POSITIVE + PADDY & CHRISTINE McGUINNESS: OUR FAMILY AND AUTISM + DOCTOR WHO

This article was originally published in The Courier on 27th November 2021.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Positive – Wednesday, Sky Showcase, 9pm

Fittingly, the first episode of this thoroughly researched three-part series goes out on World AIDS Day. It’s an insightful study of Britain’s response to HIV over the last 40 years, told via moving personal testimonies. 

The story begins in 1981, when virtually nothing was known about this new disease. It captures a growing sense of widespread fear and confusion, as Britain’s gay community come to terms with the sheer tragic scale of the situation. Meanwhile, a broiling climate of moral panic is stoked up by homophobic tabloid reports. 

Younger viewers will doubtless be shocked by the blatant ignorance and prejudice endemic within British society at that time. The warmth and dignity of the contributors provides a welcome counterbalance.

Winter Walks – Monday to Thursday, BBC Four, 7:30pm

A sleeper hit during last year’s locked-down winter, this meditative series returns for another gentle bout of celebrity rambling. 

It’s an intimate affair in which the presenters film their solo jaunts using a 360-degree camera. They occasionally bump into people along the way, but for the most part they’re alone while thinking out loud (that’s the idea anyway; they’ve obviously considered what they’re going to say beforehand). It’s an appealing celebration of the sights and sounds of rural England; tranquillity incarnate. 

This year’s walkers are farmer and author Amanda Owen, hip priest Kate Bottley, BBC radio presenter Nihal Arthanayake and the inescapable Alastair Campbell, about whom I’ll say nothing; let’s not spoil the mood.

The Hunt for Bible John – Monday, BBC Scotland, 9pm

The final part of this fascinating series traces the contours of a police investigation which, as we know, ultimately went nowhere. There is no neat ending to this awful saga, no closure or justice for the victims and their loved ones. Bible John vanished into the ether. 

The police had practically nothing to go on beyond a vague description of the killer’s appearance. They were stumbling blindly in the dark, so much so they even enlisted the services of a flamboyant Dutch ‘clairvoyant’. A widely publicised Photofit not only led to hundreds of false leads, it stirred an already febrile atmosphere of fear and paranoia. 

The programme also exposes some appalling attitudes towards women, attitudes we recognise today as victim-blaming.

Stath Lets Flats – Tuesday, Channel 4, 10pm

The current series of this endearingly daft farce ends with the Greek wedding of Stath’s dad; the family patriarch and business tycoon. 

If you haven’t seen Stath Lets Flats before, then please allow me to nudge you towards every episode – there are eighteen in total – on streaming service All 4. It’s a charming, silly thing which pivots around Stath (series creator Jamie Demetriou), a hapless man-child who struggles with the basic requirements of his job as an estate agent. 

Demetriou’s sibling Nastasia, who you may recognise from What We Do in the Shadows, plays Stath’s sister. They’re naturally funny comic actors. It’s up there with Derry Girls as the best British sitcom of the last few years.

Meet You at the Hippos – Tuesday, BBC Scotland, 10pm

In this one-off documentary, actor Mark Bonnar visits Scotland’s five post-war new towns: Cumbernauld, East Kilbride, Glenrothes, Irvine and Livingston. Why? Well, back in the 1970s his artist father Stan was involved in a commendable civic mission to add some colour to those utopian visions of the future. He created the stone hippos in Glenrothes, where I grew up. Thank you, Stan, they’re delightful. 

Father and son throw themselves into this idiosyncratic paean to the joys of public art. Despite the irreverent post-modern tone – it’s partly a pastiche of earnest art documentaries – the programme succeeds as a fundamentally heartfelt piece of socio-political history. Artists like Stan make the world a more interesting and magical place.

Between the Covers – Wednesday, BBC Two, 7:30pm

Our book club attendees this week are a quartet of comedians: Alan Davies, Sarah Kendall, Suzi Ruffell and Love Island narrator Iain Stirling. 

Apart from Davies, none of them are voracious readers. But that’s partly why this show works in its modest little way. There is something quite heartening about people enthusing over things they’d never normally bother with. And the whole point, of course, is to encourage viewers to investigate these books for themselves. 

