BLACK OPS | ANDREW: THE PROBLEM PRINCE | INSIDE NO. 9

This article was originally published in The Courier on 29th April 2023. 

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Black Ops – Friday, BBC One, 9:30pm

A sharp, funny, likeable comedy thriller, Black Ops revolves around two Police Community Support Officers, Dom and Kay, who are tasked with infiltrating an East London drug gang.

 Why them? The chief investigating officer is desperate, as top brass keep sending him entirely unsuitable white undercover operatives. It’s almost as if they want his investigation to fail. 

Dom and Kay are an endearingly hapless double-act; actors Gbemisola Ikumelo and Hammed Animashaun share a natural chemistry that’s quite delightful to behold. 

Black Ops is a comedy of substance, it challenges casual everyday racism and negative stereotypes. It’s also an unabashedly daft farce, albeit one with a tangible sense of peril bubbling under the surface. An ideal blend.

Clive Myrie’s Italian Road Trip – Monday to Friday, BBC Two, 6:30pm

Myrie’s specialist subject is Italy, it’s his favourite holiday destination. 

“The friendliest, most inspiring and most beautiful place on Earth,” enthuses the journalist, newsreader and Mastermind host as he embarks upon a textbook celebrity travelogue. It’s jolly, undemanding and fairly educational. You know the well-oiled drill by now. 

Myrie’s scenic journey begins in the Sassi di Matera, one of Italy’s oldest human settlements. A winding network of streets and caves, it used to be a ghost town. These days it’s a busy world heritage site. 

Meanwhile, in Puglia, he meets an affable Scotsman who runs an olive farm, and digs some upbeat local folk music. Myrie is a pleasant, thoughtful tour guide, he’s good company.

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

The latest series of this tranquil and rather melancholy distraction reunites us with softly-spoken wanderer Robbie Cumming, a bespectacled and flat-capped youngish man of no fixed abode apart from his beloved narrowboat, The Naughty Lass. 

We follow him during a picturesque 300 mile autumn/winter canal journey around the north of England and the Midlands. 

Cumming appears to be living the dream, but his personal life hasn’t been great of late. Puttering down rivers and canals is a means of escape. “You’ve just got to keep moving forward, haven’t you?” he ponders rhetorically. 

Every episode of Canal Boat Diaries is basically the same, but there’s no need to tinker with such a winning formula.

Andrew: The Problem Prince – Monday, Channel 4, 9pm

This absorbing two-part documentary presents the inside story of Prince Andrew’s notorious 2019 interview with the BBC’s Emily Maitlis, during which he made a jaw-dropping spectacle of himself while trying to dodge allegations about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

Prior to 2019, Andrew was chiefly known in the public sphere as ‘Randy Andy’, the globe-trotting playboy monarch. But no one really paid much attention to him at all. Then along came the Epstein scandal. 

In their infinite wisdom, Andrew’s office felt that a BBC interview would allow the Prince to explain himself. We all know what happened next. 

Maitlis and Newsnight booker Sam McAlister provide some insight into how that PR disaster came about.

Margaret Atwood: This Cultural Life – Monday, BBC Four, 10pm

The great Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale and numerous other bestselling novels, sits down with skilled interviewer John Wilson for a revealing half-hour chat. She is, as you would expect, utterly delightful, witty and eloquent. 

Atwood opens up about her formative creative influences, which include George Orwell’s 1984 (“I’ve always been interested in dictatorships,” she says) and a remote rural childhood overseen by supportive if rather unconventional parents. 

She also reflects upon the experience of writing The Handmaid’s Tale while living in West Berlin in – yes – 1984. It was inspired, not only by her immediate surroundings, but by the rise of the evangelical Christian right in America. Its grave warnings resonate to this day.

First Dates – Monday, Channel 4, 10pm

Diners in the restaurant of love this week include a young nutrition student who doesn’t quite know how to deal with flirtatious compliments, and a male nurse whose date tells all about his failed marriage. They bond over a shared love of dogs. 

We also meet a 60-year-old farmer who wows/startles his date with some beetroot, and a woman who’s besotted with the Liverpool accent. Well, wouldn’t you know it, her blind date is a born-and-bred Scouser. 

The benignly scheming artisans behind First Dates know exactly what they’re doing, and that’s why it works. It speaks to the hopeless romantic in all of us. Even a withered old solitary cynic like me can’t resist its charms.

