JOE LYCETT vs DAVID BECKHAM: A GOT YOUR BACK CHRISTMAS SPECIAL | VIENNA BLOOD | STACEY SOLOMON'S CRAFTY CHRISTMAS

This article was originally published in The Courier on 10th December 2022. 

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Joe Lycett vs David Beckham: A Got Your Back Christmas Special – Thursday, Channel 4, 9pm

The comedian Joe Lycett is rightly renowned for his politically motivated stunts, all of which are dedicated to highlighting social injustice to varying degrees, but he made more headlines than ever before with his recent ultimatum to that supposed ambassador for LGBTQ+ rights, David Beckham. 

The superstar footballer accepted a multimillion pound sponsorship deal with the Qatar World Cup. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar. Lycett promised to donate £10,000 to LGBTQ+ charities if Beckham pulled out of the deal. If not? He’d shred the money. 

This documentary follows Lycett as he makes a considered stand against bigotry and hypocrisy. His actions raised awareness of a vital human rights issue and angered/confounded all the right people. Mission accomplished.

The Disappearance of April Jones – Monday to Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm

Ten years ago, five-year-old April Jones went missing from outside her home in a quiet Welsh market town. 

This three-part series chronicles Britain’s largest ever police search. It was made with the cooperation of April’s family, alongside their local community and constabulary, so please rest assured: this isn’t a prurient true-crime enterprise told from afar. It’s handled with care. 

Episode one focuses on the day April disappeared. The subsequent news coverage encouraged people from all over the UK to assist the police in their enquiries. 

It gradually transpired that this horrific crime was perpetrated, not by a random stranger, but by someone who lived in the town. The shock and despair is palpable.

Undercover: Sexual Harassment – The Truth – Monday, Channel 4, 10pm

In this documentary, reporter Ellie Flynn poses undercover as a drunk young woman separated from her friends during a fun night out in the centre of town. Her goal: to expose the heinous reality of sexual harassment against women in Britain today. 

Flynn also poses online as her eighteen-year-old self, to illustrate the torrent of graphic messages and images that women receive from predatory men. She eventually confronts them. Why are they doing this? Why do they think it’s acceptable? 

The programme also features candid testimonies from women whose lives have been utterly devastated by sexual harassment and abuse. Preview copies weren’t available, but this sounds like an important, urgent and disturbing piece of work.

Vienna Blood – Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm

Adapted from the popular novels by clinical psychologist Frank Tarris, Vienna Blood is a fairly solid thriller set in early 20^th Century Vienna. Now in its third series, you may have caught it before. 

The latest batch of adventures begins with Freud apostle Max (Matthew Beard) and senior Detective Oskar (Jürgen Maurer) investigating the murder of a young seamstress. They end up mired in an unfamiliar world of luxury and glamour, beneath which – wouldn’t you know it? – lurks a seedy subculture of exploitation, violence and corruption. 

Beard and Maurer make for a watchable addition to TV’s never-ending pantheon of clue-sniffing duos. Their odd couple chemistry is quite pleasing, and the psychological sub-current adds a certain frisson.

Children of the Taliban – Wednesday, Channel 4, 11:05pm

Shoukria and Arezo are young girls growing up in Taliban-ruled Kabul. They both lost their fathers during the war in Afghanistan. They’re illustrative of the hundreds of thousands of Afghan children who have to work to support their families under a brutal totalitarian regime. 

This documentary examines their plight. It also introduces us to Abdullah and Ehsanullah, who are the sons of high-ranking Taliban members. They live in different worlds, and yet these boys and girls have certain things in common. 

Channel 4 receives a lot of stick, and quite right too, but I cannot fault its commitment to documentaries of this particular nature. It’s not all Naked Attraction, y’know. It does produce some work of actual value.

Stacey Solomon’s Crafty Christmas – Thursday, BBC One, 8pm

All good people agree that Stacey Solomon is a splendid human being. Why, she’s the nation’s sweetheart™. 

