AIDS: THE UNHEARD TAPES + STORYVILLE: CITIZEN ASHE + DISPATCHES – UKRAINE: LIFE UNDER ATTACK

This article was originally published in The Courier on 25th June 2012.

NEXT WEEK’S TV 

AIDS: The Unheard Tapes – Monday, BBC Two, 9:30pm

This new three-part series revolves around audio interviews with young gay men recorded throughout the 1980s and 1990s, recordings subsequently archived at the British Library. They’ve never been broadcast in public before. 

Their voices are meticulously lip-synched by actors. The filmmakers took quite a risk here; with a little less care and attention that borderline gimmicky device could’ve easily undermined their sincere intentions, but it works. I daresay you’ll find yourselves immersed in these candid, moving stories. 

It all takes place against a bleak bigoted backdrop of virulent homophobia and scaremongering, which eerily foreshadows the horrific transphobia we’re currently witnessing in this supposedly enlightened day and age. AIDS: The Unheard Tapes is powerful television.

Murder in the Alps – Monday and Tuesday, Channel 4, 9pm

Gruesome catnip for true crime addicts, this series (which starts on Channel 4 on Sunday at 9pm) investigates the unsolved case of a British family who were murdered in an idyllic French beauty spot almost ten years ago. 

The brother of one of the victims was once a prime suspect, but he’s since been exonerated. His story is told in tandem with that of the various investigators. It’s a twist-strewn saga. 

In Monday’s episode, journalists dig into the victim’s connections with the Iraqi regime. Meanwhile, the police stumble across a Swiss bank account containing almost a million euros, and the FBI help to uncover details of a secret marriage. A truth/stranger than fiction scenario.

Dispatches – Ukraine: Life Under Attack – Monday, Channel 4, 10pm

Narrated by Cate Blanchett, this starkly intimate documentary tells the story of the battle for Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city. For ten weeks, the film crew were trapped alongside the civilians and frontline workers who bore the brunt of Russia’s initial onslaught. 

We follow fireman Roman and his team as they attempt to combat a relentless blitz. Paramedics Tatjana and Irina are tasked with rescuing civilian casualties. And the people of Kharkiv, all of whom are innocent victims of a heinous invasion, talk candidly about what they’re going through. 

Channel 4’s Dispatches, which began way back in 1987, is a venerable example of British television journalism at its most vital. We cannot afford to lose it.

Storyville: Citizen Ashe – Tuesday, BBC Four, 10pm

The legendary sportsman and social activist Arthur Ashe was the first black tennis player to be selected for the US Davis Cup team. This thoughtful 90-minute documentary gives him his thoroughly deserved due. 

Ashe’s socio-political activism was initially inspired by the Civil Rights movement, but as time rolled on he expanded his horizons to encompass oppressed people from all around the world. 

Ashe died of AIDS-related complications in the early 1990s. In the last few years of his life, he founded the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. A truly remarkable man.

Lenny Henry’s Caribbean Britain – Wednesday, BBC Two, 9:30pm

In the concluding episode of Len’s tender cultural odyssey, he examines the ways in which second and third generation British-born Caribbean kids integrated their identity into their art. 

As a young comedian in the 1970s, he often made awkward jokes at his own expense. Kids of colour no longer have to do that, and Len explains why in an episode devoted to the progress we’ve made over the last 40 years. 

Comedy, music and drama have enriched our multicultural society. And Len himself, although he’s too modest to say this outright, played a huge role in bringing the black experience to the masses. For people of a certain generation (i.e. my generation) he will always be a cherished comedy hero.

Sarah Beeny’s Little House Big Plans – Thursday, Channel 4, 8pm

This week, industrious property developer Sarah Beeny meets more folk who are brave/foolhardy enough to buy and ambitiously convert small living spaces. 

First up are a couple from Poole who got their first taste of the property market when they purchased a poky semi-detached house that was built in the 1930s. Their bold plan: expand the space by creating an open-plan kitchen diner. 

Unfortunately, by the time Beeny rocks up they’ve already spent their budget. The whole thing is being precariously funded on a week to week paycheque basis. 

We also spend time with a couple who are in the process of transforming their Victorian terrace into a modern, spacious home complete with indoor garden.