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

Did you know that Paraskevidekatriaphobia is the term ascribed to people with a chronic fear of Friday 13^th? Well you do now. 

It’s also the title of this splendid episode, in which Reece Shearsmith plays a man hoping to spend his most dreaded day of the year at home alone. He is, of course, rudely interrupted. 

Here we find Inside No. 9 in full-on frantic farce mode. Shearsmith provides further proof that no one in the modern-day annals of comedy is better at portraying pedantic little men with barely suppressed anger issues. He simmers, seethes and suffers for our eternal amusement. A great comic actor. 

Also, the final shot is perfect, it made me laugh out loud.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Little Richard: King and Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll – Saturday 22nd April, BBC Two

Little Richard was, and is, the raw euphoric essence of rock ‘n’ roll. His music was hard and sexy, fast and funky. A volcanic piano-pumping explosion. 

This terrific documentary felt definitive, it told the complex story of a uniquely gifted pioneer who struggled with various issues throughout his life. 

Richard was gay, Black and devoutly religious. He loved playing ‘sinful’ music, it stirred his innately provocative soul while making people happy, but he was also consumed with guilt.

Richard had nothing to feel ashamed of, but that’s easy for a straight Godless white man like me to say. He endured decades of racism, homophobia and exploitation. I hope he met his maker knowing how much he was adored.

I’m a Celebrity… South Africa – Monday 24th April, STV

It’s been a winter staple for 21 years, so I’m surprised it’s taken ITV this long to milk one of its most sure-fire ratings winners with a spring break. 

Same show, different location, I’m a Celebrity… South Africa gathers together some former contestants, including Janice Dickinson, Shaun Ryder and Carol Vorderman, for another barrage of trials and nonsense. 

It’s very much business as usual, although I was disappointed when hosts Ant and Dec, who are usually so amusing and likeable in this particular context, made a cheap gag at the expense of Janice Dickinson’s cosmetic surgery. Not cool, lads. Not cool at all. 

Their usual writers, who tend to judge the tone correctly, must be on holiday.

MY OLD SCHOOL | INSIDE NO. 9 | TWO DOORS DOWN

This article was originally published in The Courier on 17th December 2022.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

My Old School ‐ Friday, BBC Scotland, 9pm

In 1994, a Canadian by the name of Brandon Lee enrolled as a fifth-year student at Bearsden Academy. A year later, he was exposed as former student Brian MacKinnon, a Scotsman in his early thirties. 

This idiosyncratic documentary unpicks a saga that’s bizarre, funny, sad and unsettling in roughly equal measure. 

It’s directed by MacKinnon’s former classmate Jono McLeod, who secured an interview with the notorious imposter. However, MacKinnon declined to appear on camera, so his voice is uncannily lip-synced by actor Alan Cumming. That adds another peculiar layer to proceedings. 

A complex character, to say the least, MacKinnon comes across as a deluded narcissist who appears to be blind to the ethical transgressions of his subterfuge. You can never go back.

Lionesses: Champions of Europe ‐ Thursday, BBC One, 12:10am

You don’t have to be a football fan to agree that one of the very few uplifting moments of 2022 was when England triumphed at the European Women's Football Championship tournament. This documentary relives that victory through the eyes of key players such as team captain Leah Williamson and incumbent I’m a Celebrity… winner Jill Scott. 

This was a major breakthrough moment for women’s football, and female athletes in general. That squad actually inspired people, they briefly took our minds off the awful state of affairs in our benighted country, and you can absolutely guarantee that young athletes from all around Britain will follow in their pioneering stead. 

Clichés be damned, they’re heroes.

Inside No. 9 ‐ Thursday, BBC Two, 9pm

Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith return for another festive edition of their estimable anthology series. 

It’s Christmas Eve, and a pompous doctor played by Pemberton is settling down for a night of contemplation and solitude in a village church. His reverie is abruptly interrupted by a couple played by Shearsmith and former Coronation Street actor Shobna Gulati, who have also booked an overnight stay courtesy of the eccentric church warden (Simon Callow giving it, quite wonderfully, some full-on Simon Callow). 

It may be no match for their unforgettable ‘70s TV pastiche The Devil of Christmas, which is one of my favourite No. 9’s, but it’s still a fun little ghost story involving ancient holy relics and charcoal rubbings.