In this typically cheery spin-off from her regular Sort Your Life Out gig, Stacey and her hapless, harmless husband Joe Swash share various ingenious homemade ways of brightening up your festive season without having to spend much money. Their kids gets involved too. 

They upcycle some knackered old Christmas decorations, bake an inexpensive cake, and rustle up some personalised crackers. Stacey also transforms a neighbouring barn into a glittering Christmas party destination. 

I’m loath to recommend lifestyle programmes during these direly straitened times, but Stacey has her heart in exactly the right place: make no mistake, she’s the anti-Kirstie Allsopp.

Celebrity Gogglebox 2022 – Friday, Channel 4, 9pm

When Gogglebox first wriggled its way onto our screens in 2013, I instinctively took against it. People watching television and passing critical comment? That’s my job! Who the ever-loving heck do these people think they are?! 

Reader, I’m a fool. A judgemental kneejerk snob. I’ve grown fond of this format over the years, it’s a comforting presence. A fun distraction. So while I’m no devotee, I do enjoy catching up with it from time to time. 

This special edition compiles some of the highlights from 2022’s celebrity spin-off. Our sofa-bound guests include Bill Bailey, Joanna Lumley, Oti Mabuse, Fred Siriex, the aforementioned Stacey Solomon, and that bumbling Madchester comedy duo Shaun Ryder and Bez.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Trailblazers: A Rocky Mountain Road Trip – Monday 5th December, BBC Two

In the penultimate episode of this travelogue, Emily Atack, Melanie Brown and Ruby Wax continued to trek in the footsteps of Victorian explorer Isabella Bird. 

No one will ever mistake Trailblazers for a particularly in-depth enterprise, but that’s not the fault of the evidently sincere presenters. Within the standardised TV restrictions placed upon it, the series does manage to educate and entertain. 

One gets the impression, however, that lead guide Wax in particular would’ve made a different programme if left to her own devices. 

Still, she managed to cut through the light-hearted exterior to express some thoughtful critiques of the American Dream, and the sequence devoted to the appalling discrimination endured by generations of Native Americans was sensitively handled.

Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen – Friday 9th December, BBC Two

Worsley concluded her latest essay in typically engaging and ruminative style. 

I take issue (yes, actual issue) with those who blithely criticise Worsley for her alleged failings: she’s a whimsical populist, bleat the naysayers, she looks like she’s having far too much fun. History is a serious business. 

Well, anyone who’s ever bothered to watch her best work, and this series was a fine example, will be aware that her wry sense of humour operates in tandem with a rigorous devotion to subverting received wisdom. She’s irreverent, sincere, insightful and persuasive.

AGATHA CHRISTIE: LUCY WORSLEY ON THE MYSTERY QUEEN | LOUIS THEROUX INTERVIEWS... | TOKYO VICE

This article was originally published in The Courier on 19th November 2022. 

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen – Friday, BBC Two, 9pm

Historian Lucy Worsley has enjoyed a lifelong fascination with Agatha Christie. In this typically persuasive new series, she seeks to explain how Christie, a rather enigmatic figure, became the most successful novelist of all time. 

In order to achieve that goal, she examines how the many societal changes Christie witnessed during her lifetime directly affected her work. This line of investigation naturally feeds into Worsley’s other stated aim: “to show you that she was a pioneering, radical writer and woman.” 

Like all historians worth their salt, Worsley is commendably obsessed with busting myths and received wisdom. Her detailed portrait of Christie is revealing; you actually get a sense of what she might’ve been like as a person. Mission accomplished.

Between the Covers – Tuesday, BBC Two, 7pm

Sara Cox’s book club guests this week are actor Paterson Joseph, BBC newsreader Sophie Raworth, and the comedians Jenny Éclair and Al Murray. 

One of the classic novels under review is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by the late, great Douglas Adams. Paterson Joseph’s passion for that magnificent work of art is just so delightful to behold. A man after my own heart. 

Also, to the surprise of absolutely no one, World War II buff Al Murray’s favourite novel is Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Quite right too, it’s a masterpiece. 

