CONSENT | PUTIN vs THE WEST | THE REAL NOLLY

This article was originally published in The Courier on 4th February 2023.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Consent – Tuesday, Channel 4, 10pm

This standalone drama takes place at an elite private school. 

It’s a breeding ground for future leaders, where obnoxious male students do whatever they want without fear of being held accountable. Female students are constantly subjected to sexual harassment ‐ or “banter”, as their toxic abusers call it. 

Archie seems different, however. He’s more sensitive. Archie has fallen for Natalie, and the feeling is mutual. Archie was born rich, whereas Natalie has won a scholarship. At a drunken party, Archie is peer‐pressured into sleeping with Natalie. She doesn’t consent. 

What follows is an acutely angering study of victim‐blaming and institutional corruption. An important piece, Consent is based on hundreds of testimonies from both the state and private school sectors.

Food Fest Scotland – Monday, BBC Scotland, 8:30pm

Those old Radio 1 compadres Edith Bowman and Colin Murray are the hosts of this genial time‐passer, in which they visit some of Scotland’s most popular food festivals. 

We find ourselves vicariously enjoying the Peebles Show in episode one. Bowman’s encounter with a world‐renowned chocolatier is among the gentle highlights. 

Meanwhile, off the coast of North Berwick, chef Julie Lin goes fishing for mackerel. She explains why this relatively inexpensive Scottish superfood should be a nutritious cornerstone of all non‐vegetarian diets. 

Lin also provides some sound snacking advice for people, such as your humble correspondent, who work every day from home. There’s more to life than crisps, apparently.

Putin vs the West – Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

In episode two of this typically authoritative essay from documentarian Norma Percy, Russian President Vladimir Putin asserts his presence in the Middle East. 

The Arab Spring uprisings encourage leaders in the West to enlist Putin as a much‐needed peacemaker. David Cameron feels he’s struck up some sort of mutual agreement with Putin, they seem to be getting somewhere. Putin then declares his support for Assad. 

If you’re unfamiliar with Percy’s style, it basically boils down to this: she weaves morally complex narratives populated by powerful politicians whose accounts she doesn’t necessarily endorse. But we seldom see them talk so ‘openly’ on camera. 

The Shamima Begum Story – Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

At the age of 15, Shamima Begum ran away from London to join the terror group IS. Four years later, while pregnant with her third child, she desperately wanted to come home.

Begum had shown very little remorse for her time spent with the group, so the British authorities regarded her as an ongoing threat to national security. They revoked her citizenship. Begum’s lawyers argued that she was a victim of human trafficking, and should therefore be protected by the country of her birth. 

In this documentary, which wasn’t available for preview, she recounts her story in the company of an investigative journalist who’s been trying to get to the bottom of it all for nearly a decade.

Bradley & Barney Walsh: Breaking Dad – Tuesday, STV, 9pm

As their Costa Rican hi‐jinks continue, ‘Bradders’ and ‘Barn’ attempt to climb some 132ft trees in a cloud forest. Avid dog lovers, they also visit a sanctuary that’s home to 2000 free‐roaming canines. 

A journey into the countryside puts them in contact with a former Olympian, who facilitates a father‐and‐son kayak slalom, but that’s a small hill of beans compared to their encounter with a gentleman who shot to fame when he befriended a crocodile. 

Breaking Dad is a charming little show with zero pretensions. Bradley Walsh, a nice man, has some daft contrived adventures with Barney Walsh, a nice lad. Programmes of greater depth are available, but that’s not what this is for.  

Ghislaine: Partner in Crime – Thursday, ITVX

ITV are marketing this four‐part series as the definitive account of the relationship between convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell and the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. 

I’ve only seen episode one, but it immediately struck me as a dubious exercise in which testimonies from Maxwell and Epstein’s victims are spliced with adamant counterarguments from two of Maxwell’s siblings. 

Why are ITV giving these people a platform? They’re unreliable sources who refuse point blank to accept that their sister could’ve committed those heinous crimes. Their contributions don’t provide journalistic ‘balance’, they actively undermine the voices of the abused women who have chosen to come forward. 

