Culture

March 3, 2024

Who’s
that girl?
How Raye broke free
from her record label and
became the sound of 2024
Plus, Bananarama on 40 years in pop
My Picks Twitter/X @timesculture @TheTimesBooks Instagram @timesculture

Arts
of the How did
these actors end
up as Moriarty
4 Cover story The singer Raye
on how she’s gone from tiny
gigs to selling out the O2

Week and Josephine?

The secrets of
casting, p6
7 Classical The star conductor
Lidiya Yankovskaya tells Neil
Fisher about Bluebeard and
her family’s flight from Russia

16 Theatre Has Ruth Jones

Laura Hackett really said goodbye to Nessa
from Gavin and Stacey?
l I trudged through the rain to a heaving
British Museum for its Legion exhibition, Critics
about the daily lives of ordinary Roman 10 Television Camilla Long’s
soldiers. It was worth it. Based around a searing take on the hit One Day
rather unfortunate guy called Terentianus,
it’s fascinating, often funny and with a 12 Film Austin Butler leaves
strangely moving conclusion. Elvis behind in the spectacular
l If that wasn’t enough conflict, Macbeth sci-fi sequel to Dune
at Dock X in east London required us to
walk through a simulated war zone to
get to our seats. Even if the explosion
Books
20 Book of the week How
noises feel gimmicky, Ralph Fiennes is
the super-rich try to buy their
brilliant as a simultaneously terrifying
own version of the truth
and comic Macbeth, while Indira

COLIN HUTTON/BBC, RUVEN AFANADOR/COLUMBIA PICTURES/APPLE TV+

Varma sparkles as Lady Macbeth.
22 History Meet the
l This week I’ve reviewed Her Side of bluestockings: the “bookish
the Story, the epic novel by Alba de
slatterns” of the 18th century
Céspedes, a 20th-century Italian writer
whose works are being rediscovered by
23 Music The triumphs and
Pushkin Press (see page 26). It’s brilliant
tragedies of jazz’s golden age
but long, so I’ve been reading Forbidden
Notebook, her far shorter novel, which
27 Memoir The director
is out in paperback this week. It has just
Ed Zwick on 40 years of
as much power in a bitesize package.
working with everyone from
Tom Cruise to Julia Roberts
Laura Hackett is deputy literary editor of
the Sunday Times
TV & Radio
Cover Raye. 29 The best guide to the
Photograph by Jean Yuzheng Zhang week’s programmes

© Times Media Ltd, 2024. Published and licensed by Times Media Ltd, 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF (020 7782 5000). Printed at Walstead Bicester Limited, Oxfordshire. Not to be sold separately.

3 March 2024 3
 Cover story

‘Everyth in
Only 18 months ago Raye
was struggling to sell
tickets to tiny gigs — now
she’s the toast of the Brits
and selling out the O2.
She reveals how she defied
her record company and
did it by herself
Lisa
Verrico
Interview

ven if you hadn’t heard of Raye before

E
last night’s Brit awards, the 26-year-old’s
performance of a medley of her
spellbinding songs is likely to have won
you over. Nina Simone is a clear influence
and she’s also been compared to Amy

I’d been told by

Winehouse. By the end of this week sales of her
only album, the magnificent My 21st Century
Blues, are expected to have soared.
The south Londoner arrived at the ceremony
with a record-setting seven nominations — the
most received by an artist in a single year, plus
one win already confirmed for best songwriter.
She left the awards firmly on her way to fame.
When we meet ten days earlier, on the

men
Birmingham leg of her UK tour, I expect
the pressure to be getting to the singer and
songwriter, who was born Rachel Keen. In 2001
Craig David received six nominations and won
none, so the Brit awards aren’t averse to
surprises. Is it terrifying? “Oh, it’s definitely
that,” says Raye, slumped on a sofa in the
scruffy dressing room of the 3,000-capacity
02 Academy in Birmingham.
Is there pressure? “Not really. When I heard
how many awards I was up for, I was lost for

in music was
words. It is ridiculously overwhelming. I had
hoped to get a nod, possibly two, because I
knew I was performing. But the way I look at
it, the Brits have already done me a service.
Imposter syndrome is real — I know because
I have it — but I’m an optimist. You need to be
to survive in this game.”
Raye’s road to the Brits is one of recent pop’s
most heartwarming stories. A former Brit
School pupil (like Adele, Winehouse and Leona
Lewis), she was signed to a major label aged 17

a lie
and became a successful songwriter
for other artists, among them Beyoncé, John
Legend, Ellie Goulding and Little Mix. She was
the co-writer of Beyoncé’s song Bigger, on her
Lion King album, The Gift, and had umpteen
hits guesting on dance tracks that she had
co-written, yet her label refused to let her
release an album.
In 2021, after seven frustrating years, she
went on Twitter in tears to explain her situation.
JORDAN CROSBY/BACKGRID

“I have been on a 4 ALBUM RECORD DEAL

since 2014!!! And haven’t been allowed to put
out one album,” she wrote. “I have albums on
albums of music sat in folders collecting dust,
songs I am now giving away to A-list artists
because I am still awaiting confirmation that I
4 3 March 2024
 ARTISTS
V RECORD
am good enough to release an album. I’ve done
LABELS I remember being in the car [going] back,

g
everything they asked — I switched genres, I realising that everything I had been told by men
worked 7 days a week … I’m done being a polite in music was a lie.”
pop star. I want to make my album now.” The Beatles Raye has seen things change in recent
The tweets caused a minor music industry In 1962 years, but believes that’s down to the
storm when artists including MNEK, Shura and the Fab performers, not the industry. “It is a
Ray BLK shared similar woes. Eventually her Four fantastic time to be a female artist,” she
label, Polydor, also the home of Billie Eilish and drove ten says. “The support among women is great.
Abba, allowed her to leave. hours to Instead of being insecure about each other,
My 21st Century Blues was made with Raye’s London in we’re in awe of each other. What Taylor
own money. Her Ghanaian-Swiss mother, who a snowstorm Swift has done by re-recording her albums is so
worked for the NHS in mental health, and to audition for inspiring. That’s a ton of hard work to get her
Yorkshireman father, who worked for the Decca Records. rights back. Music contracts can be brutal and
insurance company Norwich Union, quit their The band failed to they are never in favour of the creatives.”
jobs to manage her. “Both of their previous jobs wow the head of The eldest of four girls, Raye grew up on a
make them ideal for the music industry,” she says. A&R, Dick Rowe, council estate near Croydon before the family
“My mum’s seen it all in 30 years in mental who turned them moved to a house in Purley when she was
health. My dad would go into companies, learn down, believing eight. Both her parents are musical and met
about them and set them goals. By fate, they’re “guitar groups are in the gospel church where her dad led
brilliant for what I need.” on the way out”. worship and where Raye first got to sing on
As recently as 18 months ago she was stage, spurred on by her love of Jill Scott and
struggling to sell a hundred tickets to solo Neil Young Alicia Keys.
shows in churches. But the Brit nominations In 1983 Determined to become a musician, Raye
alone have helped her to fill the 02 arena in Neil attended the Brit School for two years
a fortnight’s time. Raye’s break came at the Young before dropping out. “I hated being told
start of last year when Escapism, the third was sued how to write a song,” she says. “It’s not in
single from a debut album that was still to be by his my nature to follow rules. I didn’t get on
released then, shot to No 1 with the aid of TikTok label, Geffen with them in school and I don’t understand
(it’s partly thanks to the video hosting service Records, for why they even exist in music. I love songs that
that crowds at her gigs are word-perfect, singing not sounding don’t do what you expect them to. For me it’s
along and often crying at her performances). “commercial” liberating to write something sonically different
My 21st Century Blues reached No 2 in February enough. The singer every time that doesn’t sound like anyone else.
and has since sold 60,000 copies in the UK — countersued for Otherwise, what’s the point?” These days no
decent, but not a dent in her multimillion- $21 million. The label one interferes with Raye’s songwriting and she
selling Brits competitors Dua Lipa, Blur and the owner, David Geffen, makes every career decision herself. “It is a lot
Rolling Stones. apologised and both to take on and it leaves no room for anything
For Raye, the Brits boost will be huge. For suits were dropped. but work,” she says. “My social life is frail, but
the major record labels that fund the ceremony that’s the trade-off for being in charge.”
it’s an embarrassment. Prince Does she fear burnout? “I’m lucky that two
Her album track Ice Cream Man graphically The days off is enough for me. On the way home
refers to sexual assault — “Tryna touch me, singer’s from Australia recently I stopped off in
tryna f*** me, I’m not playing?/ Should’ve tenure Dubai to go skydiving and drive buggies
left that place as soon as I walked in it.” with over sand dunes. I was so happy for those
Unsurprisingly her label didn’t want her to Warner, two days, then I was ready, recharged,
release it. his label excited to get back to work. I don’t need a
Both trauma and Raye’s frustration at having since 1977, month off — what would I do with myself? Both
to sit on her songs resulted in a spell of came to a messy physically and mentally my shows are heavy-
substance abuse documented on the fizzy, witty, end in 1993. Prince going. And, bloody hell, I’m singing about
sonically audacious Escapism, which went Top protested of being hating my body and sexual assault. I really
Ten round the world in January last year and creatively stifled and should do therapy.”
became a million seller in America. scrawled “slave” Two years ago Raye bought herself a run-
Elsewhere, on an album that bounces on his cheek with a down house in Streatham (she’s still paying off
between trip-hop, hip-hop, funk, doo-wop, marker pen during the mortgage), which she shares with two of her
blues and ballads, Raye takes aim at the music an interview. sisters, who are both in music and managed by
industry executives who took advantage of her their parents. Her youngest sibling is 12 and
tender age. “When you’re young your mind is Taylor Swift features on the cover of her album.

’
malleable, your opinions not always your own,” The music Money remains tight — she does her own
she says. “As a kid in this industry I had mogul hair and make-up on tour to be able to
horrible paranoia and insecurity projected on to Scooter afford brass players — but the Brits could
me. I was told to fear all of the women doing Braun change her life overnight.
well at the time, like we were competition. acquired “Mate,” she says, “I’m just happy to be
Apparently there was only one seat at the table Big here: 18 months ago my career had gone to
and I had to fight to make it mine. That was such Machine shit. I remember seeing my live agent at a gig.
a confusing narrative for me.” Records after the I went up to him, with tears in my eyes, and
Then she met her fellow pop star Charli XCX artist left the label in begged him not to give up on me. I told him
in London “and she tore a knife through all the 2018. Faced with I had more fight in me. A week later he set up
bullshit I believed”. “She took time out of her Braun owning the this tiny tour. It was a hundred tickets per
busy schedule to direct a music video for me. master recordings of venue; me sat at the piano for two hours, talking
She invited me to her home in the countryside her first six albums, the audience through my story so far. Had
and we sang into hairbrushes in the mirror, Swift has been someone said then that I’d be at the 02 in less
with her giving me tips on how to perform. releasing new than two years, even I would have thought they
versions of each in were mad.”
Worth the wait Raye performs at the their entirety.
Boardmasters Festival, Newquay, in 2023 Raye plays the 02 arena on March 15
3 March 2024 5
 Screen
BEHIND EVERY
STAR...
...there’s a canny casting director.
They share their secrets, from why
height doesn’t matter to making
Moriarty Irish. By Dominic Maxwell
e’ve all seen talent
W
shows with celebrity
judges looking on
at potential stars
in exaggerated
delight or dismay.
What’s new about the BBC2
show Bring the Drama is the
way it shows aspiring actors
vying for roles with a casting
director. It’s not a process for
the fainthearted.
Each week the eight aspiring
professionals have to wow
the resident casting director,
Kelly Valentine Hendry, whose
work includes Bridgerton and
Broadchurch. Now and then
her poker face breaks and you
see what she really thinks.
“That audition was adequate,”
she says at one point, in the
manner of a supervillain
declaring that a henchman
has outlived their usefulness.
Tough business. The show
shines a light on a part of
the industry that has largely
stayed in the shadows. That is
changing, though. Next year
the Oscars are introducing a
new award for casting.
“It’s about time, frankly,”
says Debbie McWilliams, a
casting director whose career
includes 40 years on James
Bond films. “People haven’t
really known what it is we do.”
This attention comes at a
time when casting is changing,
with new efforts to go beyond
the expected. As Alastair
Coomer, head of casting at the
National Theatre, puts it: “The
people you saw on stage on the
whole used to be very white
and male.” When Rachel
Sheridan, the casting director
for One Day, was casting
Netflix’s new hit adaptation of
6 3 March 2024
the David Nicholls novel, she
auditioned about 400 people
for the leads. The British Asian
actress Ambika Mod, who
ended up playing the heroine
Emma (Anne Hathaway in the
film), declined several offers
to audition before eventually
accepting the role.
“It was one of Ambika’s
favourite books,” Sheridan
says. “She thought, ‘I love this
character so much. How could
I play her?’ The attention that’s
been garnered from the casting
of an actress of South Asian
heritage in a lead role that
would typically would have
been thought of as white has
led to conversations that
weren’t happening before.”
Sometimes it’s the job
of a casting director to think
differently. When the TV show
Sherlock was looking for a
Moriarty, everyone expected
him to be English. Its casting
director, Kate Rhodes James,
however, had known the Irish
actor Andrew Scott for more
than a decade. “I said, ‘He is
arresting on screen. But he’s
Irish. Is there a world where
Moriarty could be Irish?’ And
[the team] were receptive.
You’ve got to be open to these
conversations; these are
fictional characters.”
Rhodes James points to
the film The Iron Claw, in
which the 5ft 7in Jeremy
Allen White plays a fighter
who in real life was 6ft 2in.
“It was more important to
create a believable family
than get someone really tall.”
That wasn’t one of hers, but
she was casting director for
Napoleon, in which Vanessa
Kirby played Josephine
Coriolanus, starring David
COLUMBIA PICTURES/APPLE TV+/ALAMY, MATT DINERSTEIN/FX VIA AP, MIKE MARSLAND/GETTY IMAGES, SHUTTERSTOCK
Oyelowo, and The Grapes of
Wrath, starring Cherry Jones.
“The job is not just knowing
actors,” McWilliams says. “It’s
knowing how to negotiate, it’s
knowing how to break down
a script, it’s knowing how to
budget ... Maybe the person
you are desperate to get
suddenly can’t do it. So you
have to have alternatives. If
you have alternatives, you can
sleep at night. If you haven’t,
it’s horrible.”
Casting has become less
traditional in other regards.
Shaheen Baig, who cast a
teenage Florence Pugh in
her film debut The Falling,
is working on a TV show in
Birmingham for which she is
doing some “street casting”.
This involves open-call
auditions, going into shops and
cafés and community centres.
“It’s my job to bring through
new faces as well as find
established ones.”
The other big change in
casting is less positive. Since the
pandemic, online auditions
dominate — by Zoom or by
actors recording their
performances themselves — and
it is proving a strain. “I know
actors are fatigued by that,”
Baig says. “Everyone is fatigued.
We’re all trying to figure out the
best way forward.”
“Nobody talks to each other
any more,” McWilliams says. “It
all seems to be done remotely,
which is not as satisfying.”
Some casting directors point
out that there are upsides to
online auditions: making the
process less London-centric,
for example. Yet we also spoke
to disaffected actors, neither of
whom wished to be identified
for fear of being blacklisted by
their potential employers. And
they have had about enough.
The impersonality and
industrial scale of the process
is utterly dispiriting, the actors
insist. They might be up for
a small role that hundreds
of others are also going for,
Beyond the opposite Joaquin Phoenix. but not be told how many
expected The real Josephine was competitors they have. They
From top: only six years younger strongly suspect their self-taped
Andrew Scott, than her husband; Kirby work isn’t even looked at
Florence is 14 years younger than sometimes. Yet supply of actors
Pugh, Jeremy Phoenix. “No one has exceeds demand, so this “cattle
Allen White, mentioned that. [Napoleon] call” approach can carry on.
Vanessa Kirby also wasn’t American.” According to an actress whom
Casting directors aren’t you would recognise from her
merely adjuncts, they can TV work, ten years ago her
be fundamental to a show. auditions were all in person.
Coomer was involved from Today, they are all remote.
the off in talks about the “Before, if you did an
forthcoming National shows audition, you might not get it,

but at least you would get some
feedback, maybe a connection
with a casting director,” she
says. “As a system, it’s more
difficult and stressful than the
one we had. You don’t feel you
can bring your best game when
you’re often given no idea what
the director is after.”
It might be, then, that a
casting director looking bored
at your speech is better than
nothing. And nothing can be
precisely what actors get back:
they may only learn they
haven’t got the job when the
finished casting is announced to
the world. “I can’t speak to how
other offices run,” Sheridan
says, “but we have systems in
place to avoid that happening.”
Coomer knows the process
can be harsh. “But anyone
Ambika Mod
turned down One
Day several times
thinking about entering the
profession does need to
understand that there is an
element of rejection involved.
It’s hard to get used to and
many never do entirely. But
that is part of being an actor.”
A no can lead to a yes. It just
might take a while to do so. “I
always say it’s a long game with
actors,” Coomer says. “Just
because I’ve met you today
doesn’t mean I am going to
call you tomorrow, but I do
remember who you are and
follow what you are up to.”
Casting directors welcome
their craft getting more
recognition. The Oscars have
got the memo, and Bafta has
rewarded casting directors
since 2019. But the Olivier
Awards still doesn’t have a
casting category. Coomer
thinks the oversight is
connected to the way that
casting is dominated by
women. “Back in the Sixties
or Seventies, brilliant women
became casting directors
because they couldn’t become
a director or a producer. And I
think that is one of the reasons
it was overlooked ... but we are
often the earliest on a project.
Before designers, before
anyone, the casting directors
are starting work.”
Additional reporting by Blanca
Schofield. Bring the Drama is on
BBC2 on Wednesdays
Classical
To the rescue at ENO
When the opera company’s boss quit, Lidiya Yankovskaya
stepped in to conduct Bluebeard’s Castle. By Neil Fisher
t was Martyn Brabbins,
I
English National Opera’s
music director, who was
supposed to be leading the
company into the murky
world of Bartok’s Duke
Bluebeard’s Castle this spring.
But last October Brabbins
found the murky world of ENO
management too much and
quit in protest at looming cuts.
English National Opera
needed a new conductor
to jump into a production
of a tricky and disturbing
20th-century masterpiece.
Luckily there was an obvious
candidate: why not get the
conductor who had led
another challenging
20th-century masterpiece at
ENO — and had a triumph?
So the Russian-American
Lidiya Yankovskaya, the
conductor of last year’s
acclaimed ENO production of
Gorecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful
Songs, stepped in. Yankovskaya,
37, knows exactly what it’s like
to run a global city’s “second”
opera company; she spent
seven years (she stands down
as music director this summer)
doing the hard grind at Chicago
Opera Theater — the cool
young cousin to the city’s Lyric
Opera. “And no, we got nothing
from the government,” she says.
“That’s not a good thing. [In the
US] we spend so much of our
time and resources on raising
funds. You’re constantly looking
through the lens of ‘What can
we get funding for? Do we have
a donor interested in this type
of thing?’ It means people are
more afraid to take risks.”
Yankovskaya was born
in St Petersburg. Her
parents, both
engineers, were
music lovers; as a
child Yankovskaya
sang in a TV and
radio choir. But
in the fallout
from the end of communism
the city was a dangerous place
for a Jewish family like hers.
She remembers seeing neo-
Nazi demonstrations in the city
as she walked to chorus
rehearsals: “Giant swastikas
flying, people handing out
flyers saying ‘Kill all the Jews,
they’re the reason for all
our problems”. There was
entrenched discrimination.
“I didn’t get into a certain
school because it was made
clear that they had reached
their Jewish quota.” The
government did little to help;
the family’s passports were still
marked “Jewish” rather than
Russian, even though they had
lived there for generations.
When she was nine years
old the family claimed refugee
status in the US and moved to
Albany, New York. She has no
relatives left in Russia, but her
great-aunt, in her nineties, lives
alone in eastern Ukraine. “She
thinks, ‘I’ve survived bigger
wars — I’ll be fine.”
The young musician in New
York with a Russian accent
(since dislodged) again battled
prejudice — this time over her
sex. “The people who would
tell me that young women
shouldn’t conduct were often
men who were about my age.
They’d say, ‘Oh I’ve just never
seen a woman or a girl conduct
well,’ or, ‘You know, it’s a really
physical job.’ And I would say,
‘What, is the baton really
heavy?’” A misogynistic nadir
was reached when she received
an anonymous email from a
detractor with a limerick about
her that began: “Born without a
Take the baton Lidiya
Yankovskaya
My family had
to leave Russia
because we
KAREN ALMOND
were Jewish
stick, but wanting to conduct.”
She notes how much the
climate has changed since
then, but having clawed her
way into the conducting
profession, Yankovskaya was
told by numerous people not
to have children if she wanted
to stay in it, with the reasons
cited including that she
“couldn’t possibly conduct
while caring for a newborn”
and that “no one wanted to
see a pregnant conductor”.
“Multiple people told me
you cannot have children and
have this career,” she says.
“I didn’t know of any female
conductors who had significant
careers who had children.”
In the end she decided,
“I’m going to live my life.” In
December 2022 Yankovskaya
made headlines when she
conducted the Chicago
premiere of Mark Alamo’s
Becoming Santa Claus while
nine months pregnant with her
second child. She gave birth
five days later and three days
after that was back to conduct.
The reviews were glowing. “It’s
nice that the double standard
is changing,” she concludes.
Bluebeard is often seen as
a glimpse into the patriarchal
psyche. Bluebeard unburdens
his soul, revealing that he is a
wife-killer and that you should
be careful what questions you
ask your husband. This
conductor finds a more
wholesome message. “At every
part of our lives we find beauty.
But with that comes darkness.”
Since she also sees light in
the tunnel for ENO, what if it
wanted her to take Brabbins’s
helm for good? “One never
knows what will happen.
Their mission to
bring opera to the
people is
beautiful. My
hope is to do
what I can to
help them
gain support.
Right now the [ENO] has been
put in a position where it has to
do the impossible.”
Duke Bluebeard’s Castle is at the
London Coliseum, March 21 and
23, eno.org
3 March 2024 7
 Music
Dan
Cairns
Interview
O
ne of the many things
that endeared
Bananarama to their
fans when the trio of
Sara Dallin, Keren
Woodward and Siobhan
Fahey first lurched into view in
1982, all uncoordinated dance
moves and raid-the-dressing-up-
box fashion, was the sense that
the band were enjoying life —
up for a party and determined
to make the most of it. This
made them deeply identifiable
and magnetic. The opposite of
aloof — with upbeat songs such
as Really Saying Something —
they careered round London
with the likes of Iggy Pop, the
Cure and Wham! (Woodward
went out with Andrew Ridgeley
for 27 years), went clubbing
and liked a drink.
This also made them easy to
dismiss, for those minded to do
so. The everyday sexism then
rampant in an industry
synonymous with such
attitudes duly reared its head.
“I don’t think anybody knew
what to make of us,” says
Dallin, 62. “I mean, we were
female! You know, ‘Aw, three
little girls all fluffy and lovely.
They can’t possibly write the
songs or have any control over
any of this.’ And we were so the
opposite of that.
“But I don’t really blame
anyone, that was how women
were perceived back in the
Eighties. And before that we’d
grown up with Benny Hill and
all those sitcoms with the
woman as the token dolly bird.
We rebelled against that, but
the view in a lot of places was
‘they surely can’t have
anything to do with this’.”
Beside her sits Woodward,
also 62, Dallin’s friend since
their school days in Bristol.
They are the sole remaining
members of Bananarama
(Fahey left in 1988 to form
Shakespears Sister, returning
for a tour in 2017, and Jacquie
O’Sullivan filled her shoes from
1988-91). Bananarama hold the
Guinness World Records
accolade for the world’s
highest number of chart
entries by an all-female band
and are about to release a
decades-spanning compilation
album, Glorious, that attests to
their trailblazing significance
and remarkable longevity. It’s
8 3 March 2024
‘It was obvious
no one
told us what
to wear’
Bananarama ruled the 1980s
charts but were dismissed as ‘frothy
pop puppets’. They talk girl power,
parties and riding home in a
bin lorry with Noel Gallagher
hard to argue with the stats,
though that didn’t stop some
people from bracketing them
as frothy pop puppets.
“At school we never thought
of ourselves in those terms,”
Woodward says. “That we’re
girls and therefore we must be
a certain way. We didn’t
pigeonhole ourselves. The
world was my oyster as far as I
was concerned — nothing to do
with my sex. But when you
come across those sorts of
attitudes, it’s just … weird. It’s
a bit like when you first live
with a man and realise they
didn’t do what your dad did —
the cooking and cleaning,
sharing the chores. You’re
like, ‘Okaaay.’ ”
Mike Stock of the 1980s
hit factory Stock Aitken
Waterman, with whom the
trio scored a run of
huge hits such as
Love in the First
Degree, I Heard a
Rumour and
Venus (a global
No 1),
They’ve got it once complained that sitting
Sara Dallin, down to write with the band
Siobhan wasn’t easy because “they’d
Fahey and laugh at you and mock you”.
Keren With perfect timing, Dallin and
Woodward in Woodward have a good cackle
1983. Below: at this. Not surprisingly they
Woodward have a different take. “Because
and Dallin there were three of us,” Dallin
says, “and we were really tight
and we’d stand together,
people found us intimidating,
rude even. But it was more a
case of shyness. We were in
this weird world and we
needed each other. We still
We still have people coming up and
have saying, ‘We used to be scared
people of you.’ And I’m like, ‘But
you’re grown men!’ ”
saying, “It’s part of the group thing,
‘We used I think,” Woodward adds. “If
to be there’s one of you saying
scared something and the other two
of you’ are sniggering, well, good,
I’m glad if that was
daunting. It was a case of
knowing someone had
your back. And it would
have been awful to not
have the three of us
together, backing
each other up.
We’d say one word
and break into
laughter and no one
knew what we were
on about.”
Spending time with
Dallin and Woodward
is a hoot; they need no
encouragement to gallop off
down memory lane. Such as
the time when they
commandeered a dustbin lorry
in Soho one night. “We’d been
to see Paul Weller at Ronnie
Scott’s,” Dallin recalls, “and
were going back to a friend’s
house after that and none of us
could get a taxi. So Noel
Gallagher flagged down the
bin lorry and said, ‘Can you
take us to Swiss Cottage?’ And
they did. I remember one of
them going, ‘You’re posh,
aren’t you? I thought you was
one of us.’ ”
“It was hell for leather,” says
Woodward of the 1980s. “We
were all the same: Duran Duran,
Spandau Ballet, we were all out
there clubbing, it didn’t matter
which country you were in,
you’d bump into another band
and all go out for a late one and
then all have to do the same TV
show at the crack of dawn.”
Dallin chips in, “We were
doing a TV thing once and I
heard this snoring noise and
looked round and it was Keren.”
When they went on their first
US tour, in 1983, they stocked
up on sheets and towels
pilfered from the hotels they
stayed in to kit out their flat.
A lot of women have told
them their appeal was that
they seemed like them. “You

could look at us and think, ‘It’s
SHUTTERSTOCK. INSET BELOW LEFT: ALMA ROSAZ
achievable,’” Woodward says.
“That’s what we get from a lot
of women we meet — that
inspirational thing. Because to
the people it mattered to it was
obvious that we did it ourselves.
That no one was telling us what
to wear. I mean, they wouldn’t
have told us to look like that,
let’s face it. Monkey boots and
dungarees — that’s not exactly
‘sex symbol’, is it?”
As teenagers Dallin and
Woodward latched on to the
few female role models
available. “I was always excited
when I discovered a female
artist — people such as Poly
Styrene, Debbie Harry and
Patti Smith,” Dallin says.
DJs would leer about
which one they fancied
“Representation was so
important and we consumed
everything they had to offer.
There weren’t many female
artists breaking through in the
Eighties — it always felt like a
boys’ club.”
Does she think things have
changed? “There are so many
incredible female artists today
who champion one another
and use their voices for change
and challenge the status quo.
“Lady Gaga is one of many
vocal advocates for LGBTQ+
rights and individuality. Dua
Lipa has founded an editorial
platform, Service95, covering
topics from art and culture to
social justice and activism.”
Things are nothing like as bad
as they were, they both believe.
“The way we were pitted
against other people, and
even within the band,
was so horrible,”
Dallin says. “DJs would
leer about which one
they fancied. When you’re
young, that kind of thing is
so intimidating and anxiety-
making. I couldn’t cope with it.
But imagine that with social
media. Everyone chipping in.”
Alice, Dallin’s 31-year-old
daughter with the former
Bananarama dancer Bassey
Walker, is a singer-songwriter.
How does her mother feel
about this? “It’s such a fickle
industry and there are still
some dark aspects to it. But in
some ways things have
improved. Comments made to
us such as ‘You’re pushing 30’
(when I was 26), suggesting
we’d had our time in the
spotlight, and ‘Not our
demographic’ when we became
mums wouldn’t be tolerated
— openly — now, so it feels more
progressive in that respect.”
This year marks the 40th
anniversary of Band Aid’s Do
They Know It’s Christmas?, on
which Dallin, Woodward and
Fahey sang (three of only four
female singers to feature on the
single). Their involvement was
very Bananarama, as is the
following exchange.
Woodward: “We’d been
clubbing the night before and,
as usual, were not informed
about what exactly was going
on.” Dallin: “It was just, ‘Could
you come to this studio and
sing a song?’ So our manager
drove us there, we all got out
and there was Sting, Weller,
Bono, cameras everywhere.
It was like: ‘What on earth is
going on?’ ” Woodward:
“Nobody told us there were
going to be cameras and other
stars there.” Dallin: “Not that
we’d have rocked up any
differently.” Woodward: “Well,
I might have washed my hair. I
had a coffee and a fag instead.”
Dallin: “Yes, Keren, you did. In
the video!” And they erupt in
laughter again. Just joyous.
Glorious is released on Friday
POP & ROCK
All peaks, no troughs
Everything Everything
Mountainhead
HHHH
BMG
The seventh
album by the
Manchester
art-rock
four-piece is
a loosely
conceptual affair about
a futuristic society
where those on the
lowest rung must toil
to keep those at the
mountaintop in the
luxury to which they have
become accustomed. No
sappy platitudes here. Some
have found the band’s writing
impenetrable: it’s their loss.
What EE excel at is balancing
complex subject matter with
Caravan Palace
Gangbusters Melody
Club
HHHH
MVKA
Electro-swing may be niche,
but the French septet are
persuasive ambassadors,
creating a fifth album that
would kick-start the flattest
party. Whack on 81 Special
and Reverse at full volume
and glory in the kudos. DC
CLASSICAL
Janacek
Katya Kabanova
HHHHH
Amanda Majeski, Katarina
Dalayman, Simon O’Neill,
Andrew Staples, Magdalena
Kozena, Ladislav Elgr, Pavlo
Hunka, London Symphony
Orchestra & Chorus,
cond Simon Rattle
LSO Live
This live
recording
of the LSO’s
concert
staging at the
Barbican last
year captures that evening’s
music of the utmost
accessibility and emotional
power. Thus Cold Reactor,
the track that introduces the
album’s central theme, far
from being bleak, glories in a
Hall and Oates-like pop sheen
and propulsion. City Song
plays a similar trick: the
narrator, contemplating
irrelevance and oblivion,
is accompanied by a
ALBUM soundscape that
OF THE again evokes Hall
and Oates, with a
WEEK side order of Abba’s
The Day Before You
Came. Throughout,
Jonathan Higgs’s soaring
falsetto adds warmth and
poignancy to what in other
hands could have been a cold
dish indeed. Stunning.
Dan Cairns
Yard Act
Where’s My Utopia
HHHH
Island
This follow-up to The Overload
cements the Leeds quartet’s
status as one of Britain’s most
compelling bands. The Clash,
Pulp and Arctic Monkeys are
the touchstones on caustic
and compassionate standouts
such as Dream Job and
Blackpool Illuminations. DC
shattering impact. Rattle is
absolutely on fire, drawing
from his singers and players
musicianship of incredible
subtlety and force as the
star-crossed story moves
inexorably from precious
if deluded fantasy to tragic
denouement and doom.
Amanda Majeski’s Katya is one
of the great interpretations
of the role, and Katarina
Dalayman is a terrifying,
unyielding Kabanicha.
There is fine support, too,
with Magdalena Kozena a
sweet-voiced Varvara and
Ladislav Elgr her pitch-perfect
Kudrjas. A triumph. DC
3 March 2024 9

The
Critics
Camilla
Long
One Day... I’ll never get back
Think the Netflix hit is so hyped it’s impossible to review it negatively? Think again
Once in a while a show comes along
that threatens to shag your socks off.
It’s up there in big, syrupy lights, its
stars pouting and shimmering, while
the papers heave with slavering, lusty
reviews, followed, if it’s really lucky,
by actual think pieces (“I would have
slept with One Day’s Dexter on the
first night”).
It is so seductive, buoyed up by
so much hype that it becomes almost
impossible to review it negatively. You
just think: why would I attack this?
What’s wrong with me? It’s not that
bad. It would be like killing a kitten.
Which is why you’re lucky to
have me.
I’ve been putting off One Day, the
biggest television — success, is it? — so
far this year. It’s still high in the charts
on Netflix, which seems to be some
kind of benchmark in television now,
much in the same way, I guess, that Big
Macs are a benchmark in food.
It’s the story (if you haven’t already
read, seen or heard) of two people
who meet at university, nearly sleep
together, but don’t, yet still meet up
to talk about absolutely nothing for
20 years. Not a single remarkable
thing comes out of their boring,
Russell Group mouths. Yet here
we are, slack-jawed, ploughing through
14 episodes. Each episode (and chapter
of the book) is set on the same day of
every year.
10 3 March 2024
Television
It is such a story of helpless fantasy
One Day and titivating fauxmance, as signalled
Netflix by its childlike, My Little Pony structure
(the same day every year!), tiny,
The Jury: noncommittal, intensely millennial
Murder Trial episodes (one less than 20 minutes
Channel 4, Mon-Thu long), and shameless, facile
will-they-won’t-they potboiler plot —
The Completely the only reason you keep watching —
Made-Up that it is possible to hoover it all up
Adventures of in one sitting and not notice the
Dick Turpin glaring fact that it is absolutely,
Apple TV+ incorrigibly, resolutely awful. I don’t
mean comically awful, I mean literally
the end of culture.
For a start, how does anyone believe
any of this story? It is less believable
than almost everything in Emily in
Paris, a show that invites us to accept
that a stupid American girl ends up
being incredibly revered by Paris’s
snotty luxury goods establishment
even though she is permanently
covered in hellacious clobber and
can’t speak a word of French. The
two main characters in One Day are so
mismatched you could cast Burton and
Taylor in the roles and still not feel that
it came together. Yes, yes, I know, that’s
the point of it. Opposites attract, etc.
But they’re barely the same species.
If Dexter doesn’t It begins in 1988, when a handsome,
want to spend signet-ringed southerner, Dexter (Leo
time with Woodall), meets Emma, a spiky, dour
Emma, why northerner (Ambika Mod) at a college
would we? ball. They pull, but she (inexplicably)
ILLUSTRATION BY GEORGIA SMITH. ORIGINAL IMAGES COURTESY OF NETFLIX
Passion killers Ambika Mod
and Leo Woodall in One Day
resists his advances, asking instead,
“What’s the plan ... for your life?” By
which absolute passion-killer you are so
stunned that you fail to see for many,
many episodes that as characters they
are both huge — truly, world-beating —
arrangements of unwatchable clichés.
Dexter, for example, starts out as
feckless, attractive and sexually
incontinent as every toff villain in every
novel for the past 200 years. But he
somehow turns into the hero, via,
improbably, a career in telly, a job no
self-respecting minor aristo would ever
dream of taking, or for that matter ever
remotely be given: toffs don’t work on
television unless they are patently
absurd like Kirstie Allsopp.
To say that the author, David
Nicholls, hates Dex (again, a name no
upper-middle-class family would ever
entertain) is to understate the number
of horrific, ugly deaths, accidents
and gurning episodes of self-abuse he
throws his way. He is mocked for being
posh, then, later, not being posh
enough; he is shown as being driven,
narcissistic and horrible — usually
winning attributes in the media —
yet he’s a listless failure.
And what’s the prize for all this
suffering? Emma, a dowdy, neggy,
“patronising” arsehole, as even he

screams. If he doesn’t want to spend
time with her, why would we? Dex may
be horrible to be around, but at least he
isn’t horrible and dull.
There was one bit I enjoyed: the
burger phone, seen for perhaps five
seconds, in the first episode. Who
remembers them? Perhaps that’s the
show’s shallow appeal: normcore,
landlines, old stuff. And the
soundtrack’s OK, I quite liked Dex’s
George Michael wardrobe, and Mod
and Woodall are winsome — real,
talented stars utterly above this
outrageous, empty pap.
What is going on at Channel 4? It is
such a place of comedy, mystery and
chaos. I think of its editorial meetings
more than I think of my own. How does
it decide, for example, to make My
Massive Cock or that programme where
Jimmy Carr burnt notable art works? Or
The Jury: Murder Trial, a huge show
stripped over four nights last week?
The Jury claimed to be “a test of the
justice system”, but it was no more that
than Love Island is a “test” of being in
love, or condoms. No one watching this
programme would have remotely cared
whether any of it worked. What you
really watched it for was to see how
stupid ordinary jurors could be. It was
the perfect synthesis of our two
obsessions: murder and reality TV.
Two fake juries were shown a real
murder trial that was recreated “word
for word” by actors in front of them.
The less said about this the better — put
it this way: it wasn’t like a murder trial,
so hardly a “test”. We then watched as
the real people came to often
maddening, gripping conclusions; for
example Jodie, who spent the first two
episodes in floods of tears because she
could not cope with the word “fat”.
“I’ve been there,” she howled, after
we learnt that the defendant hammered
his wife to death because she had told
him he was “fat”. “The more it went on,
the more it was just me in the box. He
wanted to be loved,” she blubbered.
I can’t think of a scene I’ve
watched that sums up the present
culture better: siding with a killer
because he suffered something I
suffered. Channel 4, chapeau.
On Apple TV+ I was drawn to The
Completely Made-Up Adventures of
Dick Turpin, featuring Noel Fielding as
the highwayman.
It’s one of those effortful 18th-century
capers that looks and feels like
Bridgerton: pop music; men in huge
wigs nuzzling silk-clad Naomi Campbell-
like beauties as they lick diamonds.
Fielding plays Turpin as himself: he’s
a vegan, doesn’t really want to be a
highwayman, but gets sort of bounced
into it by a group of robbers, one of
whom is trans, and says, “I want to rob
people as a protest about the injustice
of hereditary land ownership.”
Why does anyone think this kind of
thing is funny?
Radio & Podcasts
This is how to do history
A gripping, thought-provoking take on the 1943 Bengal famine
Patricia
Nicol
In 1940s Calcutta Ian Stephens
cut an unconventional figure.
On sultry monsoon mornings
the editor of The Statesman
newspaper would strip off to a
singlet, shorts and sandals and
cycle to work. Pedalling behind
would be his servant, Raheem,
bearing a box of freshly
laundered office clothes. “It
was a lot of fun: one got
sunshine and fresh air on an
almost naked body. One got
exercise,” Stephens is heard
enthusing in clipped English.
“Listen to him, he sounds
pukka,” says Kavita Puri, the
presenter of Three Million
(BBC Sounds; BBC R4, Sun),
the most thought-provoking
history series I have heard in
months, possibly years.
In the summer of 1943
Stephens would have wanted a
clear head for work, because
he was wrestling with his
conscience. Famine was
sweeping Bengal; increasingly
its dreaded signs could be seen
not just in the countryside
where a cyclone had ravaged
the previous year’s rice crop,
but in the city. Pamela Dowley-
Wise, born in 1926 to a British
family who had been in India
for generations, recalls: “There
was no place you could go
where you didn’t see dead
bodies. The vultures used to
come down and eat these dead
bodies. It was revolting,
actually.” Everyone knew there
was famine, but the colonial
wartime authorities (anxious
about morale, the Japanese in
bordering Burma, enemy
propaganda and pressures
on shipping) denied it —
the “Indian Food
Question” was the
official sophistry — and
forbade its reporting.
Censorship,
however, applied to
text, not images. In
August 1943 Stephens
decided to do what he
Dismissive Winston
Churchill chose to
underplay the famine
could about the famine. He sent
out photographers, printed the
harrowing images they returned
with and continued his
campaign as other media
picked up on the story.
Eventually the authorities had
to respond. When Stephens
died in 1984, the Nobel
prizewinning economist
Amartya Sen wrote to The
Times to say Stephens “possibly
saved the lives of hundreds of
thousands of people”.
This period emerges not as
something distant and dusty
but vital living history. Puri
hears childhood memories:
Sen, who later studied famines,
recalls asking his grandmother
what he might share with the
emaciated beggars — she
rationed him to half a cigarette
tin of grains a day. Puri finds
searing archival testimony: a
censor’s misgivings about all he
was having to redact; Indian
civil servants’ frustrations with
the “denial” policy.
It might be history but it still
has the capacity to stir bitter
disputes. Puri wants her focus
to be on the three million who
died; 80 years on, there is no
museum, memorial or
monument to those mostly
impoverished, nameless dead.
Three million
people died yet
there is no museum
or memorial to the
nameless
victims
ALAMY
But in Britain, if people have
heard of the Bengal famine, it is
often as a slur on the reputation
of Winston Churchill. Leo
Amery, secretary of state to
India, wrote in September
1943, “Churchill thought ‘the
starvation of anyhow underfed
Bengalis is less serious than
sturdy Greeks’,” as Greece also
faced famine. The journalist
and historian Max Hastings
says: “It seems to me you can’t
possibly deny Churchill was
racist … Even a historian such
as me, who admires Churchill
boundlessly, is still sometimes
shocked.” This is an
intellectually rigorous,
emotionally resonant series. I
wholeheartedly recommend it.
Who Trolled Amber? from
Tortoise’s Alexi Mostrous also
deserves attention. Mostrous’s
six-part podcast explores
whether Amber Heard was the
victim of an organised hate
campaign when her ex-husband
Johnny Depp successfully sued
her for defamation in the US in
2022. Mostrous asks “not
whether the jury’s decision
was right, but fair”, given the
court of public opinion seemed
set against Heard, who was
targeted as a hate figure across
social media (the jury had
internet access).
Mostrous is a thoughtful
guide to an unregulated online
sphere with real-world power.
Guided by data detectives, he
explores the murky world of
troll farms and factories, where
people in places like Mexico,
Thailand and the Middle East
are paid to post particular
types of content. Also bot
factories, where software
endlessly retweets and
reshares. Just a few thousand
pounds can bankroll a
campaign of false
information. Depp’s
friendship with the
Saudi crown prince,
Mohammed bin
Salman, is
scrutinised.
Even if you
don’t care
much for the trials of
Heard, we should all
be concerned about
the online world’s
potential impact on our
politics and society.
3 March 2024 11
 The Critics Film
Not your average sci-fi hero
Timothée Chalamet is a lover not a fighter in this epic sequel — but Austin Butler steals the show
Tom
Shone
Dune: Part Two
Denis Villeneuve, 12A, 167min
HHHH
Lisa Frankenstein
Zelda Williams, 15, 101min
H this time headed by a ruthless
“I am not the messiah,” insists
the thrusting young blade Paul
Atreides (Timothée Chalamet)
in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune:
Part Two when greeted as a
prophet by half the planet of
Arrakis (also a pretty fair
description of Chalamet’s
treatment on the red carpet
when the first movie premiered
in London). Paul arrived on the
planet to mine its precious
spice in the first Dune
instalment and defected to the
side of the indigenous desert
scavengers, the Fremen. “I’m
here to learn your ways,” he
tells them in the new film,
12 3 March 2024
which as anyone who has seen
Lawrence of Arabia or Avatar
knows is movie code for “my
arrival in your life will shortly
be accompanied by a rain of
death and hellfire the likes of
which you poor people have
never seen”.
So it proves. On his tail are
the ruthless Harkonnen, whom
we first see setting up Nazi-like
funeral pyres for their enemies,
new leader, Feyd-Rautha, who
is played with cobralike
sinuousness by Austin Butler.
If you thought Butler’s Elvis
Presley was smooth, check out
this guy: bald, eyebrowless,
alabaster-skinned, with black
teeth — Villeneuve shoots him
in black-and-white at one
point and you barely notice —
and his favourite trick is to slit
the throat of an insubordinate
and feed them to his harem.
“He’s a sociopath, highly
intelligent, in love with
pain but sexually
vulnerable,” says
Princess Irulan
(Florence
Pugh).
Beach ready This movie displays all
Timothée manner of magnificence —
Chalamet black suns and 800mph winds,
and Zendaya sandstorm assassins and
in Dune: massive stone ziggurats, all in
Part Two. a palette of grey and beige like
Below: Austin a Mesopotamian temple
Butler as renovated by Jasper Conran.
Feyd-Rautha My only complaint is that
Butler is not in it nearly
enough. It’s a masterful piece
of screen acting. The Dune
saga is as much an audiovisual
HHHHH KO spectacle as a film franchise,
HHHH A-OK with Hans Zimmer’s synths
HHH OK hitting you in the solar
HH So-so plexus: you don’t watch it so
H No-no much as submit.
However, like a lot of
three-hour marathons,
Dune: Part Two faces the
structural problem of
unveiling its bad guy,
My only
complaint is
that Butler
isn’t in it
enough
then having to come up with
three hours of reasons that he
can’t meet the hero just yet. At
least Darth Vader had a Death
Star to build.
So how does Dune: Part Two
keep everyone occupied? The
film is largely taken up with the
hero’s journey, as Paul proves
his mettle to the Fremen with
a series of tests set by their
leader, Stilgar ( Javier Bardem),
the most exciting of which is to
ride a sandworm, the massive
beasties that lurk beneath the
sand until summoned by sound
waves. His path to maturity is
not helped by having his
mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca
Ferguson), in tow. Ferguson
takes it all with a straight face
(the deserts of Arrakis remain
as magnificently joke-free as a
cathedral). However, Bardem
does chivvy things along with
his belief that everything Paul
does is “as written” in the
scriptures, while Zendaya’s
Chani (Paul’s love interest)
rolls her eyes. You half expect
Eric Idle to pop up, proclaiming,
“He’s not the messiah, he’s a
very naughty boy.”