The Undeclared War – Thursday, Channel 4, 9pm

The latest political thriller from writer/director Peter Kosminsky is set in 2024. TheUK is still in the grip of COVID while struggling through one of its worst ever economic slumps. The new PM (Adrian Lester) is even more unpopular than Boris Johnson. 

Meanwhile, a preeminent team of computer analysts led by Simon Pegg deal with an increase in cyber-attacks. 

Potentially interesting subject matter, but it’s a terribly dry affair primarily devoted to people frowning at screens while chatting about codes and viruses; watch out for an inadvertently funny moment just before the second ad break, when Kosminsky ramps up some dramatic music in lieu of any actual drama occurring. 

Suffice to say, it’s not his finest work.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Glastonbury: 50 Years and Counting – Sunday 19th June, BBC Two

The radical left wing ethos of the Glastonbury Festival has been totally usurped by the sheer commercial scale of the event in recent years. This 100 minute documentary sought to remind us of its once close association with CND, Greenpeace and numerous outsider performance artists. 

It still is, in idealistic essence, a celebration of diversity. Alas, that point was undermined by the prominent presence of white, male interviewees such as the preternaturally small-minded Noel Gallagher. Women and people of colour were reduced to supporting roles. 

A compromised documentary, it did, however, confirm that festival organiser Michael Eavis is a canny pragmatist who probably lost interest in music circa 1972.

Who Do You Think You Are? – Thursday 23rd June, BBC One

In the latest episode of this hardy perennial, actor Anna Maxwell Martin from Motherland and Line of Duty travelled to Northern Ireland to find out more about her beloved father, who passed away at the tragically young age of 59. She also uncovered some uncomfortable facts about her mother’s Scottish side of the family.  

It was a poignant saga, sensitively told, but as always I was ever so slightly staggered by just how little the stars of this show know about their family heritage. Why have they never bothered to look into this stuff before? They’ve presumably heard of the internet. 

Anyway, Maxwell Martin came across as a thoroughly nice and genuine person. Those tears weren’t performative.

LENNY HENRY'S CARIBBEAN BRITAIN + BACK IN TIME FOR BIRMINGHAM + ELLIE & NATASIA

This article was originally published in The Courier on 18th June 2022.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Lenny Henry’s Caribbean Britain – Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm

The British Caribbean community has enriched our collective culture in so many ways. In this comprehensive two-part series, Sir Len celebrates its myriad achievements. 

He also reflects upon the complex nature of integration: “Does it mean that we as Caribbean people have to sacrifice our culture? How much of my culture has Britain absorbed?” 

A fascinating piece of black history, it pays tribute to a wide variety of pioneering artists, writers, actors, musicians and broadcasters, all of whom played a significant role in representing their culture to a dominant and (to put it mildly) often hostile society. 

Told with warmth and humour, this insightful essay is a clarion call of joyful defiance in the face of systemic adversity.

Back in Time for Birmingham – Monday to Thursday, BBC Two, 8pm

As this long-running, time-travelling series returns, we’re introduced to the Sharma family from Birmingham, which is one of Britain’s most ethnically diverse cities.

They’re our conduit to finding out what life was like for South Asian families who settled in Britain from the 1950s onwards. As always, the experiment involves them living in an authentic period simulacrum. It highlights the ongoing struggles of immigrants trying to make a better life for themselves in a strange and unfamiliar land. 

Highlights include the family improvising delicious South Asian meals using dreary 1950s British ingredients, and a detour into the independent cinemas/community hubs which imported Indian films to a grateful audience. An enlightening programme, rich in research.

Style Fixers – Monday, BBC Scotland, 10pm

Alannah Carson and Jamie Grandison are make-up artists who source and style costumes for live drag shows. They’re also the hosts of this upcycled fashion makeover extravaganza, which is back for a second series. 

It’s a straightforward format: every week, two new clients approach our likeable duo, who each have £30 to spend in second-hand shops. Accessorising unfolds. 

One of their latest clients suffers from multiple chronic illnesses, which influences the way she dresses. Comfort is paramount, but she’d like to look more stylish at times. Carson and Grandison are on the case. They also provide some easy-to-learn budget fashion lessons. 

You don’t have to be a sewing or cosmetics whizz, it’s all very accessible.

The Whistleblowers: Inside the UN – Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

This sounds like an important piece of television. Preview copies weren’t available, but here’s a capsule synopsis: employees from several United Nations agencies go public with allegations of sexual abuse and corruption. 