Also, please steel yourselves for a wild revelation: Sophie Raworth was once so bored with a book, she chucked it off the side of a boat.

Louis Theroux Interviews… – Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

The comedian, broadcaster and author Katherine Ryan is the latest subject of this series of one-on-one interviews. 

Alas, preview copies of the episode weren’t available in time for my deadline, but if you’ve enjoyed this series so far, you’ll know why I’m flagging it up. 

Ryan is a smart, funny person. The same goes for Theroux. So it should be interesting. 

I get the impression that Theroux, who’s spent the last 20 years mired in deeply distressing subject matter, is trying to remind viewers that he was once renowned as an exemplary interviewer of celebrities. 

He has, perhaps, gone as far as could with ‘serious frown’ Theroux mode. There’s more room for light and shade in this format.

Miriam and Alan: Lost in Scotland and Beyond – Tuesday, Channel 4, 9pm

In the penultimate episode of their latest travelogue, celebrity pals Miriam Margolyes and Alan Cumming find themselves at chummy loggerheads on the subject of recreational drug use. This mild conflict takes place in a Santa Barbara ‘drugs den’. 

Their next destination is Palm Springs, which is home to many ageing members of the LGBTQ+ community. Miriam and Alan enjoy a bit of drag bingo and join a gay knitting group.

Their final port of call is Los Angeles, where Miriam takes Alan to meet a young relative she’s never in her life encountered before. 

Suffused with irreverence and total sincerity, these impish adventures are expertly designed to warm your cockles. Cut to: Margolyes raising a knowing Carry On eyebrow.

Tokyo Vice – Tuesday, BBC One, 9:10pm and 10:50pm

This jittery neo-noir thriller is based on the bestselling memoir by American journalist and crime writer Jake Adelstein, who has spent most of his career in Japan. 

The story begins in 1999, when the fresh-faced Adelstein was hired as a crime reporter by one of Japan’s largest newspapers. He was the first non-Japanese person to be employed by them. His first assignment involves a fatal stabbing. This leads him towards a brave – some might say foolhardy - investigation of the notorious Yakuza syndicate. 

As the danger escalates, Adelstein discovers that his main ally is a senior detective from the organised crime division. He’s played by the always compelling Ken Watanabe. The series begins with a double-bill.

You Won’t Believe This – Tuesday, Channel 4, 10pm

A Would I Lie to You? rip-off starring everyday people, this new series involves groups of strangers spinning tall tales, only one of which happens to be true. 

They’re grilled by “an elite squad of police interrogators” while hidden observers search for clues behind a two-way mirror. If they correctly identify the truth-teller, they win £5,000. If they choose the wrong person, that disingenuous suspect pockets the money instead. 

The first group of suspects claim to have opted out of civilisation in a variety of unusual ways. Did one of them really live as an alpine goat? 

The second group have allegedly experienced the worst date ever. Sample claim: “We were caught up in an art heist.”

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

Welcome to Gaza’s clandestine arts scene, where young Palestinians try to express themselves in the face of an Israeli blockade and fierce Hamas censorship. 

In this investigative report, journalist Jonathan Miller emphasises that simple social and creative endeavours, things we take for granted in the western world, are a source of tremendous risk in Palestine. 

His interviewees include a young female singer and actor who has been forced underground. Why? Because women over the age of 14 aren’t permitted to perform in public. 

Miller also meets a Palestinian man who is determined to renovate an old derelict cinema, so that his fellow Gazans can learn from, and enjoy, suppressed works of art. 

LAST WEEK’S TV

The People’s Piazza: A History of Covent Garden – Sunday 13th November, BBC Two

If you’ve ever visited London as a tourist, you’ve probably spent some time in Covent Garden. In this standalone documentary, that perceptive historian David Olusoga traced its centuries-spanning saga. 

Olusoga focused on this small piazza to achieve his usual goal: while examining individual case studies, all of them based within a particular locale, he presented a penetrating essay driven by a deep, empathetic understanding of what can be learned from historical injustices. 

It was also quite funny and colourful at times. He’s very good at this.