Zendaya seems easily the
most grounded presence on
screen. While she is falling in
love with Paul, she suspects he
is a false prophet. It’s easy to
see why she feels this way
about the spindly Chalamet,
with his Byronic hair and
vapour cloud of cologne ad
callowness. As in The King, the
Dune movies seem to load his
skinny frame with an excess of
significance — prince or false
prophet? — fuelling rather than
settling the debate over the
extent of the 28-year-old’s
powers. To my eye he seemed
far happier romancing Zendaya
on the dunes than he did in a
knife fight with Butler. He’s a
lover, not a fighter. There’s a
signature note of loucheness,
or indolence, to Chalamet that
Luca Guadagnino and Greta
Gerwig brought out in Call Me
by Your Name and Ladybird. In
Dune: Part Two the fate of the
empire, one suspects, rests in
the hands not of its princes but
its princesses.
For some talents success is
the kiss of death. After winning
an Oscar for Juno in 2008, the
screenwriter Diablo Cody has
made some well-received films,
including Young Adult in 2011
and Tully in 2018, but failed to
reach the same heights.
Her latest offering, Lisa
Frankenstein, directed by
Robin Williams’s daughter
Zelda, 34, tells the story of a
goth girl, Lisa (Kathryn
Newton), who prefers to haunt
the local cemetery rather than
hang out with her anodyne
stepfamily in their suburban
candy-coloured house.
(Because pink, as we all know,
is a sure sign of stifling, Barbie-
like conformity.) One night,
after Lisa’s drink is spiked at a
party, a lightning strike brings
one of the cemetery’s undead
to life — a mouldering, lurching
creature (Cole Sprouse) whom
Lisa showers and hides in her
closet but who soon escapes to
replace his missing body parts.
If you were to say, “Sounds
like the leftovers of a Tim
Burton movie with a jolt of
Cody’s signature archness and
#MeToo topicality in a campy
horror spoof,” you wouldn’t
need correcting. The movie is
so consistently unfunny, and
so simultaneously pleased
with itself, the effect is
mesmerising, like staring into
the face of a zombie that hasn’t
realised it is dead. It’s the
cinematic undead: the movie
has eaten its own brains.
Theatre
Move over Cats, let’s get real
Can a musical about a Sheffield council estate succeed in the West End?
Dominic
Maxwell
Standing at the Sky’s Edge
Gillian Lynne Theatre,
London WC2
HHHH
All musicals exist to enchant.
The silly ones, the gritty ones,
the daring one-offs and the
brazen cash-ins, all have to
create an environment in
which breaking into song feels
as natural as clearing your
throat. So you might wonder
how Standing at the Sky’s Edge,
a tale of three generations of
residents at Sheffield’s brutalist
housing landmark the Park Hill
estate, is going to work in the
brutal West End.
Yes, it was a hit at the
Crucible in Sheffield in 2019 and
then at the National Theatre last
year. It won the Olivier for best
musical too. Yet can twinning
the romantic-realist tunes of
the indie-crooner Richard
Hawley with a script
addressing social issues over 60
years really click at the theatre
that played host to Cats? Do we
want to take our medicine like
this, at West End prices?
Well, I won’t pretend that
Chris Bush’s script is entirely
without emblematic characters
reminding each other that they
are living in the largest grade II
listed building in Europe,
nestled high above the station in
Britain’s fourth largest city. And
I question the occasional use of
a narrator, earnestly binding
together these tales of “three
households, decades apart”
like some Park Hill cousin of a
pantomime fairy. We get the
point soon enough anyway. In
1960 a young trade unionist and
his wife move into a gleaming
new flat complete with waste-
disposal unit. In 1989 three
Liberian refugees move into
the same flat in a now troubled
estate. In 2016 a well-spoken
BRINKHOFF-MOEGENBURG
Londoner moves into what
they’re now calling a “split-level
duplex”, licking her wounds
from a relationship gone wrong.
As the years move on, they
cohabit across timelines,
BRINKHOFF-MOEGENBURG
Soaring serenade Elizabeth Ayodele
ignoring the characters from
the wrong decade sitting next
to them at the kitchen table.
There is a touch of the Alan
Ayckbourn about Bush, both in
this sort of proudly theatrical
conceit and the light wit with
which she dishes out some
knotty ideas. Even if, taken in
isolation, her stories tend more
to predictable endings. Having
a character comment on the
“Richard Curtis bullshit” of a
last-moment run to reunite with
a departing lover doesn’t make
it less hokey. It doesn’t make it
less heartwarming either.
Most importantly, you can’t
take these stories in isolation.
They are nestled too firmly in
lavish staging, strong
performances and most of all
songs from Hawley’s back
Richard Hawley’s songs keep
unpicking your emotions
Beguiling
Lauryn
Redding
and Laura
Pitt-Pulford
catalogue that just keep on
unpicking your emotions.
Hawley is a former Pulp
guitarist who has released
eight solo albums since 2001.
He dishes out romanticism
flecked with realism, ballads
and the odd rocker that chime
with Bush’s realistic tales riven
with romanticism. You can
guess his themes by his titles:
Open Up Your Door, For Your
Lover Give Some Time, There’s a
Storm A’Comin’, Tonight the
Streets Are Ours.
These songs attach easily to
characters all longing for
something, in true musical
theatre tradition. They unpeel
their outsized hopes and
frustrations while Ben Stones’s
huge sprawling mock-concrete
set plays host to choruses of up
to 20. Supporting players
harmonise en masse from the
balcony or grab mikes dotted
around the stage as if starring
in their own dreams of playing
a rock gig.
The director Robert Hastie
keeps the intimacy of the
domestic setting, yet surrounds
the household with the
pell-mell of city life. At times,
with people crossing or even
slow-mo dancing their way
across the stage, it’s like
Coronation Street meets Oliver!.
To pick just a few standouts
from a fine cast: Laura Pitt-
Pulford and Lauryn Redding
beguile as the opposites-attract
couple. Samuel Jordan has a
lolloping charm as Jimmy, who
befriends Joy, the teen from
Liberia. As Joy, Elizabeth
Ayodele’s performance of the
Sheffield serenade Coles Corner
is so soaring it is like a mini
musical in itself.
The universal themes are
there in Bush’s script about
a need to belong, a need for
a home. Yet it’s the sweep
of the songs that makes
them really resonate. It’s a
jukebox musical: smartly
welded together rather than
sculpted. And yet it adds up
to something special. I was
more than happy to spend
almost three hours letting
Standing at the Sky’s Edge
work its tender magic on me.
For tickets, visit thetimes.co.
uk/tickets
3 March 2024 13
 The Critics Art
The master
of mediocre
me-portraits
Paying homage to a female founder member
of the RA is all very well, but her talent is
elusive — except when she’s painting herself
Waldemar
Januszczak
The trouble with Angelica
Kauffman, whose work has
arrived at the Royal Academy
in a well-meaning but irritating
tribute, is that she was so
uneven. She had her moments.
There weren’t enough of them.
The show that proves this
sets out to do the opposite, of
course. The ambition here was
to shift Kauffman (1741-1807) to
a higher rung on the ladder of
art and enjoy her prominent
contribution to the female side
of the story. She was, after all,
a founder member of the Royal
Academy, one of only two
women in the opening cadre.
This makes her an excellent
presence. But not, alas, an
excellent painter.
She learnt her trade from
her father, a journeyman artist
who gave her a peripatetic
childhood that bounced
between Switzerland, where
she was born, Austria and Italy.
In the course of these travels
she learnt not only the
rudiments of painting but also
how to converse with clients
in four languages: German,
Italian, French and English.
The last came in especially
useful when the family settled
in Rome and she came into
regular contact with British
voyagers on the Grand Tour.
Then, as now, travelling
Brits were hopeless at foreign
tongues. Kauffman’s ease in
their language made her a
popular choice when it came
14 3 March 2024
Flattering to having their portraits done.
light Angelica Most notably she painted
Kauffman’s David Garrick — the actor,
Self-Portrait show-off and impresario —
with Bust of who sang her praises loudly
Minerva, when he returned to London.
c 1780-81 Sensing an opportunity,
she followed him there and
swiftly launched a successful
British career.
Her portrait of Garrick,
from 1764, turns up in the
show’s first room. He’s sitting
backwards in his chair,
Christine Keeler-style, a pose
invented by Frans Hals a
century earlier that makes
sitters look alert and unstuffy.
The cheeky position does
much of the heavy lifting in the
picture and allows the weak
characterisation of Garrick’s
face to be forgiven.
When not painting hopeful
likenesses of Grand Tourists,
Kauffman specialised in two
other modes. The least
successful of these was
her “history painting”: big
subjects, drawn from myth,
religion and literature, with
ambitions to make the viewer
a better person. stories that cast women in a patience as they wait, extreme
This pompous mode was all heroic light. Thus she self-sacrifice — are the same
the rage in late-18th-century painted Penelope waiting qualities the blokes of the age
Europe. Men pretended to be faithfully for the return of her were seeking to impose on
Spartans. Women dressed as husband, Odysseus, from the their womenfolk. Nowhere
goddesses. In real life the Trojan Wars; or Eleanora in Kauffman do you get the
Industrial Revolution was Sucking the Venom out of the thrilling independence of
picking up speed and the Wound of her husband, King spirit exhibited a century
smoke was belching, but in the Edward I, a scene from earlier by Artemisia Gentileschi
posh salons of the art world the Britain’s medieval history that or the obvious pictorial
The taste had grown for classical Kauffman transported excellence of Judith Leyster
heroes and vestal virgins. awkwardly to ancient Rome. or Michaelina Wautier.
landscape Kauffman’s contribution to It’s silly art. And although The pretend mythologies
looks like the genre, applauded loudly in the heroines are indeed made highlight her lack of fluency.
green the paperwork for the show, prominent, the qualities they She has trouble with picture
cotton was to enlarge the role of the are so loudly exhibiting — depth; trouble with anatomy;
wool female protagonists and pick fidelity to their husband, trouble with composition. In
 GRISONS MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS
Cleopatra Adorning the Tomb of
Mark Antony the badly painted
torch flames — wooden flames?
— splatter impossible light
across the darkness. In Armida
Begs Rinaldo in Vain not to
Leave Her, the reflections on
Rinaldo’s helmet make no
sense; his body is as flat as a
playing card; the landscape
looks like green cotton wool.
Much more successful is her
second mode — as a serial self-
portraitist. Kauffman painted
more than 20 self-portraits.
The present event foregrounds
her interest in herself by
THE FOURTH PLINTH SHORTLIST
kicking off the show with an Ancient
intriguing assortment. Feelings
The me-portraits have by Thomas
a psychological edge that J Price
is missing in the daft Inspired by
mythologies. In most of African sculpture,
them she makes herself look the British sculptor hopes
younger. In the 1787 version, to put the golden head of
done when she was 46, an imaginary black woman
she takes 20 years off her on the Fourth Plinth.
age and dresses “all’antica”
in the maiden whites of a Believe in
vestal virgin. Discontent
She was certainly not the by Ruth Ewan
first female artist to be this If the Scot
interested in her own wins, the lions
presence. Among distaff old in Trafalgar
masters it was a recurring Square will be joined by a
trait. It’s a tendency begging black cat. Lucky charm or
for a thesis. symbol of evil?
The self-portraits stand
out. A few of her likenesses
of others, notably of Sir Sweet Potatoes
Joshua Reynolds, a friend and Yams
and supporter, feel suddenly Are Not the
deeper. The best allegories Same by
have a wristy looseness to Veronica Ryan
them. But the good moments The recent Turner
are rare. prizewinner prompts
questions about authenticity
And the and colonialism with a surreal
tribute to imported foodstuffs.
plinth winner Untitled by
should be... Andra Ursuta
Lots of statues
At the National Gallery on lots of
a selection of proposals plinths feature a
shortlisted for the Fourth figure on a horse.
Plinth in Trafalgar Square has The Romanian-American
gone on show. Since it started ups the mystery by hiding
in 1998, the Fourth Plinth it under a drape.
project has given London some
feisty artistic sights and yanked The Smile You
the entire territory of public Send Returns
sculpture out of the past and to You by
into the present. Chila Kumari
A lot rides on these Fourth Singh Burman
Plinth decisions. And recent One for the kiddies.
controversies about the role of Burman wants to bring a giant
public sculpture — and its guilts Indian ice-cream van into
— have given the event even Trafalgar Square with music.
more relevance.
You can find the seven Hornero
shortlisted projects on the by Gabriel
right. Three of them — by Ruth Chaile
Ewan, Chila Kumari Singh In Chaile’s
Burman and Tschabalala Self native Argentina
— seem to me to lack originality hornero birds
and imagination. One, by build clay nests on the
Gabriel Chaile, is too weird. nation’s monuments.
At 46 she Which leaves Thomas J Price, This is a giant version.
painted Veronica Ryan and Andra
herself to Ursuta as the contenders. Lady in Blue
look 20 I’m tempted by Ryan’s by Tschabalala
giant yam — it’s so excellently Self
years surreal. But the sheer beauty Striding black
younger of Price’s golden head will mama gets
surely get the first nod. ready to kick ass
on the Fourth Plinth.
Angelica Kauffman is at the In the case of this American
Royal Academy until Jun 30; artist, what you see is what it
Fourth Plinth is at the National says on the tin.
Gallery until Mar 17
3 March 2024 15
 Theatre
few weeks into
rehearsals for her role
as Mother Superior
in the musical Sister
Act, Ruth Jones had a
dream. The formidable
Maggie Smith — who played
Mother Superior in the 1992
film on which the musical is
based — was challenging Jones
over her take on the role. And
she wasn’t impressed. “She
came to me and said, ‘I hear
you are playing her Welsh? Oh
no, no, no, that will not do’,”
Jones recalls with a laugh,
imitating Smith’s Downton
Abbey dowager tone.
“My backstory is that my
Mother Superior moved to
Philadelphia — where the show
is set — 27 years ago and hasn’t
lost her accent. It seems to be
going down well.”
Not surprising, really.
Jones’s warm Welsh accent
has helped make her a beloved
television fixture, most notably
as the no-nonsense Nessa
Jenkins in the hit BBC drama
Gavin and Stacey. But being in
Sister Act — the musical that’s
been running since 2006,
about a lounge singer put into a
witness protection programme
in a convent — is something of
a shift for her. It marks her
professional musical theatre
debut, aged 57. What took her
so long?
“I am not a dancer and I am
not really a singer,” she says.
“I can hold a tune, but when
you are on stage with these
extraordinary singing voices …
I am not in that league. I can
act and be a bit funny
sometimes, that’s my skillset.
“Musical theatre was never
something I considered myself
right for and when the
opportunity came along my
initial thought was, gosh, no.
I never saw it coming and it
took a little bit of persuading.”
It was her husband, the
TV producer David Peet (he
worked on Gavin and Stacey),
who convinced her. “He said,
‘You’re 57 and in a West End
musical? That’s brilliant.’”
Jones is no stranger to
musicals. While growing up in
Porthcawl, south Wales (her
mother was a GP, her father a
legal executive for British Steel
in Port Talbot), she starred in
many school productions. She
often appeared alongside none
other than Rob Brydon (Uncle
Bryn in Gavin and Stacey),
who went to the same school.
He’s a year older, they were in
Guys and Dolls together and he
16 3 March 2024
‘It’s my first
musical at 57 —
I’m terrified’
Ruth Jones is starring in Sister Act. She tells
Matt Hemley about those Gavin and Stacey
rumours and her schooldays with Rob Brydon
has said they have “one hell of
a bond”.
There is speculation that
Uncle Bryn and Nessa could be
about to return in a reprise of
Gavin and Stacey, possibly on
Netflix rather than the BBC,
but Jones seems exasperated
that this has come up again.
“I will say it until the cows
come home — if there was an
announcement to make about
Gavin and Stacey, James and
I would have made it,” she says
wearily. “That is all there is to
it.” Meanwhile, James Corden,
who played Smithy in the
series, has said he would love
to work with Jones again, but
on a different project.
That doesn’t mean she’s
unappreciative of affection for
the sitcom. “There are people
watching it now who weren’t
even born when it came out,”
she says. “I feel warm inside
knowing that people love it so
much. People dress up as
Nessa. They probably know
her lines better than I do. She
is ageless.”
she was even asked to go on
OLIVER ROSSER, TOM JACKSON/BBC
her favourite show, The
Archers. She started listening to
it in the 1990s and says it offers
her a world that is more
realistic than those of TV
soaps, which she avoids. “Not
everyone in The Archers gets
divorced, has affairs or has an
alcohol problem — these
extremes, I feel, have to be
thrown at soaps,” she says,
highlighting how the
characters Clarrie and Eddie
Grundy, married for decades,
“would have split up by now”
in a TV soap.
“Some of the stories are
daft and we need daftness
sometimes,” she says. “But I
think being in it would spoil
it for me. My idea of what the
world looks like in my head
would disappear and I would
never be able to enjoy an
episode again.”
For now, it’s all about Sister
Act, which marks the first time
she has been back treading the
boards since 2018, when she
was in a comedy called The
Nightingale at the Theatre
Royal, Bath. “I am really
enjoying it, but I was terrified
about doing this job —
terrified,” she says. “Although
I started out in theatre, I had
done a lot of TV from the late
1990s and I felt I could not do
it. I was worried I would forget
my lines. I worry I will get a
voice in my head, which I have
had, saying, ‘You don’t know
On song Jones is proud of being Welsh the next line.’ And in the dress
Ruth Jones in — she took a Welsh Bible with rehearsal for Sister Act I did
Sister Act and her when she went on Desert forget the lines. I kept the tune
as Nessa Island Discs (despite playing a going, but made up the words.”
Jenkins in nun, faith doesn’t play a big Past Mother Superiors
the comedy part in her life, but she “likes include Jennifer Saunders,
series Gavin the stories”); she chose to set who was in the show in 2022.
and Stacey Stella, her first big show after Has Jones considered asking
Gavin and Stacey, in the south her for advice? “I have thought
Wales valleys; and lives in a about it,” she says. “I heard her
hamlet near Cardiff. talking about it on her podcast
The steelworks where her and about her dancing. I
father worked have recently thought, maybe I don’t have
announced drastic job cuts. to be spot on with the moves.
“I used to go to Swansea and, I got the feeling Jennifer didn’t
going past, there would be two mind too much about hers.”
big oil tankers — one had a blue Jones thinks the appeal of
pipe and one had a red pipe. the show comes from seeing
I used to think my dad worked people who follow a strict life
in the blue pipe one. But I’m breaking out of those confines.
not the right person to ask “Sister Act is about the nuns
about [the cuts].” questioning who they are as
I am not As well as acting, Jones is the individuals and challenging
a dancer author of three funny, warm that strictness,” she says. “And
and I am novels, which have all shot to when people misbehave or are
the top of the bestseller charts. naughty it feels fun.” Nessa
not really She’s working on a fourth, but would approve.
a singer . . . it probably won’t be out until
I can act next year because she is Sister Act is at the Dominion
and be a focused on Sister Act. Theatre, London W1, from
bit funny Jones is so in demand that Mar 15 to Aug 31
 Twitter/X @TheTimesBooks
Instagram @thetimesbooks

Books
Facebook Times First Edition

‘You will get sued ...

I’m telling you’
A journalist set out to investigate how the super-rich can use the law to buy their own
version of reality. Then he faced legal threats from the Tory donor Mohamed Amersi

Book of the week
Cuckooland Where the
Rich Own the Truth
by Tom Burgis
Wm Collins £18.99 pp320
John Arlidge
No one has written a book like
Cuckooland. It is a 320-page
tome based on a single
conversation about why the
book should not be published.
The exchange takes place in
a meeting room at the London
offices of one of Britain’s top
law firms, Carter-Ruck. On one
side of the table is Mohamed
Amersi, a multimillionaire
businessman and donor to
the Conservative Party. On
the other, separated by a
plate of expensive chocolate
biscuits, is the investigative
journalist Tom Burgis, the
book’s author.
Amersi wants to persuade
Burgis and his publisher
HarperCollins to abandon the
20 3 March 2024
book. “It is a f***ing pack of
lies,” he claims. Even though
he has not read it, Amersi, 63,
knows it is an exposé of how
the wealthy can abuse their
position to create a convenient
fiction about their lives and
then turn it into the accepted
“truth” — and that he is likely
to feature in it.
“You are a dishonest
journalist,” Amersi tells Burgis.
“I hope you will play this
recording to your publishers
before they publish lies.” If
Burgis and HarperCollins do
publish, they will “get sued...
I’m telling you”. Amersi must
feel confident that his threats
will work, because he goes on
to tell Burgis far more about
his life than perhaps he should
— all of which Burgis, ignoring
Amersi has not read
the book, but claims
it is a ‘pack of lies’
Amersi’s warnings, reports in
this book.
The image of Amersi that
emerges in its pages is far from
the one he favours: that of a
master dealmaker who made
tens of millions of pounds from
hard-fought mergers and
acquisitions in emerging
markets, and has since devoted
himself to campaigning against
corruption and becoming one
of Britain’s most generous
philanthropists. Instead we
see a man who, Burgis alleges,
made his fortune through
questionable deals and uses
“billanthropy” to distract
attention from some aspects
of his past. He has donated
hundreds of thousands of
pounds to King Charles’s
charities and bankrolled the
refurbishment of a lecture
theatre at Oxford University.
Amersi says there has been
no wrongdoing in any of his
business dealings. But Burgis
argues it is in the public
interest to scrutinise his
actions, because “reputation
washing” is a virus that has
infected British public life.
The wealthy can use their cash
to buy access to power, distract
from their business or political
sins, and resort to “lawfare” to
silence anyone who questions
whether they are who they
claim to be.
“For two centuries the
pursuit of the truth grew
steadily more democratic,”
Burgis writes. But now the
powerful “are making a
renewed claim to the greatest
prize of all: to own the
truth. We risk a return to
feudal reality, where the
word of the strong, of the
rich, is gospel.”
Burgis began
investigating Amersi’s
business dealings a
few years ago when
he was a reporter
for the Financial
Times. They
involved helping
western mobile
phone network
providers to operate in Russia,

MAIN: STEPHEN POVER/SHUTTERSTOCK
Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan and
Nepal. During the
head-to-head at
Carter-Ruck he
questions Amersi
about payments of
up to £175 million
each, made to
oligarchs and
members of ruling
families in the
countries in which
he worked.
Recipients include an
alleged frontman for a
crony of Vladimir
Putin in Russia and the
suspiciously wealthy
daughter of the ruler of
Uzbekistan at the time.
Burgis asks if some of
those payments were made
“to buy the authorities’
favour”. Why did some of
the companies involved in
the deals he worked on,
notably Sweden’s Telia,
end up paying a record
$1 billion fine for
corruption? Did he know —
should he have known —
about the bribery?
Amersi insists he was
merely a facilitator, a fixer.
It was not up to him to
work out whether anyone
involved was corrupt — that
was for the companies
involved. “I am not the
f***ing policeman.” All he
was trying to do was bring
mobile phones to the
masses to improve their
ability to communicate,
learn and trade — and make
an honest buck along the
way. Lots of bucks.
Mover and Amersi is not the only
shaker powerful person or institution
Mohamed in Burgis’s sights. The
Amersi with Conservative Party failed to do
his partner its due diligence on Amersi
Nadia before it allowed him to
Rodicheva. transfer at least £500,000 into
Far left: with its coffers, Burgis says. He
Boris Johnson suggests the party was so keen
Above: with to grab Amersi’s cash that it
Charles bent rules that forbid anyone
who is not on the electoral roll
to donate to a political party.
Amersi was not a registered
UK voter at the time of the first
donation, so it was agreed that
the money would be paid by
We risk a his Russian-born partner,
return to Nadia Rodicheva, who was
feudal on the UK electoral roll.
reality, However, it was Amersi
whom the party thanked for
where the the funds, emails show.
word of Burgis recounts how the
the rich Tories’ former co-chairman
is gospel Sir Ben Elliot, nephew of the
Queen, charged Amersi a hefty
£15,000 a year for elite
membership of his upscale
concierge company,
Quintessentially. Elliot used
his royal connections to
help facilitate Amersi’s
introduction to Charles, then
Prince of Wales, which
BUY FROM prompted Amersi to donate to
OUR ONLINE his charities. Elliot encouraged
donations to the Conservative
BOOKSHOP Party. Good for Elliot and
All titles Charles. Bad for democracy
reviewed can and accountability.
be bought at Lawyers hired by Amersi to
timesbookshop. silence troublesome critics,
co.uk or call among them the former
020 3176 2935. Conservative MP Charlotte
Discount for Leslie, made specious
Times+ arguments in court on his
members behalf. Academics including
the heads of Oxford’s Blavatnik
School of Government, who
invited Amersi to lecture about
his anticorruption campaigns,
now look like twits.
The book is serious. How
could it not be? But it is also
at times very funny. With his
tailored suits and pocket
squares that match his ties,
Amersi presents himself as a
refined English gentleman. But
his conversation with Burgis
suggests he is more of a Philip
Green. He can barely utter a
sentence without swearing.
“Who are you? Are you a global
policeman? Are you a moral
right wanker? What are you?
A little journalist. F*** off!”
he spits at Burgis.
There is a wonderful
exchange when Amersi
claims that Burgis was fired
from the Financial Times for
“incompetence … People told
me. Senior people.” When
Burgis points out that he
simply resigned to write
Cuckooland, Amersi says:
“That’s what everybody does,
they jump ship before they’re
booted.” When Burgis points
out he now works at The
Guardian, Amersi tells him he
is merely “an independent
columnist, not a full-time
employee. . . I have friends at
The Guardian.” Burgis is on
the Guardian staff.
There is so much ground to
cover about Amersi’s early life
and dealmaking that the
narrative takes time to get
going. But don’t be put off by
the first hundred or so pages
that get lost in the weeds of the
deregulation of the mobile
phone market in Russia and
former Soviet republics. The
story soon gathers pace,
getting darker — and funnier.
Burgis and HarperCollins
know Amersi may well make
good on his threat to sue them.
So, since attack is often the
best form of defence, Burgis
sets out the case for the
defence in footnotes. It is, he
argues, in the public interest to
1) uncover evidence that raises
questions of bribery; 2) expose
“how wealth secures access to
elected rulers”; 3) question
“whether anyone is checking
the origins of donations that
shape the course of British
democracy”; 4) examine
whether donors to political
parties have broken electoral
law; and 5) show “how courts
are used to stifle free speech”.
Stand by for fireworks as
this book hits the shelves.
3 March 2024 21

Books
History
Bluestockings The First
Women’s Movement
by Susannah Gibson
John Murray £25 pp352
Johanna
Thomas-Corr
In 1783 Elizabeth Montagu, the
London society hostess and
chief enabler of the
bluestocking movement, wrote
to a friend about the injustices
of their sex. Women had no
power, no rights and no
property. Worse still, men
controlled women’s social and
intellectual life and would “not
easily forgive our not pleasing”.
She concluded that educating
women was simply not in
men’s interest. “Men know
fools make the best slaves.”
Montagu was no fool.
Colossally wealthy, she was not
just admired for her sumptuous
Mayfair salons and head for
business, she also published —
initially anonymously — a
daring essay on Shakespeare
in which she attacked Voltaire
(“a foolish coxcomb”) for
dismissing the English hero.
It so incensed the Frenchman
that he banned English people
from his house in perpetuity.
Samuel Johnson was also
rankled. He had been finishing
an edition of Shakespeare’s
plays and was put out at having
an intellectual rival: especially
a woman!
This is one of the many
anecdotes in Susannah Gibson’s
comprehensive, if dutiful, group
biography of the bluestockings,
the “forgotten heroines of
Britain’s very first women’s
movement”. The term
bluestocking is not forgotten
— it is still used as a derisive
term for a female intellectual.
“The bluestocking is the most
odious character in society …”
Hazlitt wrote to Coleridge, and
it is not too hard to see a ghost
of that derision in terms like
“Karen” and “feminazi” today.
Gibson’s project is to present
the bluestockings in their own
late-18th-century context: as
brilliant thinkers determined
to show that women could be
every bit as rational, erudite
and witty as men. Montagu was
“the sun around which the
Bluestockings had always
revolved”, but there was also
the diarist and patron of the
arts Hester Thrale, the
classicist Elizabeth Carter, the
22 3 March 2024
Battle of the
bluestockings?
When the 18th century’s top female intellectuals
met up, everyone assumed they’d be at daggers —
but their salons were the hottest ticket in town
historian Catharine Macaulay,
the writer Frances Burney and
other intriguing figures, such as
the Bristol milkmaid poet Ann
Yearsley, whose rustic poems
the bluestockings helped to
publish via the 18th-century
version of crowdfunding.
Otherwise it was an almost
entirely upper-class movement.
From the 1750s until the 1790s
the bluestockings held
unashamedly intellectual
gatherings in grand London
homes. For the women who
attended, these salons were a
loose, informal university. For
the men it was often their first
chance to see the opposite sex
expressing their intellect.
Johnson was a regular, as
was the philosopher Edmund
Burke, the actor David Garrick
and the botanist Benjamin
Stillingfleet. He was the
one who gave the group
its name after appearing
in his shabby,
workaday blue
woollen stockings
rather than the white
silk ones worn for
courtly occasions.
Despite suspicions
of these “bookish
slatterns”, as one
pamphleteer called them,
the salons became
fashionable. “Everyone from
GETTY IMAGES. INSET BELOW: ALAMY
Figures of royalty to revolutionaries
fun Thomas clamoured for an invitation,”
Rowlandson’s Gibson writes. Gatherings could
Breaking up go on from 11 in the morning
of the Blue until 11 at night, fuelled by
Stocking teas and lemonade. The
Club, 1815. bluestockings shunned alcohol,
Below: cards and tittle-tattle.
Elizabeth What everyone came for
Montagu was the conversation, covering
literature, the arts, classics and
history — though they mostly
avoided politics. Montagu
organised her guests in an arc
of chairs so discussion would
cascade down the room. Thrale
Montagu created a lighter atmosphere at
married a her Streatham home. Indeed,
21-year-old Johnson had such fun that he
and was moved in with Thrale and her
ostracised first husband and lived with
them for over a decade.
For many of the men present
the idea that these women
would sooner or later
descend to slagging each
other off was clearly part
of the lure. When
Montagu came to the
Thrales’ house to meet
the talented young
Burney, Johnson was
tickled. “Down with
her!” he told Burney.
“Attack her, fight her &
down with her at once!”
For the most part,
however, the women enjoyed
a sense of sorority. Carter was
encouraged by her friend
Catherine Talbot to translate
the discourses of the Greek stoic
philosopher Epictetus in their
entirety. Carter, constantly
pulled away from her work to
care for her sick father, had to
work at night, wrapping cold
wet towels around her head
and fanatically snorting snuff to
stay awake. Still, the translation
sold terrifically well.
Macaulay, likewise almost
forgotten today, wrote an
eight-volume republican
history of England. After the
death of her first husband,
George, however, Macaulay,
then 47, married a 21-year-old
and was ostracised by the
bluestockings, who feared her
scandal would taint all learned
ladies. Something similar
happened to Thrale, the most
spirited character in the book.
After being widowed, she
married her daughter’s Italian
music teacher and was deserted
by everyone — even Johnson.
Once the charisma of the
original bluestockings had
passed to memory, their
reputation sank. The French
Revolution brought in its wake
a backlash against any form of
intellectual upheaval in
England. The Romantics hated
the bluestockings with a
passion. It was only in the early
20th century that writers like
Virginia Woolf and early female
university-goers began to see
the bluestockings as their
intellectual foremothers.
“Against the odds, they laid the
foundations for a whole new
world view,” Gibson concludes.
I’m not sure that Gibson does
enough to bring that insight
alive. Her book is full of
intelligence, but too tangled in
the weeds of dowries and
father’s professions. What is
really needed is to capture
what was so remarkable about
these women. What was it like
to be in the room with them?
I longed for a more vivacious
chronicler such as Katherine
Rundell or Francesca Wade.
Still, these women were,
after all, trapped in their
domestic arrangements and
Gibson vividly conveys just
how impossible the conditions
were for female intellectuals
at that time. She also
commendably avoids the cliché
of a bunch of po-faced frumps
trying to outdo each other. The
message, ultimately, is
uplifting: so much can be
achieved through friendship
between like-minded people.
The holy trinity of jazz
In 1959 three
intense musicians
combined their
talents to drive jazz
to new heights —
and redefine cool
Music
3 Shades of Blue
Miles Davis, John Coltrane,
Bill Evans & the Lost Empire
of Cool
by James Kaplan
Canongate £25 pp496
Harry Lambert
In the ten years between
1955 and 1965, an American
art form — jazz — reached its
peak. Today jazz is seen to
be dying, but for that brief
decade it resonated around
the world, serving as the
soundtrack of the postwar,
pre-rock’n’roll era.
James Kaplan, a novelist and
journalist turned biographer,
has written the definitive book
on how that decade came to
be and the three men — Miles
Davis, John Coltrane and Bill
Evans — whose musical
collaboration defined it.
They came together like
“a chance collision of particles
in deep space”, Kaplan writes
in 3 Shades of Blue, a play on
the name of the album the
trio made in 1959 as the core
members of a sextet under
Davis’s direction.
That album, Kind of Blue,
was “an island of quiet mystery
in a world growing faster
and louder” that defied the
conventions of music itself.
Inspired by classical composers
as much as by the blues or
bebop, the album’s most
famous track, So What,
eschewed the typical demands
of a tune, consisting entirely
of solos that improvised on
the implications of the tune’s
two chords.
Davis, the most lyrical
trumpeter in the history of
jazz, was the band’s intense,
captivating, mischievous and
depressive leader. Coltrane was
the haunted, spiritual tenor
saxophonist who “quoted only
Miles
Davis
Bill
Evans
from God” and was, in
Davis’s quip, too absorbed
when playing to have seen a
naked woman in front
of him. Evans, the withdrawn
white pianist in a black band,
who couldn’t have looked less
“hip”, produced a sound like
“crystal notes cascading down
some clear waterfall”.
In retrospect the trio’s
respective strengths
complemented each other
exquisitely. But few knew
that at the time. “These cats
have gotten lost, man,” Ralph
Ellison wrote to a friend after
hearing them together early
on. “They’re trying to get hold
of something by f***ing up
the blues.”
In the years building up
to Kind of Blue, Coltrane’s
insistence on exploring every
possibility in his elongated
solos drove many listeners
mad. (He said he didn’t know
how to stop playing. “Try
taking the horn out of your
mouth,” Davis replied.)
Evans was seen as taking work
away “from the brothers” in
a pre-civil rights America.
And Davis was a curiosity for
studying with Evans the scores
of Ravel and Rachmaninov in
his attempt to strip jazz down
to its essence. “Why you got
to play all that?” he asked
one of his saxophonists.
“When you play a note it
should mean something.”
America’s greatest musicians.
BOB PARENT/GETTY IMAGES, PHILIPPE GRAS/SHUTTERSTOCK, GETTY IMAGES
Parker, whose capacity to cop
heroin then play extraordinary
solos inspired a generation
of misled imitators, died at
34. (The police guessed that
he was 53.)
The singer Billie Holiday
died at 44 chained to a Harlem
hospital bed. Coltrane was
dead at 40, Evans at 51. Paul
Chambers, the bassist on Kind
of Blue, died at 33. Davis died
an old man at 65.
Days before Parker’s death,
Bud Powell, a piano prodigy
who would be dead at 41, had
a schizophrenic breakdown,
leaving Parker calling his name
John over and over in anguish into
Coltrane the bandstand mike. The
bassist Charles Mingus, who
would die at 56, interrupted
him to say: “Ladies and
gentlemen, please don’t
associate me with any of
this. This is not jazz. These
Davis didn’t want to are sick people.”
know where a piece of music Yet extraordinary music was
was going. The music written made. The triumph of Kind of
down for Kind of Blue, Blue was Davis’s ability to
recorded in two days, would corral so many future stars
The music have fitted on a napkin. The into one room. Four of his five
written songs had chords, nothing sidemen would go on to lead
down else. It was for each soloist to their own groups, but he
for Kind take the listener on their own backed Coltrane and Evans
impromptu journey. when they were still racked
of Blue In his 2001 book Kind of by self-doubt. He believed in
would Blue: Miles Davis and the them deeply, hard as it was
have fitted Making of a Masterpiece, the to tell. “You always have the
on a jazz historian Ashley Kahn impression he’s in a bad mood,
napkin delved into the minutiae of the that he’s not that interested
album, magnifying every detail in or affected by what other
of those recording sessions. people are doing,” Coltrane
Kaplan has written something reflected of Davis. “He doesn’t
broader and equally vital, talk a lot.”
marshalling with a light touch It was Davis’s relationship
countless snippets of material with Evans that captured him
to piece together a portrait of in all his autocratic caprice.
these three men and how they “It was Moe’s music,” Davis
tilted jazz on its axis. He has later said of Kind of Blue,
told the story of how the era of crediting Evans by the
big bands gave way to the fast nickname he gave him. Yet
rococo sound of bebop, as Davis took the credit for Blue
pioneered by the virtuoso in Green, Evans’s composition
saxophonist Charlie “Bird” on the album. When Evans
BUY FROM Parker and the trumpeter mentioned it years later, as
OUR ONLINE Dizzy Gillespie — before the
“cool” jazz of Davis, “Trane”
the royalties rose, Davis wrote
him a cheque for $25. At
BOOKSHOP and Evans superseded it in all college other students sat in
All titles its “lush sonority”. the hall outside the door to
reviewed can As Kaplan tells that story, a Evans’s room just to hear
be bought at realisation dawns on you: this him play. When they put
timesbookshop. has been filed from a war zone. together Kind of Blue, the
co.uk or call Davis, Coltrane and Evans all album that still stands for
020 3176 2935. fell prey to heroin addiction for all jazz can do, Davis would
Discount for years at a time. The drug, along call him up and have him leave
Times+ with other addictions, the phone off the hook so he
members devastated a generation of could do the same.
3 March 2024 23
 Books
Why the Middle East is at war
From Libya to Gaza: a sure-footed guide to a region in escalating crisis
Middle East
Battleground 10 Conflicts
That Explain the New Middle
East by Christopher Phillips
Yale £18.99 pp279
Justin Marozzi
If you are looking to study
catastrophic conflict in the
Middle East, it is difficult to
know where to start. It could be
Gaza, Yemen, Libya, Lebanon
or Iraq. Christopher Phillips
begins the aptly named
Battleground in Syria, which
its dictator, Bashar al-Assad,
has reduced to a combination
of giant refugee camp, torture
chamber and morgue.
Syria is exhibit A in the
Phillips thesis, namely that,
The
Sunday
Times
Bestsellers
When did the British
public become such
prolific poetry
readers? There are not
one but two poetry
collections in the
bestsellers chart: Len
Pennie’s celebration of
the Scots language and
Donna Ashworth’s
celebration of … just
about everything else.
World Book Day books
fill the children’s list,
led by the husband-
and-wife duo Mark and
Roxanne Hoyle.
Lunchbox Superhero is
their third No 1 book
about a sausage roll.
The lists are prepared by and
the data is supplied by (and
copyrighted to) Nielsen
BookScan, and are taken
from the TCM for the week
ending 24/02/24.
Figures shown are sales for
the seven-day period.
24 3 March 2024
first, conflicts are complicated
and, second, the key to
understanding the region is
the interaction of external
forces with regional players: At one
American intervention in Iraq point
and Egypt, Qatari meddling in there
Libya, French posturing among were
grafting Lebanese elites, Saudi
Arabia’s immiserating war
30,000
against Yemen, and so on. foreign
The author, a professor of fighters
international relations at Queen in Syria
Mary University of London,
calls this a “pluralist approach”.
He’s quite right, but as an
overarching thesis this is
merely stating the obvious.
Certainly, foreign players
have circled like vultures over
the Syrian carcase. At one
point in the Syrian civil war,
which started in 2011, there
were 30,000 foreign fighters
General hardbacks
1 Gabrielle Chanel
Oriole Cullen and
Connie Karol Burks
(V&A £40) Exploring some of
Chanel’s notable designs from
her 60 years in fashion
(3,430)
2 poyums Len Pennie
(Canongate £14.99)
The viral performance poet’s debut poetry
collection, written in Scots and English (3,095)
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(Black & White £12.99)
Poems and writings to help to find peace,
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(Simon & Schuster £25)
Exploring the relationship between King
Charles III and Queen Elizabeth II (1,790)
5 Drawn to the Garden Caroline Quentin
(Frances Lincoln £20)
Personal stories of time spent in the garden,
with illustrations, advice and recipes (1,590)
6 Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?
Julie Smith (M Joseph £16.99)
Clinical psychologist’s advice for
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7 Truth Be Told Linda Robson
(M Joseph £22)
Autobiography by the Loose Women panellist
and star of sitcom Birds of a Feather (1,530)
8 Charles III Robert Hardman
(Macmillan £22)
The royal biographer’s portrait of King Charles
III and his first year on the throne (1,505)
9 Mad Woman Bryony Gordon
(Headline £20)
Mental health lessons learnt in the years since
the publication of Mad Girl (1,380)
10 The Diary of a CEO Steven Bartlett
(Ebury Edge £20) The entrepreneur reveals
his principles for business and life (1,210)
from 30 countries waging war
there. Today, thanks above all
to Russia, Assad remains in
power, in hock to Moscow,
his nation and its economy in
ruins. Something like 600,000
Syrians have been killed and
more than 13 million have been
turned into refugees, inside or
outside the country.
From 1945 to 2008, Phillips
tells us, the Middle East’s civil Before the US-led invasion of
wars attracted on average just 2003 there was no al-Qaeda in
over two outside countries. Iraq. Equally important,
From 2008 they have drawn in Phillips says, the seismic
an average of more than six. upheaval of Iraqi politics, the
This is not a recipe for peace abrupt end of Sunni minority
and prosperity. rule and its replacement with
With the possible exception a Shia majority turned the
of parts of the Gulf, there is little country into a client state of
to encourage optimism around Iran, America’s greatest
the region. Iraq is bedevilled regional adversary.
by a “miserable blend of Phillips is on less certain
corruption and violence”. ground when he berates
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(Random House £17.99)
1 128
The minuscule changes
that can grow into
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2 9
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10 10
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Bernie Sanders (Penguin £10.99)
The US senator’s call for fundamental
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 HANI MOHAMMED/AP PHOTO