Watch the far superior House of Maxwell instead, it’s still available on iPlayer.  

Travel Man: 48 Hours in Split – Friday, Channel 4, 8:30pm

Much like Bradley & Barney Walsh: Breaking Dad, this chummy travelogue doesn’t pretend to be anything other than an inoffensive scenic detour. 

Joe Lycett’s latest travelling companion is the comedian, actor and writer Aisling Bea. They’re in the Croatian city of Split, which must surely be the coolest name for a city in the entire history of human existence. Face facts, Las Vegas. 

Lycett and Bea don’t like fish, but they gamely rustle up a piscine dish under the tutelage of a local chef who’s determined to teach them the culinary ways of “a Croatian grandma”. Our hosts also investigate a maze of alleys and squares, and a museum full of stuffed frogs. They’re way ahead in Split.

LAST WEEK’S TV

The Real Nolly – Thursday 2nd February, ITVX

A companion piece to Russell T. Davies’ excellent drama about Crossroads star Noele Gordon, this documentary didn’t really add anything, but it was nice seeing footage of the actual Nolly in action. 

As Davies discovered during his research, Nolly was a showbiz all‐rounder of the old school who cared deeply about her work. Crossroads may have been a silly little soap opera, but it was a silly little soap opera that brought pleasure to millions. And she was adored by her colleagues, some of whom turned up to pay tribute. 

I find it rather pleasing that, such is Davies’ benign power within the industry, he’s got us all talking about this versatile trouper forty years after her heyday. 

Building Britain’s Superhomes – Wednesday 1st February, Channel 4

Guy Phoenix is renowned for creating colossal palaces for the mega‐rich. He’s not a qualified architect or interior designer, but by God he gets results. As he never tires of reminding us. 

This relentless migraine of a series follows Phoenix as he oversees ambitious builds while effing and jeffing like a try‐hard teenage rebel. I’m all for swearing, just as long as it’s delivered with some wit and proficiency. Phoenix is a dullard.

This is yet another tone deaf commission from our bubble‐dwelling TV overlords, who don’t understand that the last thing any of us want to see right now (or ever) is an aggressive celebration of extreme wealth. These programmes rub our noses in it, they’re an insult.

STORYVILLE: ON THE MORNING YOU WAKE (TO THE END OF THE WORLD) + THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE OF APRIL ASHLEY + PICTURES FROM IRAQ

This article was originally published in The Courier on 2nd July 2022.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Storyville: On the Morning You Wake (to the End of the World) – Tuesday, BBC Four, 10pm

On 13th January 2018, the people of Hawaii awoke to a terrifying emergency alert: “Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.” 

It turned out to be a false alarm, but for 38 minutes those poor people endured a waking nightmare. They were about to be annihilated in a nuclear attack. 

This haunting documentary, which is adapted from a Virtual Reality experience, unfolds in more or less real time. It captures a sense of mounting panic, as parents send tearful messages to loved ones while hiding their children in storm drains. 

Sensitively entwined with memories of Hiroshima, it’s an impassioned, clear-eyed plea for nuclear disarmament.

Queen of Trucks – Monday, BBC Three, 8pm

Shannan runs an HGV driver training firm in the West Midlands. “Our ambition is to shake up the trucking scene,” she declares during this upbeat documentary. 

Shannon is trying to gain her own HGV licence, which she feels will make her look more credible to the young learners who flock to her business. Dad Trevor, a veteran instructor, is showing her the ropes. 

A few years ago, Shannon’s mum passed away. Trevor had to step down as boss in order to become a full-time dad to his daughters. He’s immensely proud of what Shannon has achieved. 

The programme doesn’t add up to anything particularly special, but that’s fine. It’s a nice little glimpse into the lives of others.