The Scotts – Wednesday 16th November, BBC One

Written by and starring Iain Connell and Robert Florence of Burnistoun renown, this likeable sitcom returned for a second series last week. If you haven’t seen it before, then imagine Modern Family set in a Glasgow suburb. A fairly apt description, if I do say so myself. 

The plot of episode one centred upon the imminent arrival of a baby to the extended family fold. A standard sitcom trope, but as always Connell and Florence fleshed it out with some healthy cynicism and understated warmth. They actually like the characters they’ve created, and it’s clearly based on shared experience. 

Best line, delivered by the family matriarch: “I lived through Bible John, Thatcher and a pandemic, I don’t dae jokes.”

MY NAME IS LEON + OUR LIVES: DARTS DREAMS + BIG BOYS

This article was originally published in The Courier on 4th June 2022. 

NEXT WEEK’S TV

My Name is Leon ‐ Friday, BBC Two, 9pm

Set in early 1980s Birmingham against a simmering backdrop of racial tensions, this sensitive drama is told through the eyes of Leon, a mixed‐race ten‐year‐old growing up in care. Leon wants nothing more than to be reunited with his beloved mother and baby brother. 

Based on the novel by Kit de Waal, it’s a heart‐wrenching yet ultimately uplifting portrait of a lost child gradually gaining a sense of identity. Newcomer Cole Martin is wholly unaffected as Leon, it's a stellar performance. 

He’s supported by an exceptional adult cast including Monica Dolan as Leon’s kindly foster carer, and Malachi Kirby as an accidental surrogate father who gently teaches him about the importance of standing up against injustice. A beautiful film.

Long Lost Family Special: Switched at Birth ‐ Monday, STV, 9pm

In the latest episode of this always poignant and sensitively‐handled series, hosts Nicky Campbell and Davina McCall pose two difficult questions: “What if you suspect you were swapped with another baby when you were born? And what if, as a parent, you discover you’ve been raising the wrong daughter?” 

Septuagenarian Rosemary loves her adoptive family, they’ve had a very happy life together, but she understandably feels the need to find out about her biological parents. We all want to know where we came from. 

Meanwhile, two Mediterranean mothers articulate the complex emotional impact of having their babies accidentally switched at birth. A clerical error with, to put it mildly, significant repercussions for all concerned.

Cooking with the Stars ‐ Tuesday, STV, 8pm

It’s a fairly quiet TV week, folks, hence why I’m nudging this returning series in your direction. Please do not regard it as a glowing recommendation. I really can’t emphasise that enough. 

Hosts Tom Allen and Emma Willis preside over another group of celebs as they attempt to learn the skills of a restaurant chef. Naturally, they’ll need a lot of help to get to that level. Enter various top chef mentors such as Rosemary Shrager. 

Among this year’s oven‐ready stars are Anton Du Beke, Dame Kelly Holmes, The Chase’s Anne Hegerty, and comedian Joe Wilkinson. The theme in episode one is classic British dishes. A cook‐off between the first pair of contestants, Du Beke and Wilkinson, ensues.

Lucy Worsley Investigates ‐ Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

The penultimate chapter of Worsley’s current essay is quite the historical cold case: what were the actual circumstances surrounding those 15^th century English princes, both of them heirs to King Edward IV’s throne, who were allegedly murdered in their beds? 

I must admit, I’d never heard of this bizarre mystery before watching the programme. My specialist area of historical expertise is (cough) 20^th century socio-political pop culture. That’s why the likes of Worsley are always welcome on my screen. She may be right, she may be wrong, but she informs and entertains with persuasive, questioning, sceptical rigour. 

I ended up falling down an internet research rabbit‐hole after watching this episode. Still none the wiser, but what a story.

The Bridge: Rocket to a Fortune ‐ Tuesday and Wednesday, Channel 4, 10pm

In series two of this reality show, eight strangers from the UK are tasked with building a 1,000‐foot bridge between their basecamp on a remote Vietnamese island and a giant uninhabited rock. Why? Because if they succeed, one of them will win £200,000. 