The Cleaner ‐ Friday, BBC One, 9pm

Tonight’s festive triple-bill of sitcoms on BBC One begins with Greg Davies back in disgruntled action as crime scene cleaner Wicky. 

It’s Christmas Day, and he’s looking forward to winning a raffle. The prize? A horse. Inevitably, Wicky’s equine hopes and dreams are thwarted by the sudden demands of his tiresome vocation. He’s called to yet another blood-spattered crime scene, this time in an ice cream parlour. 

The Cleaner is based on a German series, but it’s so perfectly suited to Davies’ daft, lugubrious comic persona and his trademark penchant for absurdly escalating farce, you’d be forgiven for assuming that he devised the whole thing for himself.

Motherland ‐ Friday, BBC One, 9:30pm

It’s hardly surprising that Motherland, a big critical darling for BBC Two in the last few years, has finally crossed over to BBC One. That, I suspect, is where it’ll stay from now on. 

The premise, in case you’re unaware: a group of middle-class London mums deal with every maddening thing their lifestyle entails. Yes, I know, that sounds unbearably smug and bland, but Motherland practically goes out of its way to avoid trite sentiment. This is a dry-witted endeavour, borne of honest semiautobiographical experience. Your estimable writers include Sharon Horgan and Holly Walsh. 

Simmering Christmas chaos ensues this week, in a full house hosted by the understandably tired and cynical protagonist, Julia (Anna Maxwell Martin).

Two Doors Down ‐ Friday, BBC One, 10pm

A radical break from the usual format, this delightful Christmas special is set, not within the suburban neighbours’ homes, but in a cosy Glasgow coffee shop. 

Beth, Eric and Christine are doing their Christmas shopping, so decide to take a load off their feet. Most of the regular cast turn up too. 

Two Doors Down doesn’t usually lean into pathos, it’s not that sort of show, but it’s beautifully handled here. We all know that Christine (the great Elaine C. Smith) is lonely, that’s been a more or less unspoken theme throughout the series. Well, you may find that you have something in your eye as the closing credits roll. 

As always, the writing and performances ring abundantly true.

A Ghost Story for Christmas: Count Magnus ‐ Friday, BBC Two, 10pm

Mark Gatiss is steeped in horror fiction. He’s a devotee, an aficionado. So why are his Christmas adaptations of M.R. James’ ghost stories always so underwhelming? 

The sad truth is that Gatiss, for all his evident enthusiasm, doesn’t know how to direct a properly spooky yarn. Unlike the classic BBC adaptations he grew up on, they’re fatally lacking in pace and atmosphere. They don’t unnerve at all. 

I take no pleasure in saying this, as I like Gatiss, but his best work can be found elsewhere. 

This one stars that fine actor Jason Watkins as an overly inquisitive British aristocrat and self-styled scholar who becomes obsessed with the long dead founder of a Swedish dynasty. It amounts to very little.

LAST WEEK’S TV

The Savoy at Christmas ‐ Monday 12th December, STV

Cost of living crisis? What cost of living crisis?! Last week, our friends at ITV took the temperature of the nation and decided that what we really need is this: a jocular account of filthy rich people enjoying Christmas at one of planet Earth’s most luxurious hotels. 

“We’re installing the world’s first immersive champagne forest!” gushed ‘experiential architect’, Meredith. “Crazy!” Those decorations, which no one will really take any notice of, cost a quarter of a million pounds. 

The staff of the Savoy seem perfectly pleasant, they’re just trying to make a living like the rest of us. There you go, I somehow managed to end this review on a positive note. It is Christmas after all.

A Countryside Winter ‐ Friday 16th December, BBC One

A little fireside bundle of inoffensive nothingness, this series could easily be mistaken for a parody of cosy BBC programming: everything is fine, please don’t be alarmed. 

In episode one, Chris Packham expressed his fascination with frost. Packham is a fine and knowledgeable broadcaster, a safe pair of mittens, so of course I went along with his bijou essay. When Packham speaks, I listen. That man could start a benign woodland cult if the thought ever crossed his mind. 

Meanwhile, that nice Mary Berry rustled up a tasty-looking potato and lentil jumble. 

I daresay some other things happened during this half hour programme, but after about fifteen minutes I sank into a sort of fugue state.

 

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.