Critics of foreign intervention as long as the world clings to its

Britain’s “toxic legacy” in Iraq,
and he is wrong to blame
Britain for “establishing the
primacy of Sunni Muslims”.
Sunnis have ruled the land we
now call Iraq for almost all of
its 1,400-year history. By all
means give colonial powers a
good kicking, but it is perverse
not to offer any criticism of the
Ottomans, who ruled swathes
of the Middle East from the
16th century until 1917.
routinely point to the damaging
consequences. Washington is
derided for interfering, yet
when it prefers, as President
Obama did in Libya from 2011,
to “lead from the back”, or not
intervene at all, the results are
hardly more auspicious.
Libya after Colonel Gaddafi’s
brutal overthrow that year
drew in the United Arab
Emirates, Qatar, Turkey,
Britain, France, Italy, the US
and Russia, all supporting rival
leaders and parties. To this day
the country with Africa’s
largest proven oil reserves,
Bleak Houthis potentially one of the
in Yemen, “the Mediterranean’s richest
world’s worst countries, has instead become
humanitarian a vicious warlords’ playground.
crisis” In recent years, tragically
accelerated by the Saudi crown
prince Mohammed bin
Salman’s ill-fated attack in 2015,
Yemen has become, in the
words of António Gutteres, the
UN secretary-general, “the
world’s worst humanitarian
crisis”. There is little prospect
BUY FROM
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020 3176 2935. Discount for
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of that improving as the
Houthis step up attacks on
international shipping in the
Red Sea in response to Israel’s
military actions in Gaza.
Phillips includes a thoughtful
and even-handed chapter titled
Palestine: The Vanishing Land.
He accuses Israel of choosing a
policy of conflict management
over conflict resolution,
Washington of being “almost
blindly indulgent of Israeli
intransigence” and the
Palestinian leadership of
corrupt and autocratic rule.
His prognosis? A “grim
continuation of the status quo”.
Phillips brings his story
to a close in the petrodollar
monarchies of the Gulf. For
fossil fuel addiction, the picture
here remains relatively stable.
After that, and notwithstanding
a degree of economic
diversification, all bets are off.
Meanwhile, internal repression
in Saudi Arabia is worsening
under Mohammed bin Salman.
Pity the thirtysomething
mother of two sentenced to 34
years in prison, apparently just
for retweeting dissidents on X.
For Phillips, excessive
postwar US intervention in the
wider region was a destabilising
force, but Washington’s
subsequent retreat, dating from
the Arab Spring of the 2010s,
has brought little stability
either, creating a vacuum that
other powers, including China
and Russia, have moved to fill.
Phillips distils the fraught
recent history of this part of
the world to bite-sized chunks
that together offer a sweeping
overview of its flashpoints.
Battleground is a lucid, cogently
argued and accessible study of
a region once again in crisis.

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3 March 2024 25

Books
Rediscovered
Her Side of the Story
by Alba de Céspedes
Pushkin Press £20 pp504
Laura Hackett
Born in 1911, the Italian author
Alba de Céspedes was married
at 15, a mother at 16 and a
divorcee at 20. Then she began
her career as a writer and
journalist — in between her
antifascist activities, which got
her locked up twice. With an
unblinking focus on the inner
lives of women, de Céspedes is
frequently compared to Elena
Ferrante. But her astonishing
life goes some way to
explaining why her writing is
angrier and more energetic
than that of her literary heir.
Last year Pushkin Press
published Forbidden Notebook,
her novel, serialised between
1950 and 1951, about a
dissatisfied housewife. Now it
has brought out Her Side of the
Story, first published in 1949,
in an effortlessly poetic
translation by Jill Foulston. It is
at once a revolutionary thriller,
bildungsroman and cry of
feminist frustration.
Alessandra is a bright but
strange young woman. Her
brother Alessandro died a few
months before she was born,
and she feels that he is an “evil
power” within her, pushing her
26 3 March 2024
GETTY IMAGES
A classic
revived
This 1950s Italian
feminist writer is an
energetic, angry genius
towards “wicked thoughts, and
unwholesome desires”. She
sits for hours alone, has few
friends and acts not by duty
but by emotion alone.
Alessandra is obsessed with
her mother, Eleonora, and
with the other women in their
apartment building, who spend
their days shopping, cleaning,
cooking, caring — and then
freshening up when their
disappointing husbands return.
What keeps them going is a
real, utterly unclichéd belief in
the necessity of all-consuming
Revolutionary thriller
Alba de Céspedes
romantic love. They take lovers,
and even their mothers-in-law
do not stop them. They are
“bound by a solidarity stronger
than kinship”. Eleonora places
her true, unconsummated love
above all — and Alessandra
vows to do the same.
But it’s not that simple.
“There’s something so
numbing in the everyday
rhythm of life”, and its pull is
even stronger in wartime, when
men go to war and women are
trapped in their kitchens.
Alessandra becomes used to
hearing the “arrogant … voice
on the radio” — Mussolini. Even
when she works for the
antifascist partisans, hiding
bombs in her bicycle basket,
her contribution is overlooked.
As she makes tea for the
self-congratulatory male
revolutionaries, Alessandra
wonders “if only the ones the
men carried were dangerous”.
Meeting her husband,
Francesco, a communist
academic, should allow her to
fulfil her ambition of a truly
equal partnership. But
Alessandra is repeatedly kept at
a distance, lying in bed “alone
again behind the wall made by
his shoulders”. She goes to
humiliating lengths to preserve
the integrity of their love — they
must talk, walk together, look
at each other. But she can’t
explain what she wants to him
— it is an incomprehensibly
female desire.
What takes Her Side of the
Story from feminist tragedy
into actual-work-of-genius
territory is its strange, almost
nauseating moments of
menace. Like when Alessandra
is shipped off to stay with her
father’s relatives in the
countryside and is slowly
entranced by the farm’s natural
beauty: “As I sat on the grass,
a splash of sunlight would fall
into my lap like a fruit.” A few
pages later she is killing the
farm’s prize rooster (he was
pecking the hens): “His neck
proved to be fragile, though
swollen with blood.” This
remarkable dramatic whiplash
resonates throughout the novel.
I finish very few novels
knowing that I will read them
again. Her Side of the Story is
one of them, an exceptional
exception. I will turn to this
shard-in-the-heart book again
one day, knowing new
treasures await me inside.
CHILDREN’S
BOOK OF
THE WEEK
A Drop of Golden Sun
by Kate Saunders
Faber £7.99, age 8-12
Nicolette Jones
So many children’s books
involve destroying the
baddie or defeating the bully.
This, Kate Saunders’s last
novel, is all forgiveness and
peacemaking. Dislikable
characters turn into people
you love. Everyone learns
how to get along. It centres
around Jenny, who secures
a part in a film, The Sound of
Music, as the title indicates
— except not. It is The Music
Makers, there are only four
siblings and the governess
is not a nun. This recounts
an idyllic and life-changing
summer of shooting the film
in France with a cast that
includes Germans and a Jew
for whom the plot is painfully
resonant. Compassion
helps to heal rifts and the
German actors playing the
Nazis are the nicest of all.
Soaked in sunshine and the
warmth of friendship, this is
a joyous and gentle book,
pitched perfectly for young
readers who dream of
finding where they belong.
WATCH
OUT FOR
Big Ideas from
Literature How Books
Can Change Your World
The School of Life £20, age 9+
Aiming to grow emotional
intelligence, this book invites
children to ask questions
about themselves and about
solving conflict. Even if you
don’t agree with everything
it says about literature, it will
make its readers think.

My life with
Tom, Brad
and Julia
Ed Zwick got great performances by
chumming up to Hollywood’s A-listers,
but was hurt when they stopped calling
Memoir
Hits, Flops, and Other
Illusions
My Fortysomething Years
in Hollywood
by Ed Zwick
Gallery Books £18.99 pp304
Tom Shone
People often say “such-and-
such a film would never get
made these days”. It’s a tired
and empty cliché.
In the case of the director Ed
Zwick, though, it really is true.
Zwick’s films — big-budget
historical epics with lots of
cannon fire and movie stars
with big hair shot against even
bigger sunsets — are the
definition of the type of movies
that Hollywood has snipped
from its business plan.
After Blood Diamond,
Zwick’s film about diamond
hunters starring Leonardo Di
Caprio, was a modest hit in
2006, the president of Warner
Bros, Alan Horn, took the
director out to lunch. “I love
this movie, I’m proud of it
and I’m going to hang the
poster in my office,” Horn
told him. “But it’s the last one
of its kind we’ll ever make.”
“But why?” Zwick asked.
“Because it costs $100 million
to make and the studio only
made a $40 million profit. . .
And $40 million doesn’t
move the needle on our
stock price.”
These days Zwick grows
tired when young executives
tell him that his films — The
Last Samurai, Blood Diamond,
Legends of the Fall — are the
reason they got into the
business. “Whenever that
happens, I know I’m not
getting hired,” he writes
drolly in his entertaining
memoir, Hits, Flops, and Other
Illusions: My Fortysomething
Years in Hollywood.
Film’s loss is publishing’s
gain: freed from the self-
imposed omertà of a fully
active film-making career,
Zwick is at liberty to dish on
everything from an exchange
of “f*** you”s and chairs with
Brad Pitt on the set of Legends
of the Fall after the actor
wouldn’t emote, to working
with the “maddeningly self-
confident” Tom Cruise on
The Last Samurai (“DO YOU
KNOW WHAT WE GET TO
DO TODAY?!!!” “WE GET TO
MAKE. . . A. . . MOVIE!”), to
riding shotgun with Denzel
Washington while researching
Courage Under Fire. “Most
actors tense up when you say
‘Action!’. But if you were to
attach sensors to register
Denzel’s heart, perspiration
and respiratory rate, my
guess is you would find him
Hathaway burst into
tears and Zwick told
the cameras ‘Roll’
in a kind of monk-like trance,”
he writes.
He calls such moments of
onscreen zen “being kissed
by the Angel”. More than just
serving up great dish —
although he does have some
great stories, not least a
fabulous moment of
indiscretion featuring Julia
Roberts and Daniel Day-Lewis
in a hotel room in Holland
Park — the book is a how-to
manual on the emotional
WARNER BROS/ALAMY
jujitsu of dealing with
movie stars. “I have
played both good
cop and bad,
psychoanalyst, flirt,
camp counselor, drug
counselor, scourge,
tutor, BFF, coach, con
artist, confidante, and
co-conspirator,” writes Zwick,
who when an actor does
something he doesn’t like
never says, “I have a better
idea.” He says, “You’ve just
given me a great idea.” And
when they do something he
does like, he never says so,
for they will simply repeat it.
He just tells them they look
“incredible in that coat”.
After attempts at tears for
the final scene of Love & Other
Drugs, Anne Hathaway
whispered, “I’m dry,” to
which Zwick responded with
an avuncular arm around
her shoulder. “Annie,” he
said, “you are great in this
movie. There is absolutely
no need to cry in this scene.”
At which point Hathaway
burst into tears and Zwick
told the cameras “Roll”.
Zwick understands the
seduction at the heart of
cinema and movie stardom.
Perhaps the most interesting,
and humbling, revelation of
the book is the emotional
hangover he seems to suffer
from each of his starry-eyed
encounters, one minute
enjoying long wine-soaked
dinners on location with his
new best friend, telling his
wife excitedly, “This one is
different,” the next moment
wondering why they won’t
return his calls.
Zwick doesn’t have to look
far for the source of his
horse-whisperer skills with the
stars or the disappointment he
suffers at their hands: his
father, Allen, an alcoholic,
serially bankrupt and “a
classic narcissist: charming,
charismatic, handsome,
seductive, and self-absorbed.”
The co-creator of
Thirtysomething has not
skimped on therapy: “That I
should choose a life pursuing
intimate relationships with
movie stars is almost comic in
its Freudian implications,” he
writes, but it’s also more grist
to the mill. “I know I became
a better director once I became
a parent.”
On the set of The Last
Samurai Cruise was a
little emotionally
opaque during a scene
where he had to say
goodbye to the son
of a man he has killed,
but rather than
confront the star
directly, Zwick asked
him, quietly, “Tell me about
your son.” After a moment
Tom Cruise of surprise Cruise started
control Ed speaking about his son,
Zwick, above, Connor, who had only just
directed the returned to Los Angeles, his
actor in The whole demeanour softening as
Last Samurai he did so. At a certain point
Zwick pushed him on to the
porch and whispered: “Go.”
After the scene had wrapped,
Cruise mouthed: “Thank you.”
The show of vulnerability
only went one way, though.
When Zwick unpacked his
BUY FROM worries over the schedule,
OUR ONLINE Cruise simply patted him on
the shoulder and wandered off.
BOOKSHOP He didn’t want to see his
All titles director shaken. Later
reviewed can Zwick’s spirits bucked up.
be bought at “How ya doing, boss?”
timesbookshop. Cruise called out.
co.uk or call “Better.”
020 3176 2935. “Good, GOOD! You know
Discount for what we get to do tonight?”
Times+ “What?”
members “MAKE A MOVIE!”
3 March 2024 27
 Books
PAPERBACKS
OF THE WEEK
Beyond the Wall: East
Germany 1949-1990
by Katja Hoyer
Penguin £12.99
We typically think of East
Germany as an utterly
miserable authoritarian
anomaly. But by its own
lights the GDR was a
success, Katja Hoyer says of
the country where she grew
up. It was the most affluent
country in the communist
world. Fridge ownership
was double the rate in the
West. Far more women went
to university and joined the
workforce; the female
employment rate was the
highest in the world. Hoyer
is under no illusions about
the regime’s repression, but
she is more interested in the
lives of the majority than the
experience of the relatively
small number of dissidents.
As a result, this history is
terrifically colourful,
surprising and enjoyable.
Dominic Sandbrook
Wandering Souls
by Cecile Pin
Fourth Estate £9.99
Wandering Souls tells the
story of Anh, a Vietnamese
girl who is 15 when she flees
with two of her siblings,
Minh and Thanh, in 1978. It’s
a bold debut that breaks
new ground in telling the
story of the “boat people”
who landed in Britain.
Francesca Angelini
ST DIGITAL
For more picks, and our
choice of the best of 2024 so
far, go to thesundaytimes.
co.uk/culture
28 3 March 2024
Eternal corpses in Rome,
Cossack chaos in Kyiv
HISTORICAL FICTION
ROUND-UP
Nick Rennison
The Book of Secrets
by Anna Mazzola
Orion £18.99
With books such as The Clockwork
Girl and The House of Whispers,
Anna Mazzola has established
herself as a writer of great variety
and inventiveness. Her new novel
takes place in 1650s Rome. Men
are dying and their corpses seem
mysteriously resistant to decay.
A young, ambitious magistrate
named Stefano Bracchi is given
the task of discovering the truth
behind the rumours.
Elsewhere in the city, Girolama
is the head of a coterie of female
healers committed to helping
women violently mistreated by
their menfolk. As his investigation
proceeds, Stefano is obliged to
confront the extreme measures
of self-defence that the abused
women, many now his prisoners,
have taken. He begins to question
his beliefs about power and justice.
Based on real events from the
17th century, The Book of Secrets
proves neither a simple morality
tale (female virtue pitted against
male villainy) nor simply a
historical thriller. It is a haunting,
complex work of fiction.
The Tower
by Flora Carr
Hutchinson Heinemann £16.99
Many authors have produced
fictional portraits of Mary, Queen
of Scots, but none has been quite
like that provided by Flora Carr in
her debut novel. Its first pages, in
which the deposed and pregnant
Mary is introduced, shielded from
the male gaze by her women
attendants, emptying her bladder
on the grass during her journey to
confinement in Lochleven Castle,
demonstrate Carr’s commitment
to realism.
Trapped in the tower of the
castle, imprisoned by bitter men
who wish her nothing but ill, Mary
has only the loyalty of her two
maids on which to rely. Her body
threatens to let her down (her
pregnancy ends in a bloody
miscarriage), but she is determined
to survive. Carr has taken an
often overly romanticised
historical figure and given
her new life and originality.
PICK The Silver Bone
OF THE MONTH by Andrey Kurkov
MacLehose £20
Kyiv in 1919 is a city in chaos.
Bolsheviks are supposedly in
control, but they are under threat
from forces wishing to restore
Romanov rule. Violence is
everywhere and Samson
Kolechko’s father falls victim to
it during a murderous rampage
through the streets by a troop
of Cossack horsemen. Samson
himself is lucky. He loses only
an ear, not his life.
More by chance than design,
he becomes a police detective
and stumbles upon a bizarre case
involving murder, a bespoke suit
tailored for a person of highly
unusual proportions, and an
artificial femur bone made from
finest silver. Andrey Kurkov, the
author of Death and the Penguin, is
often acclaimed as Ukraine’s finest
contemporary novelist. The first
of his Kyiv Mysteries, set in a world
turned upside down, where
nothing is certain but uncertainty,
is told with black humour and
great narrative brio.
The Rumor Game
by Thomas Mullen
Abacus £21.99
The author of the Darktown trilogy,
set in mid-20th-century Atlanta,
Thomas Mullen has a rare ability
to write fiction that combines
historical detail with the twisting
plot of a thriller. His latest novel
unfolds in 1940s Boston soon after
Pearl Harbor has propelled
America into the Second World
War. The ambitious journalist Anne
Lemire is searching for a story that
will make her reputation.
The womanising FBI agent
Devon Mulvey is investigating the
killing of a Jewish factory worker,
a murder in which his superiors
and the local police seem little
BUY FROM OUR interested. At first separately,
then together, they begin to
ONLINE BOOKSHOP unearth evidence of fascists and
All titles reviewed bitter antisemites at work within
can be bought at the city. As they are drawn further
timesbookshop.co.uk, into danger, Mullen delivers a
or call 020 3176 2935. gripping narrative of the past with
Discount for unmistakable echoes of problems
Times+ members that still trouble the present.
 The best of the week ahead
SEVEN DAY LISTINGS
MARCH 3 - 9
family headed by the brittle Kray-ette
THE GENTLEMEN Susie Glass (Kaya Scodelario).

TV &
Netflix, from Thursday
Eddie Halstead (Theo James) lives in a
very big house in the country. It’s been
in his family for more than 600 years
This is the starting point of Guy
Ritchie’s new series, a spin-off from
his 2019 film of the same name — and
it doesn’t simmer down from there.
Aristocrats, gangsters, boxers, Vinnie
Jones — Ritchie’s not straying far from

Radio
and the dukedom should have passed
to his elder brother Freddy (Daniel
Ings) on their father’s recent death. On
Eddie’s to-do list: handle his brother’s
£8 million drug debt then deal with a
cannabis farm hidden underneath the
cowsheds, leased by his dad to a crime
Down to business Theo James and
Kaya Scodelario as Eddie and Susie
his blood-spattered comfort zone.
Despite the dated post-Britpop
swagger, The Gentlemen is admirably
committed to keeping its entertainment
value above the market price, its
manic escalations and incipient dread
packed into nonstop action. All this
and Ray Winstone too — quite the
gangsters’ paradise.
Victoria Segal