24 Hours in Police Custody: The Murder of Rikki Neave – Monday and Tuesday, Channel 4, 9pm

In 1994, six-year-old Rikki Neave from Peterborough went to school one foggy November morning and never came back. His murder remained unsolved for 28 years. This special two-part edition of Channel 4’s venerable true crime series foregrounds the police unit who reopened the case. 

Rikki lived on a disadvantaged council estate. His aggressive mother wasn’t popular with the neighbours. The finger of blame instantly pointed towards her. 

I’m loath to go into any more detail, not least because it’s all too bleak for a column such as this. However, in typical 24 Hours in Police Custody style, this isn’t a prurient or exploitative endeavour. It reports the terribly sad facts without recourse to sensationalism.

The Extraordinary Life of April Ashley – Monday, Channel 4, 10pm

April Ashley, who died last year at the age of 86, was one of Britain’s most prominent transgender women. This documentary celebrates her trailblazing achievements. Preview copies weren't available at the time of writing, but it sounds absolutely fascinating. 

Ashley’s highly eventful life took her from the slums of wartime Liverpool to the star-studded heights of Knightsbridge society. She was a globetrotting model, dancer and restaurateur who was one of the first people in Britain to have gender reassignment surgery. She was eventually awarded an MBE for her services to transgender equality. A remarkable woman.

The programme is showing as part of Channel 4’s current season marking 50 years of Pride in the UK.

Pictures from Iraq – Tuesday, BBC Scotland, 10pm

Esteemed Scottish author, journalist and war photographer David Pratt has been covering the conflicts in Iraq for over three decades. In this illuminating documentary, he returns to Iraq – a country he loves – to give his personal perspective on the ongoing situation. 

He examines the violent tribal divisions which have caused so much suffering over the years, while interviewing people such as a benign Iraqi general who describes the brutal ways in which ISIS continues to operate. Pratt also visits a training camp for female members of The Kurdish Freedom Party. 

Iraq is still politically unstable, but Pratt succeeds in making the point that it’s a beautiful country full of generous, resilient people. There is some hope amidst the darkness.

Ghislaine Maxwell: The Making of a Monster – Tuesday to Thursday, Channel 4, 10pm

This three-part series follows hot on the heels of BBC Two’s horribly riveting House of Maxwell (which is still available on iPlayer). It inevitably goes over some of the same ground, but it provides a more acute character study of Ghislaine Maxwell. 

Filtered through the memories of some of those who knew her well, a portrait emerges of a spoiled, entitled heiress with a total lack of empathy: a power-hungry, insecure narcissist who revelled in cruel power plays. But even those associates who didn’t particularly like her were shocked when she was exposed as a serial sex offender who trafficked underage girls. 

Ultimately, the series is a stark indictment of wealthy elites who believe themselves to be above the law.

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

Britain is full of abandoned buildings, which is a shameful state of affairs for reasons I needn’t elaborate upon. A recent relaxation in planning laws has apparently made it easier to convert these derelict spaces into private homes for wealthy people. So that’s nice. 

As this standard-issue lifestyle series returns, Channel 4’s softly-spoken Renovator in Chief and top Bernie Winters lookalike George Clarke visits a Sussex market town, where he meets a couple attempting to restore some ancient conjoined buildings which were once comprised of a slaughterhouse, a butchers, a pub and a blacksmiths. 

They want to build a spacious new home for themselves and their three teenaged daughters while respecting the integrity of the buildings.

LAST WEEK’S TV

The Outlaws – Sunday 26th June, BBC One

Series two of Stephen Merchant’s endearing comedy thriller has become cheerfully indebted to Breaking Bad. The overarching storyline now involves our mismatched gang of community service workers attempting to build a drug-dealing empire. 

Rani (the excellent Rhianne Barreto) is ostensibly the show’s own Walter White, albeit one who hopefully won’t follow his catastrophic trajectory. Meanwhile, Greg (Merchant) is its unlikely equivalent of Saul Goodman – a lawyer who can always be relied upon to swoop in and save his clients (and their collective criminal enterprise). 