Titles under review include Ascension, a spy thriller written by Oliver Harris, and Tan Twan Eng’s 2012 novel The Garden of Evening Mists, which is told from the perspective of a woman who was interred in a Japanese POW camp during WWII.

Paddy & Christine McGuinness: Our Family and Autism – Wednesday, BBC One, 9pm

The comedian and gameshow host Paddy McGuinness has three young children, all of whom have been diagnosed with autism. In this sensitive yet unsentimental programme, McGuinness and his wife Christine talk candidly about their situation. 

“Every family’s experience is different,” says McGuinness, “we can only speak for ours.” But in doing so, they will hopefully provide some succour to other parents with children on the autism spectrum. Their goal is to challenge preconceptions while gaining a greater understanding of neurodiversity. They also give voice to some kids with autism; no one talks over them or pontificates on their behalf. 

This, by some considerable margin, is the most valuable piece of television McGuinness has ever made.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Doctor Who – Sunday 21st November, BBC One

I wouldn’t blame anyone who abandoned this series after the incoherent slog of episode three, but last week’s claustrophobic Weeping Angels chapter was a significant improvement: Doctor Who in spooky folk horror mode. 

I’m assuming that Maxine Alderton, who co-wrote the episode with befuddling showrunner Chris Chibnall, was responsible for the haunted village-under-siege elements of the episode, i.e. the good bits. 

However, for all his obvious faults, I will grant Chibnall this: he does have a knack for conjuring up striking concepts and visuals. They never have any emotional heft, they’re just ‘cool ideas’, but on a purely superficial level the Doctor being transformed into a Weeping Angel was an effective cliffhanger. He’s a flashy journeyman.  

 

THE HUNT FOR BIBLE JOHN + LINDISFARNE'S GEORDIE GENIUS: THE ALAN HULL STORY + SCOTLAND'S BEST DOG

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

NEXT WEEK’S TV

The Hunt for Bible John – Monday, BBC Scotland, 9pm

The notorious serial killer known as Bible John murdered at least three women in late '60s Glasgow. To this day his identity remains a mystery. 

It’s a horrifying case, but this two-part series doesn’t wallow in the grisly details. On the contrary, it’s a sensitive and responsible piece of work; a serious endeavour that places the murders in vivid sociohistorical context. 

It unfolds in a dismal post-war environment blighted by extreme poverty and violence, where working-class kids lived for the freedom of dancing at the weekend. Busy dancehalls such as the Barrowlands were where Bible John found his victims. 

The series also provides fascinating insight into the working methods of '60s crime reporters and the terminology they used. 

The Princes and the Press – Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

Princes William and Harry have, to say the least, weathered a difficult relationship with the media. Whatever your opinion of the Royal family, I think most reasonable people agree – on an instinctively empathetic level – that they’ve been treated unfairly at times.

In this two-part series, the BBC’s Media Editor Amol Rajan apparently highlights some of the illegal activities used by certain portions of the press during their ongoing race to present exclusives. I haven’t seen the programme, it wasn’t available at the time of writing, but I’m flagging it up because it sounds quite interesting. Apologies if it isn't.

Along for the Ride with David O’Doherty – Monday, Channel 4, 10pm

The whimsical Irish comedian David O’Doherty is a keen cyclist. This new – if you will – vehicle follows him as he enjoys a series of scenic bicycle rides with various celebrity chums. 

His first guest is comedian Richard Ayoade, a naturally funny man with, as it turns out, surprisingly sturdy thighs. He and O’Doherty cycle through an area of rural Sussex while shooting the gentle breeze. Occasionally they park their bikes to visit tearooms or toast marshmallows around the fire. You get the pretty picture. 

It’s blatantly indebted to the likes of Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing, but that’s fine. It’s a genial time-passer.

The Outlaws ‐ Monday, BBC One, 10:35pm

In the penultimate episode of this enjoyable comedy-drama, troubled influencer Lady Gabby (Eleanor Tomlinson) takes lawyer Greg (writer/director Stephen Merchant) to meet her formidable aristocratic father, who’s played by very special guest star Richard E. Grant on reliably frost-veined form. 

