This article was originally published in The Courier on 5th November 2022.
NEXT WEEK’S TV
The Wedding – Monday and Thursday, BBC Scotland, 10:30pm
This is one of the best things I’ve seen on TV of late. Originally released as six short bittersweet monologues on iPlayer, it’s presented this week as a compilation spread over two episodes.
The drama unfolds at a Black Scottish wedding. The disparate characters include a gay (second) best man who’s had enough of living in the margins, an unhappy teenage girl struggling with the pressures of social media, a gambling addicted uncle at the end of his tether, and a Nigerian bartender who powerfully reflects upon the violent patriarchal society she’s escaped from.
A collaboration between several acclaimed Black artists, The Wedding is an utterly compelling and beautifully performed piece. It’s intelligent, insightful, nuanced and moving. It lingers.
Trapped, Disabled & Abused: Dispatches – Monday, Channel 4, 8:30pm
Disabled people in the UK today experience far more domestic violence than non-disabled people. In this Dispatches documentary, reporter Sophie Morgan speaks to disabled victims while exposing the shocking lack of support they receive.
The programme visits Britain’s only refuge run by – and for – survivors of such abuse. Dispatches have also interviewed over 2000 frontline professionals, including healthcare workers and police officers. Their findings reveal that more than half of those professionals wouldn't know which specialist service to refer a disabled person to.
I honestly believe that the vast majority of human beings are decent and kind, but how are they expected to assist particularly vulnerable people when there’s no organised system of care?
Between the Covers – Tuesday, BBC Two, 7pm
The latest series of Sara Cox’s cosy little book club welcomes actor Amanda Abbington, former marine turned broadcaster JJ Chalmers, TV’s very own Graham Norton, and Alex Jones from The One Show.
There is much to discuss as always. Among the new recommendations are The Perfect Golden Circle by Benjamin Myers; actor Phil Davis describes the basic gist of the novel in a pre-filmed insert.
Meanwhile, Abbington and Cox cheerfully confess to a bizarre trait - they read the last page of a novel before buying it. If that last page sounds intriguing, they’ll make a purchase. Yep, I know. That’s like watching Jaws for the first time on rewind. Oh well, whatever works for you.
Louis Theroux Interviews… – Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm
This week’s guest is Yungblud, a pop-punk star with an intensely devoted fan-base.
Yungblud has been commendably open about his mental health issues, and yet he’s been repeatedly forced to answer that age-old credibility question: are you 4 Real? Isn’t he just a careerist stage school kid?
Louis, of course, has no truck with this crass, binary argument. He’s more interested in exploring the emotional complexities of Yungblud’s position as an inarticulate spokesperson who’s presumably sincere, but who desperately craves love and validation from the people he supposedly speaks for.
Something occurred to me while watching this: as an interviewer, Louis is up there with the late, great Mavis Nicholson in terms of gently probing acuity and empathy.
Miriam and Alan: Lost in Scotland and Beyond – Tuesday, Channel 4, 9:15pm
Showbiz pals Miram Margolyes and Alan Cumming are back for another merry travelogue. This time they’re accompanied by Alan’s dog, Lala. Every second series needs a twist.
And there’s more: as the title suggests, they’re not just confining themselves to the multitudinous joys and beauty of Scotland during this trip. Local boy made good Cumming has a home in sunny California ™. Margolyes, an actor who’s enjoyed an absolutely fascinating career, used to live there too.
But their journey begins in the Cairngorms. Then it’s off to Dundee, where they meet with mutual pal Brian Cox. As an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church, Cumming conducts a LGBTQ+ wedding. Margolyes strips off. It really is all happening.
Return to Uist – Wednesday, BBC Scotland, 8:30pm
The stars of this charming new series are Alex, his fiancée Susannah and their son Cedar. They’ve decided to make a life-changing move from inner-city London to the remote Outer Hebrides, where they set about building a house and farmstead. An ambitious plan.
Susannah, a bohemian artist, was raised in Uist, but left as soon as she could. Upon reflection, however, she thinks it might be the perfect environment for her family.
Alex is a successful gardener and blogger. He’s also the only Black person on the island, so feels a long way from home.
Return to Uist proves that, with the right cast of characters, TV’s standard ‘in at the deep end’ format will always reap rewards.
Unreported World – Friday, Channel 4, 7:30pm
This week’s destination is rural Guatemala, where young girls are routinely abused and nothing is ever done to protect them.
I sometimes hesitate to recommend this outstanding foreign affairs strand, which has been running on Channel 4 for 22 years, but only for this reason and this reason alone: I don’t wish to upset anyone with harrowing details.
But if, after all this time, you trust me and – far more importantly – the estimable journalists from the Unreported World team, you’ll understand that this is a vitally important institution. There is no graphic imagery, but the stories are heart-breaking.
It goes out in a pre-watershed slot on Fridays,
when we’re presumably all kicking off our shoes and trying to escape. That’s not accidental.
LAST WEEK’S TV
SAS Rogue Heroes – Sunday 30th October, BBC One
The latest series from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is loosely based on the formation of the SAS during WWII.
I say ‘loosely’, as although it’s rooted in actual fact, we’re all aware that Knight is a post-modernist who revels in heightened versions of reality. And there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you remain true to the historical integrity of your story.
People more learned than I have assured me that he’s more or less fulfilled that brief.
So what we have here is a fairly entertaining WWII drama shot through the irreverent yet fundamentally sincere prism of someone who grew up watching war films on TV. And you’ve gotta love that AC/DC soundtrack.
Raiders of the Lost Past with Janina Ramirez – Sunday 30th October, BBC Two
Dr Janina Ramirez is one of TV’s most engaging historians. Her scholarly essays are always worth perusing.
In this one, Ramirez dug deep into the murky legend of Howard Carter, the British archaeologist and Egyptologist who unearthed Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922.
Carter didn’t achieve that remarkable feat on his own, of course, but he basked in all the glory and printed the myth. The local Valley of the Kings experts? Why, they were mere guides towards his deservedly ordained crown of ultimate trailblazing glory. Right. Whatever you say, Howie.
Ramirez didn’t come to bury Carter, she gave credit where it was
due. He was a privileged western product of his post-Edwardian times, with all
that uncomfortably entails.
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