DARREN McGARVEY'S ADDICTIONS + FERGAL KEANE: LIVING WITH PTSD + INSIDE NO. 9

This article was originally published in The Courier on 7th May 2022.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Darren McGarvey’s Addictions – Tuesday, BBC Scotland, 10pm

Scotland has the highest drug fatality rate in Europe and the highest alcohol-related death rate in the UK. We’re Britain’s gambling capital and we have a serious obesity problem. Why are so many Scottish people struggling desperately with addiction? 

In this sensitive new series, author, journalist and musician Darren McGarvey examines the issue while investigating measures that could and should be in place to help addicts. 

McGarvey is a recovering alcoholic. Like all intelligent, empathetic people, he recognises that alcoholism is a complicated illness. In episode one he meets with medical experts and other recovering addicts. 

The programme approaches alcohol misuse from various considered angles. There are, of course, no straightforward answers, but this is a valuable report.

Britain’s Top Takeaways – Monday to Thursday, BBC Two, 8pm

Warning: don’t watch this series while feeling peckish, as you may end up blowing a fortune on takeaways. It’s a harmlessly formulaic contest in which top takeaway outlets from around the country go head to head in a pop-up HQ. 

The judges aren’t celebs for once. They’re ‘ordinary’ British couples and families tasked with sampling the wares of our contestants. It’s MasterChef meets Gogglebox, basically. An inevitable union we’ve all been waiting for. 

It begins with a battle betwixt five popular chippies, one of which is based in Coatbridge. They each add their own magic ingredients to the classic fish supper, a cornerstone of the great British diet. Your affable hosts are Sara Cox and comedian Darren Harriott.

Fergal Keane: Living with PTSD – Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

The esteemed BBC News foreign correspondent Fergal Keane has reported on brutal conflicts for over 30 years. He’s witnessed so many harrowing atrocities, the absolute worst of humanity. Fourteen years ago he was diagnosed with PTSD. 

Recently, while filming in Kyiv on the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he made a decision: it was time to go home and put war reports behind him. 

In this ruminative essay, Keane digs deep into his psyche while examining the effects of this debilitating condition. He’s very honest and self-aware. He states that his career was largely driven by idealism, but also by an addiction to the adrenaline of war reportage. It made him feel worthwhile. It also consumed him with survivor’s guilt.

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

A busy week for Sara Cox continues with the return of her engaging little book club. It’s impossible to dislike Cox, that’s just a fact, so this brief burst of ubiquity is entirely acceptable. 

Her guests this week are radio presenter Vick Hope, actor David Morrissey, television man Richard Osman and comedian/podcaster Deborah Frances White. 

This latest series is brought to you in conjunction with the BBC’s Big Jubilee Read, which celebrates the work of writers from across the Commonwealth. One of the novels under review in episode one is the Booker Prize-winning The English Patient by Sri Lankan author Michael Ondaatje. 

As always, the panel also wax lyrical about some of their favourite tomes.

DNA Family Secrets – Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm

Stacey Dooley returns for another series of carefully handled and potentially life-changing DNA investigations. Three people take a test this week. 

Richard has always wanted to know the identity of his father; he never received a satisfactory answer from his mother, who passed away quite recently. Glen, who is mixed race, also doesn’t know who his father was. He’s always wondered about his exact ethnic heritage. Finding out will hopefully complete his sense of self. Meanwhile, Janet has reason to believe that she has a secret half-sister in Austria. 

Dooley’s expert team of geneticists, genealogists and doctors have to start from scratch in all three cases, but they get results. Uplifting revelations ensue.

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

It recently occurred to me that Inside No. 9 is a bona fide modern classic. Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith have, across seven series and over 40 episodes, maintained a remarkably high quality threshold. 

This anthology is an ingenious endeavour made with evident love and care, one which rewards the viewer on an almost entirely consistent basis. Exemplary television. 

The latest episode is a meta-textual critique of generic crime fiction tropes. Sophie Okonedo, brilliant as always, stars as a dysfunctional cop who’s been suspended from duty. But she’s still obsessed with solving the case of a missing child. The story unfolds in a discombobulating yet ultimately satisfying manner. 

Obviously I can’t say any more than that, but it’s a good ‘un.