Meanwhile, we learn a little bit more about endearingly desperate and officious community service supervisor Diana (Jessica Gunning, an excellent yet underrated comic actor). 

It’s a pleasure spending time with these characters, all of whom are fundamentally lost and looking for acceptance. Merchant clearly likes them, he’s not in the business of belittling his creations. 

You can currently watch all six episodes on iPlayer. And it’ll be back next year for another series. See, sometimes good things can happen.

Dolly: The Sheep That Changed the World – Tuesday, BBC Scotland, 10pm

In 1997, scientists in Scotland created the first ever clone of an adult animal. This major breakthrough made headline news around the world and sparked an often incendiary debate.

Told via contributions from the pioneering lab-dwellers themselves, this documentary traces their process while investigating the aftermath. The genetically-engineered birth of Dolly proved controversial; critics rang alarm bells about its potentially terrifying repercussions. 

Needless to say, the boffins weren’t mad scientists hell-bent on creating a master race. Their work was geared towards helping people with genetic disorders such as cystic fibrosis and Parkinson’s. 

My only criticism of this otherwise revealing programme is its chortling treatment of animal rights activists, which comes across as cheap and unnecessary. 

Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs – Wednesday, Channel 4, 8pm

One gets the impression that O’Grady – officially TV’s kindest human – would gladly host this long-running series exclusively for the rest of his professional life. No wonder, it’s a dream gig. 

During this week’s visit to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, O’Grady meets a Shih Tzu puppy called Daisy who is in urgent need of delicate liver surgery. The other stars of the show are Marley and Maisy, an unusually timid pair of tiny Chihuahuas who are going through the gradual process of being socialised, and the lovably large and boisterous Lizzie; in many ways the ultimate dog. 

As always, there’s no need to worry: nothing bad ever happens in O’Grady’s canine wonderland. Happy tail-wagging endings abound.

Lindisfarne’s Geordie Genius: The Alan Hull Story – Friday, BBC Four, 9pm

We’ve all heard of 1970s folk-rockers Lindisfarne, but what do we know of the man who shaped their earthy, lyrical sound? Alan Hull died in 1995 at the tragically young age of 50. This illuminating documentary gives him his due. 

Hull comes across as quick-witted, charismatic and exceptionally talented; a working-class poet with dedicated socialist principles. Fellow Geordie Sting describes him as “our Bob Dylan”, which is apt enough, but he strikes me as more of a Tyneside Ray Davies. 

The programme doesn’t shy away from the fact that he was a mercurial heavy-drinker, but he was clearly an endearing character. I guarantee that this labour of love will encourage you to dig deeper into his work.

LAST WEEK’S TV

The Lakes with Simon Reeve – Sunday 14th November, BBC Two

Reeve’s latest series takes place in and around The Lake District, England’s largest national park. As a presenter, this seasoned traveller is defined by his concern for people and their surroundings. He’s a wise and considerate soul. 

In episode one he highlighted various environmental and social issues, the underlying theme being the sustainability of life for those people who live and work there all year 'round; his dig at wealthy visitors and second homeowners wasn’t belaboured, it fed naturally into his overall point about preserving traditional ways of life while welcoming progress to a certain practical extent. 

Reeve knows how to get his compassionate political points across within the confines of an ostensibly cosy BBC travelogue. A neat trick.

Scotland’s Best Dog – Thursday 18th November, BBC Scotland

Proud owner of the greatest title in television history, this delightful new series is simplicity incarnate. It’s a low-stakes competition in which dogs are encouraged to complete a series of benign challenges. They aren’t placed under any pressure at all, nor are their adoring human cohabiters. 

The series, which is filmed in a Perthshire park, is basically the anti-Crufts. It has nothing to do with pedigree, grooming or deportment; there’s no show dog elitism here, folks. These are pooches for the many, not for the few. 

It also contains some handy advice on how to maintain their health and happiness. What’s not to like? It’s a splendid piece of relatively cheap and irresistibly cheerful family entertainment.

MIRIAM & ALAN: LOST IN SCOTLAND + WORZEL GUMMIDGE + DOCTOR WHO

This article was originally published in The Courier on 13th November 2021.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Miriam & Alan: Lost in Scotland – Tuesday, Channel 4, 9:15pm

This new series involves Miriam Margolyes - whose father was Glaswegian - and Alan Cumming driving around Scotland in a campervan. Sounds like fun? Well yes, for the most part it is, but episode one features a saddening sequence in which Cumming revisits his childhood home in rural Tayside. 