Which isn’t to suggest that it’s derivative, just that it’s having fun with established tropes in a knowing way. Also, it’s a humane and rather nuanced show which never punches down at its dysfunctional characters.

Hungry for It – Tuesday 28th June, BBC Three

Hosted by the ubiquitous Stacey Dooley, this shamelessly formulaic cookery contest contains all the usual – yes – ingredients. The contestants are rookie cooks all looking to establish themselves within the food industry. 

When they’re not competing in the kitchen, they’re living together in a house for no other reason than to potentially cause some friction between them. The last one standing will be given the opportunity to work in some of the world’s finest restaurants. Meanwhile, they’re overseen by a pair of soundbite-spouting mentors. 

Whenever I watch programmes like this, I’m always reminded of Alan Partridge desperately trying to pitch a hackneyed project to the BBC: “People like them, let’s make some more of them.”

INSIDE NO. 9 + HOUSE OF MAXWELL + CHIVALRY

This article was originally published in The Courier on 16th April 2022.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

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

The latest series of Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith’s exceptional anthology begins with something fans have long been waiting for: a reunion with their erstwhile League of Gentlemen cohort Mark Gatiss. 

They play old university friends meeting up for the first time in years. Lawrence (Shearsmith) has arranged an off-season (and highly symbolic) pedalo ride on a remote lake. Much to Lawrence’s chagrin, Darren (Pemberton) has brought his new girlfriend (Diane Morgan) along. She thinks they’re heading for a fun boat party. In fact, they’re going nowhere. You can never go back. Sometimes people just drift apart. 

A compact study of loss and nostalgia, but with jokes, the episode confounds expectations in typical Inside No. 9 style.

Yorkshire Midwives on Call – Monday and Tuesday, BBC Two, 8pm

This gently uplifting factual series follows a team of homebirth midwives based in Bradford. On average they look after 160 women each year. Thoroughly nice people, these midwives are also great at what they do. 

The series grants insight into the practical details of their workaday labours, while examining the bittersweet emotional aspects. Naturally, they always form an attachment with their patients. But once a midwife’s work is done, she has to move on to another family. 

The series also spends time with some of the pregnant mothers who have decided to give birth at home. They all have their reasons. After watching this, some younger viewers may feel inspired to add midwifery to their list of potential job options.

House of Maxwell – Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

If their accounts are to be believed, some of Ghislaine Maxwell’s closest friends were shocked by the revelation that she’d trafficked underage girls for the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his wealthy friends. The final episode of this grimly compelling series attempts to explain how Maxwell and Epstein got away with their crimes for so long. 

It features heartrending interviews with two of their many victims, both of whom describe the horrific ordeals they went through. We also hear from some of the lawyers who acted on behalf of the victims. Their anger is palpable: the system, the establishment, betrayed those vulnerable young women. 

Prince Andrew makes his presence felt in the final 20 minutes. He isn’t spared.

Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof – Tuesday, BBC One, 9pm

Wim Hof, aka The Iceman, is a Dutch motivational guru renowned for his ability to withstand freezing temperatures. It’s a skill he attributes to a unique combination of breathing exercises, yoga and meditation. 

Hof is the benignly eccentric star of this otherwise drab and dubious reality series in which eight celebs face a series of extreme sub-zero challenges in the mountains of northern Italy. It’s basically I’m a Celebrity with a spiritual self-help angle, or The Apprentice hijacked by a hippie Alan Sugar. Which sounds amazing, I know. It’s not amazing. It’s a tiresomely formulaic piece of television. 

A snow-capped turkey, it has to be seen at least once. Just so you can prove that it really happened.

Life After Life – Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

Based on the critically acclaimed novel by Kate Atkinson, this is not your standard period drama. Structurally ambitious if nothing else, it explores various alternative possible lives for its protagonist. 

Ursula is born in 1910 to an upper middle-class English family. That’s the only fixed point in time. The splintered story then unfolds as a series of vignettes in which Ursula’s lives are beset by tragedy. 