Growing Up Scottish – Thursday, BBC Scotland, 10pm

This bittersweet nostalgia-fest about coming of age in Scotland during the last three decades of the 20^th Century also doubles up as a talking head showcase for emerging comedians such as Rachel Jackson, Christopher Macarthur-Boyd and TJ Singh. 

Series two commences with an episode based around the intertwined themes of friendship and home. The comics ruminate on some of the pastimes we’d invent to amuse ourselves as children in those pre-internet days. Anything would do just as long as it staved off the ultimate malaise: boredom. 

They also discuss the complex rules of sleepovers, while reflecting upon the vicissitudes of living in tenement flats, semi-detached houses, rented accommodation and even but ‘n’ bens. An amusing diversion.

LAST WEEK’S TV

The 1% Club – Saturday 30th April, STV

A big Saturday night quiz show hosted by Lee Mack? That sounds like fun. It’s not fun, it’s merely serviceable. 

The problem is self-evident: Mack, whose stock in trade is quick-fire improvised banter, is constrained by the format of a show in which 100 studio contestants are tasked with answering questions based on “logic and common sense”. His irreverent comic persona is entirely at odds with that premise. 

I’m not suggesting that Mack is some sort of maverick comedy genius, but he’s a naturally funny man who should be hosting a quiz in which he’s given carte blanche to mock proceedings a la Les Dawson on Blankety Blank. He’s not suited to a conventional show like this.

Love Life – Friday 6th May, BBC One

Season two of HBO’s romantic comedy anthology revolves around a new set of thirtysomething characters. 

Marcus and Mia are African Americans, which allows the writers to explore complex themes surrounding racial identity and cultural expectations. Marcus has never been in a long-term relationship with a black woman. His wife is white. But when he falls for Mia, who’s also in a relationship, he’s forced to confront an issue he’s always tiptoed around. 

That Love Life manages to navigate this territory in a witty, intelligent, nuanced way is a credit to the writers and cast. William Jackson Harper and Jessica Williams are charming and believable in their respective leading roles. This love story could be worth investing in.

IMAGINE... MIRIAM MARGOLYES: UP FOR GRABS + INSIDE NO. 9 + DOCTOR WHO

A version of this article was originally published in The Courier on 23rd April 2022.

NEXT WEEK’S TV

Imagine… Miriam Margolyes: Up for Grabs – Monday, BBC One, 11:40pm

The latest episode of this long-running arts strand focuses on an eccentric National Treasure ™. In the tolerable company of Alan Yentob, Miriam Margolyes reflects upon her fascinating life and career. 

The opening scene is quite telling. Margolyes has an effusive review framed in her hallway. She rolls her eyes and shrugs while pointing out that it’s from the Daily Mail. The irony isn’t lost on her. She’s gay, left-wing and progressive. Which makes it all the more remarkable that she’s so warmly embraced by just about everybody. Such is the force of her charmingly smutty, witty personality. 

Eloquent and self-deprecating, Margolyes is a good egg. The programme also reminds us of her impressive acting range.

Long Lost Family Special: Shipped to Australia – Monday, STV, 9pm

This is terribly sad and angering. After World War Two and right up until the early 1970s, thousands of British children were shipped off to Australia with the promise of a better life. Many of them ended up in horrific institutions mired in physical and sexual abuse. Long Lost Family mainstays Nicky Campbell and Davina McCall highlight a scandal that should be common knowledge. 

The episode revolves around a lovely man who lost all contact with his brothers when he was sent to Tasmania. For decades his British relatives assumed that he was living the dream. He’d forgotten all about them. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

When he finally reunites with his family in England, well, you can imagine.

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

Our latest setting is a Welsh village primary school. A newly hired teacher (Reece Shearsmith) has big shoes to fill, as the pupils and staff (Steve Pemberton plays the headmaster) are still in thrall to his much-loved predecessor. But he tries his best to inspire the kids with his heartfelt lessons about environmental issues. 

This being Inside No. 9, things take a cruel and unusual turn. Inappropriate comments and vegetable-based misunderstandings ensue (trust me, that makes sense in context). 

It isn’t one of the strongest episodes, but the denouement, while not entirely surprising, is quite good fun. And I will never tire of Pemberton and Shearsmith’s unabashed fondness for Carry On style humour. They have no shame.

Luxury Food for Less – Thursday, Channel 4, 8pm

Plump up a cushion and get out your notebooks as lifestyle experts – nice work if you can get it – Michelle Ackerley and Sophie Morgan explain to we mere mortals how it’s apparently quite possible to stock your larder with great food while on a budget. Yep, it’s one of those programmes. 