The UN is, in theory at least, a bastion of integrity. An institution devoted to upholding human rights and promoting global peace. This programme promises to uphold the traumatic experiences of those who sought to challenge a hierarchal culture of silence. That principled stand had severe repercussions with regards to their private lives. 

I obviously can’t make any kind of judgement on a programme I haven’t seen, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume that – at 90 minutes – we’re in for a thorough report.

Ellie & Natasia – Tuesday, BBC Three, 10pm

Here’s fun, a new sketch show written by and starring Ellie White and Natasia ‘Tash’ Demetriou. You may recognise the latter from Stath Lets Flats and What We Do In the Shadows. White plays Princess Beatrice in The Windsors. Put ‘em together and you get this commendably unpredictable confection, which revels in absurdity and (partially improvised?) silliness. 

Characters in episode one include a disconcerting dentist’s assistant, a smug wild swimmer, and two jegging-clad Prosecco mums providing some handy household tips for the benefit of no one. Best of all, though, is their utterly nonsensical daytime television spoof. Reader, I laughed. 

It doesn’t all work, but that’s sketch shows for you. The overall attitude papers over the weak spots.  

Josh Taylor: Portrait of a Fighter – Tuesday, BBC Scotland, 10pm

Josh Taylor is currently the undisputed light-welterweight world champion. He’s widely regarded as one of the greatest living pound for pound boxers. This intimate documentary follows the champ as he prepares to defend his title. 

Brought up on a Prestonpans council estate, Taylor comes across as an unpretentious lad who is sincerely grateful for the sacrifices his parents made to support his boxing career. 

Famous fan Irvine Welsh provides some socio-political context, citing Taylor as a rare example of a working-class Scot who has managed to transcend the barriers placed in front of them from birth. 

Famous friend Martin Compston skirts around the ‘outspokenness’ that has landed Taylor in trouble. Hopefully he’s learned from his mistakes.

Our Lives: Sarah the Lumberjill – Friday, BBC One, 7:30pm

The latest in this series of half-hour documentaries is devoted to one Sarah Yeaman, who fells trees in the forests of Perthshire alongside her father, brother and wee dog, Biscuit. She’s part of the fourth generation of her family to choose this sometimes gruelling vocation, or “take up the saw” as she puts it. 

Narrated by Sarah herself, the programme grants insight into the everyday challenges of being a chainsaw-wielding artisan. Sarah is a single mum of two boys. Her busy working day starts at 7:30am. 

Dad Ralph is in poor health, he’s accepted that he’ll have to retire soon, but he’s quietly proud and delighted at the prospect of Sarah taking over the traditional family business.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Our Falklands War: A Frontline Story – Sunday 12th June, BBC Two

This exceptional documentary spotlighted ten British soldiers who fought on the frontline during the Falklands War, their stories told by the men themselves. Almost nothing of the land fighting was captured on film, hence why the film unfolded as an immersive oral history occasionally punctuated by contemporary news reports. 

Some of these haunted men hadn’t even told their families about what happened during those 25 days in 1982. Sitting down for the cameras hopefully gave them some closure. 

Their accounts were unflinchingly honest and mired in disturbing detail. The underlying theme was the psychological conflict of having to take another person’s life in the name of war, while knowing that you could yourself be killed at any moment.

Bodies of Evidence: The Butcher Surgeon – Sunday 12th June, STV

The latest edition of ITV’s august Exposure strand, which first broke the Savile scandal back in 2013, addressed the horrific case of Ian Paterson. He was once a highly regarded breast surgeon consultant who worked primarily within the private healthcare system.  “He was like God to me,” said one of his patients. 

Paterson – and I don’t know how else to describe him – turned out to be a messianic psychopath who operated on patients he’d knowingly misdiagnosed as suffering from cancer. It is thought that he disfigured thousands of people. 

His motives are unfathomable, but the main point of the programme was this: Paterson’s anguished victims deserve justice and compensation from an avaricious system that shirks from accountability.

JOANNA LUMLEY'S GREAT CITIES OF THE WORLD + HOLDING + THE IPCRESS FILE

This article was originally published in The Courier on 12th March 2022. 

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Joanna Lumley’s Great Cities of the World – Thursday, STV, 9pm

Lumley’s latest travelogue stops off at three of the world’s most dazzling capitals: Paris, Rome and Berlin. 