I appreciate the stark philosophical ‘What if?’ message - life in all its permutations is cruel and unpredictable – but the overall effect is rather cold, calculated and alienating. It falls short of its profound ambitions. 

I haven’t read the book, but I gather it explores this premise in a far more affecting way.

Chivalry – Thursday, Channel 4, 10pm

Steve Coogan and Sarah Solemani write and star in this new comedy-drama inspired by the #MeToo movement. Highly sensitive territory, but it’s clear from recent interviews that Coogan and Solemani have thought deeply about how to handle this subject within a semi-comedic context. Whether they succeed remains to be seen. 

Set inside the A-List Hollywood film industry, it examines the tense professional relationship between a serious feminist auteur and a bigshot film producer with a reputation for dating much younger woman; an awkward dinosaur trying to navigate his way through a modern world he doesn’t quite understand. 

Episode one shows only vague promise, but I’m inclined to trust these writers. They obviously have something to say.

The Rising – Friday, Sky Showcase, 9pm

A young woman, Neve, has been murdered and dumped in a lake. The next day, she returns as an invisible, inaudible ghost. Neve can’t remember what happened, but she’s determined to track down her killer. And from thence does this new supernatural drama from Sky unfold. 

Episode one is quite arresting. It establishes the central mystery without any undue fuss: a no-filler thriller with hints of emotional depth. The ghostly premise and rural, gloomy lakeside community setting stir memories of the excellent French drama Les Revenants. While it may not live up to that comparison, it strikes me as something that could be worth sticking with. 

Unless you have an aversion to ghost stories, I daresay you’ll be intrigued.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Rock Family Trees: The Birth of Cool Britannia – Saturday April 9, BBC Two

In the early 1970s, music journalist Pete Frame begat his treasurable Rock Family Trees: hand-drawn artworks tracing the complex roots of famous bands and musical movements. 

Frame’s work formed the basis of a fondly-remembered late 1990s TV series. Last Saturday it returned for an enjoyable one-off special exploring the origins of Britpop. 

This was the story of three closely intertwined bands: Suede, Elastica and Blur. It served as a reminder that early Britpop had nothing to do with the jingoistic laddism of Oasis. It was sexy, arch and arty. 

Brett from Suede and Justine from Elastica (who were once romantically involved) reminisced with warm, self-deprecating and occasionally regretful candour. Blur, strangely, were unavailable for comment.

The Brian Cox Interview – Tuesday April 12, BBC Scotland

The title says it all. Dundee’s very own Brian Cox sat down for a half-hour chat with BBC Scotland’s Amy Irons. 

Actors can often be hard work – humourless, pretentious and full of hifalutin self-regard – but Cox came across as a genuinely nice man. He’s been a very successful and esteemed thespian for over 40 years, but his leading role as Logan Roy in Succession has turned him into a kind of cult global treasure. 

He’s understandably delighted by this late career development. He’s also a pragmatic jobbing actor who understands that talent operates in tandem with random acts of good fortune. 

Hats off to Irons, too. A very good interviewer. Her questions were considered and concise.    

DERRY GIRLS + HOUSE OF MAXWELL + WORLDS COLLIDE: THE MANCHESTER BOMBING

This article was originally published in The Courier on 9th April 2022.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Derry Girls – Tuesday, Channel 4, 9:15pm

The third and final series of Lisa McGee’s semiautobiographical sitcom begins with the gang nervously awaiting their potentially life-changing GCSE results. Such is their anxiety, they impetuously decide upon an unwise course of action. Inadvertent criminality ensues. 

Derry Girls is Channel 4’s most popular comedy since Father Ted, and you can easily see why. It’s warm, funny, charming and truthful, a perfectly cast sitcom set against a tumultuous backdrop which, thanks to McGee’s deft writing, never once strayed into sentimental or earnest territory. 

This particular episode returns to the underlying theme of sectarianism, but typically in a way no one could ever find offensive. Well, apart from the 1990s Derry police force perhaps. Also, two words: surprise cameo.