This naturally throws up a thorny moral conundrum: they have to work together as a team while being fully aware that they’re also competitors. Twist # 2: there’s another team competing for the same prize, but at first they’re unaware of each other’s existence. 

It’s all rather cruel and dubious, as some of these people are clearly quite fragile. But of course, that doesn’t stop the producers from exploiting the situation for maximum dramatic impact.

Bradford on Duty ‐ Thursday, BBC Two, 9pm

Bradford in the north of England was once one of Britain’s most affluent cities. Decades of deindustrialisation and austerity put paid to that. 

In this new five‐part factual series, we follow some of Bradford’s dedicated frontline workers as they campaign to restore much‐needed civic pride and wellbeing to the beleaguered city. 

Preview copies weren’t available, but this sounds like a potentially worthwhile endeavour. It promises to shed light upon the everyday struggles of district nurses, police officers and council workers, as well as the people who rely upon them for support. 

It will, we’re told, confront vitally important intertwined issues such as homelessness and wealth/health inequality ‐ but with some humour, warmth and hope.

Our Lives: Darts Dreams ‐ Friday, BBC One, 7:30pm

Eighteen‐year‐old Chloe O’Brien from Perthshire is a talented darts player. She’s already established herself as part of Scotland’s youth team, but now it’s time for her to try out for the Scottish ladies’ international squad. This charming documentary charts Chloe’s quest. 

She’s sharp and likeable, a protagonist you can get behind. Like all budding sportspeople who want to get somewhere, Chloe is totally dedicated. She’s made sacrifices, it’s an all‐consuming vocation. 

The programme subtly cocks a snook at those who look down on darts as ‘not a real sport’. Chloe and her close‐knit Angus Ravens teammates prove that it requires real skill; an acute combination of arithmetic, tactics, spatial awareness and hand‐eye coordination.  

LAST WEEK’S TV

Top of the Pops: The Story of 1999 ‐ Saturday 28th May, BBC Two

Last week’s contrived theme: at the very end of the 20^th century, just as Prince predicted, we really were all partying as if there was no tomorrow. 

Sure, we experienced some apocalyptic anxiety surrounding the Y2K bug, but why worry when Steps ruled the charts? Anyway, nothing bad actually happened and we all enjoyed doing the Tragedy dance. 

As usual, this was a historically askew yet harmless exercise in shallow nostalgia aimed at middle‐aged people such as myself. 

We all know that 1999 heralded the beginning of the end for TOTP as any kind of cultural force, but the programme neglected to mention that. One hopes that its sad decline will be addressed in future episodes.   

Big Boys ‐ Thursday 2nd June, Channel 4

This is a delightful new sitcom I failed to mention when it started a fortnight ago, for tedious logistical reasons more than anything else. I’m recommending it now with full‐tilt enthusiasm. 

A tender autobiography penned by Jack Rooke, it stars Dylan Lewellyn from Derry Girls as an awkward gay teenager who forms a close bond with a straight ‘lad’ when they’re suddenly thrown together at university. Jack’s new pal immediately accepts him for who he is. 

Big Boys is funny, frank, sweet and sensitive, it hits every emotional beat ‐ whether happy or sad ‐ with perfect timing. No wonder the great Russell T. Davies has been showering it with praise. All six episodes are available on All 4.

THE MIDWICH CUCKOOS + INSIDE NO. 9 + HORIZON: MAKING SENSE OF CANCER WITH HANNAH FRY

This article was originally published in The Courier on 28th May 2022.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

The Midwich Cuckoos – Thursday, Sky Showcase, 9pm

This contemporary eight-part adaptation of John Wyndham’s classic science-fiction novel feels quite promising. The premise: in a picturesque English market town, every woman of child-bearing age inexplicably becomes pregnant overnight. 

I won’t elaborate in case you haven’t read the book or seen the 1960 film adaptation, Village of the Damned. What I will say is that it boasts an effective air of mounting unease. Director Alice Troughton bathes much of the action in disquieting summer twilight. It has a subtly nightmarish quality. 

