to rustle up a decent dish with the right ingredients and some clear instructions. Cooking with the Stars is – inevitable food analogy alert – a terminally bland soup.

OUR NHS: A HIDDEN HISTORY + KATHY BURKE: MONEY TALKS + THIS WAY UP

This article was originally published in The Courier on 10th July 2021.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Our NHS: A Hidden History – Thursday, BBC Two, 9pm

Hosted by the always reliable and eloquent historian David Olusoga, this thoughtful documentary unpacks the stories of people who migrated to Britain to work for the NHS. 

From day one, the NHS owed its survival to the recruitment of doctors and nurses from all around the world. They were needed, but – to put it mildly – weren’t always treated with the respect they deserved. 

Olusoga makes the point that one of our most beloved national institutions is intrinsically entwined with one of the most divisive political issues of the last 70 years: immigration. 

He speaks to several first-generation migrants and the descendants who have followed in their footsteps. It’s both a proud celebration of unsung NHS heroes and a despairing indictment of racial prejudice.

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

In the concluding episode of her acute and generous study of wealth inequality, Burke shifts her attention to people living in poverty. 

She visits Jaywick, the most deprived area in England, and drops in on a food bank – “they shouldn’t exist in this country, it’s disgusting.” 

She also addresses the way in which poor people are negatively stereotyped in the media. Burke, who is entirely self-aware, worries that the Slobs sketches she made with Harry Enfield may have contributed to this demonisation. 

“The majority of people who are poor, it’s not their fault,” she says. “But they’re always told by society and the media, ‘Oh, anyone can get a job.’ It’s such a crock of sh*t."

She wouldn't thank me for saying this, but Burke is an absolute hero.

The Dog Rescuers with Alan Davies – Tuesday, Channel 5, 7pm

Warning: this series contains scenes of dogs in distress. It’s not gratuitous, the whole thing is handled sensitively, but it may prove upsetting to some viewers. 

In the latest episode, Davies presents another tranche of bittersweet stories. The centrepiece involves an RSPCA inspector who is concerned about William, an overweight black Labrador with a large painful tumour on his paw. 

William’s elderly owners have refused further treatment following a dispute with their vet. They’re not cruel people at all, but initially they don’t quite grasp how serious the situation is. The RSPCA inspector must tread gently yet firmly. Much like William etc. Oh, please yourselves.

I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by revealing that things do get better for William. It would be unbearable otherwise.

The Two Ronnies: Ronnie Corbett’s Lost Tapes – Wednesday, STV, 9pm

Messrs Barker and Corbett (a soubriquet always bestowed upon them by TV continuity announcers) were BBC men through and through, so one wonders why this documentary has ended up on ITV. They’re presumably hungry for some of that hot Ron dollar. 

I haven’t seen the programme, it wasn’t available for preview, but failing to highlight it would be a dereliction of duty. 

We’re promised unprecedented access to Corbett’s home movies and some rare behind the scenes footage. It also features contributions from his widow, Anne, his daughters Emma and Sophie, plus celebrity friends and admirers such as Rob Brydon, Harry Hill and Jimmy Tarbuck. 

In short (pause; adjusts glasses), an affectionate tribute to a master comic. Sounds lovely.

This Way Up – Wednesday, Channel 4, 10pm

Aisling Bea’s comedy-drama about a young woman gradually recovering from a nervous breakdown is charming and frank. It’s not plot-driven as such, the hook is the relationship between Aine (Bea) and her protective older sister (co-producer Sharon Horgan). 

Bea and Horgan share a warm, natural chemistry, they’re entirely convincing as a pair of siblings with years of history behind them. Some of their dialogue sounds improvised; a typical episode involves the sisters just hanging out and talking nonsense. But it never comes across as a self-indulgent vanity project. The characters are likeable and amusing, it’s a pleasure spending time with them. 

Before series two begins, I recommend catching up with the first one on All 4. 

Can I Improve My Memory? – Thursday, Channel 4, 8pm

Sandi Toksvig hosts this new series in which five celebrities from various age brackets attempt to sharpen their powers of recall. Each week they’re tasked with mastering general knowledge topics they previously knew nothing about. 

The celebs are boxer Chris Eubank, Love Island winner Amber Gill, hoofer Len Goodman, TV presenter Anna Richardson and actor Nina Wadia. 

Eubank is ordered to learn about dinosaurs; Gill gets to grips with great British birds; Goodman throws down with 1990s American hip-hop; Richardson investigates the solar system; and Wadia embraces the human skeleton. They’re coached by a memory man who clearly regards himself as a bit of a character. 

Memorising facts isn’t the same as learning, though, is it? Think on.

Michael Ball’s Wonderful Wales – Friday, Channel 5, 8pm

This week, Britain’s second favourite amplified Welshman – Sir Tom will always reign supreme in that hotly contested niche – pitches up in southwest Wales, a part of his homeland he’s never visited before. 

While striding along the Pembrokeshire coastal path, he visits a protected haven for seals and seabirds, delves into some local history and ancient myths in the company of a charismatic storytelling tour guide, and rustles up a soufflé with a French chef who moved to Wales to improve his English. He also meets two direct descendants of Dylan Thomas (Ball is a big fan). 

And yes, it concludes with another lusty hillside musical performance. A standard-issue travelogue, the show fulfils its utterly harmless, gentle brief.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Pride Hits at the BBC – Saturday 3rd July, BBC Two

This joyous deep-dive into the BBC archives served as a reminder – as if we needed reminding – that LGBTQ artists and gay icons have been responsible for some of the best pop music ever made. 

Highlights included Scissor Sisters performing I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ (a co-write with Elton John, who was represented by a 1970s performance of The Bitch is Back); The Weather Girls barnstorming through It’s Raining Men (a song, fact fans, co-written by David Letterman’s bandleader Paul Shaffer); and some thrilling footage of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who were briefly the greatest and most subversive band in the world. 

But the best moment of all was Gloria Gaynor being introduced by Keith Harris and Orville.

Diana’s Decades – Thursday 8th July, STV

What a strange series. Presumably in an attempt to differentiate itself from the sombre mien of ITV’s recent Diana documentary (ITV are utterly obsessed with the Royal Family; let it go, guys, you’ll never get a knighthood), it opts for an incongruously jocular tone. 

I’m not the sort of person who thinks the Royals should be treated with uncritical respect – heaven forfend – but telling Diana’s story with a cheeky nod and wink makes for awkward viewing. 

It nominally presents itself as a sweeping piece of social history shot through the prism of the People’s Princess, but episode one was largely preoccupied with cheap gags about 1980s fashions. Who is it aimed at? What is it for? Baffling.

 

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.