House of Maxwell – Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

And the awful plot just thickens. Episode two of this disturbing series begins with the discovery of Robert Maxwell’s drowned body. His distraught daughter Ghislaine, who has hitherto maintained a low public profile, speaks to the world’s assembled press. 

Meanwhile, panicked executives within Maxwell’s empire are finally free to investigate suspicious holes in their company finances. An intrepid young journalist is also on the case. Maxwell is eventually exposed as a monstrous fraudster. 

The programme also traces Ghislaine Maxwell’s emergence as a schmoozing socialite with friends in high places. One of her new cohorts is the mysterious multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein. 

A miasmic saga populated by truly despicable people, House of Maxwell triggers strong feelings of anger and despair.

Worlds Collide: The Manchester Bombing – Monday and Thursday, STV, 9pm

On 22^nd May 2017, a British-born terrorist detonated a suicide bomb at the Manchester Arena. He killed 22 people and injured more than 1,000 others. 

This two-part documentary pays moving tribute to the victims and survivors. It’s also a damning critique of Greater Manchester Police, who were allegedly responsible for a chaotic breakdown in communication which impeded the emergency services. More lives could’ve been saved. 

These programmes also investigate the background of the bomber, a young man from Manchester, and attempts to explain how he came to be radicalised. MI5 had flagged him up as a potential threat to national security, and yet he somehow went on to commit this atrocity. 

The message is clear: it could’ve been prevented.

Hullraisers – Tuesday, Channel 4, 9:45pm

Channel 4’s Tuesday night comedy power hour continues after Derry Girls with this new sitcom co-created by Lucy Beaumont (Meet the Richardsons). 

Set in her hometown of Hull, it revolves around Toni, a happily married yet frustrated thirtysomething mum who misses the wildness of her untethered youth. Toni’s best friends are a libidinous policewoman and a perfectly contented matriarch. 

The opening episode of every sitcom faces a tough climb. Over the space of 30 minutes it has to establish the premise, the characters and the various things that drive them. Hullraisers does a pretty decent job. It’s good-natured and amusing. The characters are sympathetic. A laugh riot? No. But mirthsome skirmishes are hard to come by.

Grand Designs: The Streets – Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm

In this spin-off from Kevin McCloud’s stalwart lifestyle show, he visits an ever-expanding community of self-builders. Seven years ago, an Oxfordshire district council sold ten plots of land to members of the public. An ambitious architectural project ensued. 

Episode one focuses on Carlos and Maite. The latter has always wanted to build a grand house inspired by her rural Spanish homeland, but she has no formal design training. Nevertheless, McCloud is impressed by her elegant if somewhat risky vision. 

Fans of Grand Designs always look forward to those moments when the host regards his subjects with wry scepticism, bordering on contempt, but Maite is nobody’s fool. McCloud is even moved to describe her as a nonconformist pioneer.

Brickies – Thursday, BBC Three, 9pm

The building site fun continues in this sunny new factual series about a group of young British bricklayers. The main protagonist in episode one is Jeorgia. Laying bricks is in her blood, she learned everything she knows from her successful brickie father. 

Jeorgia lives with her boyfriend in a large static caravan situated on her parent’s land. She’s saving up to buy an expensive car. If Brickies teaches us anything, it’s that this is a potentially lucrative business. Just as long as you put the hours in. 

Jeorgia and her bantering colleagues are a nice bunch of kids. They all appear to be loving life, and no wonder. Working on the site from morning ‘til night, that’s living alright.

Taskmaster – Thursday, Channel 4, 9pm

Series thirteen of this genial harlequinade introduces another group of professional funsters intent on conquering daft tasks set by Greg Davies and his co-host Alex Horne. 

Your competitors this time around are Bridget Christie, Sophie Duker, Judi Love, Ardal O’Hanlon and Chris Ramsey. Highlights include their efforts to paint a portrait of Davies using only their lips – some of the finished products are actually quite impressive – and a task in which they get to lay down the ridiculous rules of a duel with Horne. 