Keeley Hawes plays a sympathetic child therapist with a vulnerable daughter. Max Beesley is an everyman local police chief whose wife is already pregnant before the strange incident occurs. A self-contained apocalypse ensues.

Lucy Worsley Investigates – Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

In episode two of her probing history lesson, Worsley tackles the Bubonic plague. She focuses on the first and most catastrophic outbreak, which took place in mid-14^th century Britain. Approximately half the population were wiped out. 

In an effort to explain how this devastating pandemic transformed British society, she traces the sad story of a typical peasant farming family. Her rigorous research unearths an ugly tumult of systemic hypocrisy, prejudice and injustice. So-called moral leaders exploited this horrific situation for their own financial and political gain. 

As usual, Worsley slyly reads between the lines with regards to the cyclical nature of history. She doesn’t have to spell it out explicitly, but some things never change.

Once Upon a Time in Londongrad – Tuesday, Sky Showcase, 9pm

This timely series examines 14 suspicious high-profile UK deaths with alleged connections to Putin’s Russia. It’s led by investigative journalist Heidi Blake and her BuzzFeed News colleagues, who for the last few years have immersed themselves in these interconnected cases. 

It begins with the murky saga of Scot Young, a Dundee-born tycoon who died in 2014 after falling from a window of his London penthouse. His ex-wife believes he was murdered. Young was allegedly involved in dealings with a powerful Russian oligarch who had no truck with Putin. 

I’ve only seen the first two episodes, but the overall aim is clear: to expose corruption on a vast and far-reaching scale. Organised crime comes in many guises.

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

This week, your genial book club host Sara Cox is joined by the comedians Jo Brand and Darren Harriott, plus the actors Neil Morrissey and Nina Wadia. 

New titles under review include Love Marriage by Monica Ali and The Faber Book of Reportage, a hefty centuries-spanning compendium of dramatic eyewitness accounts. 

The latest selections from their ongoing Big Jubilee Read list, which celebrates great authors from all across the Commonwealth, are The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and Disgrace by J.M. Coatzee. Thumbs are raised. 

Side note: Brand reveals in passing that she was named after Jo from Little Women. A fitting honour for someone who is quite clearly one of the most decent showbiz personalities.    

George Clarke’s Flipping Fast – Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm

This is a series in which George Clarke, a man so bland he makes Alan Titchmarsh look like Joe Pesci in Goodfellas, presides over six teams chasing their property development dreams. They have no experience in this field, but apparently all you need to succeed is blind ambition and £100,000 in the bank. 

Full disclosure: I haven’t seen this programme, preview copies weren’t available, but as a doggedly professional connoisseur of Channel 4’s never-ending avalanche of lifestyle/makeover shows, I can pretty much guarantee that it will be formulaic business as usual. 

I mention it only in the hope that it provides you with some fleeting schadenfreude a la Grand Designs. Still, good luck to all concerned.

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

They’ve saved the best until last. The final episode of this current series pivots around a series of authentically rendered animated 1970s Public Information Films in the Charley Says vein. 

Some of those old PIFs are notoriously odd and unsettling, a natural source of inspiration for Pemberton and Shearsmith. The latter plays a man haunted by memories of one particular TV campaign. Pemberton provides a few brief moments of levity as a neighbour lumbered with a dead rabbit in urgent next of taxidermy. 

As writers, they both tread carefully around a story which could have, in less capable hands, sunk into a quagmire of very poor taste. They pull it off, I think. The discomfort they create is emotionally justified.

Horizon: Making Sense of Cancer with Hannah Fry – Thursday, BBC Two, 9pm

Last year, the mathematician and broadcaster Hannah Fry was diagnosed with cervical cancer. She began filming herself as a way of getting through the ordeal. 

Perhaps an intimate record could help her and fellow cancer patients gain a deeper understanding of what they have to deal with. This searching documentary is the result. 

Fry has carried out some extensive statistical analysis of cancer treatment. That’s thrown up some difficult questions. Are doctors making the right decisions when it comes to treating cancer patients? Are we even at risk of over-medicalising cancer? 