PICK
OF THE
WEEK

FILM CHOICE STREAMING CHOICE SPORT CHOICE

James Bond with Goldfinger, Damsel married to a prince. Six Nations The home team will be
In a move that will followed by On Her (Friday, Netflix) But things take (Saturday, ITV1, hoping to stop Ireland’s
delight spy fans, ITV Majesty’s Secret The final series of a turn when he 4.20pm, ko 4.45pm) bid to become the
has secured a deal Service (Tue) , The Spy Stranger Things may tosses the fair Twickenham will be first team to claim
to screen all 25 Bond Who Loved Me (Wed) be about a year off, but maiden into a packed to the rafters back-to-back grand
films, and feature- and Licence to Kill fear not: you can enjoy dragon’s lair. as England take slams. Before that, at
length documentaries. (Thu). The 007 films Millie Bobby Brown, on Ireland in the 2.15pm, Italy will host
Beginning on Monday will remain avaliable on right, in a new fantasy penultimate Scotland at the Stadio
at 8pm, ITV4 will show ITVX for 30 days after film. She plays a young round of the Olimpico in Rome.
a film a day, starting their initial broadcast. woman engaged to be championship. Jake Helm
3 March 2024 29
SUNDAY 3 MARCH
BBC 1
6.00 Breakfast Headlines.
7.30 Match Of The Day (R)
9.00 Sunday With Laura
Kuenssberg Interviews.
10.00 Politics Discussion.
10.30 Sunday Morning Live
11.30 Love, Faith And Me (R)
12.15 Bargain Hunt Curios. (R)
1.00 News; Weather Reports.
1.15 Songs Of Praise The
Rev Kate Bottley is in
Scarborough to mark
200 years of the RNLI.
1.50 Money For Nothing (R)
2.15 Escape To The Country (R)
3.15 FILM: Shaun The Sheep
Movie With the voice of
Justin Fletcher. (2015, U)
4.35 A Perfect Planet (R)
5.35 News; Weather Reports.
6.00 Countryfile Matt Baker
and Charlotte Smith head
to the UKs longest and
highest aqueduct.
7.00 Antiques Roadshow Fiona
Bruce returns to Woodhorn
Museum, Northumberland,
where items include a
George Cross medal
awarded to a miner who
helped rescue the victims
of a pit disaster. (R)
8.00 Call The Midwife Miss
Higgins receives an
unexpected visitor; Sister
Monica ru�les feathers; and
Poplar votes for its Mother
of the Year. (Last in series)
9.00 Death In Paradise Marlon
receives a call from an old
fan who claims he has
been hurt, only for things
to turn violent; and
Nevile’s conversations
with Sunset Chaser stall
when he requests to see a
photo. (Series 13, ep 5)
10.00 News; Weather Reports.
10.30 Match Of The Day 2
Including Manchester City
v Manchester United.
11.30 The Women’s Football
Show Match highlights.
12.20 CHOICE Brooklyn Stars
Saoirse Ronan and
Domhnall Gleeson. An Irish
immigrant starts a new life
in 1950s New York, but she
soon faces a harsh choice.
(2015, 12; see Film choice)
2.10-6.00 Joins BBC News
SCOTLAND 10.00 The Sunday
Show. 11.30 Sportscene —
Premiership Highlights. 12.00
Women’s Football Show. 12.50
FILM: Brooklyn. 2.40 BBC News.
Variations
BBC1 WALES 4.35 Amy Dowden’s
Dare To Dance 5.05 SOS —
Extreme Rescues BBC SCOTLAND
7.00 The Seven 7.15 Sportscene
— Premiership Highlights 7.45
Rewind 2000s 8.00 Highland
Cops 9.00 Murder Case 10.00
Still Game 10.30 Norwegian Fling
11.00-12.00 Seven Days STV
6.00 EFLHighlights 7.30 James
Martin’s Saturday Morning 9.25
News; Weather 9.30 Love
Your Weekend 11.30 Raymond
Blanc’s Royal Kitchen Gardens
30 3 March 2024
BBC 2
6.30 Countryfile Rural life. (R)
7.30 Breakfast Headlines.
9.00 Life In A Cottage Garden
Carol Klein creates some
colourful borders. (R)
9.30 Athletics Live coverage of
the opening session on day
three of the world indoor
championships in Glasgow,
where the men’s heptathlon
continues with the 60m
hurdles, and the first medals
of the day are awarded in
the women’s triple jump
and the men’s high jump.
12.15 MOTD — Women’s Super
League: Arsenal v
Tottenham Hotspur. Live
coverage from Emirates
Stadium. Kickoff at 12.30.
2.45 FILM: Scott Of The
Antarctic Stars John Mills
and Derek Bond. Charting
the British explorer’s efforts
to beat his Norwegian
rivals to the South Pole in
1912. Authentic fact-based
drama. (1948, U)
4.30 Flog It! Selling items. (R)
5.30 Inside The Factory Farrow
& Ball. (Last in series, R)
6.30 Athletics Further live
coverage of the third and
final day of the world
indoor championships at
Emirates Arena in Glasgow,
where the men’s and
women’s 4x400m relays
will among the most
eagerly anticipated races
of the day. Plus, the finals
of the men’s pole vault,
800m and 1500m, and
women’s long jump, 60m
hurdles, 800m and 1500m.
10.15 QI With panellists Tom
Allen, Chris McCausland
and Lou Sanders. (R)
10.45 CHOICE True Things
Stars Ruth Wilson and Tom
Burke. A woman living on
the fringes of society slowly
becomes intoxicated by a
charismatic stranger.
(2022, 18; see Film choice)
12.20 FILM: After Love Stars
Joanna Scanlan. A widow
from Dover discovers
her late husband had a
secret across the English
Channel in Calais.
Sensitive drama. (2020, 12)
1.45 Question Time (Signed, R)
2.45 Waterloo Road (Signed,
Last in series, R)
3.45-3.55 Lifeline (Signed, R)
12.30 Love Your Garden 1.00
News; Weather 1.15 Saturday Night
Takeaway 2.45 FILM: Mamma
Mia! 5.00 Wheel Of Fortune 6.00
News; Weather 6.15 Regional
News 6.30 Dancing On Ice 8.00
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
9.00 Trigger Point 10.00 News;
Weather 10.15 The Dry 11.20 The
British Airways Killer 12.15 EFL
Highlights 1.30 Teleshopping 3.00
Raymond Blanc’s Royal Kitchen
Gardens 3.55 Night Vision 5.10
Karen Carney’s Leaders Of The
Pack 5.35-6.00 Made In Britain
S4C 6.00 Cyw 7.15 Octonots
ITV 1
6.00 EFL Highlights (R)
7.30 James Martin’s Saturday
Morning With guests
including Chris Robshaw
and Camilla Kerslake. (R)
9.25 News; Weather Reports.
9.30 Love Your Weekend With
guests Andrew Castle, Ray
Mears, Fiona Dolman
and Neil Dudgeon.
11.30 Raymond Blanc’s Royal
Kitchen Gardens Dumfries
House in Ayrshire.
12.30 Love Your Garden (R)
1.00 News; Weather Update.
1.15 Saturday Night Takeaway
With Ant and Dec. (R)
2.45 FILM: Mamma Mia! Stars
Meryl Streep. A bride
invites three of her mother’s
old flames to her wedding
to learn who is her father.
Exuberant. (2008, PG)
5.00 Wheel Of Fortune (R)
6.00 News; Weather Update.
6.15 Regional News Headlines.
6.30 Dancing On Ice The
remaining celebrities and
their partners take part
in the semi-final.
8.00 Who Wants To Be A
Millionaire? Quiz show.
9.00 CHOICE Trigger Point
Lana learns to her horror
that the terrorists intend
her to be a key component
of their next attack. (See
Critics’ choice; last in series)
10.00 News; Weather Update.
10.15 The Dry Bernie accuses
her neighbour Simon of
trying to poison her. (7/8)
10.45 The Dry Shiv
prepares to return to
London. (Last in series)
11.20 The British Airways Killer
Drama. (2/2, R)
12.15 EFL Highlights (R)
1.30 Teleshopping Purchasing.
3.00 Raymond Blanc’s Royal
Kitchen Gardens (R)
3.55 Unwind Daily relaxation.
5.10 Karen Carney’s Leaders
Of The Pack (6/6, R)
5.35-6.00 Made In Britain (R)
Burke, Wilson (BBC2, 10.45pm)
7.25 Sigldigwt 7.40 Patrol
Pawennau 7.55 Sbarc 8.10 Twt
8.20 Dal Dy Ddannedd 8.40 Crawc
A’i Ffrindiau 8.50 Penblwyddi
Cyw 9.00 Mynyddoedd Y Byd
10.00 Y Fets 10.30 Y ’Sgubor
Flodau 11.30 Dechrau Canu
Dechrau Canmol 12.15 Dan Do
12.50 Tir Cymru 1.50 Ffilmiau Ddoe
2.20 Ty Am Ddim 3.20 Ar Werth
3.50 Cefn Gwlad 4.25 Clwb Rygbi
6.10 Pobol Y Cwm 7.15 News 7.30
Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol
8.00 Am Dro! 9.00 Gogglebocs
Cymru 10.00 Adam Price A Streic
Y Glowyr 11.00-11.35 Y Ditectif
Channel 4
6.10 Cheers Comedy. (R)
7.30 Everybody Loves
Raymond Comedy. (R)
8.25 The Simpsons Cartoon. (R)
9.30 Sunday Brunch With
Kaiser Chiefs and Richard
and Izzy Hammond.
12.30 The Simpsons Cartoon. (R)
2.25 The Dog House (R)
3.30 The Dog Academy (R)
4.30 A Place In The Sun (R)
5.15 Love It Or List It —
Brilliant Builds Renovation
conundrums. (R)
6.15 News; Weather Reports.
6.45 Ancient Egypt By Train
Alice Roberts visits upper
Egypt and completes her
journey in the city of
Aswan. (Last in series, R)
7.45 The Great Pottery Throw
Down Lee Price, prestige
ceramic artist at Duchess
China, is a guest judge for
the semi-final, in which the
contenders must take on
the toilet challenge.
9.00 CHOICE The Push
— Murder On The Cliff
Scotland’s top legal team
tackle the death of Leeds-
based lawyer Fawziyah
Javed, who fell from the top
of Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh,
dying alone with no
witnesses far from home.
(1/2; see Critics’ choice)
10.30 Gogglebox The armchair
critics share their opinions
on what they have been
watching during the week,
with cameras capturing
their instant reactions. (R)
11.30 Open House — The Great
Sex Experiment A couple
want to bring another man
into their relationship, by
having a threesome. (R)
12.35 Remarkable Places To Eat
Fred Sirieix takes a culinary
tour of Rome with Michelin-
starred chef Giorgio
Locatelli, heading for the
Vatican City in search of one
of the most unusual cheap
eats money can buy. (R)
1.30 The Jury — Murder Trial
A restaging of a real-life
murder trial re-enacted in
front of two juries. (R)
2.25 FILM: Downhill Stars Julia
Louis-Dreyfus and Will
Ferrell. A couple’s near-
death experience forces
them to re-evaluate their
relationship. Fair. (2020, 15)
3.50-6.10 Come Dine With Me
Dinner parties. (R)
After the latest Pointless Celebrities (the
words scraping and barrel sprung to mind),
my husband and I would like to put ourselves
forward to appear. We are the only people
You say
we’ve actually heard of.
Sally Sullivan
Why are Bradley Walsh and son hosting
Gladiators? As wooden as our front door.
Irene Thomas
Send your comments to telly@sunday-times.co.uk
Channel 5
6.00 Milkshake! Children’s fun.
9.05 Entertainment News
9.10 Friends US sitcom. (R)
11.10 Holidaying With Jane
McDonald & Friends (R)
1.10 Inside The Tower Of
London Two baby ravens
join the Tower’s resident
colony. (R) 2.05 Inside The
Tower Of London Staff
celebrate the anniversary
of Elizabeth II’s coronation
in 1953. (R) 3.05 Inside
The Tower Of London A
look at some of the rubbish
discarded from the Tower
in years gone by. (R)
4.00 Queen Victoria — In Her
Own Words Miriam
Margolyes narrates an
exploration of the queen’s
life through her diaries,
journals and letters. (R)
6.00 News; Weather Reports.
6.05 When Reality TV Goes
Horribly Wrong A
compilation of on-air
disasters from the world of
reality TV, with misjudged
formats, stars who fell
from grace and bust-ups.
8.00 Bargain-Loving Brits In
The Sun An Essex-born
DJ prepares for one of her
busiest weekends; and
an entertainer has his
first art exhibition.
9.00 Into The Congo Ben Fogle
encounters the mighty
Congo River for the first
time, and meets the
daredevil fishermen risking
their lives on its fierce
rapids to put food on the
table. (Last in series)
10.00 The Greatest TV Of The
60s A look at the best
programmes of the
decade, including clips of
Coronation Street, The
Avengers, Pete and Dud
and Monty Python. (R)
12.05 FILM: Steptoe And Son
Stars Harry H Corbett and
Wilfrid Brambell. Harold
marries a stripper – but
makes the mistake of
letting Albert tag along
on the honeymoon. Not
quite vintage. (1972, PG)
1.45 Casino Show Gambling.
3.45 Eamonn & Ruth — How
The Other Half Lives (R)
4.30 How To Deep Clean Your
Home Documentary. (R)
5.20 House Doctor Advice. (R)
5.40 Entertainment News
5.50-6.00 Mixmups (R)
 Critics’ choice
The Push — Murder On The Cliff
(C4, 9pm)
The horrors of domestic abuse
and coercive control are made
clear in this documentary about
the death of 31-year-old Fawziyah
Javed in September 2021. The
Leeds-based solicitor was 17 weeks
pregnant with her first child when
she died after falling from Arthur’s
Seat in Edinburgh; Kashif Anwar,
her husband, was quickly arrested
for her murder. A deliberate push
is difficult to prove without
witnesses, yet the evidence Javed
had recorded to document the
abuse her husband had inflicted
on her during their short marriage
was essential to the prosecution.
While this is in part a forensically
fascinating courtroom
documentary focusing on the
trial, it also provides a
heartbreaking insight into the
insidious nature of abusive
relationships and the impact
of a murder on a family. The
two-parter concludes on Monday.
Victoria Segal
How The BBC Began
(BBC4, 9pm)
It can seem as if the BBC is
constantly firefighting, under
attack from all sides as it struggles
to uphold its doctrine of
impartiality. As this film from John
Bridcut shows, such turmoil is
nothing new — it was a concern
with the coverage of the 1926
General Strike. Screened as part of
the BBC’s centenary celebrations,
Shooting The Rapids follows 2022’s
Accident And Opportunity and
Building The Audience as the third
in a trilogy of films about the
corporation’s first 50 years. Its
remit: to show how the BBC
reacted to the demands of pleasing
politicians, the press and the public
— not to mention that scourge of
the libertine, Mary Whitehouse.
Among those contributing are Joan
Bakewell, Waris Hussein, David
Dimbleby, David Attenborough and
Joe Haines, Harold Wilson’s press
secretary. VS
On demand
○ Boys From The Blackstuff
(BritBox)
Last year James Graham revived
Alan Bleasdale’s pitch-dark
portrayal of Liverpool life under
Thatcherism as a vivid, angry stage
play. What got lost on the stage was
the vast emotional scope of the
original 1982 TV series. Although
Bleasdale depicted claustrophobic
lives hemmed in by unemployment
and poverty, the time and space he
Fawziyah Javed with Anwar, who was jailed for her murder (C4, 9pm)
The Read: Frankenstein
(BBC4, 7.55pm)
The series of “performed readings”
returns with Mary Shelley’s 1818
gothic fable. Victor Frankenstein,
a young scientist, infuses life
into lifeless matter and is appalled
by the monster that results.
Casting Alex Kingston as the
adaptation’s reader is a departure
from the book’s three male
narrators — Victor, the Creature
and a polar explorer — but gives
it a female voice that reflects
Shelley’s authorship.
Alex Kingston (BBC4, 7.55pm)
devoted to these lives was rich
and respectful. Graham’s play is
on at the National Theatre from
May and it’s worth catching, but
ultimately it’s a “best of” highlights
reel. This is the real deal.
○ Friends From College (Netflix)
Hated by critics when it first
appeared, in 2017, Francesca
Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller’s
antagonistic comedy drama now
feels like a show ahead of its time.
Centred on a group of wealthy
World’s Most Dangerous Roads
(Dave, 8pm)
Taking a break from its usual
reliance on pairs of comedians,
the extreme-driving travel show
reunites two popular figures
from Sky’s Soccer Saturday — its
former anchorman Jeff Stelling
and match reporter Chris
“Kammy” Kamara. While
navigating tricky mountain,
jungle and urban roads in Sri
Lanka, the pals reminisce and
discuss Stelling’s decision to retire
and Kammy’s apraxia of speech.
Trigger Point (ITV1, 9pm)
The bomb disposal thriller series
pulls off a riveting finale.
Captured by the terrorists, Lana
(Vicky McClure) is forced to
infiltrate a high-security briefing.
If she fails to follow instructions
to explode or plant a bomb, her
parents (under surveillance by
her captors) will die.
John Dugdale
Harvard alumni living in New
York and dealing with the
repercussions of their solipsistic
lives, it features an amazing cast
of comic performers (Keegan-
Michael Key, Cobie Smulders,
Annie Parisse, Fred Savage, Jae
Suh Park) playing awful people.
If you’ve longed for a series that
crossed Judd Apatow’s ensemble
Hollywood comedies with the
Safdie brothers’ anxiety-inducing
psychodramas, here it is.
Andrew Male
Tennis stars go head
to head in Las Vegas
The Netflix Slam (Netflix)
Sport and showbusiness hurtle
towards each other as Rafael
Nadal, the 22-time men’s grand-
slam title winner, takes on Carlos
Alcaraz, the world No 2, in this
exhibition match streaming live
from Las Vegas. The dangerous
unpredictability of the format
couldn’t be clearer given reports
that Alcaraz retired from
February’s Rio Open due to an
ankle injury. Here’s hoping this
game arrives with a less painful
kind of drama. VS
Spain’s
finest:
Carlos
Alcaraz and
Rafael Nadal
Film choice
True Things (BBC2, 10.45pm)
Tom Burke plays a nameless cad
who seduces a seemingly
bamboozled woman called Kate
(Ruth Wilson). Kate is a benefits
officer from Ramsgate and Burke’s
character is an ex-con. The
relationship, consummated in a car
park, becomes so destructive that
the movie leans towards a Fatal
Attraction-style thriller. (2021)
L’immensità (Sky Cinema
Premiere, 10.15pm)
Penélope Cruz plays Clara, an
eccentric Italian mother in a
coming-of-age tale set in 1970s
Rome. Clara is cursed with beauty
in a society that aggressively
fetishises it. Her daughter is so
suffocated by Clara’s sensuality
that she now identifies as male
and claims to be descended from
a space alien. There are buoyant
musical numbers in there too, and
a plot about marital betrayal. (2022)
Brooklyn (BBC1, 12.20am;
Scotland, 12.50am)
Saoirse Ronan’s expressive face
carries this romance across the
Atlantic, from small-minded
Enniscorthy in Ireland to big-
hearted New York. Like all
immigrants’ tales, the journey
has its challenges. Doubts hover
constantly in Ronan’s eyes, then
are quietly hidden inside, seen only
by the audience, with much left
unsaid in Nick Hornby’s script of
Colm Tóibín’s novel. (2015)
3 March 2024 31
SUNDAY 3 MARCH
BBC 3
7.00pm The Fast And The
Farmer-ish Six more teams
compete to be the best
tractor drivers in the UK.
7.30 Gladiators Bradley and
Barney Walsh host.
8.30 NBA: Boston Celtics v
Golden State Warriors.
Live coverage of the inter-
conference match at TD
Garden. Tip-off at 8.30.
11.15 Things You Should Have
Done O�beat family
sitcom, with Lucia Keskin.
A young woman suddenly
has to fend for herself. (1/6)
11.40 Things You Should
Have Done Chi ponders
never working again.
12.10 Boarders Comedy. (2/6)
1.00 Domino Day Double bill.
2.25 High — Surviving A Dubai
Drugs Bust Drama series.
3.25-3.55 The Fast And The
Farmer-ish Contest.
Drama
3.55pm Catherine Cookson’s
The Man Who Cried Period
drama about a man whose
extramarital affair leads to
murder. With Ciarán Hinds.
7.05 Sister Boniface Mysteries
A high-level government
official’s secretary is found
dead. (Series 1, ep 5) 8.05
Sister Boniface Mysteries
The teen heartthrobs the
Queenmakers are playing
Great Slaughter, but a
band member is found
dead from a bee sting.
9.00 Silent Witness A woman
confesses to murdering
her husband and the Lyell
team must determine if
all is as it seems. (3/3)
11.10-12.30 Murphy’s Law The
detective impersonates a
priest to investigate the
suspicious death of a
novice nun. (Series 2, ep 5)
Films
SKY CINEMA PREMIERE
6.00pm The Bricklayer. A former
CIA agent is reactivated when the
agency is targetted. (2023, 15)
8.00 Ferrari. In 1957, former
racecar driver Enzo Ferrari embarks
on an race across Italy. (2023, 15)
10.15-12.05 CHOICE L’immensità.
A mother contends with her abusive
marriage while caring for her
children. (2022, 12; see Film choice)
SKY CINEMA THRILLER
5.50pm Hotel Mumbai (2018, 15)
8.00 Now You See Me 2. Magicians
turned criminals expose the
activities of a ruthless businessman.
(2016, 12) 10.15-12.15 The Family.
A gangster in witness protection in
rural France cannot resist returning
to a life of crime. (2013, 15)
SKY CINEMA GREATS
5.45pm Ferrari (2023, 15) 8.00
Operation Mincemeat. During the
Second World War, two intelligence
officers use a corpse and false
papers to outwit German troops.
(2021, 12) 10.10 Miss Potter (2006,
PG) 11.50-1.50 Der Kaiser (2022, PG)
32 3 March 2024
BBC 4
7.00pm Great Railway
Journeys Victoria Wood
takes a trip around northern
England and Scotland.
7.55 CHOICE The Read:
Frankenstein. Alex Kingston
presents a performance
of Mary Shelley’s novel.
(See Critics’ choice)
9.00 CHOICE How The BBC
Began Exploring the
evolution of impartiality.
(3/3; see Critics’ choice)
10.30 Frankenstein — Birth Of A
Monster The origins of
Mary Shelley’s novel.
11.30 Britain’s Lost Waterlands
— Escape To Swallows
And Amazons Country
The British landscapes that
inspired Arthur Ransome.
12.30 The Magical World Of
Julia Donaldson Insights.
1.30 Great Railway Journeys
2.25-3.30 As 7.55pm
Sky Arts
4.10pm The Shadows — The
Final Tour A 2004 concert
by the instrumental band
at the Cardiff Indoor Arena.
7.00 Guy Garvey — From
The Vaults The Elbow
frontman looks back at
1984, featuring Madonna’s
first British TV appearance,
and performances from
Sade and the Style Council.
8.00 Andre Rieu — Roses From
The South The violinist
and his Johann Strauss
Orchestra perform on the
island garden of Mainau in
Lake Constance, Germany.
10.00-12.00 Down The Tracks
— The Music That
Influenced Bob Dylan
Records and artists that
inspired the singer in
his formative years,
including Pete Seeger
and Blind Willie McTell.
SKY CINEMA SELECT
5.40pm The Talented Mr Ripley
(1999, 15) 8.00 Erin Brockovich. A
single mother working at a law firm
investigates a shady corporation.
(2000, 15) 10.15-12.05 Sleepless In
Seattle. A boy tries to find his
widowed father a new wife via a
radio phone-in show. (1993, PG)
FILM4
6.00pm Independence Day.
The American president leads
the fight against a force of alien
invaders. (1996, 12) 9.00-1.05
The Godfather Part II. A mafia
don’s rise to power comes under
threat from a traitor. (1974, 18)
TALKING PICTURES TV
6.00pm Tell Me Another 6.40 The
House Across The Lake. A writer
rents a cottage and befriends his
neighbour, only to end up being
dragged into a plot to murder her
husband. (1954, PG) 8.10 A Lifetime
Ago With The Baim Collection 9.00
Manhunt 10.05 Ghost Ship. A
couple buy a yacht only to find it is
haunted by murderous ghosts, so a
paranormal investigator steps in to
lay them to rest. (1952, U) 11.35-
1.20 A Re�lection Of Fear (1972, 18)
ITV 2
7.00pm FILM: Legally Blonde 2
— Red, White And Blonde
Stars Reese Witherspoon.
The dizzy heroine is now a
qualified lawyer and sets
out to stop the testing of
cosmetics on animals.
Dumb sequel. (2003,
PG; includes FYI Daily)
9.00 Big Brother’s Biggest
Best Bits Hosts AJ Odudu
and Will Best relive their
favourite moments
from inside the house.
10.00 Olivia Attwood —
Getting Filthy Rich The
reality star delves into
the world of stripping
11.05 Family Guy Lois becomes
a gambling addict. (Series 1,
ep 6) 11.35-12.00 Family
Guy In the first-ever
episode, Peter loses his job
at the toy factory. (S1, ep 1)
Sky Max
6.00pm FILM: Stargate —
Continuum Stars Ben
Browder. The SG-1 team
returns to the Earth to find
history has been altered by
a malevolent alien. Pacey
sci-fi spin-off. (2008, PG)
8.00 A Discovery Of Witches
Fantasy, with Teresa Palmer
and Matthew Goode. A
historian crosses paths
with a vampire. (S1, ep 1, R)
9.00 Magnum PI Thomas and
Higgins revisit an arson
investigation. (S5, ep 19, R)
10.00 An Idiot Abroad Karl
Pilkington boards the
Trans-Siberian Express. (R)
10.55 Fantasy Football League
With Emma Hayes. (R)
11.30-12.25 Poker Face An
ageing race-car driver
feuds with a hot-headed
young upstart. (7/10, R)
Entertainment
ITV4
6.00pm Cycling 7.00 LIVE Darts.
Jacqui Oatley presents live coverage
of the evening session on day
three of the UK Open, from Butlin’s
Minehead, featuring the semi-finals
and final of the competition 11.00
Hornblower 1.15-2.20 Minder
MORE4
5.50pm Come Dine With Me 7.55 999
— On The Front Line 9.00 24 Hours
In A&E. A barman has a fractured
eye socket 10.00 The Emergency
Ward 11.05 Emergency Helicopter
Medics 12.05 The Good Doctor
1.05-2.05 999 — On The Front Line
GOLD
5.40pm Only Fools And Horses
8.25 Dad’s Army 9.00 The Thin
Blue Line 11.00 Ricky & Ralf’s Very
Northern Road Trip 12.00 The Thin
Blue Line 2.00-3.15 Hi-De-Hi!
SKY COMEDY
6.00pm Will & Grace 6.30 The US
Office 9.00 Saturday Night Live
10.25 Barry 11.45 Saturday
Night Live 1.15 Curb Your
Enthusiasm 1.50-3.00 Ballers
ITV 3
5.55pm Rosemary & Thyme
A murder takes place at
a monastery. (Series 3,
ep 2) 7.00 Rosemary &
Thyme The duo help
reorganise a seed museum
— but it is not long before
a man is found dead.
8.00 The Larkins The family do
all they can to get Pop out
of prison, and Mariette tells
him he is going to be
grandfather. (S2, ep 5)
9.00 Joanna Lumley’s Home
Sweet Home — Travels In
My Own Land The actress
travels from North Wales
to St Michael’s Mount
and the West Country.
10.00 Trial & Retribution Walker
investigates a woman’s
disappearance. (1/2)
11.05-12.00 Trial &
Retribution The diary’s
authenticity is questioned.
Sky Atlantic
5.00pm The Wire Carcetti faces
a massive school-budget
deficit. (S4, ep 12) 6.15 The
Wire Colvin proposes a
solution to Namond’s
problems. 7.50 The Wire
Increased funding for
education over more
money for the police leads
to the Major Crimes Unit
being disbanded. (S5, ep 1)
9.00 Band Of Brothers The
men of Easy Company
overrun Hitler’s Bavarian
fortress retreat. (10/10)
10.15 Euphoria Provocative
drama, with Zendaya. A girl
leaving rehab struggles to
see a clean future for
herself. (Series 1, ep 1)
11.20-12.30 Winning Time —
The Rise Of The Lakers
Dynasty Buss bets big as
the Lakers enter a new
season. (Series 2, ep 1)
5 STAR
6.00pm Police Interceptors 9.00
FILM: Ocean’s Eleven. Stars George
Clooney, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts
11.20 FILM: American Made. Stars
Tom Cruise and Domhnall Gleeson
1.55-2.45 Cold Case Killers
5 USA
6.00pm NCIS. Back-to-back
episodes of the drama series
10.00 Law & Order: Special Victims
Unit 1.55-2.50 Criminal Minds
SKY WITNESS
6.00pm Nothing To Declare
8.00 Caught On Dashcam 9.00
Fire Country. Bode and Mike put
their differences aside to make a
daring rescue 10.00 Blue Bloods
11.00 Law & Order: Special Victims
Unit 12.00 The Equalizer 1.00
Law & Order: Organized Crime
2.00-3.00 New Amsterdam
W
5.40pm Miranda 7.00 999 Rescue
Squad 8.00 Inside The Operating
Theatre. Medical insights 9.00 25
Siblings & Me 10.20 Katherine Ryan
— Parental Guidance 11.20 DNA
Family Secrets 12.45 The Undateables
1.50-3.00 Wedding Valley
E4
5.40pm Lego Masters New
Zealand The teams are
asked to make builds based
on a popular celebration.
6.40 FILM: Star Trek Beyond
Stars Chris Pine. The USS
Enterprise is lured into a
deadly trap, which leaves
the crew stranded on an
unexplored alien world.
Superior sci-fi. (2016, 12)
9.00 FILM: War For The Planet
Of The Apes Stars Andy
Serkis. Caesar and his apes
are forced into a clash
with an army of humans
led by a ruthless colonel.
Spectacular fantasy
adventure. (2017, 12)
11.40-12.15 The Inbetweeners
Will is home alone when his
mother goes away for the
weekend. (Series 3, ep 5)
Talk TV
7.00 Talk Today A mixture of
news, weather and lively
opinions to start the day.
10.00 Peter Cardwell The
Westminster insider scours
the latest from parliament.
1.00 Nick De Bois The former
MP presents monologues,
lively debates and plenty of
time for viewers’ calls.
4.00 Trisha Goddard The
broadcaster takes a look
through the week’s stories.
7.00 The Sunday Night Club
The host Mark Saggers
reflects on the sporting
weekend and more.
10.00-1.00 Peter Cardwell The
Westminster insider scours
the latest news from
parliament, featuring
exclusive interviews.
Available on Sky 522; Freeview 237;
Virgin 606; Freesat 217; YouTube,
connected TVs and smart devices
COMEDY CENTRAL
4.50pm FILM: Miss Congeniality 2
— Armed And Fabulous. Stars
Sandra Bullock 7.00 Friends 9.00
FILM: What Women Want. Stars Mel
Gibson and Helen Hunt 11.30 Out
Of Order 12.30-1.30 Michael
McIntyre — Happy & Glorious
YESTERDAY
6.00pm Bangers & Cash — Restoring
Classics 8.00 ’Allo ’Allo! 10.00
Bangers & Cash 11.00 Abandoned
Engineering 12.00-1.00 Bangers &
Cash — Restoring Classics
DAVE
6.00pm Border Force — America’s
Gatekeepers 8.00 CHOICE
World’s Most Dangerous Roads (See
Critics’ choice 9.00 Have I Got A Bit
More News For You 10.00 Mock The
Week 11.20 QI 12.00 Live At The
Apollo 1.00-2.25 Red Dwarf
Factual
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
6.00pm Car SOS 8.00 Rewind The
90s 9.00 Air Crash Investigation
10.00 Apocalypse — The Rise Of
Hitler 12.00 Nazi Megastructures
1.00-2.00 Rewind The 90s
5 Great films...
Christopher Nolan
1 The Dark Knight
(2008, Sky/Now)
Nolan transforms a movie
about the caped crusader into
an urban nightmare. This is
brainy entertainment.
2
Oppenheimer
(2023, buy/rent)
It’s the monster eating
up awards season. Cillian
Murphy dazzles and Emily
Blunt soars by the end.
3
Inception
(2010, Sky/Now)
Leonardo DiCaprio is a thief
who can invade dreams and is
tasked with planting an idea
in the mind of a corporate
kingpin (Murphy).
4
Memento
(2000, Netflix)
This is the film that
really announced
what Nolan was
about. A gripping and
intelligent murder
mystery with a
puzzle-box narrative.
5
The Prestige
(2006, buy/rent)
A Victorian-era thriller
starring Hugh Jackman
and Christian Bale as
deadly, competing stage
magicians.
Jake Helm
DISCOVERY
6.00pm Mystery At Blind Frog
Ranch 7.00 Alaska — Homestead
Rescue. A rift threatens an extended
family on their overcrowded Texas
homestead 9.00 Peter Crouch —
Save Our Beautiful Game 10.00
Kindig Customs 11.00 Holden Bros.
Restos 12.00-4.00 Diesel Brothers
PBS AMERICA
4.55pm Britain On Film With Tony
Robinson 6.05-12.00 Britain’s Great
Cathedrals. With Tony Robinson
SKY DOCUMENTARIES
5.00pm Jackie Stewart 7.00
Chernobyl — The Lost Tapes 9.00
Spitfire 11.00-1.00 Be Water
SKY NATURE
6.00pm My Best Friend’s An Animal
7.00 Deep Dive Australia 8.00
Secret World Of Sound With David
Attenborough. A focus on mating
calls 9.00 Extreme Snakes:
Australia 10.00 Extreme Snakes:
Africa 11.00-12.00 Secret World Of
Sound With David Attenborough
DISCOVERY HISTORY
6.00pm HMS Ark Royal 8.00 Salvage
Hunters. Back-to-back editions
10.00-12.00 Shed And Buried
Leonardo
DiCaprio
in Inception
Sport
SKY SPORTS MAIN EVENT
6.00am LIVE LPGA Tour Golf 7.30
Good Morning Sports Fans 10.00
Super Sunday Matchday 11.00 LIVE
SPFL: Hearts v Celtic. Kickoff 12.00
2.00 LIVE Super Sunday: Burnley v
Bournemouth. Joining one hour after
kickoff 3.00 LIVE Super Sunday:
Manchester City v Manchester
United. Kickoff 3.30 6.00 LIVE
WSL: Leicester City v Chelsea.
Kickoff 6.00 8.30 LIVE PGA Tour
Golf 11.00 LIVE Tennis. The Chile
Open 12.00 LIVE Tennis. The San
Diego Open 2.00-6.00 News
TNT SPORTS 1
6.00am LIVE A-League 8.00 Uefa
Champions League Magazine 8.30
PL — Big Interview 9.00 WWE 11.00
National League 11.30 LIVE Serie A
1.30 Premiership Women’s Rugby
2.30 LIVE Premiership Women’s
Rugby: Loughborough Lightning v
Sale Sharks Women. Kickoff 3.00
5.15 Deaf Away Days 5.30 WWE
7.00 Uefa Champions League 7.30
LIVE Serie A: Napoli v Juventus.
Kickoff 7.45 9.45-6.00 LIVE Test
Cricket: New Zealand v Australia
Radio & Podcasts
○ Drama On 3:
Dog In The Manger
(Radio 3, 7.30pm)
This is a lively Spanish
Golden Age comedy
by Shakespeare’s
contemporary Lope de
Vega (and author of an
estimated 1,800 plays),
translated and adapted
by David Johnson. In a
tale of love, envy and
class, Diana, Countess
of Belflor (Olivia Poulet)
is consumed by jealousy
by her secretary
Teodoro’s ( Joe Thomas)
relationship with her
servant Marcela (Aimee-
Ffion Edwards). Diana is
in love with Teodoro too,
but can’t marry him as
he’s not an aristocrat, so
she attempts to force the
couple apart. Will true
love win the day?
TIMES RADIO
10.00 Sunday Morning With
Kate McCann And Adam Boulton
1.00 Alexis Conran 4.00 Ayesha
Hazarika With Times Radio
Drive 7.00 The Best Of Times
Podcasts 8.00 Stories Of Our
Times 8.30 Highlights From Times
Radio 10.00 Darryl Morris 1.00
Stories Of Our Times 1.30
Highlights From Matt Chorley
2.00 The Best Of Times Radio
To get in touch with the Times
Radio studio, text TIMES plus your
message to 87222. Texts cost
your standard message charge.
RADIO 4
10.00 The Archers 11.15 Desert
Island Discs. Lauren Laverne talks
to another celebrity 12.00 News
12.01 (LW) Shipping 12.04 One
Person Found This Helpful (R)
12.32 The Food Programme 1.00
The World This Weekend 1.30
Three Million. The food crisis
forces people to make life and
death decisions 2.00 Gardeners’
Question Time (R) 2.45 Opening
Lines. John Yorke explores
Daphne du Maurier’s stories (1/2)
3.00 Drama: Daphne Du Maurier
— Double Exposure. Adaptations
of the author’s stories, starting
with Don’t Look Now 4.00
Bookclub. With the crime writer
Ann Cleeves 4.30 The Poetry
Detective. Poems to help with the
end of life (3/3) 5.00 File On 4 (R)
5.40 Profile (R) 5.54 Shipping
6.00 News 6.15 Pick Of The Week
7.00 The Archers 7.15 Stuart
Mitchell’s Cost Of Living. The
comedian re�lects on working with
Gordon Brown 7.30 Jazz Emu
— The Sound Of Us. Artificial
Intelligence puts Jazz Emu’s
historic musical career in jeopardy
7.45 The Song Thief, by Colin
Carberry 8.00 More Or Less (R)
8.30 Last Word (R) 9.00 Money
Box (R) 9.25 Appeal (R) 9.30
Loose Ends (R) 10.00 The
Westminster Hour 11.00 The
Moral Maze (R) 12.00 News 12.15
Sideways (R) 12.45 Bells (R) 12.48
Shipping 1.00 As World Service
Caught in the middle: Joe
Thomas (Radio 3, 7.30pm)
○ Drama: Daphne du
Maurier — Double
Exposure (Radio 4, 3pm)
Kicking off a fortnight of
programmes celebrating
Daphne du Maurier is Katie
Hims’ adaptation of the 1971
short story Don’t Look Now.
Jamie Parker and Aisling
Loftus star as bereaved
RADIO 4 EXTRA
10.00 Desert Island Discs Revisited
10.45 One Man And His Bog 11.00
Poetry Extra 11.30 The Warlow
Experiment Omnibus — Part Two
12.40 Inheritance Tracks 12.50
Curious Under The Stars 2.00 All
Gas And Gaiters 2.30 The Navy
Lark 3.00 Desert Island Discs
Revisited 3.45 One Man And His
Bog 4.00 LP Hartley: Short Stories
4.30 Haunted 5.00 Poetry Extra
5.30 The Warlow Experiment
Omnibus — Part Two 6.40
Inheritance Tracks 6.50 Curious
Under The Stars 8.00 All Gas And
Gaiters 8.30 The Navy Lark 9.00
Desert Island Discs Revisited 9.45
One Man And His Bog 10.00 The
Confessional 10.30 Thanks A Lot,
Milton Jones! 11.00 The Masterson
Inheritance 11.30-12.00 Edge Falls
LBC
10.00 David Lammy 1.00 Sangita
Myska 4.00 Carol Vorderman 7.00
Rachel Johnson 10.00 Nick Abbot
1.00 Clive Bull 4.00 Ian Payne
RADIO 3
9.00 Sunday Morning 12.00 Private
Passions (R) 1.00 Lunchtime
Concert. Pieter Wispelwey and Paolo
Giacomett play Schubert, Chopin
and Prokofiev (R) 2.00 The Early
Music Show. Lucie Skeaping chats
to Clare Norburn of the Telling 3.00
Choral Evensong 4.00 Jazz Record
Requests (R) 5.00 The Listening
Service. The string quartets of
Elizabeth Maconchy 5.30 Words
And Music. Works about women
rebelling and questioning 6.45
Between The Ears — Sounds First
And Words First. Emerging talent
from BBC development schemes for
sound designers and young poets
collaborate to create new spoken
word and sound design poems 7.15
Sunday Feature. Eleanor Rosamund
Barraclough explores the lingering
rites of Roman bathing, and is joined
by Frank Geicco and Elizabeth
Archibald to examine its rituals 7.30
Drama On 3: Dog In The Manger.
David Johnston’s adaptation of
Lope de Vega’s comedy, with
Olivia Poulet and Joe Thomas
couple John and Laura
who take a trip to Venice
in an attempt to move on
from the death of their
daughter. Their lives are
shattered further when
they meet a woman who
claims to be able to see
their dead child.
○ Dead River (podcast)
In 2015 Brazil’s Mariana
dam collapsed, flooding
more than 50 million litres
of arsenic-laced waste into
the environment, with the
damage spreading across
the country and into the
Atlantic. Liz Bonnin looks
at how action against a
mining agent on behalf
of 700,000 plaintiffs
affected will become
the UK’s largest class-
action lawsuit.
Clair Woodward
9.00 Record Review Extra. The
Building a Library recommended
version of Haydn’s Symphony No
100 11.30 Slow Radio — The
Sounds Of The BBC’s Wild Isles.
David Attenborough introduces a
soundscape using clips recorded
and created for his nature series
Wild Isles, taking listeners on a
trip around Great Britain and
Ireland (R) 12.00 Classical Fix
12.30 Through The Night
CLASSIC FM
10.00 Aled Jones 1.00 Joanna
Gosling. Brahm’s final symphony
is Joanna’s Sunday Symphony
4.00 Stephen Mangan 7.00 Zeb
Soanes 10.00 Ritula Shah 1.00
Bill Overton 4.00 Lucy Coward
RADIO 2
9.00 Sunday Love Songs 11.00
The Michael Ball Show. With
Lesley Joseph and Giovanna
Fletcher 1.00 Elaine Paige 3.00
Sounds Of The 70s With Johnnie
Walker 5.00 Rob Beckett 7.00
Tony Blackburn’s Golden Hour
8.00 Paul Gambaccini Collection
10.00 Radio 2 Unwinds 12.00
Phil Williams 3.00 Alternative
Sounds Of The 90s With Dermot
O’Leary 4.00 Owain Wyn Evans
VIRGIN RADIO
9.30 Graham Norton Radio Show
12.30 Tom Allen 4.00 Tim Cocker
7.00 Sunday Special 8.00 Bam
12.00 My 80s Playlist 1.00 Sean
Goldsmith 4.00 Steve Denyer
TALKSPORT
9.00 The Sunday Edition 11.00
The Warm Up 1.30 The Sunday
Session 6.30 Final Word 9.00
Trans Europe Express 12.00 A
Talksport Special 1.00 Extra Time
RADIO 4 FM 92.4-94.6 MHz
LW 198 kHz (1515m), MW 720 kHz
LBC FM 97.3 MHz
RADIO 3 FM 90.2-92.4 MHz
CLASSIC FM FM 100-102 MHz
RADIO 2 FM 88-90.2 MHz
TALKSPORT MW 1053,
1071, 1089, 1107 kHz
3 March 2024 33
MONDAY 4 MARCH
BBC 1 BBC 2
6.00 Breakfast Headlines.
9.30 Morning Live Magazine.
10.45 Crimewatch Live New run.
Appeals for information.
11.30 Homes Under The
Hammer Auctions. (R)
12.15 Bargain Hunt Curios.
1.00 News; Weather Reports.
1.45 Doctors Jimmi is worried
about Al; Liv annoys Rob;
and Luca meets a priest
having a crisis of faith.
2.15 Clean It, Fix It The team
helps young parents in
Kingston upon Thames.
3.00 Escape To The Country
Jules Hudson helps a
couple find the perfect
Westcountry pad in Devon.
3.45 The Bidding Room (R)
4.30 Antiques Road Trip (R)
5.15 Pointless Quiz show. (R)
6.00 News; Weather Reports.
6.30 Regional News Update.
7.00 The One Show Features.
7.30 EastEnders Zack and
Bianca need some help in
order to convince Whitney
to return to Walford.
8.00 Panorama In-depth
current affairs report.
8.30 Scam Interceptors Rav
Wilding and his team of
interceptors try to stop an
elderly woman in Canada
from being scammed out
of her life savings. (R)
9.00 CHOICE The Way With
Steffan Rhodri. Geoff’s past
actions catch up with him
when the Driscolls reaches
a refugee camp, and the
family has been traced
there by Hogwood who
presents an impossible
choice. (See Critics’
choice; last in series)
10.00 News; Weather Reports.
10.40 Have I Got News For You
Jack Dee hosts the quiz
show, with Phil Wang and
Sayeeda Warsi. (R)
11.10 Domino Day Having been
stripped of her power
and finally free of Silas,
Domino tries to enjoy a
date with Leon. (5/6, R)
11.55 The Wheel Guests include
Dermot O’Leary, Jessica
Ennis-Hill, Roman Kemp
and Adam Kay. (R)
1.00-6.00 Joins BBC News
SCOTLAND 6.30 Reporting
Scotland; Weather. 8.30
Scotland’s Greatest Escape.
11.10 Sportscene — SWPL
Highlights. 11.55 Domino Day.
12.40 The Wheel. 1.45 BBC News.
Variations
BBC1 WALES 7.00 SOS —
Extreme Rescues 8.00 Wynne’s
Welsh 80s 8.30 Panorama 10.40
Sian Phillips At 90 11.40 Have I
Got News For You 12.10 Domino
Day 12.55 BBC News BBC2
WALES 7.00 The One Show BBC
SCOTLAND 2.00 Sign Zone: The
Forest 2.30 Norwegian Fling. With
Martin Compston 3.00-4.00 Inside
The Zoo 7.00 Sportscene — SWPL
Highlights 7.45 Sportscene
Goals+ 8.00 Inside The Zoo
9.00 The Nine 10.00 River City
34 3 March 2024
6.45 Rick Stein’s Food Stories
Insights. (Last in series, R)
7.15 Clean It, Fix It (R)
8.00 The Hairy Bikers Go West
In Lancashire. (Signed, R)
9.00 News; Weather Headlines.
12.15 Politics Live Discussion.
1.00 Impossible Gameshow. (R)
1.45 The Tournament (R)
2.30 The Farmers’ Country
Showdown At Petersfield
Farmers’ Market. (R)
3.00 Saved And Remade (R)
3.30 Murder, Mystery And My
Family The murder of a
canal boat passenger. (R)
4.15 Scotland From The Sky (R)
5.15 Flog It! In Cornwall. (R)
6.00 House Of Games Quiz. (R)
6.30 Rick Stein’s Cornwall
Foraging for mussels in
rock pools; and touring
Bodmin Moor’s past. (R)
7.00 SOS — Extreme Rescues
A team searches for an
injured man they think has
taken magic mushrooms.
7.30 Mastermind Clive Myrie
hosts the third semi-final
of the quiz competition.
8.00 Only Connect A contest
between the Analysts and
the Scribes — the winners
of series five and six. (R)
8.30 University Challenge
Amol Rajan asks the
questions as the quarter-
final stage continues.
9.00 Inside Our Autistic Minds
Chris Packham helps a
group of people on the
autism spectrum create
short films. (1/2, R)
10.00 Alma’s Not Normal
Comedy, with Sophie
Willan. A woman returns
home after a break-up,
only to find her mother has
been sectioned. (1/6, R)
10.30 Newsnight Headlines.
11.15 Our Flag Means Death
Stede gains confidence
during his captain lessons
with Izzy. (Series 2, ep 5)
11.45 Our Flag Means
Death The Revenge crew
throw a party in honour
of Calypso’s birthday.
12.10 CHOICE The Souvenir
Stars Honor Swinton Byrne.
A film student becomes
romantically involved
with a complicated and
untrustworthy man. (2019,
15; see Film choice)
2.05 Countryfile (Signed, R)
3.00-4.00 The Way Drama.
(Signed, Last in series, R)
10.30 David Wilson’s Crime Files
11.00 Raiders Of The Lost Archive
11.30-12.00 Growing Up Scottish
STV 6.00 Good Morning Britain
9.00 Lorraine 10.00 This Morning
12.30 Loose Women 1.30 News;
Weather 2.00 Alan Titchmarsh’s
Gardening Club 3.00 Lingo 4.00
Tipping Point 5.00 The Chase
6.00 Regional News 6.30 News;
Weather 7.30 Emmerdale 8.00
Coronation Street 9.00 Celebrity
Big Brother 10.30 News; Weather
11.00 Regional News 11.10
Scotland Tonight 11.35 Who
Wants To Be A Millionaire?
ITV 1
6.00 Good Morning Britain
9.00 Lorraine Lifestyle chat.
10.00 This Morning Features.
12.30 Loose Women Debate.
1.30 News; Weather Reports.
2.00 Alan Titchmarsh’s
Gardening Club New
series of tips, tricks, and
insights for seasoned and
aspiring gardeners alike.
3.00 Lingo Three more pairs
take part in the word game,
presented by Adil Ray. (R)
4.00 Tipping Point Ben
Shephard hosts the game.
5.00 The Chase Bradley Walsh
presents as four more
hopefuls pit their wits
against a quiz genius.
6.00 Regional News Update.
6.30 News; Weather Reports.
7.30 Emmerdale Rhona realises
that Gus is deceiving
her; Ruby is suspicious;
and Chas is bolstered
by Aaron’s support.
8.00 Coronation Street Adam
risks Harvey’s wrath by
abandoning the appeal
case; and Ryan and
Daisy’s rekindled passion
meets with disapproval.
9.00 CHOICE Celebrity Big
Brother — Live Launch
New series. AJ Odudu and
Will Best host as the well-
known faces move in
together, ready to have
their every word and move
recorded for the viewing
public. (See Critics’ choice)
10.30 News; Weather Reports.
11.15 Who Wants To Be A
Millionaire? Jeremy
Clarkson hosts the quiz,
giving contestants the
chance to take their
place in the hot seat and
vie for a cash prize. (R)
12.10 Teleshopping Purchasing.
3.00 Next Level Chef Hosted
by Gordon Ramsay. (R)
3.50 Unwind Daily relaxation.
5.05-6.00 Ainsley’s Fantastic
Flavours Using cheese. (R)
Blooming marvellous (ITV1, 2pm)
12.30 Teleshopping 3.00 Next
Level Chef 3.50 Night Vision
5.05-6.00 Ainsley’s Fantastic
Flavours S4C 6.00 Cyw 12.00
News 12.05 Taith Rwmania 12.30
Heno 1.00 Cymry Ar Gynfas
1.30 Dan Do 2.00 News 2.05
Prynhawn Da 3.00 News 3.05
Stryd I’r Sgrym 3.50 Bwyd Epic
Chris 4.00 Awr Fawr 5.00 Stwnsh
6.00 Arfordir Cymru 6.30 Rownd
A Rownd 6.57 News 7.00 Heno
7.30 News 8.00 Y Byd Ar Bedwar
8.25 Y Fets 8.55 News 9.00 Cefn
Gwlad 9.30 Sgorio 10.00 Gwesty
Aduniad 11.00-11.35 Ar Werth
Channel 4
6.10 Countdown Game. (R)
6.50 Cheers Comedy. (R)
8.05 Everybody Loves
Raymond Comedy. (R)
9.30 Frasier Sitcom. (R)
11.00 The Great House
Giveaway A property in
Royton, Lancashire. (R)
12.00 News; Weather Reports.
12.05 Sun, Sea And Selling
Houses House-hunting. (R)
1.05 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (R)
2.10 Countdown Game.
3.00 A Place In The Sun (R)
4.00 A New Life In The Sun (R)
5.00 Chateau DIY Owners
decide to introduce an
English bandstand. (R)
6.00 Come Dine With Me A civil
servant hosts the first party
from Dundee and Perth.
6.30 The Simpsons Another trio
of spooky tales, as dolphins
attack Springfield. (R)
7.00 News; Weather Reports.
7.55 The Political Slot Insights.
8.00 CHOICE Remarkable
Renovations George
Clarke meets a man who
has bought an office unit in
London for £360,000,
which he plans to turn into
a stylish two-bedroom
house. (See Critics’ choice)
9.00 The Push — Murder On
The Cliff Exclusive access
to the murder trial at
Edinburgh High Court, in
which the jury hear the
testimony of the person to
find Fawziyah after she fell
from Arthur’s Seat. (2/2)
10.30 Investigating Diana —
Death In Paris The story of
the police investigation
into the Paris car crash that
killed Diana, Princess of
Wales, Dodi Al-Fayed and
Henri Paul in August 1997.
(R) 11.30 Investigating
Diana — Death In Paris
The French police search
reaches its concluding
stages, with the hunt for a
white car allegedly involved
coming to nothing. (R)
12.30 Untold: I Don’t Trust My
Therapist. Documentary.
1.00 Ramsay’s Kitchen
Nightmares USA (R)
1.50 The Simpsons (R)
2.15 The Jury — Murder Trial
Legal experiment. (R)
3.10 Couples Come Dine With
Me In Newcastle. (R)
4.05 Grand Designs (R)
5.00 Love It Or List It (R)
5.55-6.10 Kirstie’s House Of
Craft Snow globes. (R)
There’s only one reason why we bother to
watch The Apprentice nowadays and that
is for Lord Sugar’s classic one-liners.
Bruce Chalmers
You say
When Jeremy Clarkson says let’s play Who
Wants To Be A Millionaire (ITV), why does he
always growl like a demented bloodhound when
he says the word millionaire?
Mike Nettleton
Send your comments to telly@sunday-times.co.uk
Channel 5
6.00 Milkshake! Children’s fun.
9.15 Jeremy Vine Debate.
11.15 Storm Huntley Opinions.
12.45 Alexis Conran & Friends
1.35 News; Weather Reports.
1.45 Home And Away Cash
sounds the alarm that
Eden is missing. (R)
2.15 The Secrets He Keeps
Thriller, with Revell
Carpenter. A father cheats
on a younger woman who
ends up dead, leading to a
murder investigation. (R)
4.00 Shoplifters — Caught Red
Handed Documentary
following shopping centre
security teams. (R)
5.00 News; Weather Reports.
6.00 Susan Calman’s Grand
Day Out The presenter
heads back to Yorkshire. (R)
6.55 News; Weather Reports.
7.00 Police Interceptors The
firearms team race to the
scene of an alleged
shooting, only to find
themselves embroiled
in an unconnected
domestic incident. (R)
7.55 News; Weather Reports.
8.00 Traffic Cops Officers chase
a suspected stolen vehicle
believed to be using fake
number plates; a call
comes in about a fight;
and a woman is caught
driving her partner’s
car with no licence.
9.00 Inside The Force — 24/7
Middlesbrough officers
deal with a spate of
burglaries and thefts, with
a man claiming he was
robbed in his hotel room by
two men he believes might
have spiked his drink.
10.00 Police Code Zero —
Officer Under Attack
Exploring the number of
assaults on police officers,
revealing what they face in
the line of duty, and the toll
these incidents take. (R)
11.05 999 — Critical Condition
A woman is rushed in when
her heart stops; and a horse
rider is treated for a neck
injury caused by a fall. (R)
12.05 Traffic Cops Crime. (R)
1.05 Casino Show Gambling.
3.05 Eamonn & Ruth — How
The Other Half Lives (R)
3.50 How To Stop Your IBS (R)
4.40 Car Pound Cops — Give
Me My Car Back! (R)
5.05 Wildlife SOS Animals. (R)
5.30 Entertainment News
5.35-6.00 Children’s Shows
 Critics’ choice
Navalny (BBC4, 10pm)
In the opening of Daniel Roher’s
Oscar-winning 2022 documentary,
Alex Navalny insists it must be a
“thriller”: that a “boring” film in
his “memory” should only be
made posthumously. And so
a whodunnit investigating a
botched hit job it is, but — in the
wake of his death a fortnight ago
— it now also serves as a superb
memorial in which not a second
is boring. Largely covering the
period between summer 2020 (his
Novichok poisoning ahead of an
internal flight) and early 2021 (his
return to Russia), the Storyville
film centres on the charismatic
opposition leader’s life during his
German exile, and journalists’
detective work on how (and by
whom) he was poisoned. In an
unforgettable sequence Navalny
rings the spooks and scientists
responsible, first as himself and
then in prank mode as a Kremlin
official (and one of them confirms
the lethal nature of their mission).
John Dugdale
Discovering The Music Of
Antiquity (BBC4, 9pm)
Programmes such as this —
unashamedly highbrow, yet
exploring history with huge
enthusiasm as well as intelligence
— used to pop up regularly on
BBC4 but have become rarities
(and it’s telling that it’s a French
import from Arte, not made-in-
Beeb). Starting with the discovery
of a Greek score from about 400BC
on a papyrus in the Louvre, it
follows historians, archaeologists
and scientists’ efforts to
understand the music of three
ancient civilisations. Instruments
and sounds (Greek song, an
Egyptian harp, a Roman trumpet)
are reconstructed through a mix
of dusty detective work, computer
technology and trips to sites such
as Delphi. Just as fascinating as
these experiments are the wildly
different personalities involved
across several countries, from
curators to musicians. JD
On demand
○ The Water Margin
(Amazon Freevee)
If you were a British schoolkid in
the 1970s this Japanese TV drama
was required viewing. Shown on
BBC2 alongside the riotous martial
arts series Monkey, it provided an
easeful gateway into Japanese
culture and, unlike Monkey, was
not dubbed with dubious
“oriental” voices by English actors.
Based on the 14th-century Chinese
Navalny was known as “the man that Putin fears most” (BBC4, 10pm)
Curb Your Enthusiasm (Sky
Comedy/Now, 3am/9pm)
We reach the midpoint of Larry
David’s final series of his comedy.
While fans have consoled
themselves with the memory that
he has previously retired the show
only to be tempted back, this
episode feels like the beginning
of the end. Larry assists his lawyer
(played by the star of a much-loved
1990s sitcom) in naming his child
and requires his friends to make
a public declaration as to his
good character.
Drama in The Way (BBC1, 9pm)
novel of the same name, it’s the
epic tale of Song Jiang, the
12th-century Chinese bandit who
led an armed rebellion against the
Song dynasty, and is beautifully
narrated by Burt Kwouk.
○ 24 Hours In Police Custody
(C4 streaming)
The title suggests the lowest,
tawdry depths of reality TV or
the worst kind of “copaganda”.
In truth, since 2014 this fly-on-the-
wall series has consistently proved
Remarkable Renovations
(C4, 8pm)
To glamorous Balham, London,
and an industrial estate established
in the 1890s that is still home to a
leading joinery film and sundry
offices. It is into this inauspicious
patch that Yohance has sunk his
life savings with the intention of
turning a bland commercial plot
into a two-bedroom home.
Architect George Clarke is broadly
approving of his plans for the
transformation, but will Yohance
manage to stick to his own brief?
The Way (BBC1, 9pm)
The danger of becoming a national
treasure is writ large as Michael
Sheen’s daring but confused debut
directorial effort comes to a close.
The drama was also the brainchild
of Adam Curtis, the acceptable
face of conspiracy theory, and
playwright James Graham.
Tonight, a refugee camp features.
Helen Stewart
itself to be a documentary drama
operating at the highest level of
narrative storytelling. The
brainchild of Simon Ford, a
Bafta-winning producer, it is
a show that understands the
importance of character (shout-out
to CID detective Dave Brecknock
and his Viscount biscuits) and
knows exactly how to leaven the
banal everyday world of police
work with gripping details of
horrible crime.
Andrew Male
Will Big Brother face
its own eviction?
Celebrity Big Brother — Live
Launch (ITV1, 9pm)
When Big Brother first aired in 2000,
the idea of isolating contestants in a
house was revolutionary. But brainy
reality shows such as The Traitors
have spoilt the party and viewing
figures, based on last year’s series
with ordinary housemates. ITV will
be hoping chucking in celebrities
will reinvgorate the format. Hosted
by AJ Odudu and Will Best, the cast
of the new series will be revealed
in a live launch, then the show is
nightly with an eviction on Friday.
Jake Helm
AJ Odudu
and Will
Best
Film choice
Treasure Island (TPTV, 4pm)
Orson Welles plays the avaricious
pirate Long John Silver, with Kim
Burfield as Jim Hawkins, a young
man who stumbles across a
treasure map after a sailor
collapses and dies in his mother’s
ale house. Jim decides that he is
going to try and locate the booty,
and to do so recruits a crew of
scurvy sea dogs, one of which is
the treacherous Long John. (1972)
Goldfinger (ITV4, 8pm)
A “Best of Bond” week on ITV4
begins with the third film in the
franchise, with Sean Connery as
the definition of suave. It is lighter
in tone than its predecessors — see
Shirley Eaton’s gold-covered corpse
— but Bond’s golf game against
Auric Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe) and
his near-dissection by the villain’s
laser beam are at least two of the
most tremendous scenes in the
franchise. It was the first 007 film
to win an Oscar. (1964)
The Souvenir (BBC2, 12.10am)
The mission of Julie (Honor
Swinton Byrne), the protagonist
of Joanna Hogg’s autobiographical
drama, is one of liberation: from
the lies in her relationship with her
boyfriend (Tom Burke), a Foreign
Office employee; from the passive-
aggressive henpecking of her
mother (played by Honor’s real-life
mum, Tilda Swinton); and from the
patronising world view of the male
tutors at her film school. (2019)
3 March 2024 35
MONDAY 4 MARCH
BBC 3 BBC 4
7.00pm MasterChef Making a
dish set by food critic Leyla
Kazim. 8.00 MasterChef
The third quarter-final.
8.30 Gavin & Stacey Pete and
Dawn renew their wedding
vows. (Series 3, ep 4)
9.00 High — Surviving A Dubai
Drugs Bust Karl’s trial is
approaching. (Last in series)
9.30 The Skinny Jab Uncovered
A look at the black market
in cut-price ‘skinny jabs’.
10.00 The Apprentice The
candidates must launch
a new Formula E Team.
11.00 RuPaul’s Drag Race —
UK Versus The World
12.15 High — Surviving A Dubai
Drugs Bust (Last in series)
12.45 Gavin & Stacey (S3, ep 4)
1.15 Things You Should Have
Done Offbeat sitcom.
2.10 Spud Comedy drama.
2.30-4.00 Made Up In Belfast
Drama
6.00pm As Time Goes By
Jean and Lionel spend a
weekend in the country.
(Series 6, ep 4)
6.35 Last Of The Summer Wine
Compo’s ferret goes
missing and seeks shelter
in Nora’s washing basket.
7.20 Last Of The Summer
Wine The trio do some
work in the cafe.
8.00 The Last Detective When
a man is found dead after a
college reunion, Davies
discovers bitter rivalry and
secrets could provide
a motive. (S3, ep 1)
9.35 New Tricks Sasha is asked
to prove a crime boss
was convicted on false
evidence. (Series 10, ep 10)
10.55-12.15 New Tricks
An old friend asks Gerry to
investigate the murder of
his grandson. (S11, ep 1)
Films
SKY CINEMA PREMIERE
4.25pm Mavka — The Forest Song
(2023, PG) 6.10 Dangerous Waters
(2023, 15) 8.00 Ferrari. Ex-racecar
driver Enzo Ferrari embarks on an
epic race. (2023, 15) 10.15-12.05
L’immensità. A mother contends
with her abusive marriage while
caring for her children. (2022, 12)
SKY CINEMA THRILLER
4.25pm Missing (2023, 15) 6.25
Identity (2003, 15) 8.00 The Saint.
An international thief accepts a job
to steal a scientist’s formula for
cold fusion. (1997, 12) 10.05
Blacklight. A government operative
finds himself in the crosshairs of an
FBI director. (2022, 12) 11.55-2.00
Paradise Highway (2022, 15)
SKY CINEMA GREATS
4.20pm The Bridges At Toko-Ri
(1954, U) 6.20 Hondo (1953, PG)
8.00 Sunset Boulevard. A faded
movie star persuades a struggling
writer to help her make a
comeback. (1950, PG) 10.00-12.45
Nashville. A portrait of American
society and culture. (1975, 15)
36 3 March 2024
7.00pm Frozen Planet Polar
bears await the return
of the Arctic ice.
8.00 Art Of America How
artists challenged the
status quo of post-war
America. (Last in series)
9.00 CHOICE Discovering The
Music Of Antiquity How
the discovery of an ancient
music score in the Louvre
set researchers on a
mission to recreate the
music. (See Critics’ choice)
10.00 CHOICE Navalny The
poisoning of Russian
opposition leader Alexei
Navalny in August 2020.
(See Critics’ choice)
11.35 The Story Of Welsh Art
12.35 Britain’s Lost Waterlands
— Escape To Swallows
And Amazons Country
1.35 Frozen Planet
2.35-3.35 Art Of America
Sky Arts
6.00pm Alfred Hitchcock
Presents: Martha Mason,
Movie Star. A woman is
unable get a divorce from
her husband. (Series 2,
ep 34) 6.30 Alfred
Hitchcock Presents:
The West Warlock Time
Capsule. A taxidermist
has domestic trouble.
7.00 The Joy Of Painting A
scene of crisp evergreens
in a bright meadow. 7.30
The Joy Of Painting A
mellow background giving
way to rock formations.
8.00 Romeo And Juliet
A 2019 performance by
the Ural Opera Ballet.
9.40 Andre Rieu — Roses From
The South A performance
from Lake Constance.
11.40-2.00 The Ghost Of
Richard Harris The life and
career of the Irish actor.
SKY CINEMA SELECT
5.40pm Jerry Maguire (1996, 15)
8.00 A Few Good Men (1992, 15)
10.20-1.00 Tár. Every aspect of
maestro Lydia Tár’s life comes
under scrutiny. (2022, 15)
FILM4
5.00pm Men In Black (1997, PG)
6.50 The Madness Of King George.
British monarch George III’s erratic
behaviour causes concern. (1994,
PG) 9.00-12.05 The Godfather
Coda — The Death Of Michael
Corleone. A mafia don tries to
legitimise his business. (2020, 15)
TALKING PICTURES TV
5.50pm Rhubarb (1968, U) 6.30
Out Of Town 7.00 The Footage
Detectives 8.00 Lost Hearts. A
ghost story 8.45 Jigsaw (1962, PG)
10.50-1.00 Malice (1993, 15)
Entertainment
ITV4
6.00pm Giant Lobster Hunters 7.00
Cycling. Paris-Nice highlights 8.00
CHOICE Goldfinger (See Film choice)
10.20 River Monsters 10.50 From
Dusk Till Dawn 11.55 The Professionals
1.00 Minder 1.55-2.20 Auto Mundial
ITV 2
6.00pm Catchphrase Game.
7.00 Ant & Dec’s Limitless Win
An couple engaged take
on the money ladder.
8.00 Superstore Amy and
Cheyenne attend Cloud 9
Academy to advance their
careers. (S4, ep 10) 8.30
Superstore Corporate
introduces a friendly
step-tracking challenge.
9.00 The Murder Of Ashley
Wadsworth — Social
Media Murders The tragic
story of a Mormon who was
found murdered in 2022.
10.00 Family Guy Brian runs
away. (Series 1, ep 7)
10.30 Celebrity Big Brother —
Late And Live New series.
AJ Odudu and Will Best
present the show.
11.35-12.05 Family Guy Stewie
tries to build a weather
control device. (S1, ep 2)
Sky Max
6.00pm Stargate Atlantis
A dark entity is unleashed.
(Series 1, ep 3, R) 7.00
Stargate Atlantis The
team gets trapped while
fleeing from the Wraith. (R)
8.00 Hold The Front Page
Nish Kumar and Josh
Widdicombe work at
the Yorkshire Post. (R)
9.00 Freddie Fries Again
Andrew Flintoff and Rob
Penn head to the south
coast of England. (R)
10.00 Rob Beckett’s Smart TV
Rob hosts as the comedy
panel show celebrating
the small screen. (R)
10.45 From Boyd travels deeper
into the forest than he has
ever gone. (S1, ep 9, R)
11.45-12.40 The Force —
Manchester Following
the work of Greater
Manchester Police. (R)
MORE4
5.50pm Heir Hunters 6.55 The Dog
House 7.55 Grand Designs 9.00 Car
SOS 10.00 Top Guns — Inside The
RAF 11.00 24 Hours In A&E 12.05-
1.05 Emergency Helicopter Medics
GOLD
6.00pm Keeping Up Appearances
6.40 The Thin Blue Line 7.20 Dad’s
Army 8.40 The Vicar Of Dibley 9.20
Gavin & Stacey 10.00 Toast Of
London 10.30 Live At The Apollo
11.30 The Vicar Of Dibley 12.10
Gavin & Stacey 12.50 Toast Of
London 1.20-2.25 Live At The Apollo
SKY COMEDY
6.00pm The US Office 7.00
Wellington Paranormal 8.00 Will &
Grace 9.00 CHOICE Curb Your
Enthusiasm (See Critics’ choice)
9.45 Last Week Tonight 10.25 Real
Time 11.35-12.15 Last Week Tonight
5 STAR
6.00pm Home And Away 7.00 GPs
— Behind Closed Doors 8.00
Shoplifters — Caught Red Handed
9.00 Ambulance — Code Red 10.00
Making A Serial Killer 11.00 The
Incident Room 12.00 Sleeping With
My Murderer 1.00-2.00 Skin A&E
ITV 3
5.55pm Heartbeat Mike
investigates a case of
bullying. (Series 8, ep 23)
6.55 Heartbeat Jackie
refuses to believe her uncle
could be responsible for
a hit-and-run incident.
8.00 Grace Crime drama, with
John Simm. Det Supt Roy
Grace is asked to help look
into the disappearance
of a Brighton property
developer. (Series 1, ep 1)
10.00 Trial & Retribution With
Roy Marsden. The body of
a teenage girl is discovered
in a chalk pit and suspicion
soon falls on a local
hardman’s son. (Series 11,
ep 9) 11.00 Trial &
Retribution The trial
takes a dramatic turn.
11.50-12.40 The Royal Frankie
injures a man who was
stealing his motorbike.
Sky Atlantic
5.30pm The Wire Marlo makes
a deal with Avon. (Series 5,
ep 2) 6.40 The Wire
Marlo offers a reward for
information about Omar.
7.55 House Of The Dragon
Rhaenyra oversteps at the
Small Council. (2/10)
9.00 Succession The family
attends a company gala
overseen by Connor and
highlighted by a surprise
announcement. (S1, ep 4)
10.10 Perry Mason Perry works
to expose the Radiant
Assembly’s corrupt
finances; and Drake’s
detective work opens a
new avenue in the
investigation. (S1, ep 7)
11.20-12.30 The Outsider
A family visiting a local
cave festival narrowly
avoids a dangerous
encounter. (8/10)
5 USA
6.00pm NCIS 10.00 Law & Order:
Special Victims Unit 1.55-3.35
FILM: Jesse Stone — Sea Change
SKY WITNESS
6.00pm Nothing To Declare 8.00
Blue Bloods 10.00 The Good Doctor
11.00 FBI 12.00 FBI — International
1.00 Bull 2.00-3.00 9-1-1
W
6.00pm MasterChef Australia
7.00 16 Kids And Counting 8.00
Ambulance Australia 9.00 24 Hours
In A&E 11.00 Nurses On The Ward
12.00 Katie Piper’s Jailhouse
Mums 1.00 The Undateables
2.00-3.00 Wedding Valley
COMEDY CENTRAL
6.00pm Friends 9.00 Out Of Order
10.00 Al Murray: The Pub Landlord
— Beautifully British Tour Live At The
O2 11.00 Rhod Gilbert’s Growing Pains
12.00 Reno 911! 12.30 Jack Whitehall
— Comedy Central Live 1.00 Lost
Voice Guy — Cerebral LOLsy 2.00-
3.00 Alternative Comedy Experience
YESTERDAY
6.00pm Antiques Roadshow
7.00 River Walks — The Exe 7.30
Great British Railway Journeys
E4
6.00pm The Big Bang Theory
Sheldon invites a famous
physicist to the flat. (S3,
ep 21) 6.30 The Big Bang
Theory The origins of
Sheldon and Leonard’s
friendship are revealed.
7.00 Hollyoaks Chester soap.
7.30 Married At First Sight
Australia The final two
weddings take place.
9.05 Celebrity Gogglebox
Critiques of shows
including 24 Hours in A&E,
Mission: Impossible —
Fallout and Sky Coppers.
10.05 Gogglebox Opinions on
shows from late 2021,
including Miriam and Alan
— Lost in Scotland, Tiger
King 2 and Close to Me.
11.05-12.10 First Dates The
former Monty Python star
Carol Cleveland arrives
in the restaurant.
Talk TV
4.00pm Vanessa Feltz The
drivetime show featuring
the latest from parliament,
and interviews with
celebrity contributors.
6.00 The Talk A panel of
well-known faces debate
the latest topics that
everybody is talking about.
7.00 Prime Time With Rosanna
Lockwood The journalist
takes a look inside the
biggest stories and updates.
8.00 The Independent
Republic Of Mike Graham
A run through the day’s
breaking news stories.
10.00 The Talk A panel of famous
faces debate the hot topics
everybody’s talking about.
11.00-12.00 Prime Time With
Rosanna Lockwood
Available on Sky 522; Freeview 237;
Virgin 606; Freesat 217; YouTube,
connected TVs and smart devices
8.00 Secrets Of The London
Underground 10.00 Bangers &
Cash. Four VW camper vans need a
new home 11.00 Abandoned
Engineering 12.00-1.00 Great
British Railway Journeys
DAVE
6.00pm The Hairy Bikers’ Northern
Exposure 7.00 House Of Games
8.20 Would I Lie To You? 9.00 Have
I Got A Bit More News For You.
Damian Lewis hosts, with guests
Katy Balls and Chris McCausland
10.00 QI XL 11.00 Taskmaster 12.00
Would I Lie To You? 12.40 Schitt’s
Creek 1.05-2.20 Release The
Hounds — Famous & Freaked
Factual
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
6.00pm Seconds From Disaster
7.00 Air Crash Investigation 8.00
Inside Sydney Airport 9.00 Air Crash
Investigation 12.00 Airport Security
—First Class 1.00-2.00 Wicked Tuna
DISCOVERY
6.00pm Junkyard Empire 7.00
Wheeler Dealers 8.00 Blowing
Up History 9.00 Kindig Customs
10.00 Holden Bros. Restos
5 Great shows...
Keeley Hawes
1
Line Of Duty (iPlayer)
Her character DI Lindsay
Denton is the subject of
suspicion for AC-12 in
series two and three of Jed
Mercurio’s excellent police
corruption drama.
2
Spooks (iPlayer)
She played MI5
counterterrorism operative
Zoe Reynolds for the first
three seasons of the BBC’s
spy drama.
3
Bodyguard (iPlayer)
Hawes plays home
secretary Julia Montague,
opposite Richard Madden,
her bodyguard, in another
tense thriller from Jed
Mercurio.
4
The Durrells (ITVX)
Surrounded by the
beautiful backdrop of
Corfu, Hawes plays
Lousia Durrell, single-
handedly raising her
four children in this
charming family drama.
5
Upstairs, Downstairs
(ITVX)
Ed Stoppard plays Sir
Hallam opposite Hawes’
Lady Agnes Holland in the
return of the classic series.
Tim Glanfield
11.00 Expedition X 12.00 Deadliest
Catch — The Viking Returns
1.00-2.00 Kindig Customs
PBS AMERICA
5.25pm Napoleon 6.40 The History
Of The Red Army 9.10 Victorian
Britain On Film. A look back on he
invention of the motion picture
camera 10.50-12.00 Mariupol —
Unlost Hope. The first month of the
invasion of the Ukrainian city
SKY DOCUMENTARIES
6.00pm The Good Fight Club 7.00
Last Call — When A Serial Killer
Stalked Queer New York 8.00 The
Great Rhino Robbery 9.00
Zuckerberg — King Of The
Metaverse 11.00-12.50 Superswede
SKY NATURE
6.00pm Hope For Wildlife 7.00
Monkey Life 8.00 My Best Friend’s
An Animal 9.00 Untamed Valley.
Following hippos 10.00 Hope For
Wildlife 11.00-12.00 Great Blue Wild
DISCOVERY HISTORY
6.00pm Combat Dealers 7.00
Expedition Unknown 8.00 Mysteries
At The Castle 9.00 Combat
Dealers 10.00 Salvage Hunters
11.00-12.00 Find It, Fix It, Flog It
Keeley Hawes
in The Durrells
Sport
SKY SPORTS MAIN EVENT
6.00am News 7.00 Good Morning
Sports Fans 10.00 Football Show
11.30 Ref Watch 12.00 Football Show
1.00 Lunchtime Live 2.00 LIVE WPL:
UP Warriorz v Royal Challengers
Bangalore 6.00 News At 6 6.30
LIVE MNF: Sheffield Utd v Arsenal.
Kickoff 8.00 11.00-6.00 News
TNT SPORTS 1
6.00am Formula E Flashback 7.00
PL Stories 7.30 National League 9.30
Uefa Champions League Magazine
10.00 Uefa Europa League &
Conference League Magazine 11.00
Between The Lines 11.30 National
League 12.00 Sign Up — Into Football
12.45 Crouchy And Cole 1.00 PL —
Big Interview 1.30 PL Stories 2.00
French Women’s Division 1 3.00
Ligue 1 4.00 Test Cricket 5.00 V8
Supercars 7.00 Uefa Champions
League Magazine 7.30 LIVE Serie A:
Inter Milan v Genoa. Kickoff 7.45
9.45 Goals Reload 10.15 Around The
Block 10.30 PL Stories 11.00 WWE
1.00 LIVE WWE 4.15 Goals Reload
4.30 WSL 5.30 Goals Reload
5.45-6.00 Around The Block
Radio & Podcasts
○ The Tao Of
Muhammad Ali
(podcast)
An examination of the
later life of the great
fighter by his friend, the
writer Davis Miller, who
was first lifted by Ali after
seeing him on TV after
the death of his mother.
Admiring his chutzpah,
Miller continued to take
inspiration from Ali,
and in this series he
and co-host Craig
Mortali discuss how he
empowered and became
a role model for millions.
In the first episode the
former heavyweight
champion James “Buster”
Douglas and his trainer
John Russell discuss how
Ali’s inspiration led
Douglas to a famous
victory over Mike Tyson.
TIMES RADIO
5.00 Rosie Wright With Early
Breakfast 6.00 Aasmah Mir And
Stig Abell With Times Radio
Breakfast 10.00 Matt Chorley
1.00 Mariella Frostrup 3.00 Jane
Garvey And Fi Glover 5.00 John
Pienaar With Times Radio Drive
7.00 Pienaar And Friends 8.00
The Evening Edition With Kait
Borsay 10.00 Carole Walker
1.00 Stories Of Our Times 1.30
Highlights From Matt Chorley
2.00 The Best Of Times Radio
To get in touch with the Times
Radio studio, text TIMES plus your
message to 87222. Texts cost
your standard message charge.
RADIO 4
5.30 News 5.43 Prayer 5.45
Farming Today 5.58 Tweet Of The
Day (R) 6.00 Today 9.00 Start
The Week. A discussion on the
hidden world of plants 9.45 Book
Of The Week: The Price Of Life,
by Jenny Kleeman 9.45 (LW )
Daily Service 10.00 Woman’s
Hour 11.00 The Gatekeepers. How
a decision taken in Silicon Valley
changed a 14-year-old girl’s life
11.30 The Bottom Line (R) 12.00
News 12.01 (LW) Shipping 12.04
You And Yours 1.00 The World At
One 1.45 Strike Boy. New series.
A look back at the impact of the
miners’ strike in the mid-1980s
2.00 The Archers (R) 2.15 Drama:
Sabine, by Mark Healy 2.45 The
Chronicles Of Burke Street (R)
3.00 Counterpoint 3.30 The Food
Programme (R) 4.00 The Infinite
Monkey Cage (R) 4.30 The
Artificial Human 5.00 PM 5.54
(LW) Shipping 6.00 News 6.30
One Person Found This Helpful
7.00 The Archers 7.15 Front Row
8.00 How To Build An Oil Field
8.30 Analysis. The political
influence of motorists 9.00 Young
Again (R) 9.30 Start The Week (R)
10.00 The World Tonight 10.45
Book At Bedtime 11.00 Lent Talks
11.15 The Kids Are Alt Right? (R)
11.30 Today In Parliament 12.00
News 12.30 Book Of The Week (R)
12.48 Shipping 1.00 World Service
Muhammad Ali became
a role model for millions
○ Strike Boy
(Radio 4, 1.45pm)
Mark Watson, the son of a
miner, was ten years old
when the miners’ strike
took over his life and, in
this series, examines events
by travelling around the
country to talk to those
involved, from both sides.
RADIO 4 EXTRA
5.00 The World Of Daphne Du
Maurier 5.30 The World Of Daphne
Du Maurier 6.00 Falco: The Iron
Hand Of Mars 6.30 Test Room Eight
7.00 Other People’s Children 7.15
Bindi Business 7.30 Welcome To
Our Village, Please Invade Carefully
8.00 Steptoe And Son 8.30 The
Wordsmiths At Gorsemere 9.00
Wordaholics 9.30 Sneakiepeeks
10.00 The World Of Daphne Du
Maurier 11.00 Falco: The Iron Hand
Of Mars 11.30 Test Room Eight
12.00 Other People’s Children 12.15
Bindi Business 12.30 Welcome To
Our Village, Please Invade Carefully
1.00 Steptoe And Son 1.30 The
Wordsmiths At Gorsemere 2.00
Wordaholics 2.30 Sneakiepeeks
3.00 The World Of Daphne Du
Maurier 4.00 Falco: The Iron Hand
Of Mars 4.30 Test Room Eight 5.00
Other People’s Children 5.15 Bindi
Business 5.30 Welcome To Our
Village, Please Invade Carefully 6.00
Steptoe And Son 6.30 Wordsmiths
At Gorsemere 7.00 Wordaholics
7.30 Sneakiepeeks 8.00 Radiolab
8.55 Inheritance Tracks 9.00 Good
Read 9.30 Jaws By Peter Benchley
9.45 The Haunted Road 10.00 One
Person Found This Helpful 10.30
Flight Of The Conchords 11.00
News Quiz 11.30 Rhys James Is
Irresistible 11.45-12.00 Late
LBC
7.00 Nick Ferrari 10.00 James
O’Brien 1.00 Shelagh Fogarty 4.00
Tom Swarbrick 6.00 Andrew Marr
7.00 Iain Dale 10.00 Ben Kentish
1.00 Clive Bull 4.00 Ian Payne
RADIO 3
6.30 Breakfast 9.00 Essential
Classics 12.00 Composer Of The
Week: Johanna Senfter 1.00
Lunchtime Concert. A live recital at
Wigmore Hall, with mezzo Lucile
Richardot and the pianist Anne de
Fornel performing a programme
focusing on Lili and Nadia Boulanger
2.00 Afternoon Concert. The Ulster
Orchestra with harpsichordist
Mahan Esfahani in Poulenc’s Concert
Champêtre; plus, Chopin from 13-
year-old pianist Yumeka Nakagawa
First he returns to
Nottinghamshire and talks
to his father (who took
part in the strikes) at
Silverhill Colliery about his
life down the pit, the “raw
existence” of the miners’
lives and the reasons
behind the dispute.
○ The Essay
(Radio 3, 10.45pm)
Edith Piaf In Five Songs
features women telling the
story of the French icon
through her work. Lucy
O’Meara, an academic,
looks at Milord, a song
about a streetwalker and
a rakish type, from Piaf’s
later career, which shows
that despite her global
success she was always
rooted in the chanson
réaliste songs of street life.
Clair Woodward
4.30 New Generation Artists 5.00
In Tune. With conductor Rebecca
Miller 7.00 Classical Mixtape 7.30
In Concert. Recorded in 1995,
Claudio Abbado conducts the
Berlin Phil in Mozart’s Sinfonia
Concertante and Hindemith’s
Symphony Mathis der Maler, plus,
works by Berlioz and Henze 9.30
Compline. A reflective service of
night prayer for the third week of
Lent from Corpus Christi Church,
Leeds 10.00 Music Matters.
Interviews and features (R) 10.45
The Essay. A look at the life and
work of Edith Piaf through five
songs associated with her, starting
with Lucy O’Meara exploring
Milord, by Marguerite Monnot and
Georges Moustaki 11.00 Night
Tracks 12.30 Through The Night
CLASSIC FM
6.30 Breakfast With Dan Walker
9.00 The Hall Of Fame Hour With
Dan Walker 10.00 Alexander
Armstrong 1.00 Anne-Marie Minhall
4.00 Margherita Taylor 7.00 Zeb
Soanes 10.00 Ritula Shah 1.00
Bill Overton 4.00 Lucy Coward
RADIO 2
6.30 The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show
9.30 Vernon Kay 12.00 Jeremy
Vine 2.00 DJ Spoony 4.00 Sara
Cox 7.00 Jo Whiley 9.00 The
Blues Show 10.00 Trevor Nelson’s
Magnificent 7 10.30 Trevor
Nelson’s Rhythm Nation 12.00
OJ Borg 3.00 Pick Of The Pops
(R) 4.00 Owain Wyn Evans
VIRGIN RADIO
6.30 The Chris Evans Breakfast
Show 10.00 The Ryan Tubridy
Show 1.00 Jayne Middlemiss
4.00 Ricky Wilson 7.00 Bam
10.00 Amy Voce 1.00 Sean
Goldsmith 4.00 Steve Denyer
TALKSPORT
5.00 Early Breakfast 6.00 Jeff
Stelling 10.00 Jim White And
Simon Jordan 1.00 Hawksbee And
Groves 4.00 Drive 7.00 Monday
GameNight: Sheffield United v
Arsenal. Live. Kickoff is at 8.00
10.00 Sports Bar 1.00 Extra Time
3 March 2024 37
TUESDAY 5 MARCH
BBC 1 BBC 2
6.00 Breakfast Headlines.
9.30 Morning Live Magazine.
10.45 Crimewatch Live
11.30 Homes Under The
Hammer Auctions. (R)
12.15 Bargain Hunt Curios. (R)
1.00 News; Weather Reports.
1.45 Doctors Sid helps a mother
and son who are hiding the
truth from each other.
2.15 Clean It, Fix It Creating a
workout space in London.
3.00 Escape To The Country
Homes in Somerset. (R)
3.45 The Bidding Room (R)
4.30 Antiques Road Trip With
Natasha Raskin Sharp
and Philip Serrell. (R)
5.15 Pointless Quiz, hosted
by Alexander Armstrong
and Ed Gamble. (R)
6.00 News; Weather Reports.
6.30 Regional News Update.
7.00 The One Show Features.
7.30 EastEnders After Keeley is
arrested for drug dealing,
Zack and Whitney come to
blows when Whitney offers
to take care of Britney
while the social worker
sorts out official plans.
8.00 Sort Your Life Out Stacey
Solomon and a team of
experts help a family that
have been hit hard by
redundancy and the
cost of living crisis
declutter their home.
9.00 CHOICE Sarah Everard —
The Search For Justice A
look into the Metropolitan
Police’s investigation into
the abduction, rape and
murder of the 33-year-old,
how the crime unfolded
and the impact it has had
on modern policing.
(See Critics’ choice)
10.00 News; Weather Reports.
10.40 Kin The chaos created by
Bren reaches its peak and
the Kinsellas are driven to
mayhem; Michael and
Viking both suffer
heartbreak; and Frank
seeks a change. (Series 2,
ep 7) 11.30 Kin Michael
and Jimmy find common
ground; Amanda proposes
a partnership; and Anthony
and Nikita face up to the
consequences of their
actions. (Last in series)
12.20 Pointless Celebrities (R)
1.10-6.00 Joins BBC News
SCOTLAND 6.30 Reporting
Scotland; Weather. Updates.
7.00 River City. Soap.
6.30 Bargain Hunt Curios. (R)
7.15 Clean It, Fix It (R)
8.00 Sort Your Life Out In
Surrey. (Signed, R)
9.00 BBC News Headlines.
12.15 Politics Live Discussion.
1.00 Impossible Gameshow. (R)
1.45 The Tournament (R)
2.30 The Farmers’ Country
Showdown Insights. (R)
3.00 Saved And Remade (R)
3.30 Murder, Mystery And My
Family The murder of a
farm owner in 1933. (R)
4.15 Scotland From The Sky
Revealing Scotland’s
past. (Last in series, R)
5.15 Flog It! From Capesthorne
Hall in Cheshire. (R)
6.00 House Of Games Quiz,
with Cally Beaton, Louis
Emerick, Helen George and
Justin Moorhouse. (R)
6.30 Rick Stein’s Cornwall Rick
makes heritage cider and
meets a sea shanty group
with a difference. (R)
7.00 The Hairy Bikers Go West
Dave Myers and Si King are
in northwest Wales, where
they meet a Nigerian cook
and a farming couple who
grow food by replicating
natural ecosystems.
8.00 Great British Menu Four
chefs from Northern
Ireland cook canapes,
starters and fish dishes
inspired by the Olympic
and Paralympic games.
9.00 Inside Our Autistic Minds
Chris Packham helps an
autistic football fan explain
why change can be
disastrous; and a rapper
hypersensitive to noise
reveals how overwhelming
life can be. (2/2, R)
10.00 CHOICE Newark, Newark
New comedy about a
divorced mum and her
teenage son. With Morgana
Robinson and Jai Hollis.
(1/3; see Critics’ choice)
10.30 Newsnight Headlines.
11.15 CHOICE Green Book
Stars Viggo Mortensen
and Mahershala Ali. In the
1960s, a bouncer becomes
the driver of an African-
American classical pianist.
(2018, 12; see Film choice)
1.15 Garden Rescue A Cheadle
makeover. (Signed, R)
2.00 Animal Park Insights.
(Signed, Last in series, R)
2.45-3.45 Great British Menu
Contest. (Signed, R)
ITV 1
6.00 Good Morning Britain
9.00 Lorraine Lifestyle chat.
10.00 This Morning Features.
12.30 Loose Women Debate.
1.30 News; Weather Reports.
2.00 Dickinson’s Real Deal (R)
3.00 Lingo Three more pairs
take part in the game,
hosted by Adil Ray. (R)
4.00 Tipping Point Gameshow.
5.00 The Chase With players
from London, Manchester,
St Albans and Silsden.
6.00 Regional News Update.
6.30 News; Weather Reports.
7.30 Emmerdale Nate turns to
violence; Aaron requests
his referral for the gene test;
and Vanessa and Suzy kiss.
8.00 Who Wants To Be A
Millionaire? Jeremy
Clarkson hosts the quiz,
with winners from sister
show Fastest Finger First
vying for the prize. (R)
9.00 Celebrity Big Brother
Famous housemates live
under 24-hour surveillance.
10.00 News At Ten Bulletin.
10.45 TikTok — Murder Gone
Viral Exploring true-crime
cases linked to the social-
media platform, beginning
with the influencer Mahek
Bukhari and her mother,
Ansreen, who killed two
people in February 2022. (R)
11.45 Made In Britain A look at
how cricket bats and
shortbread are made. (R)
12.05 Teleshopping Purchasing.
3.00 On Assignment Rageh
Omaar returns to Lithuania
to speak to the citizens of
the country offering
unwavering support to
Ukraine, two years on from
Russia’s invasion. (R)
3.30 The Jonathan Ross Show
The host welcomes Jack
Whitehall, Lashana Lynch
and KSI; and Paloma Faith
provides the music. (R)
4.25 Unwind Daily relaxation.
5.35-6.00 Made In Britain (R)
Dave Myers, Si King (BBC2, 7pm)
Channel 4
6.10 Countdown Game. (R)
6.50 Cheers Comedy. (R)
8.05 Everybody Loves
Raymond Comedy. (R)
9.30 Frasier Sitcom. (R)
11.00 The Great House
Giveaway Tackling a dated
semi in Lancashire. (R)
12.00 News; Weather Reports.
12.05 Sun, Sea And Selling
Houses Three unusual
properties in Spain. (R)
1.05 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (R)
2.10 Countdown Game.
3.00 A Place In The Sun (R)
4.00 A New Life In The Sun (R)
5.00 Chateau DIY Owners
convert their orangery into
a reception venue. (R)
6.00 Come Dine With Me A
student hosts the second
night in Dundee and Perth.
6.30 The Simpsons Homer
is transformed into a
genius, but it removes his
ability to enjoy life. (R)
7.00 News; Weather Reports.
7.55 The Political Slot Sarah
Olney MP sets out the
Liberal Democrats’ plan to
tackle water pollution.
8.00 999 — On The Front Line
Paramedics treat a man
with diabetes, whose blood
sugar levels are very high;
and a woman ventures
outside her home for the
first time in months and
collapses on her drive. (R)
9.00 24 Hours In A&E New run
of documentary about life
inside an A&E department,
beginning as a teenager
comes in after being struck
in the eye with an arrow
during an archery class.
10.00 New Model Agency
Jasroop is invited to the
red-carpet event at the
Venice Film festival; and
Nan is chosen for Fabulous
magazine’s big style issue.
11.05 First Dates Guests hoping
to find romance include a
woman whose exes tend to
marry someone else soon
after the break-up. (R)
12.10 24 Hours In A&E (R)
1.05 The Jury — Murder Trial
Legal experiment. (R)
2.00 The Last Leg Comedy. (R)
2.55 The Great Pottery Throw
Down The semi-final. (R)
4.00 Grand Designs New
Zealand In Te Arai. (R)
4.50 The Great British Dig —
History In Your Back
Garden In Newcastle. (R)
5.45-6.10 A Place In The Sun (R)
Channel 5
6.00 Milkshake! Children’s fun.
9.15 Jeremy Vine Debate.
11.15 Storm Huntley Opinions.
12.45 Alexis Conran & Friends
1.35 News; Weather Reports.
1.45 Home And Away Cash
and Rose head out to
where Remi was found in
the middle of nowhere. (R)
2.15 They Kidnapped My
Daughter Thriller, with
Alicia Leigh Willis. A
woman whose life was
turned upside down when
her daughter went missing
is forced to relive the
trauma when the same
thing happens again. (R)
4.00 Shoplifters — Caught Red
Handed Security stop a
suspected drink driver. (R)
5.00 News; Weather Reports.
6.00 Susan Calman’s Grand
Day Out The presenter
explores Oxford. (R)
6.55 News; Weather Reports.
7.00 The Pet Psychic — What’s
Your Dog Thinking? Beth
Lee-Crowther meets a
horse with a troublesome
neck injury and a pig with
a fear of nail clippers.
7.55 News; Weather Reports.
8.00 CHOICE Dogs Behaving
(Very) Badly Graeme Hall
meets a pug that loses it at
the sight of a vehicle and
an English sheepdog that
enjoys wrestling with
guests. (See Critics’ choice)
9.00 New Lives In The Wild
Ben Fogle catches up with
an old British friend and
his family in Thailand,
learning why they left their
Cambodian island home.
10.00 The Vanishing Of Flight
MH370 — 10 Years On
The disappearance of the
Malaysia Airlines flight in
March 2014, drawing on
evidence and insight from
the official inquiry, as well
as expert accounts. (R)
11.55 Murdered For Revenge
The case of a murder victim
whose phone revealed a
secret relationship —
and a suspect. (R)
12.55 Entertainment News
1.00 Casino Show Gambling.
3.00 Eamonn & Ruth — How
The Other Half Lives (R)
3.50 Around The World By
Train Southern Europe. (R)
4.40 Car Pound Cops (R)
5.05 Wildlife SOS Animals. (R)
5.30 Entertainment News
5.35-6.00 Children’s Shows