They meet with various supermarket insiders and the culinary boffins responsible for some of Britain’s most popular healthy ready meals. 

I haven’t seen the show, but it sounds well-meaning. I’m recommending it only because I can practically guarantee that it will contain at least one or two nuggets of useful information. Which, if you’re anything like me, you’ll immediately forget while devouring a packet of crisps.

Julia Bradbury: Breast Cancer and Me – Thursday, STV, 9pm

The popular television personality Julia Bradbury was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021. During this candid, tender and sensitive programme, she talks us through her arduous emotional and physical ordeal. We also spend time with her sister and their octogenarian mother. 

Bradbury doesn’t want anyone to feel sorry for her. She’s fully aware that her story is of no more importance than anyone else’s. She’s also aware that her celebrity status can be exploited as a force for good: one hopes that other breast cancer patients will gain some succour from her honest and open account. 

There is anguish. There is hope. Hats off to all concerned for this valuable and admirably unsentimental essay.

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

Channel 4’s stalwart investigative journalism series visits St Louis this week. It’s a city in the harrowing grip of a drug addiction crisis. Fentanyl is a powerful opioid that, according to research, has claimed more African American lives in recent years than Covid. 

When Krishnan Guru-Murthy meets with local residents, he discovers that many of those addicted to Fentanyl exist, barely, within the ignored margins of society. Some of them are homeless. Some of them are sex workers. He also interviews a local pastor who explains how drug use has become a source of self-medication for these tragically neglected people. 

Same as it ever was, but it’s a vitally important point that’s always worth repeating.

Here We Go – Friday, BBC One, 8:30pm

Here’s a new pre-watershed family sitcom for which I can only provide some faint yet vaguely hopeful praise. It’s amusing, likeable, and I can’t fault its cast of excellent comic actors. 

Jim Howick (Horrible Histories; Ghosts) plays the unemployed patriarch of an extended middle-class family. He’s a textbook harmless ‘dad joke’ buffoon. His wife is played by Katherine Parkinson. Alison Steadman and Tom Basden (who also wrote the series) crop up as his in-laws. 

The whole thing is filmed from the perspective of the teenage son, who’s working on a documentary for his Media Studies course. 

Your obvious reference points are Peep Show and Outnumbered. I’ll reserve judgement on this one, but it does show some promise.

LAST WEEK’S TV

Doctor Who – Sunday 17th April, BBC One

Jodie Whittaker’s penultimate adventure - the 13^th Doctor will regenerate in one final special later this year – reintroduced the Sea Devils, a classic series foe who last appeared on screen in 1984. They barely made an impression.

Set in early 19^th century China, this slapdash yarn also involved a real-life historical figure, the pirate Madame Ching.

A potentially great Doctor Who supporting character, but inevitably that potential was squandered by the entirely incompetent outgoing showrunner Chris Chibnall in an episode flooded with all the frustrating hallmarks of his era: perfunctory plotting, characterisation and dialogue. Does he ever bother with a second draft? 

Despite the shoddy writing and direction, it did at least boast some arresting visuals; the TARDIS resting on the seabed provided a rare moment of magic in an era conspicuously bereft of the stuff. Mild credit where it’s due.

As always, Whittaker transcended Chibnall’s shortcomings with her natural charm and energy. But she deserved so much better. Such a waste.

The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe – Sunday 17th April to Wednesday 20th April, STV

Twenty years ago, John Darwin from Hartlepool faked his own death in order to claim his life insurance. He then proceeded to live next door to his wife, Anne, while keeping a supposedly low profile. In 2007, the Darwins were exposed, charged and imprisoned. 

We’re all familiar with the surface details of this bizarre saga, but writer Chris Lang’s engrossing dramatization dug into the complex emotional core. 

Darwin came across as an irresponsible narcissist, a truly awful, selfish bully who gaslit Anne (the story was primarily told from her guilt-ridden, sympathetic perspective) while sparing no thought for the feelings of his children: they genuinely thought their dad was dead. A harrowing ordeal for Anne and those boys. They were John Darwin’s victims. 

Lang and his cast – outstandingly led by Eddie Marsan and Monica Dolan – got the nuanced tragicomic tone just right.