His father was an abusive tyrant; watching his otherwise sunny demeanour fade as the awful memories come flooding back feels like a private moment we perhaps shouldn’t be intruding upon. But I understand why Cumming felt the need to share it. Their encounter with old pal Bill Paterson in the beautiful village of Fordyce is also rather bittersweet. 

There are some amusing moments too, though, I assure you.

Dispatches: Did Brexit Work for Business? – Monday, Channel 4, 8:30pm

The latest epistle from Channel 4’s long-running current affairs strand examines Brexit’s impact so far on the fortunes of British businesses. Reporter Harry Wallop strikes an irritatingly arch tone, as if it’s all a big joke, but if you can ignore that – good luck - the programme makes a sobering stats-heavy point. 

It’s based on an exclusive survey and some independent analysis (which factored in the effects of the pandemic). 635 small and medium-sized businesses were polled. Nearly half of them declared that they’re now doing significantly less overseas trade than before. Some of them have stopped trading with the EU entirely. 

They’re wandering through a bureaucratic minefield, an import/export shambles. Who would’ve thought?

The Outlaws – Monday, BBC One, 11:20pm

Worlds continue to collide in the fourth episode of Stephen Merchant’s good-natured comedy drama. This week, the community service gang’s accidentally appropriated drug loot needs to be discreetly laundered, and hapless lawyer Greg (Merchant) is the very man for the job. 

This leads to an amusing scene in which he has to pretend he’s familiar with the Twilight saga (it all makes sense in context). 

The Outlaws is occasionally quite contrived, but it’s also sweet, funny and sincere. The characters are engaging, the storyline is solid, and I admire the assured way in which it balances comedy and drama without any whiplash shifts in tone. Ricky Gervais could learn a lot from his erstwhile comedy partner. But he won't.

DIY SOS: The Big Build Children in Need Special – Tuesday, BBC One, 9pm

A Hull-based charity funded by Children in Need, the St Michael’s Youth Project provides social opportunities for thousands of local kids. An admirable endeavour. Its latest expansion plan involves a countryside campsite and adventure playground; so who better than the DIY SOS team to bring that dream to fruition? 

Regular host Nick Knowles was too busy with other work commitments to take part in this very special episode, but emergency guest presenter Rhod Gilbert is an amiable temp. 

A particularly compassionate and politically-pointed episode, it conveys an important message about poverty. No one should be starving in Britain today; a shameful state of affairs. It is, would you believe, a quietly forthright plea for change.

Between the Covers – Wednesday, BBC Two, 7:30pm

An informal weekly book club, Between the Covers is a pleasant distraction. Hosted by the ever-so-likeable Sara Cox – an entirely natural broadcaster who, one suspects, is just as they appear to be on screen – it polls the opinions of various fiction-steeped celebs. 

This week’s line-up: comic actor John Thomson, cheerfully sentient toffee apple and Saturday Kitchen booze expert Olly Smith, plus two excellent comedians, Fern Brady and Lou Sanders. 

Books under review include new releases The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald and The Coward by Jared McGinnis. Brady also recommends one of her favourites, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson, while Smith waxes lyrical about the novelisation of Ghostbusters.

Children in Need 2021 – Friday, BBC One, 7pm

Highlights of this year’s telethon include: a special teddy bear-based instalment of The Repair Shop; BBC News and sport journalists playing a round or two of I Can See Your Voice; Team GB and Paralympics GB competing in a school sports day; and CBBC presenters Sam and Mark taking on Danny Dyer's wonderfully ludicrous gameshow, The Wall. 

Dyer will hopefully pause proceedings to blearily demand some viewer donations: “Give the kiddies some readies, you muppets!” 

Your hosts for the evening are Ade Adepitan, Mel Giedroyc, Graham Norton, Chris Ramsey and Alex Scott. A charitable celeb-based edition of University Challenge unfolds on BBC Two at 10pm, and the benign ghost of Terry Wogan haunts proceedings throughout.