A fluent Francophile, Lumley makes a strong case for Paris being the global epicentre of romance, elegance, intellectual discourse and artistic freedom of expression. That sounds like a terribly clichéd overview, I know. Paris isn’t some sort of faultless utopia. But Lumley’s essay is persuasive. 

While spending time with various dancers, bohemians, fashionistas, migrants, booksellers and feminist activists ‐ plus a woman who appears to be comfortable in her polygamous relationship ‐ she solidifies her deserved reputation as one of our best celebrity tour guides. Charming, funny and engaged, she’s entirely at home with whoever she meets.   

Holding – Monday, STV, 9pm

An adaptation of Graham Norton’s debut novel, Holding is a comedy drama set in a somnambulant West Cork village. 

The protagonist is an ageing police sergeant and thoroughly nice man (Conleth Hill from Game of Thrones on charmingly low‐key form) tasked with protecting a community where nothing ever happens. And then some human remains are found in someone’s back garden. He’s almost quite delighted by this development, as it allows him to do some proper police work at last. 

The humour in Holding ‐ which is directed by the great Kathy Burke ‐ is subtle and dry; a gentle comedy with a bleak undercurrent. Most of the characters are essentially lost and unhappy. It’s definitely not your standard ITV fare.

Fame in the Family – Monday to Friday, Channel 4, 5:30pm

Here’s fun. Well, possibly ‐ preview copies weren’t available. Quite an intriguing premise, though, hence why I’m cautiously bringing it to your attention. 

It’s a new series in which celebrities play a DNA guessing game with members of the public they’ve never met before. One of the guests ‐ the whole thing is set up as a chatty dinner party ‐ is related to the famous host, but none of the participants know that for sure until various clues are tied together. 

The producers have presumably done their homework, so there’s no need to steel yourself for awkward moments. This week’s celebs include Craig Revel Horwood, Shaun Ryder and Rustie Lee. Yep, I’ll be watching too.

Lightning – Monday to Thursday, BBC Two, 6:30pm

This no‐frills teatime quiz show is an undemanding time‐passer; something to watch with your spaghetti hoops while shouting out the answers. It fulfils its simple brief with aplomb. 

Your genial host is comedian Zoe Lyons, who keeps things moving like all the best quizmasters. The general knowledge questions flow thick and fast. Banter is kept to a bare minimum. The producers of Lightning know that we’ve tuned in for the quiz, we don’t need to hear about the life and unamusing times of Brian from Didsbury. 

It’s catnip for trivia fans and grammar hounds (the quick‐fire spelling round is borderline stressful), a harmlessly addictive treat. William G. Stewart, where e’er he may be, would doubtless approve.

Canal Boat Diaries – Monday, BBC Four, 7:30pm

The very definition of comfort viewing, this series follows softly‐spoken wanderer Robbie Cumming as he putters around on his faithful yet fallible old narrowboat. This time he’s navigating his way through the north of England during a heatwave. 

As always, various minor problems arise along the way, but for the most part it’s a serene cruise flanked by beautiful vistas. Canal Boat Diaries is an intimate endeavour in which Cumming is pretty much the only person who appears on screen. He’s pleasant company; a humble free spirit living some sort of dream. 

If, for obvious reasons, you’re feeling quite anxious at the moment, then this will hopefully provide a brief window of respite. A valuable public service.

Kate & Koji – Wednesday, STV, 9pm

I enjoyed series one of this traditional studio‐based sitcom about the friendship between a seafront café owner (Brenda Blethyn) and an African asylum seeker, so I was looking forward to its return. Unfortunately, it appears to have run its course. 

I didn’t laugh once during the first episode; it feels considerably more strained and workmanlike than before. Jimmy Akingbola, who originally played Koji, has been replaced by Okorie Chukwu. While fine, Chukwu lacks his predecessor’s deadpan comic timing. Perhaps he’ll settle into the role, but the main problem is the script by Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin, a usually reliable duo who have settled into autopilot here. 

A shame, as we need more good, trad sitcoms on TV.

Comic Relief 2022 – Friday, BBC One, 7pm

Sir Lenworth of Henworth hosts this year’s charity telethon, a role he’s essayed ever since those glorious late ‘80s broadcasts when the whole shebang felt like an actual event: an anarchic and often ramshackle party in which relatively young comedians hijacked stuffy old BBC One to raise (loadsa) money for worthy causes. 