In spite of its post-watershed slot, Taskmaster is wholesome fun for all the family. Channel 4 are aware of this, hence why they bleep out the swearing. It’s a big hit for good reason.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Thatcher & Reagan: A Very Special Relationship – Sunday 3rd April, BBC Two

Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan were in power together throughout the 1980s. They were closely aligned in terms of political philosophy. And they apparently liked each other on a personal level. This series examines their union. 

It’s presented by Charles Moore, a former editor of The Daily Telegraph and Thatcher’s authorised biographer, so obviously it has a right-wing bias. Moore admires these people. But even a milksop hippie clown such as myself can appreciate the heft of this fascinating saga. It covers a tense and dramatic period in late 20^th century history. 

Moore’s interviewees include some of Thatcher and Reagan’s closest professional associates. Their candour is quite refreshing. I guess they have nothing to lose at this stage.

Pilgrimage: The Road to the Scottish Isles – Friday 8th April, BBC Two

This series has a straightforward remit: seven celebs with differing religious beliefs embark upon a 15-day hike of spiritual self-discovery. Among the seekers this year are Laurence Lewellyn Bowen (a Pagan), Nick Hewer (an agnostic), Shazia Mirza (a Muslim) and Scarlett Moffatt (a Christian). 

They’re following in the sandaled footsteps of St. Columba, an Irish monk revered for his pivotal role in the early development of British Christianity. The journey began in Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. Their final destination is St. Columba’s abbey on the Inner Hebridean island of Iona. 

It’s an entirely sincere and benign endeavour, a modest celebration of theological diversity. With a slightly One Show-esque celebrity angle, because, y’know, television. 

 

 

HOUSE OF MAXWELL + NIKKI GRAHAME: WHO IS SHE? + LONG LIVE MY HAPPY HEAD

This article was originally published in The Courier on 2nd April 2022.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

House of Maxwell – Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

The media tycoon Maxwell dynasty has always been mired in scandal and corruption. It finally collapsed for good last year when Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of grooming and trafficking underage girls. 

This riveting three-part series, which plays out like an epically horrific thriller, examines the relationship between Robert Maxwell and his daughter: two utterly disgraced people who exemplify the toxic brutality of extreme wealth and power. Those white collar criminals felt they were entirely above the law. 

Episode one focuses on Maxwell Senior, a megalomaniacal gangster who ‘mysteriously’ fell off his luxury yacht and drowned in 1991. The programme boasts access to secret recordings – paranoid Maxwell bugged his own phones – and a revealing wealth of hitherto unaired footage.

Cadbury Exposed: Dispatches – Monday, Channel 4, 8pm

Cadbury: a much-loved confectioner you can trust. Or so you and I thought until Dispatches came along with this undercover report. 

Legal disclaimer: for tedious technical reasons I haven’t seen the programme, so please, Cadbury, don’t sue me or DC Thomson for what I’m about to write based on the official Channel 4 press release. Thanks. 

Filmed in Ghana, the report exposes child labour in Cadbury’s supply chain. We hear from exhausted farmers who earn less than £2 a day, and children who have been injured while working long hours in searing heat conditions. Cadbury pride themselves on being an ethical company. 

This sounds like an important piece of journalism, hence why I’m bringing it to your attention.

Travel Man – Monday, Channel 4, 8:30pm

For obvious reasons, Travel Man took an enforced sabbatical in 2019. Now it’s back. Original host Richard Ayoade has been replaced by fellow comedian Joe Lycett, but the format remains the same: Lycett spends 48 hours in a foreign city alongside another professional mirth-maker. Shallow fun ensues. 

Lycett is joined this week by James Acaster (check out his Netflix stand-up specials, he’s great). Their destination is the Spanish part of the Basque Country. As always, it’s an affable diversion, but wouldn’t it be nice if Travel Man occasionally deviated from the same old roster of podcast/panel show guests? Imagine 48 Hours in Zagreb with Julian Cope. Or Ruth Madoc. We’d all watch that.