This, to say the least, is a highly sensitive subject. Fry’s conversations with patients and medical experts are unflinchingly honest, but it’s all handled with care. 

LAST WEEK’S TV

Top of the Pops: The Story of 1998 – Saturday 21st May, BBC Two

In ‘98 the Spice Girls were in freefall. Robbie Williams became a bona fide solo star. Keith Allen captured hearts and minds with Vindaloo by Fat Les. What a time it was to be young. 

This recent spate of TOTP retrospectives has obviously struggled with budget cuts, hence the same bunch of talking heads appearing in multiple episodes. Must we hear Huey Morgan’s thoughts on everything? 

However, this episode did at least introduce some new recruits, most notably All Saints, who came across well in their good-natured group interview. They’re still on friendly terms. In the fraught world of pop, that’s a heartening anomaly. 

Also, I must admit, that chaotic Fat Les studio performance was quite amusing. Sorry.

2 Tone: The Sound of Coventry – Saturday 21st May, BBC Two

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a small independent Coventry record label sparked a nationwide phenomenon. 2 Tone fused ska with the spirit of punk and a mod aesthetic. 

Under the yoke of Thatcherism and neo-Nazi violence, The Specials, The Beat, Madness and The Selecter hosted a racially integrated party fuelled by music, fashion, fun and politics: left-wing, working-class, anti-racist social commentary you could dance to. 

This lovingly curated documentary captured the subversive thrill of that hugely significant cultural uprising. Perceptive insight was provided by Pauline Black from The Selecter, Neville Staple from The Specials, and his erstwhile bandmate/visionary movement leader Jerry Dammers. They all achieved something of lasting impact. A beautiful celebration.

LUCY WORSLEY INVESTIGATES + TROY DEENEY: WHERE'S MY HISTORY? + INSIDE NO. 9

This article was originally published in The Courier on 21st May 2022. 

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Lucy Worsley Investigates – Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

Worsley’s latest series is a characteristically vivid and engaging odyssey in which she challenges the received wisdom surrounding “some of the most dramatic and brutal chapters in British history.” 

Episode one finds her poring over ancient accounts and recently unearthed clues about Britain’s 17^th century witch hunts. It’s an awfully bleak yet fascinating subject. Worsley breathes life into women who were tragically persecuted during an epoch poisoned by violently deranged religious fervour.  

Worsley’s essays are sometimes tinged with whimsical humour, a little bit of light to offset the shade, but she’s on deadly serious form here. There is no room for levity. It’s a disturbing cold case investigated with commendable care and rigour.

Troy Deeney: Where’s My History? – Monday, Channel 4, 10pm

The professional footballer Troy Deeney continues his dedicated stand against structural racism in this informative documentary. 

Education is key, that’s Deeney’s driving point. A more expansive account of black history needs to be embedded within the UK’s school curriculum. British children have to learn about a whole range of ethnic minority role models. A few well-meaning lessons devoted to the likes of Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks aren’t enough. That just won’t do. 

“Learning about the positive contributions black people have made to society will not only empower black pupils,” says Deeney, “but will help stamp out the vile racist abuse me, my family and people of colour as a whole are subjected to.”

Bake Off: The Professionals – Tuesday, Channel 4, 8pm

I don’t understand the appeal of these cake-based programmes, but to each their own. Enjoy what you like, just as long as no one gets hurt in the process. If this column has a message, it’s probably that. 

Anyway. You know the formulaic score: various patisserie artisans compete for Bake Off glory. In round one they have just three hours to create 36 strawberry frasiers. As soon as that challenge was announced I immediately envisioned several full-sized glazed effigies of the actor Kelsey Grammer. That’s because I’m inherently facile. The results don’t live up to my stupid imaginings. Life is a constant disappointment. 

Genuine plus point: the delightful Stacey Solomon is your new co-host.

State of the Union – Tuesday, BBC Two, 10pm

Series two of this anthology drama, which is written by Nick Hornby and directed by Stephen Frears, unfolds as before in snappy ten minute exchanges between a troubled married couple.