Variations 4.00 Tipping Point 5.00 The Chase

BBC1 WALES 1.05 BBC News
BBC2 WALES 1.45 First Minister’s
Questions 2.45 The Tournament
6.00 Regional News 6.30 News;
Weather 7.30 Emmerdale 8.00
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
9.00 Celebrity Big Brother 10.00
2.05 Prynhawn Da 3.00
Newyddion 3.05 Am Dro! 4.00
Where exactly in my will do I specify that —
in the God-forbid case that I come to my
Awr Fawr: Blociau Lliw 4.05 Crawc
A’i Ffrindiau 4.20 Bendibwmbwls demise in unpleasant circumstances —
4.30 Sion Y Chef 4.45 Awyr Iach Channel 5 cannot make and profit off a
You say

BBC SCOTLAND 7.00 This
Farming Life 8.00 Britain’s
Ancient Capital — Secrets Of
Orkney 9.00 The Nine 10.00
Darren McGarvey — The State
We’re In 11.00-12.00 Paramedics
On Scene STV 6.00 Good
Morning Britain 9.00 Lorraine
10.00 This Morning 12.30 Loose
Women 1.30 News; Weather 2.00
Dickinson’s Real Deal 3.00 Lingo
News At Ten 10.40 Scotland
Tonight 11.05 TikTok — Murder
Gone Viral 12.00 Teleshopping
3.00 On Assignment 3.30 The
Jonathan Ross Show 4.25 Night
Vision 5.35-6.00 Made In Britain
S4C 6.00 Cyw 12.00 Newyddion
A’r Tywydd 12.05 Sain Ffagan
12.30 Heno 1.00 Cymoedd
Roy Noble 1.30 Cefn Gwlad
2.00 Newyddion A’r Tywydd
5.00 Stwnsh: Siwrne Ni 5.05 Mwy
O Stwnsh Sadwrn 5.30 Prys A’r
Pryfed 5.45 Boom! 6.00 Bois Y
Pizza — Chwe’ Gwlad 6.30 Sgorio
6.57 Newyddion 7.00 Heno 7.30
Newyddion 8.00 Pobol Y Cwm
8.25 Rownd A Rownd 8.55
Newyddion A’r Tywydd 9.00
Stryd I’r Sgrym 9.45 Ffilmiau
Ddoe 10.15 Astrid: Murder In
Paris 11.20-11.50 Colli Dy Dafod
documentary about my macabre death?
Jane Hall
I have not shouted at the TV for a long time, but
“what”, “no”, “that cannot be happening” were
all shouted while watching season four of True
Detective, which was absolutely brilliant. But
can it get any weirder?
Tricia Bartlett

