INSIDE NO. 9 | GUILT | EVICTED

This article was originally published in The Courier on 22nd April 2023.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Inside No. 9 – Thursday, BBC Two, 10pm

Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith have decided, with strict numerical efficiency, to end their outstanding anthology when series nine goes out next year. Leave ‘em wanting more.

Series eight begins with a typically odd and unpredictable story. Pemberton and Shearsmith play the orphaned sons of nasty East End villains indulging in a desperate act of necromancy. 

I won’t elaborate, this column is a spoiler-free zone, but it’s an enjoyable pastiche of violent cockney gangster tropes in which guest stars Phil Daniels and Anita Dobson run riot. 

There is nothing else remotely like Inside No. 9 on British TV, it harks back to the days when unusual standalone plays cropped up on a semi-regular basis. We’ll miss it.

Nelly & Nadine: Ravensbruck, 1944 – Tuesday, BBC Four, 10pm

I urge you to watch this incredibly moving Storyville documentary about two women, Nelly Mousset-Vos and Nadine Hwang, who fell in love while imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. 

It’s built around Nelly’s archive of letters and home movies, which are now in the possession of her granddaughter Sylvie. As you can imagine, Sylvie initially finds it very difficult to pore through the eloquently written and evocatively filmed remnants of Nelly’s life with Nadine.

The director understands that, hence why he ever so gently encourages her to reflect upon a beautiful love story forged under harrowing conditions. 

“You get a window into their lives,” says Sylvie at one point, “a sense of the intimacy between these two people.” 

Guilt – Tuesday, BBC Scotland, 10pm/Thursday, BBC Two, 9pm

The final series of Neil Forsyth’s darkly comic and deservedly acclaimed thriller begins with Max and Jake, our eternally unfortunate sibling protagonists, hiding out in Chicago. It’s not long, however, before an act of financial impropriety on Max’s part forces a return back home to Edinburgh. 

As usual, they find themselves trapped in an escalating state of mortal danger. 

This cult hit is ingenious, funny, gripping and perfectly cast; Mark Bonnar and Jamie Sives are a deadpan delight. It also answers a question no one had hitherto considered: what if the Coen Brothers were a man from Dundee? 

If you haven’t wallowed in Guilt before, then catch up with the first two series on iPlayer. You won’t regret it.

The Mysterious Mr Lagerfeld – Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm

Fashion supremo Karl Lagerfeld was a flamboyant enigma. With his instantly identifiable look – white ponytail, leather gloves and sunglasses – he was, like Warhol, a living work of pop art who made a significant contribution to his chosen field while keeping the world at arm’s length. 

In this documentary from the BBC’s august Arena strand, wry filmmaker Michael Waldman goes in search of the ‘real’ Lagerfeld. 

Conversations with members of his inner circle – some of the most delightfully French people you will ever meet – sketch a portrait of a decent, kind, yet insecure and sometimes exasperating eccentric. 

You get the sense that Waldman is simultaneously pleased and disappointed to discover that Lagerfeld had no dark secrets.

Evicted – Thursday, BBC Three, 9pm 

An angering frontline report from our cost of living crisis, this new series follows several young people as they experience the horror of eviction.  

Thai is informed that her bedsit rent has increased by two thirds. That will swallow up over half of her monthly salary. Mother of two Dawn is about to have her home repossessed. Tobias is refusing to leave his flat. The constant threat of eviction and destitution is playing havoc with his mental health. 

Evicted highlights a dire social injustice. The odds are stacked against these kids, no one should have to struggle like this.

Scotland Sings – Thursday, BBC Scotland, 10pm

Yvie Burnett from Aberdeen is one of Britain’s most successful vocal coaches. She’s tutored the likes of Susan Boyle, Leona Lewis and Sam Smith among many others. 

In this new series, Burnett assembles a choir of talented singers struggling with anxiety and social isolation. 

She’s not looking for a star, that’s not the point. This is a commendable study of how creative expression and collaboration can improve our mental health. 

Burnett has worked with Simon Cowell, but Scotland Sings doesn’t operate along that man's lines. 

Sure, it hits the talent show beats we’re all familiar with. Those beats work, however, when the driving spirit is generous and encouraging. Burnett comes across as a nice person whose aim is true. An uplifting exercise.  

Unreported World – Friday, Channel 4, 7:30pm

The 44^th series of this global current affairs juggernaut continues with a Japan-based community of North Koreans who feel a close bond with their notoriously oppressive homeland. 

They’re part of the Chongryon, a powerful residents association directly linked to the North Korean regime. Its members have faced decades of discrimination in Japan. Pupils who attend Chongryon-funded schools hide their uniforms while walking down the street. 

Has this awful everyday racism encouraged their allegiance towards North Korea? How could it not? 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I tip my hat to Channel 4 for investigating complex socio-political issues every Friday at 7:30pm. TV of this nature should always be encouraged.