Ellen (Patricia Clarkson) and Scott (Brendan Gleeson) meet in a hipster New York coffee shop. It’s a fraught encounter. 

Clarkson and Gleeson are both fine actors, but Hornby’s screenplay is terribly mannered. His writing draws attention to itself in a self-congratulatory way. It makes the dialogue of that insufferable blowhard Aaron Sorkin sound like Shane Meadows at his rawest. Ellen and Scott never come across as real people, they’re just mouthpieces for Hornby’s sub-screwball waffle.

It’s a long ten minutes. Oh well. Other television programmes are available.

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

The best episode of this particular series thus far, ‘A Random Act of Kindness’ is a sad domestic drama that veers off in entirely unexpected directions. 

The excellent Jessica Hynes stars as Helen, a tired, lonely, middle-aged woman trapped in an unhappy relationship with her angry teenage son, Zach. One day, a small bird crashes into Zach’s bedroom window. 

The injured animal is rescued by Bob (Steve Pemberton), a kindly passing stranger with a peculiar linguistic quirk who gradually forms a friendship with Helen and Zach. Reece Shearsmith plays a significant supporting role, as do the laws of physics (that’ll make sense when you watch it). 

This is Inside No. 9 in primarily serious and poignant mode. It lingers.

Grayson’s Art Club: Queen’s Jubilee Special – Wednesday, Channel 4, 10pm

Now, you wouldn’t expect Grayson Perry to be much of a royalist. And you’d be right. But he’s fascinated by the monarchy and all the complex things it represents. The Queen in particular is an artist’s dream. Her image and the iconography that surrounds her can be used in all sorts of interesting ways. 

In this typically thoughtful edition of his Art Club, Perry and his wife Philippa invite talented amateur artists to create their own symbolic renderings of Her Majesty. “Whatever they might tell us about her,” says Perry, “might also tell us some revealing things about ourselves.” 

His celebrity guests are Harry Hill and Prue Leith, but as always the real stars are those creative members of the public.

PRU – Thursday, BBC Three, 10pm

This new sitcom follows a bunch of teenagers as they attempt to navigate their way through everyday life at a Pupil Referral Unit, otherwise known as a school for excluded kids. 

Series creators Alex Tenenbaum, Nathaniel Stevens and Teddy Nygh have created something here that’s clearly borne of research and experience. It’s a sympathetic piece of social commentary, albeit one that doesn’t draw self-conscious attention to its fundamentally serious themes. 

The young multicultural cast are entirely convincing, and the writing is quite sharp at times. Will you bust a gut laughing? Probably not. But PRU is a likeable show populated by intriguing characters, and the premise alone makes it worthy of consideration. It has some potential.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Conversations with Friends – Sunday 15th May, BBC Three

BBC Three’s adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People was one of the best TV dramas of recent years. This adaptation of Rooney’s debut novel is brought to you by the same team. It will almost certainly repeat the success of their previous endeavour. 

The protagonist is Frances, a bright, shy, slightly awkward young woman who performs spoken-word poetry with her more extroverted best pal and ex-girlfriend Bobbi. Complications arise when the duo enter the orbit of a successful author. Frances falls for her handsome actor husband. Bobbi is attracted to his wife. 

As per Normal People, this is a perceptive and emotionally resonant piece of work in which everything rings true. It cuts deep.

Derry Girls – Tuesday 18th May and Wednesday 19th May 19, Channel 4

“There’s no answer to any of this, is there?” 

With that line spoken by Michelle, Lisa McGee pretty much summed up the underlying point of her justly lauded sitcom about Northern Irish teenage friends living through the final years of the Troubles. 

Her two-part farewell didn’t disappoint. Derry Girls was first and foremost a knockabout farce. The characters were daft and endearing. But McGee never lost sight of the sombre background details, even while she was making us laugh. She judged it all astutely. 

The final episode, which revolved around the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, brought her emotions to the fore in an entirely earned way. Sweet, silly and quietly profound; a perfect ending.