38 3 March 2024
 Critics’ choice
Mary & George
(Sky Atlantic/Now, 9pm)
In 2017 the life of King James VI
of Scotland and I of England and
Ireland was given a going-over in
Benjamin Woolley’s book The
King’s Assassin. Adapted by DC
Moore into a strikingly profane
script, the seven barely lit
episodes of steamy drama star
Julianne Moore as prototypical
tiger mum Mary Villiers. She has
heard rumours of her new
monarch’s fondness for male
company and, observing her
second son’s boy band looks, she
becomes determined to throw
his hat into the royal ring. It’s a
stretch for the 63-year-old to play
22, but as boy George (Nicholas
Galitzine) grows into a young
man, the elegant-boned Moore
makes more sense in the role. “If I
were a man and looked like you I
would rule the f***ing planet,” she
tells her son, before sending him
to the French court to learn how
to comport himself at an orgy.
Helen Stewart
Sarah Everard — The Search For
Justice (BBC1, 9pm)
Just two years after the 33-year-old
marketing executive was abducted
and killed on her way home from
a friend’s house, the BBC conducts
a careful examination of the
investigation conducted by the
Metropolitan police force. Her
family grieved as they watched
their daughter and sister become
an everywoman whose appalling
fate struck fear into the heart of
every woman. The film hears from
Katherine Goodwin (the senior
investigating officer), Tom Little
(the prosecuting barrister) and Bell
Ribeiro-Addy (Labour MP for
Streatham). What cannot be denied
is that since her murder the idea
that the perpetrator, a policeman
and someone upon whom the
documentary chooses not to
focus, was not a lone operator.
Since her death hundreds of
officers have faced allegations
of sexual assault. HS
On demand
○ Being Human
(Amazon Freevee)
Of course, everyone knows and
loves Toby Whithouse’s 2008
comedy drama about a ghost,
a vampire and a werewolf living
together in a Bristol houseshare,
but who remembers the US spin-off
that came along three years later?
The premise is pretty much the
same, yet while series one felt like
an awkward act of imitation, the
Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine portray Mary and George
Newark, Newark (BBC2, 10pm)
After David Mitchell’s Outsiders on
the path from UKTV to the BBC,
this family sitcom shares its
dysfunctional living space with
Hullraisers, The Cockfields and
Sophie Willan’s Alma’s Not Normal.
Morgana Robinson plays Maxine,
a chip shop manager navigating
her recent divorce from the
hapless Terry (Mathew Horne),
her relationship with her 16-year-
old son Leslie ( Jai Hollis) and,
tonight, her 40th-birthday party
(with barbecue).
Newark, Newark (BBC2, 10pm)
show’s second series remains a real
triumph. Expertly cast, it’s also less
languid than its downbeat UK
counterpart, adding a trashy
narrative zip and a necessary
rom-com sexiness to proceedings.
○ Jenny Slate — Seasoned
Professional (Prime Video)
Jenny Slate, a writer, actor and
voice artist, is also a divisive
stand-up comedian with the ability
to simultaneously annoy and
enrapture her audiences.
Perfect Pub Walks
(More4, 9pm)
Judging from this walk along
Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, Paul
Merton doesn’t find relaxing
easy — or even desirable. Still,
Bill Bailey works hard to loosen
him up, using pints of Guinness,
facts about castles and ornithology
as tools. The resulting conversation
touches on Merton’s mental
health, his ideas of posterity and
a possible obituary-boosting return
to stand-up comedy after years
of disillusionment.
Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly
(C5, 8pm)
Faced with cute pet propaganda
on social media, here is a reminder
that problem dogs do exist.
Graeme Hall, a behaviourist,
meets a tantrum-prone pug,
an over-boisterous old English
sheepdog with urinary issues and a
depressed Staffordshire bull terrier.
Victoria Segal
However, behind her brash
motormouth persona is a witty,
insightful comedian who can tap
into the weirder aspects of
childbirth, motherhood, men and
the traumas of childhood. This
comedy special is undeniably hit
and miss (and very graphic).
However, the hits, especially a long
section on her obsession with her
therapist, are a deranged delight
and will win you over to her weird
and specific charms.
Andrew Male
Where females are
leaders of the pack
Queens (Disney+)
If you can overlook Angela
Bassett’s pontifical voiceover, this
seven-part National Geographic
series about the roles played
by female hunters and pack-
leaders in the animal kingdom is
thrilling. Created by a female-led
production team, it’s the first
natural history show to focus
exclusively on matriarchal units
in the animal kingdom and the
roles played by women in animal
conservation — and it looks utterly
incredible. AM
Film choice
Lost In Translation
(Sky Cinema Hits, 6.15pm)
The director Sofia Coppola’s
beautiful romantic comedy was
shot in Tokyo in just 27 days on
a minimal budget. Bill Murray plays
a career-topping comeback role as
an over-the-hill Hollywood star
shooting a whisky commercial
while in the depths of a midlife
crisis. Scarlett Johansson plays the
neglected young wife of a celebrity
photographer who recognises a
fellow lost soul in Murray. (2003)
Jojo Rabbit (Film4, 9pm)
The pint-sized protagonist of
Taika Waititi’s touching drama is
Johannes “Jojo” Betzler, a naive
Nazi enthusiast on a camping
trip with the Hitler Youth. Jojo is
nicknamed “Rabbit” after refusing
to kill one on the orders of a camp
leader. The satirical swipes come
thick and fast, but Waititi’s kitschy
take on Hitler proved divisive and
controversial. (2019)
Green Book (BBC2, 11.15pm)
Pitched as the “true life” story
of a slowly evolving bond between
an African-American musician,
Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali),
and his bigoted Italian-American
bodyguard, Frank “Tony Lip”
Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen),
as they tour the Deep South in
1962, Green Book was decried by
the surviving relatives of Shirley.
Audiences lapped up this feelgood
film. (2018)
3 March 2024 39
TUESDAY 5 MARCH
BBC 3 BBC 4
7.00pm Top Gear A race
against Earth’s rotation.
8.00 Gavin & Stacey The gang
descends on the beach.
(Series 3, ep 5) 8.30 Gavin
& Stacey Nessa and Dave’s
wedding day arrives.
9.00 Boarders Xiang accuses
Jaheim’s London friends
of stealing his laptop. (3/6)
9.45 Eurovision 2024 —
Graham Meets Olly
Graham Norton catches up
with Olly Alexander.
10.00 Growing Up Gay Singer
Olly Alexander explores
mental-health issues faced
by the LGBT+ community.
11.00 The Young Offenders
12.05 Boarders Comedy. (3/6)
12.50 High — Surviving A Dubai
Drugs Bust (Last in series)
1.20 Gavin & Stacey Sitcom.
2.20 The Young Offenders
2.50-3.50 Growing Up Gay
Drama
6.00pm As Time Goes By
Lionel and Jean return from
a weekend away to find
Judith’s boyfriend has been
staying. (Series 6, ep 5)
6.40 Last Of The Summer Wine
Foggy celebrates the
queen’s silver jubilee.
7.20 Last Of The Summer
Wine Clegg attends the
funeral of an old friend.
8.00 Dalziel & Pascoe The duo
investigate the death of a
schoolboy whose drugged
and drowned body has
been found. (Series 6, ep 1)
10.00 New Tricks The team
investigates the murder of
a junior doctor, strangled
in 2010. (Series 11, ep 2)
11.20-12.40 Spooks A group
of terrorists threaten to
flood London unless the
Government release a
document. (Series 5, ep 10)
Films
SKY CINEMA PREMIERE
5.45pm Ferrari (2023, 15) 8.00
Mission — Impossible: Dead
Reckoning Part One. The IMF team
race to acquire two halves of an
interlocking key that can regain
control of a lethal AI. (2023, 12)
10.45-1.00 Ferrari (2023, 15)
SKY CINEMA THRILLER
4.40pm Last Seen Alive (2022, 15)
6.25 Shark Bait (2022, 15) 8.00
Stowaway. A tenacious party girl
fights to survive after three thieves
commandeer her yacht. (2022, 15)
9.45 Watcher. A woman suspects
that a stranger who watches her
from an apartment building may
be a serial killer. (2022, 15) 11.25-
1.00 The Desperate Hour (2021, 12)
SKY CINEMA GREATS
5.20pm Nashville (1975, 15) 8.00
The Great Gatsby. A millionaire
buys his way into high society,
hopelessly trying to win back the
love of his life. (1974, 12) 10.25-
12.30 Stalag 17. Inmates at a PoW
camp begin to suspect a fellow
captive is betraying them. (1953, PG)
40 3 March 2024
7.00pm Frozen Planet The fight
for survival during winter.
8.00 To The Manor Born
Audrey helps catalogue
the Manor’s china.
8.30 Yes, Prime Minister
Jim wrangles over the
Channel Tunnel borders.
9.00 The Boleyns — A
Scandalous Family
Anne Boleyn returns to
England from France.
10.00 Rebuilding Notre-Dame
Rebuilding the world-
famous cathedral in Paris.
11.00 How To Build A Cathedral
Examining how cathedrals
were constructed.
12.00 Parkinson Memorable
encounters with Peter Cook.
12.40 Frozen Planet Wildlife.
1.40 The Boleyns — A
Scandalous Family
2.40-3.40 How To Build A
Cathedral Documentary.
Sky Arts
6.00pm Alfred Hitchcock
Presents: Father And Son.
A man refuses to lend his
son money. (S2, ep 36)
6.30 Alfred Hitchcock
Presents: Indestructible
Mr Weems. A lodge is
selling cemetery plots.
7.00 The Joy Of Painting
A rickety footbridge. 7.30
The Joy Of Painting Bob
Ross paints a seascape.
8.00 Klimt And The Kiss
Experts examine Gustav
Klimt’s early 20th-century
painting and establish what
makes it so endearing.
9.15 Michelangelo — Saint
Or Sinner? A look at the
40 year creation of the
mausoleum of Pope Julius II.
11.05-1.15 Borromini — The
Dark Side Of Baroque
The life of Italian architect
Francesco Borromini.
SKY CINEMA SELECT
3.55pm Jerry Maguire (1996, 15)
6.15 The Truman Show. A man’s
every move is secretly filmed 24
hours a day for a television soap.
(1998, PG) 8.00 The Fabelmans.
A young man aspires to become a
filmmaker. (2022, 12) 10.30-1.30
The Lord Of The Rings — The
Fellowship Of The Ring (2001, PG)
FILM4
4.00pm Star Trek — Nemesis
(2002, 12) 6.15 Close Encounters Of
The Third Kind. A man develops an
intense obsession with UFOs. (1977,
PG) 9.00 CHOICE Jojo Rabbit.
A German boy learns his mother is
hiding a Jewish girl during the
Second World War. (2019, 12;
see Film choice) 11.10-1.15 Other
People’s Children (2022, 15)
TALKING PICTURES TV
5.55pm The Beverly Hillbillies 6.30
Scotland Yard 7.05 The Four Just
Men 8.00 Manhunt 9.05 Maigret.
A government minister asks Maigret
to investigate a plot against him.
11.00-12.50 The Company Of
Wolves. A teenager dreams of a life
in a gothic fairy-tale world where
werewolves stalk forests. (1984, 18)
ITV 2
6.00pm Catchphrase With Kiell
Smith-Bynoe, Katie Piper
and Shaun Williamson.
7.00 Ant & Dec’s Limitless Win
Two best friends compete.
8.00 Superstore The Cloud 9
employees and customers
find themselves snowed in.
(Series 4, ep 12) 8.30
Superstore Cheyenne
gives Marcus a tattoo.
9.00 The Murder Of Alice
Ruggles — Social Media
Murders How a woman
was brutally killed by a
calculating ex-boyfriend.
10.00 Celebrity Big Brother
— Late And Live A look
back at a day of drama
from the Big Brother house.
11.05 Family Guy Lois inherits
a fortune. (Series 2, ep 1)
11.35-12.05 Family Guy
Stewie’s first birthday
arrives. (Series 1, ep 3)
Sky Max
6.00pm Stargate Atlantis Dr
Weir suspects there is a
spy in the group. (Series 1,
ep 5, R) 7.00 Stargate
Atlantis Sheppard visits
a strange world. (R)
8.00 A League Of Their Own
— European Road Trip
Andrew Flintoff and Jamie
Redknapp are joined by Tom
Davis and Maya Jama. (R)
9.00 Rob Beckett’s Smart TV
Comedy show celebrating
the small screen. (R)
9.45 Strike Back — Vendetta
Section 20 destroys the
Albanian mafia’s weapons
stash. (Series 8, ep 8, R)
10.45 Ted Susan tries to cheer
John up by finding him
a new friend. (5/8, R)
11.30-12.30 Magnum PI Thomas
and Higgins re-examine a
fatal arson investigation.
(Series 5, ep 19, R)
Entertainment
ITV4
6.00pm Giant Lobster Hunters 7.00
Cycling. Paris-Nice highlights 8.00
FILM: On Her Majesty’s Secret
Service 10.55 All Elite Wrestling —
Rampage 12.00 From Dusk Till
Dawn 1.05-1.35 Auto Mundial
MORE4
5.50pm Heir Hunters 6.55 The Dog
House 7.55 Grand Designs 9.00
CHOICE Perfect Pub Walks. Bill
Bailey and Paul Merton visit Dorset.
(See Critics’ choice) 10.00 Sue
Perkins’ Big American Road Trip
11.05 24 Hours In A&E 12.10 Perfect
Pub Walks. In Dorset 1.15-2.20 999
— On The Front Line: Holiday Hell
GOLD
6.00pm Keeping Up Appearances
6.40 The Thin Blue Line 7.20 Dad’s
Army 8.35 The Vicar Of Dibley 9.20
Gavin & Stacey 10.00 Toast Of
London 10.30 Live At The Apollo
11.30 The Vicar Of Dibley
12.10-12.50 Gavin & Stacey
SKY COMEDY
6.00pm US Office 7.00 Wellington
Paranormal 8.00 Will & Grace
ITV 3
5.55pm Heartbeat Gina helps
an old flame who goes
missing from the Army.
6.55 Heartbeat The
residents of Aidensfield
find themselves in the
grip of a flu epidemic.
8.00 Grace The detective thinks
a serial killer might be on
the loose after a teacher is
found dead in Brighton and
human remains are found
in a field. (Series 2, ep 1)
10.00 Trial & Retribution
The team investigates an
audacious murder where
an ambulance is run off
the road and its patient
is shot in the head.
11.45-12.35 The Royal Adam
questions Dr Weatherill’s
competence when a beach
outing ends tragically for a
family, leading Dr Ormerod
to speak out in defence.
Sky Atlantic
5.35pm The Wire Marlo tries to
win favour with Vondas.
(Series 5, ep 4) 6.40 The
Wire McNulty leaks further
details about his invented
serial killer to the press.
7.50 House Of The Dragon
Daemon and the Sea Snake
battle the Crabfeeder. (3/10)
9.00 CHOICE Mary & George
New series. Fact-based
drama about the scheming
of Mary Villiers, who helped
her son George to seduce
James I and become his
lover. With Julianne Moore
and Nicholas Galitzine.
(1/7; see Critics’ choice)
10.00 The Gilded Age George
fights to protect his public
image; and Agnes’ status
quo is disrupted. (S1, ep 6)
11.05-12.10 Domina Livia returns
to Rome to rebuild her
family fortunes. (S1, ep 2)
9.00 Barry 10.15 The Tonight Show.
Chat show series 11.15 Girls 12.20
Curb Your Enthusiasm 1.25 Hung
2.00-3.00 Wellington Paranormal
5 STAR
6.00pm Home And Away 7.00
GPs — Behind Closed Doors 8.00
Shoplifters — Caught Red Handed
9.00 Cause Of Death 10.00 A&E
After Dark 11.00 999 — Critical
Condition 12.00 Making A Serial
Killer 1.00 Skin A&E 2.00-2.50
Shoplifters — Caught Red Handed
5 USA
6.00pm NCIS 9.00 Law & Order
10.00 Law & Order: Special Victims
Unit 1.55-3.35 Jesse Stone — Thin Ice
SKY WITNESS
6.00pm Nothing To Declare 8.00
Blue Bloods 9.00 Bull 10.00 For Life
11.00 FBI 12.00 FBI — International
1.00-3.00 Fire Country. Double bill
W NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
6.00pm MasterChef Australia
7.00 16 Kids And Counting 8.00
Ambulance Australia 9.00 999
Rescue Squad 10.00 24 Hours In
A&E 11.00 Nurses On The Ward
12.00 Alex Jones — Making Babies
1.00-2.00 The Undateables
E4
6.00pm The Big Bang Theory
Sheldon tries to extend his
lifespan. (Series 4, ep 2)
6.30 The Big Bang Theory
Sheldon searches for an
alternative to human
companionship.
7.00 Hollyoaks Chester soap.
7.30 Married At First Sight
Australia The couples
attend a dinner party.
9.00 Gogglebox Famous faces
appraise shows including
Too Hot to Handle, Only
Connect, Smile and The
Proof Is Out There.
10.00 Gogglebox The armchair
critics share their opinions
on shows including Strictly
Come Dancing, The Pet
Show and Selling Sunset.
11.10-12.15 Naked Attraction’s
Best Naughty Bits
A look back through the
Naked Attraction archive.
Talk TV
4.00pm Vanessa Feltz The host
brings viewers up to date
on what is on her mind, plus
calls and guest analysis.
6.00 The Talk A panel of
well-known faces debate
the latest topics that
everybody is talking about.
7.00 Prime Time With Rosanna
Lockwood The journalist
uses her experience to get
inside the biggest stories.
8.00 The Independent
Republic Of Mike Graham
A run through of the day’s
breaking news stories.
10.00 The Talk A panel of famous
faces debate the hot topics
everybody is talking about.
11.00-12.00 Prime Time With
Rosanna Lockwood Inside
the stories of the day.
Available on Sky 522; Freeview 237;
Virgin 606; Freesat 217; YouTube,
connected TVs and smart devices
COMEDY CENTRAL
6.00pm Friends 9.00 FILM: Baby
Driver. Stars Ansel Elgort 11.15 The
Daily Show 12.00 Jason Manford
Live 1.50-2.10 Drunk History
YESTERDAY
6.00pm Antiques Roadshow 7.00
Great British Railway Journeys 8.00
Dream Car Fixers 9.00 Bangers &
Cash 11.00 Abandoned Engineering
12.00-1.00 British Railway Journeys
DAVE
6.00pm The Hairy Bikers’ Northern
Exposure 7.00 House Of Games
8.20 Would I Lie To You? 9.00 QI XL
10.00 Have I Got A Bit More News
For You 11.00 Most Dangerous Roads
12.00 Would I Lie To You? 12.40
Schitt’s Creek 1.05-2.20 Release
The Hounds — Famous & Freaked
Factual
6.00pm Seconds From Disaster
7.00 Air Crash Investigation 8.00
Hitler Youth 10.00 Hitler’s Last
Stand 11.00 Air Crash Investigation
12.00 Airport Security — First Class
1.00-2.00 Wicked Tuna — Outer
Banks Showdown. Documentary
5 Great shows...
on BBC iPlayer
1
50 Places To See
Before You Die
The 2002 series
presented by Craig Doyle
offers a countdown of
beautiful and intriguing
global locations.
2
Face To Face — Adam
Faith (1960)
The first pop singer to
be interviewed by John
Freeman, Adam Faith
was a heart-throb teen
idol when this fascinating
encounter was recorded.
3
Dylan Thomas — I Sing
To You Strangers (1983)
Friends and relatives
of the Welsh poet and
writer give an account
of the person behind
the poems.
4
Timewatch — The
Empire State Story
This 2001 documentary
chronicles the planning
and construction of
the iconic New York
City skyscraper.
5
The Strange Affair
Of… Frankenstein
Robert Symes’ 1986
film investigates the
background to Mary
Shelley’s novel.
Tim Glanfield
DISCOVERY
6.00pm Junkyard Empire 7.00
Wheeler Dealers 8.00 Blowing Up
History 9.00 Gold Rush 11.00 Gold
Rush 12.00 Deadliest Catch — The
Viking Returns 1.00-5.00 Gold Rush
PBS AMERICA
4.00pm The Civil War 6.10
Napoleon 7.30 Europe’s Forgotten
Border 8.40 SAS — Rogue Warriors
9.55-12.00 The Civil War
SKY DOCUMENTARIES
6.00pm The Good Fight Club
7.00 Last Call — When A Serial
Killer Stalked Queer New York
8.00 The Great Rhino Robbery
9.00 I Am Patrick Swayze 10.50-
12.50 The Wimbledon Kidnapping
SKY NATURE
6.00pm Hope For Wildlife 7.00
Monkey Life 8.00 Secret World Of
Sound 9.00 Caught In Motion
10.00 Hope For Wildlife 11.00-
12.00 Great Blue Wild
DISCOVERY HISTORY
6.00pm Combat Dealers. VE Day
7.00 Expedition Unknown 8.00
Mysteries At The Castle 9.00 Combat
Dealers 10.00 Salvage Hunters
11.00-12.00 Find It, Fix It, Flog It
Teen idol
Adam Faith
Sport
SKY SPORTS MAIN EVENT
6.00am News 7.00 Good Morning
Sports Fans 10.00 The Football
Show 12.00 Lunchtime Live 2.00
LIVE WPL: Delhi Capitals v Mumbai
Indians 6.00 News 7.30 LIVE EFL:
Ipswich Town v Bristol City. Kickoff
8.00 10.30 Back Pages Tonight
11.00 News 3.30 LIVE Tennis. The
Indian Wells Open 5.30-6.00 News
TNT SPORTS 1
6.00am PL Review 7.00 Between
The Lines 8.00 Badminton 10.00
V8 Supercars 12.00 Formula E
Flashback 1.00 PL Review 2.00
Uefa Europa League & Conference
League Magazine 3.00 Goals
Reload 3.15 Sign Up — Into Football
4.00 A-League Women 4.30
A-League 5.00 PL Review 6.00 PL
Netbusters 6.30 PL Stories 7.00
Uefa Champions League Magazine
7.30 LIVE Uefa Champions League:
Bayern Munich v Lazio. From Allianz
Arena. Kickoff is at 8.00 10.30 The
Football’s On 11.30 PL Reload 11.45
Goals Reload 12.00 NBA Tip-Off
12.30 LIVE NBA 3.00 LIVE NBA
5.30-6.30 Inside The NBA
Radio & Podcasts
○ Dead Famous
(Radio 4, 11.30am)
Rosie Millard begins a
series about artists whose
careers skyrocketed after
their death and what led
to their posthumous
popularity. She begins
with Johannes Vermeer,
who died bankrupt and
fell into obscurity, yet
the show of his art in
Amsterdam last year
was visited by 650,000
people. Millard talks to
Tracy Chevalier, whose
novel Girl With a Pearl
Earring imagined
Vermeer’s personal life.
Experts reveal how his
work was rediscovered
by Étienne-Joseph-
Théophile Thoré, whose
obsession with the artist
brought his work to the
world’s attention.
TIMES RADIO
5.00 Rosie Wright With Early
Breakfast 6.00 Aasmah Mir And
Stig Abell With Times Radio
Breakfast 10.00 Matt Chorley
1.00 Mariella Frostrup 3.00 Jane
Garvey And Fi Glover 5.00 John
Pienaar With Times Radio Drive
7.00 Pienaar And Friends 8.00
The Evening Edition With Kait
Borsay 10.00 Carole Walker
1.00 Stories Of Our Times 1.30
Highlights From Matt Chorley
2.00 The Best Of Times Radio
To get in touch with the Times
Radio studio, text TIMES plus your
message to 87222. Texts cost
your standard message charge.
RADIO 4
5.30 News 5.43 Prayer 5.45
Farming Today 5.58 Tweet Of The
Day (R) 6.00 Today 8.31 (LW)
Yesterday In Parliament 9.00 The
Long View 9.30 One To One.
Angellica Bell speaks to therapist
Alice Bearn (R) 9.45 Book Of The
Week 9.45 (LW) Daily Service
10.00 Woman’s Hour 11.00 Young
Again 11.30 Dead Famous. New
series. The legacy of artists who
rose to fame after death,
beginning with Johannes Vermeer
12.00 News 12.01 (LW) Shipping
12.04 Call You And Yours 1.00 The
World At One 1.45 Strike Boy
2.00 The Archers (R) 2.15 Drama:
Land Of My Father, by Sian Owen
3.00 The Kitchen Cabinet (R) 3.30
A Thorough Examination With Drs
Chris And Xand. Chris tries his first
half marathon without any training
4.00 Law In Action. New run 4.30
A Good Read. Andrew McMillan
and Kathryn Williams 5.00 PM
5.54 (LW) Shipping 6.00 News
6.30 ReincarNathan (R) 7.00 The
Archers 7.15 Front Row 8.00 The
Trouble With Parenting. Those who
suffer from violence from their
children 8.40 In Touch 9.00 All In
The Mind 9.30 The Long View (R)
10.00 The World Tonight 10.45
Book At Bedtime 11.00 Rum Punch
11.30 Today In Parliament 12.00
News 12.30 Book Of The Week (R)
12.48 Shipping 1.00 World Service
Johannes Vermeer’s Girl
with a Pearl Earring (1665)
○ The Documentary
(BBC World Service,
9.30am/8.06pm)
At a time when refugee
issues are at the centre
of the news, a look at how
Malawi’s Tumaini (“hope”
in Swahili) music and
culture festival in Dzaleka
refugee camp has become
RADIO 4 EXTRA
5.00 The World Of Daphne Du
Maurier 6.00 Falco: The Iron Hand
Of Mars 6.30 The Blackburn Files
7.00 Other People’s Children 7.15
Bindi Business 7.30 Jack & Millie
8.00 The Goon Show 8.30 The
Michael Bentine Show 9.00 The
Personality Test 9.30 Artists 10.00
The World Of Daphne Du Maurier
11.00 Falco: The Iron Hand Of Mars
11.30 The Blackburn Files 12.00
Other People’s Children 12.15 Bindi
Business 12.30 Jack & Millie 1.00
The Goon Show 1.30 The Michael
Bentine Show 2.00 The Personality
Test 2.30 Artists 3.00 The World
Of Daphne Du Maurier 4.00 Falco:
The Iron Hand Of Mars 4.30 The
Blackburn Files 5.00 Other People’s
Children 5.15 Bindi Business 5.30
Jack & Millie 6.00 The Goon Show
6.30 The Michael Bentine Show
7.00 The Personality Test 7.30
Artists 8.00 TED Radio Hour 8.50
Inheritance Tracks 9.00 Making
Tracks 9.30 Jaws By Peter Benchley
9.45 The Haunted Road 10.00
ReincarNathan 10.30 Daphne
Sounds Expensive 11.00 Domestic
Science 11.15 Josie Long: All Of The
Planet’s Wonders 11.30-12.00 John
Shuttleworth’s Lounge Music
LBC
7.00 Nick Ferrari 10.00 James
O’Brien 1.00 Shelagh Fogarty 4.00
Tom Swarbrick 6.00 Andrew Marr
7.00 Iain Dale 10.00 Ben Kentish
1.00 Clive Bull 4.00 Ian Payne
RADIO 3
6.30 Breakfast 9.00 Essential
Classics 12.00 Composer Of The
Week 1.00 Lunchtime Concert. The
soprano Ruby Hughes and friends
perform at Bangor Abbey; and works
by Vaughan Williams, Britten and
Dowland 2.00 Afternoon Concert.
Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony in
a performance from the BBC SSO;
plus, Chopin from pianist Yumeka
Nakagawa in concert in Cologne
5.00 In Tune 7.00 Classical Mixtape
7.30 In Concert. Tom Mckinney
presents Sir Mark Elder and The
Halle playing Bruckner’s Eighth
Symphony at Bridgewater Hall
a success. Founded by
Tresor Mpauni, who lived
in the camp after leaving
the Democratic Republic
of Congo, it uses arts and
culture to build links
between refugees and
Malawians, and also makes
money for the camp.
○ F1 — Back At Base
(BBC Sounds)
A new fly-on-the-wall
series where the Mercedes
and Williams teams give
rare access to the activities
at their headquarters in
the off-season. James
Vowles, the Williams team
principal, sums up what
goes on during this time
when he says: “As much
as the races look like
the complicated bit —
they’re not.”
Clair Woodward
10.00 Free Thinking. Shahidha
Bari is joined by Jennifer Thomson,
Katie Cooper, Alex Reza and Sarah
Jilani, discussing topics including
research on a 1915 international
women’s peace congress 10.45
The Essay. Exploring Edith Piaf’s
life and work through the song
L’Accordeoniste, written in 1940
by Michel Emer, who, according to
legend, appeared at Piaf’s window
in uniform with the song 11.00
Night Tracks. Sara Mohr-Pietsch
presents an adventurous,
immersive soundtrack for late-
night listening, from classical to
contemporary and everything in
between 12.30 Through The Night
CLASSIC FM
6.30 Breakfast With Dan Walker
9.00 The Hall Of Fame Hour With
Dan Walker 10.00 Alexander
Armstrong 1.00 Anne-Marie Minhall
4.00 Margherita Taylor 7.00 Zeb
Soanes 10.00 Ritula Shah 1.00
Bill Overton 4.00 Lucy Coward
RADIO 2
6.30 The Gaby Roslin Breakfast
Show 9.30 Vernon Kay. Music
and entertainment 12.00 Jeremy
Vine 2.00 DJ Spoony 4.00 Sara
Cox 7.00 Jo Whiley. Music and
chat 9.00 The Jazz Show With
Jamie Cullum 10.00 Trevor
Nelson’s Magnificent 7 10.30
Trevor Nelson’s Rhythm Nation
12.00 OJ Borg 3.00 Pick Of The
Pops (R) 4.00 Owain Wyn Evans
VIRGIN RADIO
6.30 The Chris Evans Breakfast
Show 10.00 The Ryan Tubridy
Show 1.00 Jayne Middlemiss
4.00 Ricky Wilson 7.00 Bam
10.00 Amy Voce 1.00 Sean
Goldsmith 4.00 Steve Denyer
TALKSPORT
5.00 Early Breakfast 6.00
Talksport Breakfast With Jeff
Stelling 10.00 Jim White And
Simon Jordan 1.00 Hawksbee
And Baker 4.00 Talksport Drive
With Andy Goldstein And Darren
Bent 7.00 Kick Off 10.00
Sports Bar 12.00 Extra Time
3 March 2024 41
WEDNESDAY 6 MARCH
BBC 1 BBC 2
6.00 Breakfast Headlines.
9.30 Morning Live Magazine.
10.45 Crimewatch Live
11.30 Homes Under The
Hammer Auctions. (R)
12.15 Bargain Hunt Curios. (R)
1.00 News; Weather Reports.
1.45 Doctors Ruhma meets a
woman with an obsession.
2.15 Clean It, Fix It A family in
East London needs help.
3.00 Escape To The Country (R)
3.45 The Bidding Room New
run. Bidders compete to
purchase a camera film
vending machine and
a jack-in-the-box.
4.30 Antiques Road Trip (R)
5.15 Pointless Quiz show. (R)
6.00 News; Weather Reports.
6.30 Regional News Update.
7.00 The One Show Features.
7.30 EastEnders Zack drowns
his sorrows in the Vic; and
Denzel is ecstatic over the
chance to collaborate
with a fitness influencer.
8.00 CHOICE This World
Documenting new
research in the effort to
locate Malaysian Airlines
flight MH370, which
disappeared without trace
with 239 passengers and
crew on board in 2014.
(See Critics’ choice)
9.00 Ambulance As the night
shift begins, 82 patients in
northeast England are
waiting for an ambulance,
and new calls are being
taken every 30 seconds.
10.00 News; Weather Reports.
10.40 Boarders Xiang accuses
Jaheim’s London friends of
stealing his laptop. (3/6, R)
11.25 Things You Should Have
Done A dependent young
woman is forced to fend
for herself. (1/6, R) 11.55
Things You Should Have
Done Chi ponders the idea
of never working again. (R)
12.25 FILM: Lady Bird Stars
Saoirse Ronan. An artistic
teen endures a difficult
relationship with her
mother. Unconventional
comedy drama. (2017, 15)
2.00-6.00 Joins BBC News
SCOTLAND 2.15 Politics
Scotland. 3.00 Clean It, Fix It.
6.30 Reporting Scotland. 11.25
Debate Night. 12.25 Scottish
Questions. 12.55 The Edit. 1.10
Things You Should Have Done.
Two episodes. 2.15 BBC News.
Variations
BBC1 WALES 10.40 BBC Wales
11.10 Boarders BBC SCOTLAND
7.00 This Farming Life 8.00
Scotland’s Greatest Escape 8.30
Food Fest Scotland 9.00 The Nine
10.00 River City 10.30 Debate
Night 11.30-12.00 Street Gangs
STV 6.00 Good Morning Britain
9.00 Lorraine 10.00 This Morning
12.15-1.50 News; Weather 2.00
Dickinson’s Real Deal 3.00 Lingo
4.00 Tipping Point 5.00 The
Chase 6.00 Regional News 6.30
News; Weather 7.30 Emmerdale
42 3 March 2024
6.30 Escape To The Country
The perfect West Country
home in Devon. (R)
7.15 Clean It, Fix It (R)
8.00 See Hear Magazine.
(Signed, Last in series)
8.30 Amanda & Alan’s Italian
Job Makeover. (Signed, R)
9.00 News; Weather Headlines.
11.15 Politics Live Discussion.
3.30 Murder, Mystery And My
Family The case of a
farmer hanged for the
murder of his partner. (R)
4.15 Scotland From The Sky
The nation’s coastline. (R)
5.15 Flog It! In Cumbria. (R)
6.00 House Of Games Cally
Beaton, Louis Emerick,
Helen George and Justin
Moorhouse take part. (R)
6.30 Rick Stein’s Cornwall The
chef visits Europe’s largest
tea plantation, on the
banks of the River Fal. (R)
7.00 Secrets Of The Museum
Items kept behind closed
doors at the V&A museum,
focusing on the repair of an
eye-popping lurex suit. (R)
8.00 Great British Menu Chefs
from Northern Ireland
cook mains and desserts
inspired by the Olympic
and Paralympic games,
which include a rib of
beef, with pomme anna,
filled with sticky oxtail.
9.00 Bring The Drama The
actors are challenged to
deliver instant and
convincing reactions to
life-or-death situations,
with the help of guest star
Charles Venn on the set
of Casualty in Cardiff.
10.00 Live At The Apollo Kae
Kurd hosts at London’s
Hammersmith Apollo,
introducing comedians
Laura Smyth and Liam
Farrelly to the stage. (R)
10.30 Newsnight Headlines.
11.15 Unspun World With John
Simpson Global stories.
11.45 See Hear With the UK’s
first deaf Gladiator, Jodie
Ounsley. (Signed, R)
12.15 Make It At Market An
artist from Birmingham
and a jeweller from London
seek help. (Signed, R)
1.00 Antiques Roadshow
From Roundhay Park,
Leeds. (Signed, R)
2.00-4.00 Great British Menu
Chefs from northwest
England serve up their
main and desserts. (R)
8.00 Coronation Street 9.00
Celebrity Big Brother 10.00 News
At Ten 10.40 Scotland Tonight
11.05 Peston 12.10 English
Football League Highlights
1.05 Teleshopping 3.00 7 Up
& Me 3.50 Night Vision 5.05-
6.00 Alan Titchmarsh’s
Gardening Club S4C 6.00 Cyw
9.00 Cymylaubychain 9.10 Twt
9.25 Sblij A Sbloj 9.30 Crawc A’i
Ffrindiau 9.45 Asra 10.00 Caru
Canu 10.05 Olobobs 10.10 Byd
Tad-Cu 10.25 Blero Yn Mynd I
Ocido 10.40 Dal Dy Ddannedd
11.00 Dysgu Gyda Cyw
ITV 1
6.00 Good Morning Britain
9.00 Lorraine Lifestyle chat.
10.00 This Morning Features.
12.15 News; Weather Special:
The Chancellor’s Budget
1.50 Regional News Headlines.
2.00 Dickinson’s Real Deal
The expert team heads to
Weston-super-Mare. (R)
3.00 Lingo Gameshow. (R)
4.00 Tipping Point Gameshow.
5.00 The Chase Quiz show.
6.00 Regional News Update.
6.30 News; Weather Reports.
7.30 Emmerdale Aaron and
Cain take a step closer
to reaching a truce;
and Mack is relieved.
8.00 Coronation Street Mason
sets up Dylan to take the
rap for him; Fiz hopes to
impress Carla with fresh
ideas for Underworld; and
Daniel accuses Adam of
endangering Bethany’s life.
9.00 Celebrity Big Brother
Famous housemates live
under 24-hour surveillance.
10.00 News At Ten Bulletin.
10.45 Peston Political magazine
show hosted by Robert
Peston, featuring interviews
with MPs, topical guests
and cultural figures.
11.40 Heathrow — Britain’s
Busiest Airport An airside
officer has a potential
environmental mess on his
hands; and an octogenarian
forces herself into the
country under the watchful
eye of a passenger
experience guru . (R)
12.10 English Football League
Highlights The latest
midweek games, including
Middlesbrough v Norwich
City, Watford v Swansea
City and Southampton v
Preston North End. (R)
1.05 Teleshopping Purchasing.
3.00 7 Up & Me Insights. (R)
3.50 Unwind Daily relaxation.
5.05-6.00 Alan Titchmarsh’s
Gardening Club (R)
Saoirse Ronan (BBC1, 12.25am)
12.00 Newyddion A’r Tywydd
12.05 Bois Y Pizza — Chwe’ Gwlad
12.30 Heno 1.00 Gwlad Beirdd
1.30 Parti Bwyd Beca 2.00
Newyddion 2.05 Prynhawn Da
3.00 Newyddion 3.05 Y ’Sgubor
Flodau 4.00 Awr Fawr 5.00
Stwnsh 6.00 Cefn Gwlad 6.30
Rownd A Rownd 6.57 Newyddion
7.00 Heno 7.30 Newyddion
8.00 Pobol Y Cwm 8.25 Rownd
A Rownd 8.55 Newyddion A’r
Tywydd 9.00 Gogglebocs Cymru
10.00 Bois Y Pizza — Chwe’
Gwlad 10.30 Y Byd Ar Bedwar
11.00-11.35 Dim Byd I’w Wisgo
Channel 4
6.10 Countdown Game. (R)
6.50 Cheers Comedy. (R)
8.05 Everybody Loves
Raymond Comedy. (R)
9.30 Frasier Sitcom. (R)
11.00 The Great House
Giveaway In Derby. (R)
12.00 News; Weather Reports.
12.05 Sun, Sea And Selling
Houses A classic car-
loving couple search for a
new home in Almeria. (R)
1.05 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (R)
2.10 Countdown Gameshow.
3.00 A Place In The Sun (R)
4.00 A New Life In The Sun (R)
5.00 Chateau DIY Insights. (R)
6.00 Come Dine With Me
A hairdresser hosts night
three in Dundee and Perth.
6.30 The Simpsons Cartoon. (R)
7.00 News; Weather Reports.
7.55 The Political Slot James
Murray MP discusses
Labour’s plans for a
well-known London street.
8.00 Love It Or List It Kirstie
Allsopp and Phil Spencer
help two baptist ministers
decide whether to sell up or
keep their home in Alnwick,
Northumberland. (R)
9.00 CHOICE The Rise And Fall
Of Boris Johnson New
series about the career of
Boris Johnson, with input
from those closest to him,
looking first at how his
chaotic childhood shaped
his political views. (1/4;
see Critics’ choice)
10.35 Naked Attraction New run
of the dating show. A
model from Mansfield and
a former stripper from
Ireland look for love.
11.35 Open House — The
Great Sex Experiment
Childhood sweethearts
wish to spice up their
12-year relationship. (R)
12.40 The Jury — Murder Trial
The juries retire to decide
on their verdicts. (R)
1.35 Ramsay’s Kitchen
Nightmares USA (R)
2.25 FILM: Second Act Stars
Jennifer Lopez. A woman
lands a job in a corporate
firm when a friend creates
a fake profile for her.
Ludicrous. (2018, 12)
4.10 Couples Come Dine With
Me Northeast England. (R)
5.05 House Of Craft (R)
5.15-6.10 The Great British Dig
— History In Your Back
Garden A burial ground. (R)
Having survived the misery and horror of
Covid, why would anyone want to watch it
all over again? So it’s no thanks to watching
Breathtaking.
You say
Jon Edgson
Alice & Jack is easygoing drama but the
sound quality is atrocious. I just cannot
make out what Andrea Riseborough’s
character is saying.
Geoff Carr
Send your comments to telly@sunday-times.co.uk
Channel 5
6.00 Milkshake! Children’s fun.
9.15 Jeremy Vine Debate.
11.15 Storm Huntley Opinions.
12.45 Alexis Conran & Friends
1.40 News; Weather Reports.
1.45 Home And Away Xander
asks Levi for help. (R)
2.15 My Killer Colleague
Thriller, with Sierra
Wooldridge and Chris
Kapeleris. A spa employee
is framed for the murder of
a jealous co-worker.
4.00 Shoplifters — Caught Red
Handed A suspected
fraudster is followed. (R)
5.00 News; Weather Reports.
6.00 Susan Calman’s Grand
Day Out The presenter and
her campervan hit the road
for a trip to Yorkshire. (R)
6.55 News; Weather Reports.
7.00 Shop Smart, Save Money
Gaby Roslin and Ortis
Deley look at ways to
save on gym membership.
7.55 News; Weather Reports.
8.00 CHOICE M&S — Secrets
Of The Food Hall The story
behind the creation of
Marks & Spencer’s new
food hall-style stores that
are tempting millions of
shoppers, and showing
how to make savings.
(See Critics’ choice)
9.00 CHOICE The Titan Sub
Disaster — Minute By
Minute Examining the
Titan submersible
operated by American
tourism and expeditions
company OceanGate,
which imploded last year.
(1/2; see Critics’ choice)
10.00 Ambulance — Code Red
A motorist is stuck in his
car, unable to move his
legs; and a man in a remote
rural location cuts his leg
with an angle grinder. (R)
11.05 999 — Emergency Call
Out A stolen car crashes
on a residential street,
trailing destruction in its
wake and causing a risk
of a gas explosion. (R)
12.05 Motorway Cops
— Catching Britain’s
Speeders A drink-driver
causes a collision during
the school run. (R)
1.00 Casino Show Gambling.
3.00 Secrets Of The Mega
Landfill Documentary. (R)
4.05 Car Pound Cops (R)
4.55 Wildlife SOS Animals. (R)
5.20 Entertainment News
5.25-6.00 Children’s Shows
 Critics’ choice
The Rise And Fall Of Boris
Johnson (C4, 9pm)
As a child Boris Johnson would
tell people he wanted to be
“world king” when he grew up.
His ambitions might have fallen
short, but as this stylish, sharp-
eyed documentary series shows,
he still achieved an alarming
degree of power for a man who
once described his articles on the
EU as “chucking rocks over the
garden wall”. While a cast of
associates and observers — among
them Ken Livingstone, Nigel
Farage (somehow quoting Gandhi)
and Michael Heseltine — try to
untangle something of Johnson’s
motivations and personality, the
narrative highlights how the
British public’s fondness for a
“great character” led to Johnson’s
insidious shift to “Boris”, his
indiscretions softening up voters
for a new kind of politics. From
the Bullingdon Club to Brexit, it’s
all here, yet somehow, there’s still
a vacuum at its core.
Victoria Segal
This World (BBC1, 8pm)
Early in this sombre documentary
there comes a bold quote from a
retired aviation engineer: “Aircraft
do not vanish,” Richard Godfrey
says. “They always leave a trail of
breadcrumbs.” It’s been ten years
since Malaysian Airlines flight
MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to
Beijing disappeared with 239
passengers and crew on board —
and as the film argues with quiet
urgency, knowing the aircraft’s fate
is vital to ensure that whatever
happened to it can never happen
again. The programme reveals new
radio technology that might be able
to pinpoint where the wreckage
lies. More chillingly, it investigates
the theory that it was — at least
until it ran out of fuel — controlled
by a skilled pilot. From haunting
CCTV footage of the passengers
boarding to the high-tech maps
and charts, it’s a breadcrumb trail
that is as fascinating as it is
disturbing. VS
On demand
○ Extraordinary (Disney+)
The first series of Emma Moran’s
comedy drama was an utter joy.
Set in a parallel universe where
(nearly) everyone possesses a
superpower, yet focused on
ungifted sad-sack 25-year-old Irish
ex-pat Jen (the wonderful Máiréad
Tyers), here was a show that
managed to be playful, raunchy,
irreverent and gripping all at once.
With series two Moran has, for
Walking the plank: Boris Johnson at Eton College in 1979 (C4, 9pm)
Miriam Margolyes Remembers...
Cold Comfort Farm
(BBC4, 10pm)
Margolyes (who has a supporting
role) introduces Cold Comfort
Farm (10.15pm), the excellent
adaptation of Stella Gibbons’ novel
first aired in 1995. Kate Beckinsale
is a young orphan who goes to stay
with her country relatives and ends
up helping them to adjust to the
20th century. Ian McKellen, Eileen
Atkins and Rufus Sewell play
members of the rural family, with
Joanna Lumley also in the cast.
Miriam Margolyes (BBC4, 10pm)
reasons known only to herself,
largely abandoned the superhero
coming-of-age drama in favour of
a grubby flat-share comedy. The
comic set-pieces and caustic
one-liners are still there but the
show now feels housebound
where once it soared.
○ Full Swing (Netflix)
Although devised by the same team
behind high-stakes all-access
Formula One series Drive to
Survive, the first series of this
M&S — Secrets Of The Food Hall
(C5, 8pm)
Is Channel 5 softer on Marks and
Sparks than it is on the likes of
Aldi and Lidl? The foreign invaders
tend to get grudging praise in films
portraying them as cunning users
of tricks and gimmicks, whereas
last month’s M&S: How They Got
Back On Top and this programme
resemble extended adverts. Here
the focus is on the chain’s big
food hall gamble, with sections
on discounts and the store as
sensory cornucopia.
The Titan Sub Disaster — Minute
By Minute (C5, 9pm)
This two-part documentary follows
last year’s ill-fated mission by five
men in a submersible to descend to
the wreck of the Titanic. Tonight,
the rescue efforts after contact was
lost with the Titan sub; tomorrow’s
concluding episode (also 9pm) asks
why the expedition went so wrong.
John Dugdale
immersive documentary about the
world of championship golf was
somewhat underwhelming. Unlike
its racing car predecessor, it felt a
little too safe and rather too keen
to show a sponsor-friendly image
of the sport. Hopefully, series two
will balance the human drama with
more of the grimy politics behind
the sport — because the truth of the
matter is that the exploits of the
players themselves just aren’t
thrilling enough.
Andrew Male
Cosy crime worth
snuggling up to
The Marlow Murder Club
(Drama, 8pm)
This UKTV cosy-crime drama’s
credentials are promising. A script
adapted by Robert Thorogood,
the Death in Paradise creator,
from his own successful novel; a
cast that features Samantha Bond,
Cara Horgan and Jo Martin; Steve
Barron, best known for his work
on The Durrells, is the director.
It’s as bright and sunny as the
Buckinghamshire countryside
in July. HS
Jo Martin, Samantha Bond and
Cara Horgan
Film choice
Boy Erased (BBC3, 10pm)
There is credible character work
from Nicole Kidman and Russell
Crowe as Midwestern Baptists in
this true-life “gay conversion”
drama, adapted from Garrard
Conley’s memoir about his time
in a conversion camp (where
participants are force-fed hardline
Christianity and fake science to
“cure” their homosexuality). Lucas
Hedges plays the sensitive Jared,
who is sent to the camp for
admitting “leanings”. (2018)
Rocks (Film4, 12.05am)
The homegrown teenage movie
got a much-needed shot of
authenticity with this deftly played
heartbreaker about a resilient
schoolgirl, Rocks (Bukky Bakray),
who tries to bring up her younger
brother when they are abandoned
by their emotionally fragile single
mum. The movie bristles with
giddy energy and is at its best when
Rocks and her schoolfriends are
together. (2019)
Three Days Of The Condor
(Sky Cinema Greats, 10.40pm)
Robert Redford plays down
the glamour as a bookish CIA
analyst who uncovers a US plot to
destabilise the Middle East, create
an undeniable precondition for
invasion, then pilfer the region’s
oil. This peerless Sydney Pollack
thriller hasn’t just aged well, it’s
become positively prophetic,
or at least eerily resonant. (1975)
3 March 2024 43
WEDNESDAY 6 MARCH
BBC 3 BBC 4
7.00pm MasterChef Nine more
contenders prepare
a family favourite.
8.00 Top Gear A celebration of
the Jaguar E-type; and
road testing a rugged
alternative to the Humvee.
9.00 A Very British Cult An
investigation into a
life-coaching company
that allegedly ruins lives.
10.00 CHOICE Boy Erased Stars
Lucas Hedges and Nicole
Kidman. A preacher’s son
must participate in a
church-supported gay
conversion programme.
(2018, 15; see Film choice)
11.50 High — Surviving A Dubai
Drugs Bust Five episodes.
2.20 Things You Should Have
Done O�beat sitcom. (1/6)
2.50 Spud Comedy drama.
3.05-3.50 Boarders (3/6)
Drama
6.00pm As Time Goes By
The couple are disturbed
by some ominous noises.
6.40 Last Of The Summer Wine
Compo, Clegg and Foggy
take a trip to Wales. 7.20
Last Of The Summer Wine
The trio lament the lack of
fresh vegetables available.
8.00 CHOICE The Marlow
Murder Club With
Samantha Bond, Cara
Horgan and Jo Martin.
Judith Potts’s evening in
Marlow is shattered when
she witnesses a murder.
(1/2; see Critics’ choice)
10.00 New Tricks The team
reopens the investigation
into a terrorist’s death; and
Sasha agrees to go for
dinner with Ned. (S11, ep 3)
11.20-12.40 Spooks An
anti-terrorist operation
goes wrong. (Series 6, ep 1)
Films
SKY CINEMA PREMIERE
5.15pm Mission: Impossible — Dead
Reckoning Part One (2023, 12)
8.00 Ferrari. Former racecar driver
Enzo Ferrari embarks on an epic
race across Italy. (2023, 15) 10.15-
12.05 Asteroid City. Astronomers
meet for an eventful stargazing
convention in 1955. (2023, 12)
SKY CINEMA THRILLER
4.45pm Watcher (2022, 15) 6.25
Dead Shot (2023, 15) 8.00 Raging
Fire. An experienced and respected
police officer comes up against his
protégé. (2021, 15) 10.15-12.55
Detroit. Racist police respond to
a complaint with retribution rather
than justice in mind. (2017, 15)
SKY CINEMA GREATS
3.40pm The Great Gatsby (1974,
12) 6.05 Escape From Alcatraz
(1979, 15) 8.00 The Firm. A lawyer
finds the company that has
headhunted him is controlled by
the mafia. (1993, 15) 10.40-12.40
CHOICE Three Days Of The Condor.
Stars Robert Redford and Faye
Dunawa.y (1975, 15; see Film choice)
44 3 March 2024
7.00pm Frozen Planet
8.00 Cold War, Hot Jets The
role of Britain’s V-force
nuclear bombers. (2/2)
9.00 Rise Of The Nazis
— Dictators At War Hitler
and Stalin take charge of
their armies. (Series 2, ep 2)
10.00 CHOICE Miriam
Margolyes Remembers …
Cold Comfort Farm The
actress reflects on the film.
(See Critics’ choice)
10.15 FILM: Cold Comfort Farm
Stars Kate Beckinsale and
Rufus Sewell. An orphaned
woman moves in with
relatives on a remote farm.
A real treat. (1995, PG)
11.55 The Ambassadors
Drama, with Paul Scofield.
1.30 Frozen Planet Insights.
2.30-3.30 Rise Of The Nazis —
Dictators At War (S2, ep 2)
Sky Arts
6.00pm Alfred Hitchcock
Presents: A Little Sleep. A
bored rich girl goes up to
her cabin in the mountains.
6.30 Alfred Hitchcock
Presents: The Dangerous
People. A maniac manages
to escape from an asylum.
7.00 The Joy Of Painting Bob
Ross paints a ridge of
mountain peaks. 7.30 The
Joy Of Painting Depicting
hills and leafless trees.
8.00 Best Of Landscape Artist
Of The Year Highlights of
the contest. (Last in series)
9.00 Painting Birds Celebrating
species of bird in the UK.
10.00 Stories From The
National Portrait Gallery
Kate Bryan explores
20th-century portraiture.
11.00-12.15 Voices Of Ireland
Imelda May explores
Ireland’s literary talent. (1/2)
SKY CINEMA SELECT
5.40pm Vanilla Sky (2001, 15) 8.00
The Matrix. A computer hacker
joins with rebels to free humans
from a virtual-reality fantasy. (1999,
15) 10.20-1.20 The Lord Of The
Rings — The Two Towers (2002, 12)
FILM4
5.35pm Transformers — Age Of
Extinction (2014, 12) 9.00-12.05
The Revenant. A frontiersman
who was left for dead goes on a
journey of revenge. (2015, 15)
TALKING PICTURES TV
5.30pm Bonanza 6.35 Dick
Powell’s Zane Grey Theatre 7.20
Dixon Of Dock Green 8.00 Public
Eye 9.05 Gideon’s Way 10.05-
12.10 The Cater Street Hangman.
Victorian thriller. (1998, PG)
Entertainment
ITV4
5.55pm Giant Lobster Hunters 7.00
Cycling. Paris-Nice highlights 8.00
FILM: The Spy Who Loved Me. Stars
Roger Moore. 10.40 River Monsters
11.10 World Of Sport 11.30 English
Football League Highlights 12.35-
2.30 All Elite Wrestling — Collision
ITV 2
6.00pm Catchphrase Game.
7.00 Ant & Dec’s Limitless Win
8.00 Superstore Amy jumps
at an amazing career
opportunity. (S4, ep 14)
8.30 Superstore Amy
finds herself at odds
with her colleagues.
9.00 Social Media Murders:
The Murder Of Bianca
Devins. The family of a
young woman murdered
in New York battle social
media to remove evidence.
10.00 Celebrity Big Brother —
Late And Live A look at the
latest goings-on with a
panel of superfans.
11.05 Family Guy Peter pays
homage to three different
Oscar-winning stories.
(Series 21, ep 1) 11.35-
12.05 Family Guy Peter’s
father moves in with the
family. (Series 2, ep 2)
Sky Max
6.00pm Stargate Atlantis The
team investigates a drug
intended to make them
immune from the attacks
of the Wraith. (S1, ep 7, R)
7.00 Stargate Atlantis
Sheppard and McKay
encounter a new race. (R)
8.00 There’s Something About
Movies Panel show, with
Jason Isaacs, Rob Delaney,
Mandeep Dhillon and
Katherine Ryan. (R)
9.00 FILM: Bullet To The Head
Stars Sylvester Stallone
and Sung Kang. A hitman
and a police detective join
forces to seek revenge
against a murderer.
Derivative thriller. (2012, 15)
11.00-12.00 Hold The Front
Page Nish Kumar and
Josh Widdicombe work
for Farming Life. (R)
MORE4
5.50pm Heir Hunters 6.55 The Dog
House 9.00 Grand Designs 10.00
Amazing Spaces 11.05 24 Hours In
A&E 12.05 Emergency Helicopter
Medics 1.10-2.15 Grand Designs
GOLD
6.00pm The Green Green Grass
6.40 Gavin & Stacey 7.20 Dad’s
Army 8.40 The Vicar Of Dibley 9.20
Gavin & Stacey 10.00 Toast Of
London 10.30 Live At The Apollo
11.30 The Vicar Of Dibley 12.10
Gavin & Stacey 12.50 Toast Of
London 1.20-2.20 Live At The Apollo
SKY COMEDY
6.00pm The US Office 7.00
Wellington Paranormal 8.00 Will &
Grace 9.00 Insecure 10.15 Curb
Your Enthusiasm 11.00 The Tonight
Show 12.00 Veep 1.20-2.30 Bliss
5 STAR
6.00pm Home And Away 7.00
GPs — Behind Closed Doors 8.00
Shoplifters — Caught Red Handed
9.00 The Incident Room 10.00 999
— Critical Condition 11.00 Sleeping
With My Murderer 12.00 My Lover,
My Killer 1.00 Evil Up Close — Kids
Who Kill 2.00-2.50 A&E After Dark
ITV 3
5.55pm Heartbeat Greengrass
meets his match in a gang
of loutish Liverpudlians.
6.55 Heartbeat Ventress
tries to get to the bottom
of an old foe’s return.
8.00 Grace Branson and Grace
investigate the murder
of a socialite, whose
entrepreneur husband
becomes the main
suspect. (Series 2, ep 2)
10.00 Trial & Retribution When
a girl falls to her death from
a Ferris wheel, it is thought
to be a tragic accident
until DS Satchell’s aunt
comes forward with
suspicions of foul play.
11.45-12.35 The Royal Mr Rose
and Dr Ormerod visit a
hippie commune; and Dr
Goodwin uncovers dark
secrets surrounding the
parents of a sick baby.
Sky Atlantic
5.30pm The Wire Marlo
assumes control of the
co-op. (Series 5, ep 6) 6.40
The Wire Freamon and
McNulty stage a call from
the killer to Templeton.
7.50 House Of The Dragon
Rhaenyra continues her
search for a suitable
match; and Daemon stirs
trouble for the king. (4/10)
9.00 The White Lotus Belinda
walks a fine line with Tanya;
and Mark reconnects with
Quinn. (Series 1, ep 2)
10.00 Mary & George Historical
drama about the scheming
of Mary Villiers. With
Julianne Moore and
Nicholas Galitzine. (1/7)
11.05-12.10 The Time Traveler’s
Wife Drama, with Rose
Leslie and Theo James. A
six-year-old encounters
time traveller. (1/6)
5 USA
6.00pm NCIS 9.00 Criminal Minds.
A murderer strikes on the same date
each year 10.00 Law & Order:
Special Victims Unit 1.50-3.35
Exiled — A Law & Order Movie
SKY WITNESS
6.00pm Nothing To Declare 8.00
Blue Bloods 9.00 Fire Country.
Bode’s crew is accused of taking an
expensive watch during a fire mop-
up 10.00 The Equalizer 11.00 FBI
12.00 FBI — International 1.00 New
Amsterdam 2.00-3.00 The Rookie
W Taskmaster 12.00 Schitt’s Creek
6.00pm MasterChef Australia
7.00 16 Kids And Counting 8.00
Ambulance Australia. An ambulance
bottleneck causes chaos 9.00 24
Hours In A&E 11.00 One Born Every
Minute 12.00 Alex Jones — Making
Babies 2.00-3.00 Wedding Valley
COMEDY CENTRAL
6.00pm Friends 9.00 Michael
McIntyre’s Big Show 10.00 Jon
Richardson — Old Man: Live 12.00
Out Of Order 1.00 Rhod Gilbert’s
Growing Pains 2.00-3.00 Al Murray
— The Pub Landlord: Beautifully
British Tour Live At The O2
E4
6.00pm The Big Bang Theory
Raj’s sister creates tension.
(Series 4, ep 6) 6.30
The Big Bang Theory
Leonard vows to be more
confident around women.
7.00 Hollyoaks Chester soap.
7.30 Married At First Sight
Australia The newlyweds
move in together.
9.00 Celebrity Gogglebox
Well-known faces appraise
shows including Love
Island, Killing Eve and
It. From June 2019.
10.00 Gogglebox The armchair
critics scrutinise The
Masked Singer, Trigger
Point, Dancing on Ice,
Dragons’ Den and Mary
Beard’s Forgotten Art.
11.05-12.10 First Dates A post-
grad student is paired
with a rugby-playing Tom
Hardy impersonator.
Talk TV
6.00pm The Talk Well-known
faces debate the latest
topics that everybody
is talking about.
7.00 Prime Time With Rosanna
Lockwood The presenter
takes a look at the stories
of the day, with expert
analysis and lively debate.
8.00 The Independent
Republic Of Mike Graham
A run through of the day’s
breaking news stories.
10.00 The Talk Well-known faces
from the worlds of politics,
showbiz, business and
current-affairs debate
the latest topics.
11.00-12.00 Prime Time With
Rosanna Lockwood
Getting inside the biggest
stories of the day.
Available on Sky 522; Freeview 237;
Virgin 606; Freesat 217; YouTube,
connected TVs and smart devices
YESTERDAY
6.00pm Antiques Roadshow 7.00
Great British Railway Journeys 8.00
Great Canal Journeys 9.00 Joanna
Lumley’s Trans-Siberian Adventure
10.00 Bangers & Cash. An Aston
Martin DB6 looks 11.00 Abandoned
Engineering 12.00-1.00 Great
British Railway Journeys
DAVE
6.00pm The Hairy Bikers’ Northern
Exposure 7.00 House Of Games.
Two editions 8.20 Would I Lie To
You? 9.00 QI XL 10.00 World’s
Most Dangerous Roads 11.00
12.30-2.05 Release The Hounds
Factual
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
6.00pm Seconds From Disaster
7.00 Air Crash Investigation
8.00 Car SOS 11.00 Air Crash
Investigation 12.00 Airport Security
— First Class 1.00-2.00 Wicked
Tuna — Outer Banks Showdown
DISCOVERY
6.00pm Junkyard Empire 7.00
Wheeler Dealers 8.00 Blowing
Up History 9.00 Gold Divers
5 Great films...
Ryan Gosling
1
Drive (2011, ITVX)
Gosling triumphs as an
unnamed Hollywood
stunt driver drawn into a
violent web of deception.
2
The Big Short
(2015, Disney+)
Adam McKay’s dramatic
retelling of the 2008
banking crisis boasts
a fine cast, including
Gosling, Christian Bale
and Brad Pitt.
3
La La Land
(2016, Lionsgate+)
Gosling dances his
way through Damien
Chazelle’s love letter
to the golden age of
Hollywood stars.
It’s a musical fantasia.
4
Blade Runner 2049
(2017, Prime Video)
Set 30 years after the
rain-soaked, noir-
themed action of the
original, Gosling stars
as the chief blade.
5
First Man
(2018, buy/rent)
Gosling is terrific as
Neil Armstrong in this
tense and moving drama
about the 1969 Apollo 11
moon landing.
Jake Helm
10.00 Street Cops UK. A routine
vehicle check takes an unexpected
turn 11.00 Expedition X 12.00
Deadliest Catch — The Viking
Returns 1.00-2.00 Gold Divers
PBS AMERICA
5.55pm Asteroid Rush 7.05
Napoleon 8.20 WWII In The Pacific
9.25 SAS — Rogue Warriors
10.35-12.00 The Civil War
SKY DOCUMENTARIES
6.00pm The Good Fight Club 7.00
Last Call — When A Serial Killer
Stalked Queer New York 8.00 The
Great Rhino Robbery 9.00 Chernobyl
— The Lost Tapes 11.00-1.00 Spitfire.
The British single-seat fighter
plane the Supermarine Spitfire
SKY NATURE
6.00pm Hope For Wildlife 7.00
Monkey Life 8.00 Deep Dive
Australia 9.00 World’s Most Toxic
Animals 10.00 Hope For Wildlife
11.00-12.00 Great Blue Wild
DISCOVERY HISTORY
6.00pm Combat Dealers 7.00
Expedition Unknown 8.00 Mysteries
At The Castle 9.00 Combat Dealers
10.00 Salvage Hunters 11.00-
12.00 Find It, Fix It, Flog It
Ryan Gosling
in Drive
Sport
SKY SPORTS MAIN EVENT
6.00am News 7.00 Good Morning
Sports Fans 9.00 LIVE Pakistan
Super League: Quetta Gladiators v
Karachi Kings 1.00 Lunchtime Live
2.00 LIVE WPL: Gujarat Giants v
Royal Challengers Bangalore 6.00
News 6.30 LIVE Tennis. The Indian
Wells Open 7.30 LIVE EFL: Queens
Park Rangers v West Bromwich
Albion. Kickoff at 8.00 10.30-6.00
LIVE Tennis. The Indian Wells Open
TNT SPORTS 1
6.30am Premier League Netbusters
7.00 WWE Monday Night Raw 9.30
PL Review 10.30 Premier League
— The Big Interview 11.00 Test
Cricket Highlights 3.00 Reload 3.30
PL Review 4.30 Ultimate Pool 6.00
Premier League Reload 6.15 The
Football’s On 7.15 Around The Block
7.30 LIVE Uefa Champions League:
Manchester City v FC Copenhagen.
Kickoff at 8.00 10.30 Uefa
Champions League 11.30 Around
The Block 11.45 The Football’s On
12.45 PL Reload 1.00 Fight Week
1.30 Test Cricket 3.30-6.00 LIVE
Test Cricket: India v England
Radio & Podcasts
○ Dramas: Daphne du
Maurier —
Double Exposure
(Radio 4, 2.15pm)
In Beside Myself by Moya
O’Shea, Helena Bonham
Carter adds to her
portfolio of strong,
eccentric characters as
she plays Daphne du
Maurier, the novelist,
biographer and
playwright, in her later
years. She is taking her
daily constitutional along
the Cornish cliffs during a
period of insomnia and
depression, accompanied
by her nurse. On the walk
she is approached by a
man (Bill Nighy), whom
she initially dismisses as
a fan who wants to talk
about Rebecca, but to
whom she begins to
share the story of her life.
TIMES RADIO
5.00 Rosie Wright With Early
Breakfast 6.00 Aasmah Mir And
Stig Abell With Times Radio
Breakfast 10.00 Matt Chorley
1.00 Mariella Frostrup 3.00 Jane
Garvey And Fi Glover 5.00 John
Pienaar With Times Radio Drive
7.00 Pienaar And Friends 8.00
The Evening Edition With Kait
Borsay 10.00 Carole Walker 1.00
Stories Of Our Times 1.30
Highlights From Matt Chorley
2.00 The Best Of Times Radio
To get in touch with the Times
Radio studio, text TIMES plus your
message to 87222. Texts cost
your standard message charge.
RADIO 4
5.30 News 5.43 Prayer 5.45
Farming Today 5.58 Tweet Of The
Day (R) 6.00 Today 8.31 (LW)
Yesterday In Parliament 9.00
Briefing Room Special. New series
9.30 Just One Thing. The benefits
of skipping 9.45 Book Of The
Week 9.45 (LW) Daily Service
10.00 Woman’s Hour 11.00 How
To Build An Oil Field (R) 11.30
Lady Killers. The case of Mary Ann
Brough who, in 1854, killed each
of her children before trying to kill
herself 12.00 News 12.01 (LW)
Shipping 12.04 Strike Boy 12.18
The World At One 2.00 The
Archers (R) 2.15 Drama: Daphne
Du Maurier — Double Exposure,
by Moya O’Shea. The novelist
unexpectedly reveals her secrets
to a stranger. With Helena
Bonham Carter 3.00 Money Box
Live 3.30 All In The Mind (R)
4.00 Sideways 4.30 The Media
Show 5.00 PM 5.54 (LW)
Shipping 6.00 News 6.30 The
C Bomb. New run, with Janey
Godley 7.00 The Archers 7.15
Front Row 8.00 The Moral Maze
9.00 When It Hits The Fan 9.30
The Media Show (R) 10.00 The
World Tonight 10.45 Book At
Bedtime 11.00 DMs Are Open
11.15 The Skewer 11.30 Today In
Parliament 12.00 News 12.30
Book Of The Week (R) 12.48
Shipping 1.00 As World Service
Helena Bonham Carter
(Radio 4, 2.15pm)
○ The C Bomb
(Radio 4, 6.30pm)
A second series of the show
in which Janey Godley,
a Scottish comedian,
discusses her life in the face
of terminal cancer, with her
daughter Ashley Storrie — a
fellow comic — intermingled
with Godley’s stand-up
RADIO 4 EXTRA
5.00 The World Of Daphne Du
Maurier 5.30 The Supreme Artist
5.45 The Doll: Short Stories By
Daphne Du Maurier 6.00 Proof
6.30 The Blackburn Files 7.00
Other People’s Children 7.15 Bindi
Business 7.30 Boswell’s Lives 8.00
Hancock’s Half Hour 8.30 One Foot
In The Grave 9.00 Dilemma 9.30
The Leopard In Autumn 10.00 The
World Of Daphne Du Maurier 10.30
The Supreme Artist 10.45 The Doll:
Short Stories By Daphne Du
Maurier 11.00 Proof 11.30 The
Blackburn Files 12.00 Other
People’s Children 12.15 Bindi
Business 12.30 Boswell’s Lives 1.00
Hancock’s Half Hour 1.30 One Foot
In The Grave 2.00 Dilemma 2.30
The Leopard In Autumn 3.00 The
World Of Daphne Du Maurier 3.30
The Supreme Artist 3.45 The Doll:
Short Stories By Daphne Du
Maurier 4.00 Proof 4.30 The
Blackburn Files 5.00 Other People’s
Children 5.15 Bindi Business 5.30
Boswell’s Lives 6.00 Hancock’s Half
Hour 6.30 One Foot In The Grave
7.00 Dilemma 7.30 The Leopard In
Autumn 8.00 Gagarin And The Lost
Moon 9.00 Short Cuts 9.30 Jaws
By Peter Benchley 9.45 The
Haunted Road 10.00 Powerhouse
10.30 Rob Newman’s Neuropolis
11.00 Rubbish 11.30 The Skewer
11.45-12.00 Crème De La Crime
LBC
7.00 Nick Ferrari 10.00 James
O’Brien 1.00 Shelagh Fogarty 4.00
Tom Swarbrick 6.00 Tonight With
Andrew Marr 7.00 Iain Dale. Debate
10.00 Ben Kentish. Discussion
1.00 Clive Bull 4.00 Ian Payne
RADIO 3
6.30 Breakfast 9.00 Essential
Classics 12.00 Composer Of The
Week 1.00 Lunchtime Concert. At
Bangor Abbey, the soprano Ruby
Hughes and friends perform,
featuring music by Elgar, Dowland
and Deborah Pritchard 2.00
Afternoon Concert. Including
Ravel’s Piano Concert for the
Left Hand, by Nicholas McCarthy
with the Ulster Orchestra
performances. Godley
discusses living with being
told that her “bad, bad
cancer” is terminal, and
the reactions of others,
including “Is she not dead
yet?” and “My dad had
what you’ve got.” Godley
has ovarian cancer.
○ In Moscow’s Shadows
(podcast)
With the Ukraine war and
the recent death of Alexei
Navalny, educated insight
into Putin’s Russia is more
important than ever. In
this podcast Professor
Mark Galeotti offers
exactly this, with the most
recent episode discussing
how the present Russian
government is ageing, with
politics looking like those
in the late Soviet Union.
Clair Woodward
4.00 Choral Evensong 5.00 In
Tune 7.00 Classical Mixtape. A
selection of classical favourites
mixed with jazz, folk and music
from around the world 7.30 In
Concert. Andrew McGregor with
music, plus highlights from the
recent annual Royal Philharmonic
Society Awards given at the Royal
Northern College of Music in
Manchester 10.00 Free Thinking.
Naomi Paxton is joined by a
Tate curator, authors and
researchers exploring the tangled
relationships between writers,
artists and their muses 10.45 The
Essay. Exploring Edith Piaf’s life
and work through the song Les
Amants D’un Jour, with Muriel
Zagha dissecting the fated
melodrama of Piaf’s 1956 classic
and its intimate economy of
means 11.00 Night Tracks.
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents
a soundtrack for late-night
listening 12.30 Through The Night
CLASSIC FM
6.30 Dan Walker 10.00 Alexander
Armstrong 1.00 Anne-Marie Minhall
4.00 Margherita Taylor 7.00 Zeb
Soanes 10.00 Ritula Shah 1.00
Bill Overton 4.00 Lucy Coward
RADIO 2
6.30 Gaby Roslin Breakfast Show
9.30 Vernon Kay 12.00 Jeremy
Vine 2.00 DJ Spoony 4.00 Sara
Cox 7.00 Jo Whiley 9.00 The Folk
Show 10.00 Trevor Nelson 12.00
OJ Borg 3.00 Dance Sounds Of
The 90s (R) 4.00 Owain Wyn Evans
VIRGIN RADIO
6.30 The Chris Evans Breakfast
Show 10.00 The Ryan Tubridy
Show 1.00 Jayne Middlemiss
4.00 Ricky Wilson 7.00 Bam
10.00 Amy Voce 1.00 Sean
Goldsmith 4.00 Steve Denyer
TALKSPORT
5.00 Early Breakfast 6.00
Breakfast 10.00 Jim White And
Simon Jordan 1.00 Aherne And
Groves 4.00 Drive 7.00 Kick Off
10.00 Sports Bar 1.00 Extra Time
4.00 Cricket: India v England. Live
3 March 2024 45
THURSDAY 7 MARCH
BBC 1 BBC 2
6.00 Breakfast Headlines.
9.30 Morning Live Magazine.
10.45 Crimewatch Live
11.30 Homes Under The
Hammer Auctions. (R)
12.15 Bargain Hunt Curios. (R)
1.00 News; Weather Reports.
1.45 Doctors Zara has a busy
day treating an old friend
from the golf club and a
man suffering dental pain.
2.15 Clean It, Fix It The team
creates practical bedroom
storage for a woman
with mobility issues.
3.00 Escape To The Country (R)
3.45 The Bidding Room The
bidders compete for items
including a toy steam
engine, a car mascot and a
theatrical prop clown.
4.30 Antiques Road Trip The
experts go treasure-hunting
around Scotland. (R)
5.15 Pointless Quiz show. (R)
6.00 News; Weather Reports.
6.30 Regional News Update.
7.00 The One Show Features.
7.30 EastEnders Reiss tries
to cheer up Sonia; and
Denzel lies to Yolande to
get money for steroids.
8.00 Dragons’ Den A family run
business pitches its goats
milk skincare range;
and a duo appear with a
business that could quite
literally take one to space.
9.00 The Apprentice Lord
Sugar asks the candidates
to design and create a
brand new breakfast cereal
to sell to industry buyers,
but bland recipes and
boring boxes result in
another candidate being
fired from the competition.
10.00 News; Weather Reports.
10.40 Question Time Fiona
Bruce hosts the political
debate from Cardiff,
inviting a panel of
politicians and other
guests to answer questions
from an invited audience.
11.40 Newscast BBC journalists
including Adam Fleming,
Laura Kuenssberg and
Chris Mason present a
weekly political roundup
from Westminster.
12.10 Would I Lie To You? (R)
12.45-6.00 Joins BBC News
SCOTLAND 11.30 Scam
Interceptors. 12.00 First
Minister’s Questions. 6.30
Reporting Scotland; Weather.
Update. 7.00 River City. Soap.
6.30 Bargain Hunt Curios. (R)
7.15 Clean It, Fix It (R)
8.00 Monty Don’s Spanish
Gardens (Signed, R)
9.00 News; Weather Headlines.
12.15 Politics Live Discussion.
1.00 Impossible Gameshow. (R)
1.45 The Tournament (R)
2.30 The Farmers’ Country
Showdown Farmers head
to Creake Abbey Farmers’
Market. (Last in series, R)
3.00 Saved And Remade (R)
3.30 Murder, Mystery And My
Family The case of a fatal
shooting on a farm in
Staffordshire in 1893. (R)
4.15 Scotland From The Sky
How people in Scotland
have lived off the land. (R)
5.15 Flog It! Selling items. (R)
6.00 House Of Games Quiz,
with Cally Beaton, Louis
Emerick, Helen George
and Justin Moorhouse. (R)
6.30 Rick Stein’s Cornwall The
chef visits one of the UK’s
last live cattle markets. (R)
7.00 Secrets Of The Museum
The V&A’s Museum of
Childhood prepares to
undergo refurbishment. (R)
8.00 Great British Menu The
two highest scoring chefs
from Northern Ireland go
head to head and cook
their six-course menus
again, with the paralympic
gold medallist Michael
McKillop joining the judges.
9.00 The State We’re In
The author and rapper
Darren McGarvey sets out
to understand why the
privately educated
dominate Britain’s top
jobs, and learns about
state schools trying to
level the playing field. (2/3)
10.00 The Apprentice — You’re
Fired Tom Allen interviews
the latest candidate to be
rejected from the show.
10.30 Newsnight Headlines.
11.15 CHOICE Our Dirty War —
The British State And The
IRA Peter Taylor revisits
the brutal covert war
between Britain and the
IRA. (See Critics’ choice)
11.45 Bring The Drama The
actors perform on the set
of Casualty, with help
from Charles Venn. (R)
12.45 Dragons’ Den (Signed, R)
1.45 Wilderness Exploring the
Coral Triangle. (Signed, R)
2.45-3.45 Gladiators Action
gameshow. (Signed, R)
ITV 1
6.00 Good Morning Britain
9.00 Lorraine Lifestyle chat.
10.00 This Morning Magazine,
featuring a mix of celebrity
chat, showbusiness news,
lifestyle features, topical
debate and health advice.
12.30 Loose Women Debate.
1.30 News; Weather Reports.
2.00 Dickinson’s Real Deal
David Dickinson and his
team are in Llandudno. (R)
3.00 Lingo Adil Ray presents
the word game. (R)
4.00 Tipping Point Gameshow,
hosted by Ben Shephard.
5.00 The Chase Bradley Walsh
presents the quiz show.
6.00 Regional News Update.
6.30 News; Weather Reports.
7.30 Emmerdale Ruby wants
Caleb to prove his loyalties
lie with her; Kerry arrives in
the village; and Charity
feels overwhelmed.
8.30 CHOICE Online Britain —
Who’s Getting Left
Behind? A report on the
millions of adults in the UK
who lack the basic skills to
access the internet, and
what this means for them.
(See Critics’ choice)
9.00 Celebrity Big Brother
The crop of well-known
contestants try to avoid
eviction from the house.
10.00 News At Ten Bulletin.
10.45 The Brit Awards Clara
Amfo, Maya Jama and
Roman Kemp host the
ceremony from London’s
O2 Arena, featuring
musical performances by
Dua Lipa, Kylie Minogue,
Calvin Harris with Ellie
Goulding, and Raye. (R)
12.45 Teleshopping
3.00 All Elite Wrestling —
Rampage Action. (R)
3.55 Unwind Daily relaxation.
5.10-6.00 The Best Of Saint
& Greavsie A trip down
memory lane for fans of
the iconic football duo. (R)
West Country ways (C5, 8pm)
Channel 4
6.10 Countdown Game. (R)
6.50 Cheers Comedy. (R)
8.05 Everybody Loves
Raymond Comedy. (R)
9.30 Frasier Sitcom. (R)
11.00 The Great House
Giveaway Property. (R)
12.00 News; Weather Reports.
12.05 Sun, Sea And Selling
Houses In Almeria. (R)
1.05 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (R)
2.10 Countdown Game.
3.00 CHOICE Crufts Coverage
of the flyball heats from the
NEC in Birmingham. Jim
Rosenthal and Graham
Partridge commentate.
(See Critics’ choice)
4.00 A New Life In The Sun (R)
5.00 Chateau DIY An ongoing
project to reinstate
a formal garden. (R)
6.00 Come Dine With Me
A salesman throws a soiree
in Dundee and Perth.
6.30 The Simpsons Bart and
Lisa visit Kamp Krusty. (R)
7.00 News; Weather Reports.
7.30 CHOICE Crufts Clare
Balding presents action
from Birmingham NEC, in
which the utility and toy
dogs are judged, with the
winner going through to
Sunday’s Best in Show final.
(See Critics’ choice)
9.00 The Rise And Fall Of
Boris Johnson A look at
how an unexpected period
in the political wilderness
greeted Boris following the
2016 Brexit vote, and how
he had a plan to come back
to enact revenge. (2/4)
10.00 Gogglebox Love is Blind,
Strictly Come Dancing,
Boiling Point and Help!
My House is Haunted
are critiqued. (R) 11.05
Gogglebox The armchair
critics share their opinions
on recent television. (R)
12.05 Embarrassing Bodies
Dr Tosin treats a breast-
cancer survivor with
misshapen implants. (R)
1.05 Ramsay’s Kitchen
Nightmares USA Gordon
Ramsay concludes his visit
to Zayna Flaming Grill
in Redondo Beach. (R)
1.55 First Dates Hotel (R)
2.50 New Model Agency (R)
3.40 Couples Come Dine
With Me In Belfast. (R)
4.30 Grand Designs New
Zealand Plans to build a
home heated by the sun. (R)
5.20-6.10 The Supervet (R)
Channel 5
6.00 Milkshake! Children’s fun.
9.15 Jeremy Vine Debate.
11.15 Storm Huntley Opinions.
12.45 Alexis Conran & Friends
1.40 News; Weather Reports.
1.45 Home And Away Theo
suggests he and Kirby play
Xander’s fundraiser as a
duo; and Justin reveals
he is missing Leah. (R)
2.15 Broken Ties Thriller, with
Brianna Cohen. After a
woman tries to stop her
abusive husband, she goes
on the run and takes
shelter with her estranged
sister and her family. (R)
4.00 Shoplifters — Caught Red
Handed Security stops
a man hiding items. (R)
5.00 News; Weather Reports.
6.00 Susan Calman’s Grand
Day Out Exploring the
south coast of England. (R)
6.55 News; Weather Reports.
7.00 A Yorkshire Farm Helen
Skelton helps gather a
flock of sheep for their
much-needed vaccinations.
7.55 News; Weather Reports.
8.00 CHOICE Somerset —
Wonder Of The West
Country A visit to
Cheddar’s popular gorge
reveals how its world-
renowned cheese is made,
and the surprising depths
its makers go to get the
flavour right; and there is
a visit to Dunster Castle.
(See Critics’ choice)
9.00 The Titan Sub Disaster
— Minute By Minute
Deep-dive rescue teams
finally reach the site in the
North Atlantic Ocean where
Titan went missing. (2/2)
10.00 Killer At The Crime Scene
A mother is attacked in the
street during the evening
rush hour, and the prime
suspect has a watertight
alibi, so it is up to forensics
to uncover the truth. (R)
11.05 999 — Criminals Caught
On Camera Footage of
pushy parents in an after
school punch-up. (R)
12.05 Nightmare Tenants,
Slum Landlords (R)
1.00 Casino Show Gambling.
3.00 The Secret World Of Your
Rubbish Documentary. (R)
3.45 Around The World By
Train South America. (R)
4.30 Car Pound Cops (R)
4.55 Wildlife SOS Animals. (R)
5.20 Entertainment News
5.25-6.00 Children’s Shows