Griff’s Great New Zealand Adventure – Friday, STV, 8pm

The very definition of avuncular, Griff Rhys Jones is one of the imperial doyens of celebrity travelogues. Yes, it’s an overstocked market, but Griff is particularly good at This Sort of Thing. He’s funny, charming and inquisitive. 

In episode one of his latest odyssey, he surfs down some sand dunes, checks into New Zealand’s oldest hotel, bakes a haphazard kiwi pavlova, and marvels at some striking contemporary art dotted throughout a verdant private farm populated by giraffes. 

He also learns about some traditional Maori customs and, err, sings God Save the Queen with a sensational indigenous choir. That’s a slightly awkward moment, but clearly well-intentioned. It’s a culturally sensitive and respectful programme; a nice vicarious vacation.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Worzel Gummidge – Saturday 6th November, BBC One

What a magical piece of television this is. Writer/director/star Mackenzie Crook’s fresh adaptation of the Worzel Gummidge saga has, since 2019, become a yearly treat: a bucolic, summery balm during our deep winter depression. 

The latest episode featured Crook’s old Detectorists cohort Toby Jones in multiple roles, if only to prove that you literally can’t have enough of Toby Jones. That other indispensable character actor, Paul Kaye, also burned brightly (sorry) as an affable if somewhat petulant Guy Fawkes effigy. 

This is bona fide family entertainment: it’s warm, witty, slightly unsettling in its whimsically folk horrific way, and entirely bereft of cynicism. Crook's Gummidge is an ugly/beautiful triumph. Look out for two more episodes over Christmas. 

Doctor Who – Sunday 7th November, BBC One

Episode two of Chris Chibnall’s (more or less) final lap was a pleasingly straightforward affair. Time has gone haywire, hence why the Sontarans are involved in the Crimean War, but Chibnall didn’t get too bogged down in whatever his overarching plan is. 

He delivered a traditional adventure yarn in which Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor was actually allowed to show some gumption and moral fibre for once; Chibnall, inexplicably, usually writes the 13^th Doctor as a bemused passenger in her own show. 

I have little faith in his ability to tie this serial together in a satisfying way, but that hopefully doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Russell T. Davies will be back soon enough. So far, so fun.

 

THE HERMIT OF TREIG + THE TOWER + DOCTOR WHO

This article was originally published in The Courier on 6th November 2021.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

The Hermit of Treig – Tuesday, BBC Scotland, 10pm

Ken Smith is one of the UK’s last remaining hermits. For over 40 years, he’s lived without electricity or a phone signal on the banks of a loch in the remote Scottish Highlands. Two years ago, he allowed filmmaker Lizzie MacKenzie to document his solitary lifestyle. The results are rather beautiful. 

It’s an intimate, meditative film in which MacKenzie gently encourages Smith to explain why he chose to live in almost total isolation. It was, initially at least, a way for him to process some of the grief and trauma he experienced as a young man. 

But Smith, despite being frustrated by his failing health, seems genuinely happy with how things have turned out. This is his life. No regrets.

The Tournament – Monday to Friday, BBC One, 2:15pm

This new Alex Scott-hosted daytime gameshow doesn’t boast any particular angle or gimmick as such. It’s a no-frills general knowledge quiz in which contestants answer exceedingly simple questions such as: “The Scottish city of Dundee stands at the mouth of which river?” And did Oasis once release an album called “Certainly Feasible”? 

It's not a challenging show, it’s a harmlessly generic piece of afternoon filler. And the head-to-head rounds are amusing, as the affable contestants have clearly been instructed to stare at each other with the utmost burning intensity. No mean feat when you’re fielding questions about Homes Under the Hammer. 

Villages By the Sea – Monday, BBC Two, 7pm

Archaeologist Ben Robinson is an enthusiastic, wide-eyed giraffe of a man, and here he is, in this scenic new series, to deliver some engaging history lessons about Britain’s coastal villages. 

His first port of call is Bamburgh in Northumberland, which is situated just a few miles south of the Scottish border. Overlooked by an impressive hilltop castle, Bamburgh is also home to a seventh century Christian burial ground: as Robinson reveals, we can learn a lot about the diet and lifestyle of ancient Britons by examining the state of their teeth. 