Banned! The Mary Whitehouse Story – Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

In the concluding episode of this excellent series about the censorious busybody, we arrive at Whitehouse’s imperial phase – if only in terms of her prominent public profile. 

It suggests that, while this self-appointed moral guardian was presumably sincere in her clueless crusade against the permissive society, she also really enjoyed being famous. Whitehouse craved power and celebrity, but I daresay the irony of that ambition never occurred to her. This was not someone troubled by nuance of thought. 

The programme does attempt some balance, with more even-handed decency than perhaps she deserves, but the abiding impression is one of a fearful, guilt-ridden person who went to her grave convinced that she was right. And we were all wrong.

A Believer’s Guide to… – Tuesday, BBC One, 10:35pm

Regardless of your faith or lack thereof, this warm-hearted series is a gentle force for good. It follows people from various religious backgrounds as they experience pivotal moments in their lives. 

This week’s stars are Grace and Jess, a young gay Christian couple who are engaged to be married. They’re also about to move into their first home together: a canal boat. Their extended family is fully supportive, but they need to find a similarly inclusive new local church. And that, alas, isn’t straightforward. 

Naturally, they start to question their commitment to Christianity. “I can’t change loving Grace,” says a tearful Jess, “but I can change my faith to suit me, to have a better life, a richer life.”

The Great Home Transformation – Wednesday, Channel 4, 8pm

Imagine the meeting at Channel 4 HQ. They’ve made every home renovation show you could ever possibly conceive of. But they need to make more. They absolutely have to make more. The beast must be fed. But are there any gimmicks left, any extra layers of froth on the formula? 

Agonising minutes of silent brainstorming ensue. And then, at last, the Eureka moment: Hey! Why don’t we hire a massive lorry stocked with emergency furnishings and some specialist heat-mapping technology? Which will, I dunno, somehow help people to declutter their homes while filling several hours of airtime? 

A reigning TV executive smiles quietly and nods. Make it so. Meanwhile, a TV critic files some heavy-handed satire.

Nikki Grahame: Who Is She? – Thursday, Channel 4, 9pm

I’m recommending this programme with caution. Please bear in mind that previews weren’t available, but one hopes that it will pay sensitive tribute to the Big Brother contestant who died from anorexia nervosa last year. 

Grahame was the ‘breakout’ star of the Big Brother series she appeared in; an endearing, funny person prone to verbose emotional tantrums. Viewers, myself included, really liked her. But it was blatantly obvious that she should never have been selected for Big Brother in the first place. She was far too vulnerable. 

Whether Channel 4 are capable of making a programme that admits to their culpability remains to be seen. All I can say for sure is this: Nikki Grahame’s story is terribly sad.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Chernobyl: The New Evidence – Saturday 26th March, Channel 4

Well this is timely. Chillingly so. And presumably by somewhat pure coincidence. 

A two-part series, it seeks to reveal the KGB cover-ups surrounding a catastrophic disaster. As we all know, in 1986 the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine suffered a horrific meltdown. 26 years later, the site is still highly radioactive. 

Episode one unpicked the tangled chain of events which led to that disaster. It also laid bare the ongoing political ramifications of something that could have easily been avoided. And here we are in 2022, frightened and appalled by the news we see around us. 

This is a solid piece of reportage, but allow me to recommend HBO’s 2019 miniseries, Chernobyl, as a vital companion piece.

Long Live My Happy Head – Sunday 27th March, BBC Scotland

Scottish comic book artist Gordon Shaw was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour at the age of 32. Doctors gave him an average life expectancy of two to three years. Gordon, who is now 40, shared his story in this touching and ruminative feature length documentary. 

Gordon calls his tumour Rick, a character who features heavily in his autobiographical work. A lovable, witty, self-deprecating person, Gordon attempted to explain how it feels having the ever-present spectre of death hanging over you. 

He also extolled the therapeutic virtues of writing and drawing. Art can’t cure us, but it can make some sense of what we’re going through. It can help. 

A beautiful film, I thoroughly recommend it.