Variations 6.00 Regional News 6.30 News;

BBC1 WALES 12.10 Things
You Should Have Done BBC
SCOTLAND 7.00 Getting Hitched
Weather 7.30 Emmerdale 8.30
Scotland Tonight — Cold Water
Wellbeing 9.00 Celebrity Big
Brother 10.00 News; Weather
11.10 Bendibwmbwls 11.20
Anifeiliaid Bach Y Byd 11.30
A big thank you to BBC4 for Bernard
Levin’s series on opera, Margot Fonteyn’s
Pentre Papur Pop 11.45 Deian A
Loli 12.00 Newyddion A’r Tywydd brilliant Magic of Dance and the return of the
12.05 Ffasiwn Drefn 12.30 Heno incomparable Andrew Graham-Dixon.
You say

Asian Style 8.00 Island Crossings
9.00 The Nine 10.00 Martin
Compston’s Norwegian Fling
10.30 Eat The Town 11.00 Scot
Squad 11.30-12.00 Growing Up
Scottish STV 6.00 Good Morning
Britain 9.00 Lorraine 10.00 This
Morning 12.30 Loose Women
1.30 News 2.00 Dickinson’s Real
Deal 3.00 Lingo 4.00 Tipping
Point 5.00 The Chase. Quiz show
10.30 Regional News 10.45
Online Britain — Who’s Getting
Left Behind? 11.10 The British
Airways Killer 12.05 Teleshopping
3.00 All Elite Wrestling —
Rampage 3.55 Night Vision
5.10-6.00 The Best Of Saint &
Greavsie S4C 6.00 Cyw 10.05
Jambori 10.15 Patrol Pawennau
10.30 Digbi Draig 10.45
Cacamwnci 11.00 Shwshaswyn
1.00 Arfordir Cymru — Sir Benfro
1.30 Y Byd Ar Bedwar 2.00
Newyddion A’r Tywydd 2.05
Prynhawn Da 3.00 Newyddion A’r
Tywydd 3.05 Tir Cymru 4.00 Awr
Fawr 5.00 Stwnsh 6.00 Y Fets
6.28 Newyddion 6.30 Dan Do
7.00 Newyddion 7.20 Clwb Rygbi
Rhyngwladol 9.45 Jonathan
10.45 Chris A’r Afal Mawr 11.45-
12.20 Cymoedd Roy Noble
Soraya Gray
What on earth is happening with TV at the
moment? Mr Bates vs The Post Office, One
Day, Alice & Jack, Breathless, Trigger Point!
Usually we’re lucky to get one show of this
quality in six months. Absolutely brilliant.
Derek Williams
Send your comments to telly@sunday-times.co.uk