But for the last 30 years it’s been indistinguishable from Children in Need, a slick and entirely well‐intentioned extravaganza that just turns up then disappears. Still, at least it continues to raise money. That, after all, is the most important thing. I just wish they’d put more effort in when it comes to the actual comedy side of things. 

Some people are never happy, are they?

LAST WEEK’S TV

Killing Eve – Saturday 5th March, BBC One

Yes, it’s still going. Series one of this campy pulp thriller was great, but it’s been pointlessly treading water ever since. The saga didn’t need to continue beyond that original run. Here’s the final lap, if anyone still cares. 

As always, episode one moved at a clip. Some of the set‐pieces were amusing in a superficial way. Killing Eve was superficial from the start, and there’s nothing wrong with that when the story and characters are engaging. But what’s the point of a serial that just drags on an on, long after it's served its purpose? 

Still, Jodie Comer’s performance as Villanelle is one for the ages, what a fine actor she is. I’m glad she’s moving on.

The Ipcress File – Sunday 6th March, STV

When writer John Hodge (Shallow Grave; Trainspotting) decided to pitch a new adaptation of Len Deighton’s classic Cold War thriller, he obviously had no idea that it would resonate with our current global situation. 

A TV show preoccupied with the imminent threat of nuclear war isn’t exactly what we need right now, but I can’t deny the effectiveness of The Ipcress File as a piece of entertainment. 

Directed at numerous canted angles by James Watkins, it’s rather witty, zippy and stylish. Michael Caine will always be the definitive Harry Palmer, but baby‐faced Joe Cole acquits himself admirably as the dry‐witted, working‐class spy. Give me roguish Palmer over suave imperialist Bond any day.

TV Column: DRACULA + DOCTOR WHO

This article was originally published in The Courier on 28th December 2019.

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/category/lifestyle/entertainment/tv-film/

NEXT WEEK’S TV

DRACULA

New Year’s Day to Friday, BBC One, 9pm

If, like me, you eventually grew tired of Steven Moffat and Mark Gattis’ unbearably self-indulgent Sherlock, you might be pleasantly surprised by their muscular take on Dracula. A 19^th century period piece, it borrows heavily from Bram Stoker’s novel while going its own freewheeling way (e.g. traumatised solicitor Jonathan Harker recounts his terrible tale to a drolly straight-talking, Godless nun). Despite containing flashes of slyly affectionate meta-commentary on established vampire lore, this Dracula isn’t a send-up. It’s witty, yes, but it’s also grimly atmospheric and unabashedly horrific. It may be one of the goriest dramas ever made by the BBC. Main selling point: a commanding performance from saturnine Danish actor Claes Bang as an utterly ruthless, cocksure Count.

DAME EDNA RULES THE WAVES

Hogmanay, BBC One, 9:05pm

The great Dame emerges from semi-retirement to host this one-off special from her enormous luxury yacht (it’s three times the size of Wales). Her celebrity shipmates include Sharon Osbourne, Judge Rinder, Emily Atack and Anita Rani, all of them eager to be insulted in inimitable passive-aggressive Edna fashion. Now aged 85, Edna’s material isn’t quite what it was. Her opening monologue falls flat, sadly, although it does contain this touching tribute to her late sidekick Madge Allsop: “She went peacefully… she died in my sleep.” All is not lost, however: once the guests come out, traces of her sharp improvisatory wit can still be detected. She can’t help being naturally funny, that gift never disappears completely.

DOCTOR WHO

New Year’s Day, BBC One, 6:55pm

The Doctor returns with a skittish two-part Bond pastiche called Spyfall (like Skyfall; such wit), featuring guest-stars Stephen Fry as a Q-style MI6 official and Lenny Henry (more of whom below) as a villainous billionaire businessman. I’m no fan of tin-eared showrunner Chris Chibnall; he is, at best, a competent hack. Spyfall is Chibnall at his best. It’s a fairly enjoyable run-around in which a mysterious race of aliens launch an attack on international intelligence agents. Chibnall pulls off a couple of decent set-pieces, Ryan and Yaz actually get to do something for once, and Jodie Whittaker makes her mark whenever the script allows her to. Things can only get better?