He also peers into an ancient well and explains how, many moons ago, this humble little village established a prototypical version of the welfare state.

The Tower – Monday to Wednesday, STV, 9pm

ITV’s never-ending slew of crime dramas continues with this three-part series, which begins with a teenage girl and a policeman falling to their deaths from the top of a residential tower block. So far, so gloomy, but this is an obvious cut above your standard ITV cop show fare; it has slightly more grit and depth than the likes of The Long Call. 

The excellent Gemma Whelan delivers a sensitive, understated performance as the DSI tasked with solving this mystery, the details of which are gradually revealed via flashback. NB: I only had access to episode one, so apologies in advance if it all falls apart.

Grand Tours of Scotland’s Rivers – Wednesday, BBC One, 7:30pm

Paul ‘Not Paul Merton’ Murton and his familiar wide-brimmed hat – Crocodile Dunoon? – have returned for another wander around the watery veins of Scotland. This week’s destination is the River Garry in Perthshire. 

Our genial guide never shies away from some of the darker tributaries of Scottish history; Garry and its surroundings are beautiful, but this episode serves as a reminder that many of the picturesque environments we all enjoy today were once scarred by weirdness, horror and violence. Something to think about during your next family picnic. 

But Murton keeps it light for the most part. That’s his M.O. He’s the 21^st century Tom Weir, and I can think of no higher praise than that.

Nadiya’s Fast Flavours – Thursday, BBC Two, 8:30pm

The effervescent Nadiya Hussein hosts this new home cooking show, which, as the title suggests, is primarily concerned with the ways in which a dash of extra flavour can improve your everyday meals. Feel free to experiment, people! Her macaroni and cheese recipe – which is seasoned with beefy yeast and Worcestershire sauce – looks delicious. 

Yes, this is just another aspirational lifestyle series in which a solvent expert dispenses advice from their vast, perfect, sunlit kitchen; but Hussein is such a likeable presence, her programmes never come across as bizarre and vaguely unsettling upper middle-class fantasies a la Nigella Lawson’s almost Lynchian transmissions from a parallel universe.

The Trial of Louise Woodward – Thursday, STV, 9pm

24 years ago, British au pair Louise Woodward was convicted of the involuntary manslaughter of Matthew Eappen, an eight-month-old infant in her care. Woodward, who was 19 at the time, became the subject of intense media scrutiny. The details of her court case were shared both here and in America, where the crime took place. 

This documentary, which wasn’t available at the time of writing, boasts access to key figures associated with the case. It examines each stage of Woodward’s trial while taking in the aftermath. I’m cautiously recommending this programme, as one hopes – for the sake of all of those directly concerned – that it’s a sensitive and responsible account of a terrible tragedy. 

LAST WEEK’S TV

Doctor Who – Sunday 31st October, BBC1

The most you can ever expect from a Chris Chibnall-penned episode of Doctor Who is that it’s surprisingly decent, and that’s the lofty bar we hit last week when the series returned. 

Chibnall’s trademark clunky dialogue aside, it was an enjoyable, intriguing, occasionally suspenseful and frenetically scene-setting opener in which fan favourites the Weeping Angels and the Sontarans returned alongside this year’s Big Bad: a marauding entity that’s threatening to devour the universe. 

Meanwhile, new companion John Bishop made a fairly promising impression, even though his character is basically little more than a patronisingly-sketched salt-of-the-earth Scouse stereotype. Otherwise, not bad at all; actual fun ensued. Fingers crossed, eh?

Showtrial – Sunday 31st October, BBC One

Like The Tower, this new crime drama proudly presents itself as Actually Being About Something. The abiding theme here is class inequality in Britain today. 

When a young working-class woman went missing after a posh student ball, the police apprehended the daughter of a powerful property developer. An instantly objectionable symbol of arrogant entitlement – the Bullingdon mentality incarnate – she is, of course, putting up a cold front to disguise some private trauma. 

Showtrial isn’t subtle, nor is it especially compelling, but it’s occasionally quite cynical and witty. Well-acted too: all rare commodities in dramas of this nature. Whether it follows through on its vague promise and ambition, well (if you will) the jury’s out.