IMAGINE… LENNY HENRY: YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACK

Thursday, BBC One, 12am

This thoughtful profile of Sir Lenworth has, for some mystifying reason, been buried at midnight. So what if you can watch it whenever on iPlayer? He deserves better. It’s a poignant companion piece to his recently published autobiography, in which he focuses, not on his years of fame and fortune, but on his early struggle to make a name for himself on the ‘70s working men’s club and television circuit: a seemingly insurmountable task for a black teenager in a predominantly white - and covertly racist - environment. He reflects upon the importance of delivering race-based jokes before the audience got there first. It was a defence mechanism, he had no choice. Today he’s a figurehead for the diversity movement.

LAST WEEK’S TV

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

22^nd December to Christmas Eve, BBC One

The zillionth adaptation of Dickens’ festive classic starred Guy Pearce as Scrooge and Stephen Graham as Marley. It was written by Steven ‘Peaky Blinders’ Knight, hence the knowingly mannered, sooty charcoal aesthetic and salty language. Knight was obviously more interested in exploring Scrooge’s eloquent nihilism than his eventual redemption, but it was the resolutely dark Christmas Carol we deserved this year. An enjoyably nasty addition to the canon.

MARTIN’S CLOSE

Christmas Eve, BBC Four

Mark Gatiss – that man again – wrote and directed this boring adaptation of an M.R. James ghost story about a 17^th century nobleman accused of murdering a young woman with learning difficulties. I admire Gatiss’ commitment to reviving the BBC’s Christmas tradition of supernatural yarns, but his efforts tend to be little more than fanboy homages. They lack the haunting impact of the adaptations he adores. RIP Jonathan Miller.

GAVIN & STACEY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

Christmas Day, BBC One

There are few things worse than a reunion with people you didn’t much care for in the first place. This unnecessary comeback confirmed the wisdom of that stone-clad sitcom edict: don’t bother. Have Corden and Jones learned nothing from Only Fools and Horses and David Brent: Life On The Road? It’s a nice enough show, fairly well-observed, but leave it where it belongs: somewhat fondly remembered in the third tier.

TV review: CRADLE TO GRAVE and DANNY AND THE HUMAN ZOO

This article was originally published in The Dundee Courier on 5 September 2015.

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/lifestyle

Cradle To Grave: Thursday, BBC Two

Danny and The Human Zoo: Monday, BBC One

Paul Whitelaw

Innit typical? You wait ages for an autobiographical account of a popular entertainer growing up in 1970s Britain, then two come along at once.

Barrelling out in front, Cradle To Grave is a serial adaptation of Danny Baker's hilarious memoir Going To Sea In A Sieve. One of our greatest radio broadcasters, for years he's regaled fans with picaresque anecdotes from his whiz-bang youth, many of them revolving around his father, Fred.

Better known as Spud, this atom-powered character was a docker by trade Regardless of size, quantity and dubious provenance, everything that passed through Millwall Docks was fair game as far as Spud and his workmates were concerned. An incorrigible wheeler-dealer, he made Del Boy look like a rank amateur.

Spud, played with an uncertain South London accent by Peter Kay, is the star of the show. Danny and the rest of the Baker brood barely registered in episode one, as we plunged pell-mell into Spud's chaotic world of scams and fiddles.

Funny, charming stuff, but its energy was slightly exhausting. Kinetically edited like a cockney Goodfellas, it was overloaded with dizzying incident. It's as if Baker and co-writer Jeff Pope (Cilla; Philomena) were afraid of pausing for breath. They needn't have worried; these wonderful stories don't require the hard sell. Thankfully, it settles down next week to allow more room for nuance.

A genuinely warm, cheering comedy, this Polaroid-tinted labour of love is suffused with all the wit, warmth and attention to detail you'd expect from Baker.

By curious coincidence, Lenny Henry named his barely disguised alter ego Danny in self-penned biopic Danny and The Human Zoo. That wasn't the only curious thing about this uneven story of a working-class boy from a first generation Jamaican family breaking into the predominately white showbiz world of the 1970s.

Lenny has described it as “a fantasy memoir” due to certain fictionalised elements. So, while the details of his family situation were essentially true – as a teenager, he really did discover that the man who raised him wasn't his biological father – this version of his early forays into comedy felt like retroactive wish fulfilment.

To his eternal regret, Lenny appeared on The Black & White Minstrel Show after winning New Faces in 1975. However, unlike Danny he didn't rebel against its offensive outdatedness by appearing on stage naked daubed in tribal markings. I understand why he felt compelled to rewrite history; it must've been cathartic. But the honest truth – that he was young, naïve and eager to please – is less heroic, more complex, and therefore more interesting.

The film was more assured when dealing with Danny's relationship with his parents (touchingly played by Cecilia Noble and Lenny himself), his search for an authentic identity, and the racism he encountered almost daily. It didn't ignore the painful fact that he had to make self-mocking jokes to win audiences over. “You may have seen some of these impressions before, but not in colour!” ran his catchphrase, pointedly repeated throughout the film with needling discomfort.

Despite its awkward mix of fact and fiction, plus newcomer Kascion Franklin's inability to convincingly impersonate Lenny impersonating Frank Spencer et al, it did succeed as a unflinching record of the bigoted attitudes that once festered on the surface of British society.

Things are different these days, of course. Now they fester more subtly. Plus ca change, Len.

TV Review: THE SYNDICATE and VICIOUS

This article was originally published in The Courier on Saturday 7th June 2015.

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/lifestyle

The Syndicate: Tuesday, BBC One

Vicious: Monday, STV

Paul Whitelaw

What would you do if you won millions on the lottery? Like most good ideas, the premise behind writer/director Kay Mellor's The Syndicate is so simple, it's a wonder no one has thought of it before.

So far she's exploted two hit series from this universal fantasy, each starring a different cast of characters. Theoretically, it's a flexible, fecund format. But I'm not convinced that series three will continue her winning streak (I swear that's the only laboured lottery-themed metaphor in this review).

My problem lies not with the storyline – the staff at a stately home suddenly becoming richer than their employers is a strong idea – but with Mellor's treatment of certain characters. She can usually be relied upon to write about “ordinary” people without condescension, but I'm troubled by the presence of Lenny Henry as Godfrey the gardener, a kind of fantasy “idiot savant” in the Rain Man mould.

Are we to take it that Godfrey is placed somewhere on the autistic spectrum, hence why he's an obsessive mathematical theorist prone to sudden fits of rage? Well, I ask you, isn't that a dubious stereotype? It doesn't help that Henry plays him with a permanent expression of wounded surprise, as if befuddled by his character. Who can blame him?

I'm not sure what Mellor is playing at here, especially during those uncomfortable scenes where Godfrey basically lusts after Amy, the pretty teenage maid. Now, I trust Mellor to prove me wrong, but so far she's come perilously close to portraying Amy as a sexually precocious brat just asking for trouble. Sure enough, she was apparently abducted at the end of episode one, possibly by her aggressive ex.

Bizarrely, this instinctively felt like the kind of knee-jerk moral judgement you'd find in a cheap slasher film: flaunt your sexuality, and you're mincemeat. And please, Mellor, spare us a hackneyed storyline involving poor, innocent Godfrey being falsely accused of abducting Amy. You're better than that.

Misgivings aside, I did enjoy certain aspects of the episode. Winningly, the upstairs-downstairs setting suggests a cynical, contemporary subversion of Downton Abbey. Mellor even made the comparison explicit, when the ailing Lord of the manor complained about a visiting American contingent: “They only come because they imagine they're in an episode of bloody Downton Abbey!”

And who plays his charmingly ruffled Lordship? Why, none other than stately period drama stalwart Anthony Andrews. His presence is another neatly self-referential touch; I hope the rest of the series builds upon its flashes of promise.

Is it too late to hope the same of Vicious? This defiantly camp, old-fashioned sitcom divides opinion, but for all its faults I enjoyed series one. All it needed was some fine tuning.

But even with the best will in the world – and lord knows I want Vicious to be better than it is – last week's return was a disappointment. Ian McKellan and Derek Jacobi are still an impeccably timed hoot as a fondly caustic gay couple, but without their sterling efforts Vicious would sink like a stone.

In a semi-amusing attempt to undermine criticism, this week it cheekily drew attention to the creaky contrivances of its own plot. But that kind of post-modernism only works with strong gags to support it.

Shameless, flawed and slick, Vicious makes not a jot of sense, and that's to its credit. But I wish it was funnier, if only to piss off those who foolishly believe that mirthless, single-camera sitcoms have usurped this classic form.