46 3 March 2024
 Critics’ choice
Crufts (C4, 3pm/7.30pm;
More4, 6.30pm)
Channel 4 has been covering
Crufts since 2010, taking the place
of the BBC. Yet it has always
seemed an odd fit for a radical
channel, given that the annual
festival is primarily a beauty
contest where canine celebrities
are judged on looks and
objectified (and where having
superior breeding is everything).
But at least the four-day dog show
now makes more sense as part of
a pet-centric portfolio that also
includes The Supervet and The Dog
House. Today’s initial offering
consists of three visits to the NEC
in Birmingham. Clare Balding, the
host, and Sophie Morgan, the lead
reporter, dutifully follow the early
stages of the main contest to be
overall champion; but the fact
that it calls breeds “groups”
suggests that Channel 4 feels more
comfortable with the peripheral
competitions involving agility,
relay races and doggy dancing.
John Dugdale
Our Dirty War — The British State
And The IRA (BBC2, 11.15pm)
The veteran reporter Peter Taylor
— who covered the Troubles for
decades, starting with Bloody
Sunday, in 1972 — returns to
Northern Ireland, at 82, to revisit
the covert “dirty war” waged by
spies against paramilitaries. This
is being investigated by Operation
Kenova, a £40 million inquiry now
in its final stages, focused on
“Stakeknife”, the head of the
Provisional IRA’s internal security
unit who was also a British agent.
The main allegation being
examined is that his team
murdered fellow British informers
(a Panorama report in 2017 said at
least 18), but the RUC showed no
interest because the spooks prized
their super-mole so highly. In his
Spotlight report Taylor listens again
to IRA interrogation tapes and
meets the still-grieving families
of murdered men who have
been connected to Stakeknife. JD
On demand
○ Supersex (Netflix)
After 2023’s Nacho, which
fictionalised the rise to fame of
Nacho Vidal, a Spanish porn star,
we now have this seven-part Italian
drama about the life of Rocco
Siffredi, an Italian porno magnate.
On the surface the shows are
interchangeable, X-rated Candides
with full-frontal nudity. However,
as directed by Francesca Manieri, a
self-proclaimed “radical feminist”,
A flyball high-flyer at Crufts 2023 (C4, 3pm/7.30pm; More4, 6.30pm)
Online Britain — Who’s Getting
Left Behind? (ITV1, 8.30pm;
Scotland, 10.45pm)
The House of Lords reported that a
digital skills shortage is costing up
to £63 billion per annum, more
than 10 million UK adults are
unable to access the internet and
40 per cent of people over 75 don’t
go online at all. With benefits,
banking and the NHS moving to
apps in a supposed attempt to
remove barriers to services,
Tonight asks what happens to those
cut off from the digital world.
Murdoch Mysteries (Alibi, 9pm)
Supersex is a far more bleak
experience. Yes, the sex scenes are
explicit, but they’re in service of a
story that is as much about toxic
masculinity and the trap of Italian
working-class culture as it is about
S&M orgies.
○ Minder (ITVX)
Revisiting the first few series of this
late 1970s London-based comedy
drama, it’s startling to discover
how utterly grimy it is. Dennis
Waterman, the show’s co-star,
Murdoch Mysteries (Alibi, 9pm)
The focus is on the female
characters in this episode of the
detective drama as leading
professionals in turn-of-the-century
Toronto head to the countryside
for a break. Unfortunately the
charming country cottage does not
look like the illustration in the
brochure, but Dr Julia (Hélène Joy),
Violet (Shanice Banton), Effie
(Clare McConnell) and Louise (Bea
Santos) are determined to have
fun. At least until the first body
shows up, that is.
Somerset — Wonder Of The West
Country (C5, 8pm)
Channel 5 continues its stellar work
promoting the English staycation
as it goes in search of one of the
world’s best-known cheeses.
Much-favoured by King Edward II,
cheddar — the last cheesemaker in
the town of Cheddar informs us
— does not have protected status.
Helen Stewart
previously appeared as DS George
Carter in the London police drama
The Sweeney, and while this new
star-vehicle was lighter in tone, it
retained that show’s air of squalid
urban malaise. Waterman brings an
authentic, bruised depth to the role
of good-hearted bodyguard Terry
McCann; but, of course, the real
star is George Cole who plays his
unscrupulous spiv employer
Arthur Daley with a dark,
duplicitous charm.
Andrew Male
There’s room in space
for a bright new star
The Signal (Netflix)
Paula (Peri Baumeister), a scientist
aboard the International Space
Station, vanishes on her flight
home, leaving her husband, Sven
(Florian David Fitz), and daughter,
Charlie (Yuna Bennett), to figure
out what happened. We’ve only
had a sneak preview, but isn’t
that plot similar to last week’s
meandering Constellation (Apple
TV+)? Here’s hoping, at a brisk
four episodes, that this German
miniseries will tie everything up
in a neater bow. AM
Peri
Baumeister
as Paula
Groth
Film choice
Robin Hood
(Great! Movies, 9pm)
The director Ridley Scott reunites
with Russell Crowe for a revisionist
take on the Hood myth that favours
dark and convoluted plotting and
a whole lot of violence. Crowe is
brooding Robin Longstride, an
archer in Richard the Lionheart’s
army. Richard is played by Danny
Huston, so you know that he has
to be a cad. (2010)
The Third Man (BBC4, 11pm)
Written by Graham Greene,
starring Orson Welles, directed
by Carol Reed, produced by
Alexander Korda — it’s no surprise
that this inky film noir was such a
doozy. Just as crucial, though, were
the less heralded names, including
Joseph Cotten, who stars as Holly
Martins, an American writer
adrift in the shadows of postwar
occupied Vienna. (1949)
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood
(Film4, 11.15pm)
This mesmerising documentary
from Anna Hints, an Estonian
director, explores her country’s
traditional practice of smoke
saunas and the lives of several
close-knit woman practitioners.
The trick in this engrossing work
is that the women are not clearly
delineated — instead filmed in the
darkened sauna as body parts
that drift in and out of shadows.
It’s their voices that matter most,
and what they express. (2023)
3 March 2024 47
THURSDAY 7 MARCH
BBC 3 BBC 4
7.00pm MasterChef The
contestants cook a
dish using leftovers.
8.00 Top Gear Testing high-
performance hatchbacks.
9.00 Things You Should Have
Done Chi wants the family
to celebrate pancake day.
(3/6) 9.25 Things You
Should Have Done Chi
discovers bills are a thing
when her electricity and
water are suddenly cut off.
9.50 Normal People Connell
bumps into Marianne in
Sligo. (7/12) 10.15 Normal
People Connell and Niall
visit Marianne in Italy.
10.45 Starstruck Double bill.
11.35 Things You Should Have
Done Two episodes.
12.25 Made Up In Belfast
1.55 Normal People Drama.
2.50 Starstruck Double bill.
3.40-3.55 Spud Drama.
Drama
6.00pm As Time Goes By Jean
thinks that her marriage
has become stale.
6.40 Last Of The Summer Wine
An old friend arrives back
in town. 7.20 Last Of The
Summer Wine The trio
take a steam train ride.
8.00 The Marlow Murder Club
Judith, Becks and Suzie
are brought in to help the
police investigation, and
they uncover a connection
between the murders. (2/2)
10.00 New Tricks A 79-year-old
woman with dementia
reports a murder – sparking
a reinvestigation into the
1956 disappearance of her
husband. (Series 11, ep 4)
11.15-12.40 Spooks With Britain
on the verge of a plague
epidemic, the team races
to find a vaccine as quickly
as possible. (Series 6, ep 2)
Films
SKY CINEMA PREMIERE
3.25pm Mission — Impossible:
Dead Reckoning Part One (2023,
12) 6.10 Asteroid City (2023, 12)
8.00 Ferrari. Former racecar driver
Enzo Ferrari embarks on an epic
race across Italy. (2023, 15) 10.15-
1.00 Mission — Impossible: Dead
Reckoning Part One. (2023, 12)
SKY CINEMA THRILLER
5.50pm A Walk Among The
Tombstones (2014, 15) 8.00 Eye
In The Sky. A mission goes awry
when a girl enters the blast radius
of a planned drone strike. (2015, 15)
9.55 The Taking Of Pelham 123.
Criminals hijack a New York subway
train and demand a ransom. (2009,
15) 11.50-1.40 One Shot (2021, 15)
SKY CINEMA GREATS
5.25pm The Firm (1993, 15) 8.00
Notting Hill. A bookshop owner
falls for a film star, but media
interest makes the relationship
tricky. (1999, 15) 10.10-12.10
Sabrina. A groom falls for another
woman, so his brother tries to woo
her to save the wedding. (1954, U)
48 3 March 2024
7.00pm Frozen Planet What
rising temperatures will
mean for life in the polar
regions. (Last in series)
8.00 Secrets Of Cinema: Mark
Kermode’s Oscar-Winners.
Taking a look back at past
winners of the award.
9.00 FILM: Green Book Stars
Viggo Mortensen and
Mahershala Ali. A bouncer
becomes the driver of a
classical pianist. Touching
odd-couple comedy
drama. (2018, 12)
11.00 CHOICE The Third Man
Stars Joseph Cotten and
Orson Welles. A man goes
in search of the truth of a
friend’s death. (1949, PG,
B/W; see Film choice)
12.40 Frozen Planet Insights.
1.40-3.25 Country Music
Sky Arts
6.00pm Alfred Hitchcock
Presents: The Glass Eye.
An ageing spinster decides
to follow a ventriloquist
and his dummy. 6.30
Alfred Hitchcock
Presents: Mail Order
Prophet. A man receives
letters that seemingly
predict the future.
7.00 Best Of Landscape Artist
Of The Year Highlights of
the contest. (Last in series)
8.00 The Directors A look at
the life and work of the
film-maker Carol Reed.
9.00 Discovering Robert
Donat The life of the
Oscar-winning actor.
10.00 The Movies The history of
1960s American cinema.
11.00-12.15 Klimt And The Kiss
Experts examine Gustav
Klimt’s 20th-century
painting The Kiss.
SKY CINEMA SELECT
6.00pm Top Gun (1986, 12) 8.00
Top Gun — Maverick. Pete ‘Maverick’
Mitchell gets called back to the Top
Gun academy, where he must train
a new band of recruits for a deadly
mission. (2022, 12) 10.15-12.30
Ferrari. During 1957, former racecar
driver Enzo Ferrari embarks on an
epic race across Italy. (2023, 15)
FILM4
4.25pm A Kid For Two Farthings
(1955, U) 6.15 The Hunt For Red
October (1990, PG) 9.00 The Last
Of The Mohicans. A frontiersman
falls for a British officer’s daughter,
who is being hunted by a vengeful
war chief during the Anglo-French
War. (1992, 15) 11.15-1.05 CHOICE
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood.
(2023, 15; see Film choice)
TALKING PICTURES TV
4.30pm The Woman In Question.
Thriller. (1950, PG) 6.20 Bulldog
Drummond’s Revenge. Captain
Hugh ‘Bulldog’ Drummond pits his
wits against a cross-dressing crook.
(1937, U) 7.30 Time To Remember
8.00 The Brothers 9.05 Rumpole
Of The Bailey 10.15-12.05 The
39 Steps. Spy thriller. (1959, U)
ITV 2
6.00pm Catchphrase Antony
Cotton, Matt Dawson and
Stacey Dooley take part.
7.00 Wheel Of Fortune Game.
8.00 Superstore Amy worries
people are making fun
of her. (Series 4, ep 16)
8.30 Superstore Jonah
struggles at Amy’s
daughter’s quinceanera.
9.00 Social Media Murders:
The Murder Of Mikey
Rainsford. When a popular
young skater with a big
social-media following is
murdered, Merseyside
police find that Snapchat is
the key to finding his killers.
10.00 Celebrity Big Brother —
Late And Live Discussion.
11.05 Family Guy Civilisation is
destroyed. (Series 2, ep 3)
11.35-12.05 Family Guy
Lois becomes a sultry
singer. (Series 1, ep 4)
Sky Max
6.00pm Stargate Atlantis
McKay plans to harness
energy from a strange
planet. (Series 1, ep 9, R)
7.00 Stargate Atlantis
A fierce storm forces the
team out of Atlantis. (1/2, R)
8.00 An Idiot Abroad Karl
Pilkington visits Australia
to swim with dolphins. (R)
9.00 Rob Beckett’s Smart TV
With Natasia Demetriou,
Nicola Coughlan, Daniel
Mays and Richard Ayoade.
9.45 A Discovery Of Witches
A historian discovers a
manuscript in a library that
sends her into a world of
magic. (Series 1, ep 1, R)
10.45 Magnum PI Thomas and
Higgins re-examine a fatal
arson case. (S5, ep 19, R)
11.45-12.50 Poker Face A special
effects artist seeks closure
after an accident. (8/10, R)
Entertainment
ITV4
5.30pm English Football League
Highlights 6.35 Great Racehorses
7.00 Cycling. Paris-Nice highlights
8.00 FILM: Licence To Kill. James
Bond spy thriller. 10.45 FILM: Death
Wish V — The Face Of Death 12.50
Minder 1.50-2.20 Auto Mundial
MORE4
5.25pm The Dog House 6.30
CHOICE Crufts. (See Critics’
choice) 7.30 The Secret Life Of The
Zoo 7.55 Grand Designs 9.00
Warplane Workshop 10.00
Car SOS 11.00 24 Hours In A&E
12.05-1.05 Warplane Workshop
GOLD
6.00pm The Green Green Grass
6.40 Gavin & Stacey 7.20 Dad’s
Army 8.40 The Vicar Of Dibley 9.20
Gavin & Stacey 10.00 Toast Of
London 10.30 Mrs Brown’s Boys
11.50 The Vicar Of Dibley 12.30
Gavin & Stacey 1.10 Toast Of London
1.40-2.25 Mrs Brown’s Boys
SKY COMEDY
6.00pm US Office 7.00 Wellington
Paranormal 8.00 Will & Grace
ITV 3
5.55pm Heartbeat Mike attracts
the unwanted attentions
of a well-known novelist.
6.55 Heartbeat Mike plans
to marry Jackie in secret.
8.00 Grace A sinister inquiry
into skeletal remains
found in a Brighton storm
drain takes Grace down a
labyrinthine trail through
the past. (Series 2, ep 3)
10.00 Trial & Retribution
Members of a family gang
involved in a jewellery shop
raid set out to kill the rival
gangster who shopped
them. (Series 12, ep 5)
11.00 Trial & Retribution
Desperate to rescue his
missing wife and child,
Satchell takes matters
into his own hands.
11.50-12.40 The Royal Feathers
are ruffled as a new locum
arrives at the hospital.
Sky Atlantic
5.30pm The Wire Carcetti makes
a deal with Senator Davis.
(Series 5, ep 8) 6.40 The
Wire Greggs tells Daniels
about McNulty’s part in
the fake serial-killer case.
7.50 House Of The Dragon
Viserys and Rhaenyra
broker agreements
with the Velaryons; and
Alicent seeks the truth
about the princess. (5/10)
9.00 The Undoing Grace is on
the receiving end of
questions from the
detectives Mendoza and
O’Rourke. (Series 1, ep 2)
10.05 Euphoria Rue struggles
to put the past behind her
on her first day back at
school. (Series 1, ep 2)
11.15-12.25 Succession The
family attends an annual
company gala overseen by
Connor. (Series 1, ep 4)
9.00 Girls 10.15 Rob Beckett —
Wallop 11.30 Sex And The City 12.50
The Tonight Show 1.50-2.30 Hung
5 STAR
6.00pm Home And Away 7.00
GPs — Behind Closed Doors
8.00 Shoplifters — Caught Red
Handed 9.00 A&E After Dark 10.00
999 — Emergency Call Out 11.00
Ambulance — Code Red 12.00 Cause
Of Death 1.00 Skin A&E 2.00-2.50
Shoplifters — Caught Red Handed
5 USA
6.00pm NCIS 9.00 Blue Bloods
10.00 Law & Order: Special Victims
Unit 1.50-3.35 Law & Order
SKY WITNESS
6.00pm Nothing To Declare 8.00
Blue Bloods 9.00 New Amsterdam
10.00 Chicago Fire 11.00 FBI 12.00
FBI — International 1.00 9-1-1 2.00-
3.00 Law & Order: Organized Crime
W 6.00pm Seconds From Disaster
6.00pm MasterChef Australia 7.20
Nigella — At My Table 8.00 Sort
Your Life Out. Stacey Solomon and
the team transform a home with
ingenious hacks. 9.20 24 Hours In
A&E 11.20 One Born Every Minute
1.25-2.15 The Undateables
E4
6.00pm The Big Bang Theory
Amy is attracted to one of
Penny’s former boyfriends.
(Series 4, ep 10) 6.30 The
Big Bang Theory The guys
mock Penny’s boyfriend.
7.00 Hollyoaks Chester soap.
7.30 Married At First Sight
Australia The couples face
the photo-ranking task,
which prompts Andrea
and Richard to hit a rough
patch in their relationship.
9.00 Gogglebox Famous faces
review shows including
Love Island, Nigella – At My
Table and The Wonderful
World of Chocolate.
10.00 Open House — The Great
Sex Experiment Asking if
relationships can thrive
without monogamy.
11.05-12.05 First Dates A dog-
loving electrician connects
with a single mother.
Talk TV
6.00pm The Talk Well-known
faces debate the latest
topics that everybody
is talking about.
7.00 Prime Time With Rosanna
Lockwood The presenter
takes a look at the stories
of the day, with expert
analysis and lively debate.
8.00 The Independent
Republic Of Mike
Graham A run through of
the day’s breaking news.
10.00 The Talk Faces from the
worlds of politics, showbiz,
business and current-affairs
debate the latest topics
everybody is talking about.
11.00-12.00 Prime Time With
Rosanna Lockwood
Getting inside the biggest
stories of the day.
Available on Sky 522; Freeview 237;
Virgin 606; Freesat 217; YouTube,
connected TVs and smart devices
COMEDY CENTRAL
6.00pm Friends 9.00 FILM: What
Women Want. Romantic comedy.
11.30 Jimmy Carr: Being Funny 1.40-
2.40 Rhod Gilbert’s Growing Pains
YESTERDAY
6.00pm Antiques Roadshow 7.00
Great British Railway Journeys 8.00
Bangers & Cash 9.00 Dream Car
Fixers 10.00 Bangers & Cash 11.00
Abandoned Engineering 12.00-1.00
Great British Railway Journeys
DAVE
6.00pm Hairy Bikers’ Best Of British
7.00 House Of Games 8.20 Would I
Lie To You? 9.00 QI XL 10.00 Gavin
& Stacey 11.20 Two Pints Of Lager
And A Packet Of Crisps 12.35 Schitt’s
Creek 1.05-2.20 Release The Hounds
Factual
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
7.00 Air Crash Investigation 8.00
Car SOS 9.00 No Man Left Behind
10.00 Hitler’s Killer Warships —
Drain The Oceans 11.00 Air Crash
Investigation 12.00 Airport Security
— First Class 1.00-2.00 Wicked
Tuna — Outer Banks Showdown
5 Great shows...
Gangsters
1
Gangs Of London (2020)
(Sky/Now)
This gripping, very violent
drama is Succession set on
the gritty streets of London.
2
Boardwalk Empire
(2010-14) (Sky/Now)
A blockbuster Prohibition-
era drama with action,
glamour and sleaze. What
more could you want?
3
The Hunter (2021)
(Walter Presents/All4)
The murky war between
the Corleone mafia and
state prosecutors in 1990s
Sicily is laid bare in this
Italian series based on
real events.
4
The Wire (2002-08)
(Sky/Now)
This Baltimore-based
series has become a
cult classic despite
struggling to find
an audience on its
initial run and never
winning an Emmy.
5
The Sopranos (1999-
2007) (Sky/Now)
Violent, angry, yet
also charismatic
and charming, Tony
Soprano changed
television.
Jake Helm
DISCOVERY
6.00pm Junkyard Empire 7.00
Wheeler Dealers 8.00 Blowing Up
History 9.00 Naked And Afraid
11.00 Expedition X 12.00 Deadliest
Catch — The Viking Returns
1.00-3.00 Naked And Afraid
PBS AMERICA
5.55pm Asteroid Rush 7.00 Prince
Albert — A Victorian Hero Revealed
8.05 WWII In The Pacific 9.15 SAS
— Rogue Warriors. The unit’s early
years 10.25-12.00 The Civil War
SKY DOCUMENTARIES
6.00pm The Good Fight Club 7.00
Last Call — When A Serial Killer Stalked
Queer New York 8.05 Urban Secrets
9.00 Pantani — The Accidental Death
Of A Cyclist 11.00-1.00 Be Water
SKY NATURE
6.00pm Hope For Wildlife 7.00
Monkey Life 8.00 The Big Dry 9.00
Tales From Zambia 10.00 Hope For
Wildlife 11.00-12.00 Great Blue Wild
DISCOVERY HISTORY
6.00pm Combat Dealers 7.00
Expedition Unknown 8.00 Mysteries
At The Castle 9.00 Combat Dealers
10.00 Salvage Hunters. In Somerset.
11.00-12.00 Find It, Fix It, Flog It
Michelle Fairley
in Gangs of
London
Sport
SKY SPORTS MAIN EVENT
6.00am News 7.00 Good Morning
Sports Fans 9.00 LIVE NRL 11.00
LIVE DP World Tour Golf 1.00 LIVE
Formula 1 2.55 LIVE Formula 2 3.40
Saudi Track Guide 3.45 Behind The
Scenes With McLaren — Part 1 4.00
Piff The Magic Dragon With Ferrari
4.20 Max Verstappen — Three
Times World Champion 4.35
Hamilton On F1’s Global Appeal
4.45 LIVE Formula 1 6.15 LIVE F1
Academy 7.15 LIVE Premier League
Darts. The sixth night of the
tournament 11.00-6.00 LIVE
Tennis. The Indian Wells Open
TNT SPORTS 1
6.00am LIVE Test Cricket: India v
England 12.00 Rugby Sevens
Highlights 1.00 WWE 5.00 Test
Cricket 6.00 PL — The Big Interview
6.30 Between The Lines 7.00 LIVE
Uefa Europa League. A last-16
first-leg tie 10.30 Uefa Europa
League Highlights 11.30 Between
The Lines 12.00 Fight Week 12.30
UFC Countdown 1.30 UFC Main
Event 2.30 Test Cricket 3.30-6.00
LIVE Test Cricket: India v England
Radio & Podcasts
○ BBC 6 Music Festival
(6 Music, from 7.30am)
Lauren Laverne kicks off
the station’s annual
festival, this year taking
place in Manchester,
with headliners Young
Fathers. All the station’s
shows are coming live
from the festival today,
with Deb Grant and Tom
Ravenscroft hosting four
hours of New Music Fix
Live (7pm) from YES
in Manchester, with
performances and DJ sets
from Sherelle, Hak Baker
and Young Fathers. At
11pm there are more DJ
sets, this time from
Iceboy Violet, 96 Back,
Space Africa and Mica
Levi. Other presenters
during the festival
include Craig Charles and
Mary Anne Hobbs.
TIMES RADIO
5.00 Rosie Wright With Early
Breakfast 6.00 Aasmah Mir And
Stig Abell With Times Radio
Breakfast 10.00 Matt Chorley
1.00 Mariella Frostrup 3.00 Jane
Garvey And Fi Glover 5.00 John
Pienaar With Times Radio Drive
7.00 Pienaar And Friends 8.00
The Evening Edition With Kait
Borsay 10.00 Henry Bonsu 1.00
Stories Of Our Times 1.30
Highlights From Matt Chorley
2.00 The Best Of Times Radio
To get in touch with the Times
Radio studio, text TIMES plus your
message to 87222. Texts cost
your standard message charge.
RADIO 4
5.30 News 5.43 Prayer 5.45
Farming Today 5.58 Tweet Of The
Day (R) 6.00 Today 8.31 (LW)
Yesterday In Parliament 9.00 In
Our Time 9.45 Book Of The Week
9.45 (LW) Daily Service 10.00
Woman’s Hour 11.00 From Our
Own Correspondent 11.30 A Good
Read (R) 12.00 News 12.01 (LW)
Shipping 12.04 You And Yours
12.32 Sliced Bread 1.00 The
World At One 1.45 Strike Boy
2.00 The Archers (R) 2.15 Drama:
Dragons Of The Pool, by Kathryn
Golding. Fact-based tale about a
middle-aged woman and the
long-lost father who was forced
to leave her behind in Liverpool.
With Liz Sutherland and Jeremy
Ang Jones 3.00 Ramblings. Clare
Balding explores the River Frome
with Nadeem Perera 3.27 Appeal
(R) 3.30 Bookclub (R) 4.00 The
Rise And Rise Of The Microchip
4.30 Inside Science 5.00 PM
5.54 (LW) Shipping 6.00 News
6.30 Conversations From A Long
Marriage 7.00 The Archers 7.15
Front Row 8.00 Law In Action
(R) 8.30 The Bottom Line 9.00
Inside Science (R) 9.30 In Our
Time (R) 10.00 The World Tonight
10.45 Book At Bedtime 11.00 The
Today Podcast 11.30 Today In
Parliament 12.00 News 12.30
Book Of The Week (R) 12.48
Shipping 1.00 As World Service
Graham Hastings and Kayu
Bankole of Young Fathers
○ Drama: Dragons
Of The Pool
(Radio 4, 2.15pm)
Kathryn Golding’s play is
inspired by the true story
of the Chinese seamen
forcibly repatriated from
Liverpool after the Second
World War despite them
serving on merchant
RADIO 4 EXTRA
5.00 The Kubrick Test 5.45 The
Doll: Short Stories By Daphne Du
Maurier 6.00 Proof 6.30 The
Blackburn Files 7.00 Other People’s
Children 7.15 Bindi Business 7.30
Cooking In A Bedsitter 8.00 Dad’s
Army 8.30 Wrinkles 9.00 The
Unbelievable Truth 9.30 A Whole
’Nother Story 10.00 The Kubrick
Test 10.45 The Doll: Short Stories
By Daphne Du Maurier 11.00 Proof
11.30 The Blackburn Files 12.00
Other People’s Children 12.15 Bindi
Business 12.30 Cooking In A
Bedsitter 1.00 Dad’s Army 1.30
Wrinkles 2.00 The Unbelievable
Truth 2.30 A Whole ’Nother Story
3.00 The Kubrick Test 3.45 The
Doll: Short Stories By Daphne Du
Maurier 4.00 Proof 4.30 The
Blackburn Files 5.00 Other People’s
Children 5.15 Bindi Business 5.30
Cooking In A Bedsitter 6.00 Dad’s
Army 6.30 Wrinkles 7.00 The
Unbelievable Truth 7.30 A Whole
’Nother Story 8.00 The Sondheim
Archive 9.00 Great Lives 9.30 Jaws
By Peter Benchley 9.45 The
Haunted Road 10.00 Conversations
From A Long Marriage 10.30 Clare
In The Community 11.00 Foley And
McColl — The Interview 11.15 Jigsaw
11.30-12.00 And The Winner Is
LBC
7.00 Nick Ferrari 10.00 James
O’Brien 1.00 Shelagh Fogarty 4.00
Tom Swarbrick 6.00 Tonight With
Andrew Marr 7.00 Iain Dale. Debate
10.00 Ben Kentish. Discussion
1.00 Henry Riley 4.00 Ian Payne
RADIO 3
6.30 Breakfast 9.00 Essential
Classics 12.00 Composer Of The
Week 1.00 Lunchtime Concert. At
Bangor Abbey, the soprano Ruby
Hughes and friends perform works
by Ravel, Schubert, Purcell and
Berg 2.00 Afternoon Concert.
Including Sibelius’s Symphony No 2,
in a performance from the BBC
National Orchestra of Wales; plus,
Debussy from the pianist Yumeka
Nakagawa 5.00 In Tune. Music and
arts news 7.00 Classical Mixtape.
A selection of classical favourites
convoys in the Atlantic
during the war. Many of
them left children behind,
and the play follows Leigh
(Liz Sutherland) and her
father, Haoyu (who has led
a nomadic life), as they try
to reconnect.
○ Penny Smith
(Scala Radio, 10am)
The husband and wife
team of Paul Merton and
Suki Webster join Smith
to share favourite classical
pieces and discuss
launching a residency at
the Comedy Store in
London. Merton is hosting
the Room 101 reboot on
Radio 4, with all episodes
on BBC Sounds. He also
appears on an episode of
Richard Herring’s always
reliable RHLSTP Podcast.
Clair Woodward
7.30 In Concert. Live from City
Halls, Glasgow, Gemma New
conducts the BBC Scottish
Symphony in Sarah Gibson’s
Warp & Weft; Barber’s Violin
Concerto, with the soloist Geneva
Lewis; and Brahms’s Symphony
No 4 10.00 Free Thinking.
Matthew Sweet and guests look
at Francis Ford Coppola’s The
Conversation, the 1974 Gene
Hackman film about surveillance
and murder 10.45 The Essay.
The French-Canadian singer
and band leader Myriam Phyro
examines Edith Piaf’s Hymne
A L’amour, a song of love and
loss 11.00 The Night Tracks Mix.
Sara Mohr-Pietsch with a magical
sonic journey for late-night
listening 11.30 Unclassified.
Elizabeth Alker plays the latest
experimental and ambient music,
and invites Stuart Maconie to
talk about a piece that transports
him 12.30 Through The Night
CLASSIC FM
6.30 Dan Walker 10.00 Alexander
Armstrong 1.00 Anne-Marie Minhall
4.00 Margherita Taylor 7.00 Zeb
Soanes 10.00 Ritula Shah 1.00
Bill Overton 4.00 Lucy Coward
RADIO 2
6.30 The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show
9.30 Vernon Kay 12.00 Jeremy
Vine 2.00 DJ Spoony 4.00 Sara
Cox. Music and chat 7.00 Jo
Whiley 9.00 The Country Show
10.00 Trevor Nelson 12.00
OJ Borg 3.00 Sounds Of The
90s (R) 4.00 Wynne Evans
VIRGIN RADIO
6.30 The Chris Evans Breakfast
Show 10.00 The Ryan Tubridy
Show 1.00 Jayne Middlemiss
4.00 Ricky Wilson 7.00 Bam
10.00 Amy Voce 1.00 Sean
Goldsmith 4.00 Steve Denyer
TALKSPORT
5.00 Early Breakfast 6.00
Breakfast 10.00 Jim White And
Simon Jordan 1.00 Hawksbee And
Baker 4.00 Drive 7.00 Kick Off
10.00 Sports Bar 1.00 Extra Time
3 March 2024 49
FRIDAY 8 MARCH
BBC 1
6.00 Breakfast Headlines.
9.30 Morning Live Magazine.
10.45 Crimewatch Live
11.30 Homes Under The
Hammer Auctions. (R)
12.15 Bargain Hunt In Newark.
1.00 News; Weather Reports.
1.45 Father Brown Mrs
Devine’s son is framed
for murder. (Last in series)
2.30 Clean It, Fix It The team
helps a family transform a
loft space. (Last in series)
3.15 Escape To The Country (R)
3.45 The Bidding Room (R)
4.30 Antiques Road Trip (R)
5.15 Pointless Quiz show. (R)
6.00 News; Weather Reports.
6.30 Regional News Update.
7.00 The One Show Features.
7.30 Mastermind Tricia
Penrose, Karim Zeroual,
Catherine Bohart and
Gavin Ramjaun compete.
8.00 The Repair Shop Dominic
Chinea tackles a battered
old barber’s pole; Lucia
Scalisi restores an early
work by eminent Nigerian
artist Ben Enwonwu; and
Will Kirk transforms a
wooden writing case. (R)
8.30 Here We Go Cherry and
Robin’s wedding falls on
the same day as Paul’s
police training graduation;
Maya moves in with Amy;
and Rachel decides to get
a tattoo. (Last in series)
9.00 Would I Lie To You? Rob
Brydon introduces material
from the comedy panel
show, not originally shown
in series 17. (Last in series)
9.30 Not Going Out Lucy
prepares a special meal
so that she and Lee can
discuss the state of their
marriage, but he becomes
obsessed with a strange
beeping noise in the
house. (Series 13, ep 6, R)
10.00 News; Weather Reports.
10.40 The Graham Norton Show
Compilation of highlights
from the recent series.
11.30 RuPaul’s Drag Race —
UK Versus The World The
queens tackle the iconic
Snatch Game challenge. (R)
12.45 Six Nations Sin Bin
1.20-6.00 Joins BBC News
SCOTLAND 6.30 Reporting
Scotland; Weather. 11.30 A View
From The Terrace. 12.30 RuPaul’s
Drag Race — UK Versus The
World. 1.45 Six Nations Sin Bin.
Discussion. 2.20 BBC News.
Variations
BBC1 WALES 7.00 Six Nations
Sin Bin 7.30 Amy Dowden’s
Dare To Dance 8.00 Mastermind
11.30 Scrum V Classics 1.00 Six
Nations Sin Bin 1.30 BBC News
BBC2 WALES 7.00 The One
Show 7.30 The Hairy Bikers’
Bakeation BBC SCOTLAND 7.00
The Seven 8.00 Secret Body
9.00 Meet You At The Hippos
10.00 Still Game 10.30 A View
From The Terrace 11.30-12.00
Gary — Tank Commander STV
6.00 Good Morning Britain
50 3 March 2024
BBC 2
6.30 The Bidding Room (R)
7.15 Clean It, Fix It (R)
8.00 Inside The Factory
Building a sofa. (Signed, R)
9.00 News; Weather Headlines.
12.15 Politics UK Updates.
1.00 Impossible Gameshow. (R)
2.30 The Farmers’ Country
Showdown At Cowbridge
Farmers’ Market. (R)
3.00 Saved And Remade (R)
3.30 Murder, Mystery And My
Family Investigations. (R)
4.15 Scotland From The Sky
Exploring stories of
Scottish industry. (R)
5.15 Flog It! In Warwickshire. (R)
6.00 House Of Games (R)
6.30 Rick Stein’s Cornwall
The story of Cornwall’s
forgotten capital. (R)
7.00 Secrets Of The Museum
An ambitious exhibition
celebrating Lewis Carroll’s
Alice in Wonderland. (R)
8.00 CHOICE Monty Don’s
Spanish Gardens The
presenter travels across
the north of Spain, and
explores Galicia, Cantabria
and Catalonia. (See Critics’
choice; last in series)
9.00 Norwegian Fling Martin
Compston and Phil
MacHugh are back in
Bergen for a crash course
in offshore oil-rig safety.
9.30 Mortimer & Whitehouse
— Gone Fishing Bob and
Paul accept an invitation
to fish in the estate lake of
Burghley House, a 16th-
century country house in
Stamford, Lincolnshire. (R)
10.00 Mock The Week With
Angela Barnes, Alasdair
Beckett-King, Rhys James,
Ria Lina and Josh Pugh. (R)
10.30 Newsnight Headlines.
11.05 CHOICE How To With
John Wilson New run of
the comedy documentary.
(Series 3, ep 1) 11.35 How
To With John Wilson John
has his ears cleaned.
(See Critics’ choice)
12.00 CHOICE On The Basis Of
Sex Stars Felicity Jones.
Biopic of the lawyer Ruth
Bader Ginsburg, showing
how she faced adversity in
her fight for equal rights.
(2018, 12; see Film choice)
1.55 Panorama (Signed, R)
2.25 Robson Green’s
Weekend Escapes (R)
2.55-3.25 Our Flag Means
Death (Signed, R)
9.00 Lorraine 10.00 This Morning
12.30 Loose Women 1.30 News;
Weather 2.00 Dickinson’s Real
Deal 3.00 Lingo 4.00 Tipping
Point 5.00 The Chase 6.00
Regional News 6.30 News;
Weather 7.00 What’s On Scotland
7.30 Emmerdale 8.00 Coronation
Street 9.00 Celebrity Big Brother
10.15 News; Weather 10.45
Regional News 11.00 The Brit
Awards 1.00 Teleshopping 3.00
Celebrity Wheel Of Fortune
3.50 Night Vision 5.05-6.00
Football Classics S4C 6.00 Cyw
11.05 Olobobs 11.10 Ne-wff-ion
ITV 1
6.00 Good Morning Britain
9.00 Lorraine Lifestyle chat.
10.00 This Morning Features,
debate and interviews.
12.30 Loose Women Topical
debate and interviews.
1.30 News; Weather Reports.
2.00 Dickinson’s Real Deal
David Dickinson and his
team are in Bridlington,
where items assessed
include silver Georgian
cutlery and hats. (R)
3.00 Lingo Word game,
hosted by Adil Ray. (R)
4.00 Tipping Point Gameshow,
hosted by Ben Shephard.
5.00 The Chase Bradley Walsh
presents the quiz show.
6.00 Regional News Update.
6.30 News; Weather Reports.
7.30 Emmerdale Tracy is
downhearted; Kerry
spoils for a fight; and
Angel and Nicola resolve
to make the most of their
final few days together.
8.00 Coronation Street Dylan
realises the devastating
impact of his behaviour on
Liam; Roy’s kind deed for
Evelyn arouses Bobby’s
suspicions; and Fiz feels
surplus to requirements.
9.00 Celebrity Big Brother
A famous face is evicted
from the compound.
10.15 News; Weather Reports.
11.00 FILM: Shanghai Noon
Stars Jackie Chan, Owen
Wilson and Lucy Liu. A
19th-century imperial
guard to the Emperor of
China is flung into the Wild
West on a mission to
rescue a princess. Fast-
moving caper. (2000, 12)
12.50 Teleshopping Purchasing.
3.00 Wheel Of Fortune With
Tom Allen, Michelle Visage
and Eddie Kadi. (R)
3.50 Unwind Daily relaxation.
5.05-6.00 Football Classics:
1979 FA Cup Final —
Arsenal v Man Utd. (R)
Susan Calman on tour (C5, 9pm)
11.25 Dreigiau Cadi 11.40 Dal Dy
Ddannedd 12.00 Newyddion A’r
Tywydd 12.05 Codi Hwyl America
12.30 Heno Aur 1.00 Bethesda
— Pobol Y Chwarel 1.30 Y Fets
2.00 Newyddion A’r Tywydd 2.05
Prynhawn Da 3.00 Newyddion
A’r Tywydd 3.05 Dylan Ar Daith
4.00 Awr Fawr 5.00 Stwnsh 6.00
Cymry Ar Gynfas 6.30 Parti Bwyd
Beca 6.57 Newyddion 7.00 Heno
7.30 Newyddion A’r Tywydd
8.00 Barry John — Cofio’r Brenin
8.55 Newyddion A’r Tywydd
9.00 Hen Dy Newydd 10.00 Am
Dro! 11.00-12.05 Jonathan
Channel 4
6.10 Countdown Game. (R)
6.50 Cheers Comedy. (R)
8.30 Everybody Loves
Raymond Comedy. (R)
9.30 Frasier Sitcom. (R)
11.00 The Great House
Giveaway Two flats
are converted back
into a family home. (R)
12.00 News; Weather Reports.
12.05 Sun, Sea And Selling
Houses (Last in series, R)
1.05 Find It, Fix It, Flog It (R)
2.10 Countdown Game.
3.00 Crufts Clare Balding
presents live coverage
from the NEC, as dogs
from across the globe
descend on Birmingham.
4.00 A New Life In The Sun (R)
5.00 Chateau DIY A barn is
renovated into a wedding
and events space. (R)
6.00 Come Dine With Me
A stay-at-home dad
throws the final dinner
party in Dundee and Perth.
6.30 The Simpsons Marge gets
the lead role in a play. (R)
7.00 News; Weather Reports.
7.30 Crufts Clare Balding
presents all the latest
action, this time focusing
on gundogs – a category
that has provided the last
two Best in Show winners.
8.30 Formula 1 Lee McKenzie
presents the qualifying
action from the Saudi
Arabian Grand Prix — the
second round of the
season from Jeddah
Corniche Circuit.
10.00 Gogglebox The critics
share their opinions on
what they have been
watching during the week.
11.00 The Last Leg Adam Hills,
Josh Widdicombe and
Alex Brooker are joined by
guests Lorraine Kelly and
Rob Beckett for a comic
review of the week’s events.
12.05 Greg Davies — Firing
Cheeseballs At A Dog (R)
1.05 FILM: Ready Or Not Stars
Samara Weaving and
Adam Brody. A bride’s
wedding night takes a
sinister turn when her in-
laws force her to take part
in a terrifying game. Gorily
wacky horror. (2019, 18)
2.40 Ramsay’s Kitchen
Nightmares USA (R)
3.30 Come Dine With Me (R)
5.40 House Of Craft (R)
5.50-6.05 A Place In The Sun (R)
Thank heaven for Susan Calman. Her brand
of cheerfulness is a welcome antidote to the
dreadfully depressing newscasts elsewhere.
Jo Rees
You say
As last week’s show was the final in Graham
Norton’s series and some interesting guests
were involved, I was expecting something
special. However, once again it descended
into lavatorial humour. Is this really the best
we can now expect?
Roger Brown
Send your comments to telly@sunday-times.co.uk
Channel 5
6.00 Milkshake! Children’s fun.
9.15 Jeremy Vine Debate.
11.15 Storm Huntley Opinions.
12.45 Alexis Conran & Friends
1.40 News; Weather Reports.
1.45 Home And Away Tane
misreads Harper’s care
and leans in for a kiss. (R)
2.15 Dangerous Connections
Thriller, with Shiva Negar.
A divorcee meets her
perfect match on an
online dating site, only to
discover he is a scammer
looking to destroy her life.
4.00 Shoplifters — Caught
Red Handed Suspected
shoplifters are tracked. (R)
5.00 News; Weather Reports.
6.00 Susan Calman’s Grand
Day Out The presenter
travels to the south coast
of Wales to visit the Gower
peninsula and the National
Botanic Garden. (R)
6.55 News; Weather Reports.
7.00 Motorway Cops —
Catching Britain’s
Speeders An inspector
receives a hug from a
stranded motorist, but later
stops a car with a filthy
number plate and gets an
earful from the driver. (R)
7.55 News; Weather Reports.
8.00 The Motorway Map Of
Britain The story of how
the country was built
from the ground up — by
filling in a map of Britain’s
transport networks.
9.00 CHOICE Great British
Cities New series. Susan
Calman examines the
stories of some of Britain’s
conurbations, beginning
with an exploration
of the city of Liverpool.
(See Critics’ choice)
10.00 Draining Loch Ness — In
Search Of The Monster
Advanced scanning
technology is used to
explore Loch Ness, but
amore than a monster is
revealed by the search. (R)
11.05 The Killing Of JFK
— Minute By Minute
A dissection of events
around the assassination of
President John Kennedy. (R)
1.00 Entertainment News
1.15 Casino Show Gambling.
3.10 Britpop — The Music That
Changed Britain (R)
4.25 Car Pound Cops (R)
5.20 Wildlife SOS Animals. (R)
5.45 Entertainment News
5.55-6.00 Children’s Shows
 Critics’ choice
Lily And Lolly — The Forgotten
Yeats Sisters
(Sky Arts/Now, 8pm)
The clue is in the surname, as
much as Imelda May, the
presenter (and singer), is at pains
to make clear that the talented
sisters of the Irish poet are worthy
of documentary attention in
their own right. She is correct,
although it’s possible that the
nature of their artistic endeavours
emerged thanks to the personal if
not intellectual inadequacies of
their painter father and WB Yeats.
Susan and Elizabeth (known in
the family by the diminutives Lily
and Lolly) were responsible for
the household income from their
teens, and sought to bring in
wages by dint of embroidery and
drawing — May rightly gasps in
delight at the sight of their
hand-painted books and
embroidered panels. Later they
began a printing press that put
them at the heart of Ireland’s
Celtic cultural revival.
Helen Stewart
How To With John Wilson
(BBC2, 11.05pm/11.35pm)
John Wilson, the Emmy-nominated
narrator, writer and cameraman,
has the eye of a young Martin Parr
and the voice of a lesser Muppet,
and while initially his version of
American whimsy might provoke
some curdling on the jaded UK
palate, with time the show’s
charms become apparent. Despite
the title, Wilson has scant personal
wisdom to impart; instead each
show begins with him greeting New
York with a “Hey” and a quest to
learn how to do something (series
three promises such delights as
“find a public restroom” or “clean
your ears”). Led by a camera
always on the alert for witty visual
flourish, he heads out on to the
streets of NYC in search of the
kindness of strangers. Such is the
beguiling effect of this odd comedy
that new viewers will be thrilled to
learn that the two previous series
are available on BBC iPlayer. HS
On demand
○ Blown Away (Netflix)
If you are a fan of minor-league
competition shows then you
doubtless already like this
Canadian glass-blowing
competition that debuted in 2019
and now returns for a fourth
series. Whether due to the intense
heat they all work under or the
self-absorbed concentration
required for the job, Blown Away
is a magnet for solipsistic, erratic
Portraits of Lolly and Lily Yeats by their father (Sky Arts/Now, 8pm)
Monty Don’s Spanish Gardens
(BBC2, 8pm)
The essence of potting-shed
bohemia in his elegantly rumpled
linen, Monty Don heads to the
“almost alpine” north of Spain for
this stage of his journey. “I don’t
think I’ve ever seen happier or
healthier box hedges,” he sighs.
While Jeff Koons’ 40ft-high floral
puppy in Bilbao might be pushing
the definition of “garden”, there’s
also time for a trip to a city
allotment and a visit to the
“Galician Versailles”.
June and Johnny (BBC4, 9.45pm)
visionaries touched by genius.
Don’t go in expecting the warm
camaraderie of Bake Off or Sewing
Bee — this is a show that always
seems to be on the edge of
chaos, but in a way that is
utterly absorbing and addictive.
○ The Reluctant Traveller
(Apple TV+)
Because our host, Eugene Levy, is a
man ill-at-ease with airports, hotels
and foreign climes, series one of
this celebrity-based travel show
Johnny Cash — The Man,
His World, His Music
(BBC4, 9.45pm)
There’s a wonderful intimacy
to Robert Elfstrom’s 1969
documentary about Johnny Cash as
the singer performs barnstorming
versions of Ring of Fire or Folsom
Prison Blues. A gleeful duet with
Bob Dylan is like watching big cats
at play, but it’s the scene where he
shoots and captures a crow that
stands as the wildest metaphor for
his mercurial energy. Also features
country star June Carter Cash.
Great British Cities (C5, 9pm)
Susan Calman’s never-ending tour
keeps on rolling. She’s now visiting
UK cities, hitting all the expected
stops — music, football, community
— in Liverpool. Yet there are
off-beam angles and surprisingly
emotional moments, not least
when discussing the Beatles’
unhappy manager Brian Epstein.
Victoria Segal
managed to cut through the usual
clichés of the genre. However, after
exploring Finland, Tokyo and Utah
in that first instalment, the
77-year-old Schitt’s Creek star is a
little less reluctant than before. As
a result, his travels in Europe are
just that little bit less eventful. The
Scotland episode — in which Levy
traces his family roots, goes salmon
fishing and visits a whisky distillery
— is so suffused with bonny wee
banalities that it is excruciating.
Andrew Male
Powerful world of
trafficking rings
Human Trafficking (UKTV Play)
Like Abi Morgan’s Sex Traffic
from the previous year, this 2005
drama series tells the stories of
trafficked women en route to
the West. Here, they come from
Prague, Kyiv and Manila, not
the Balkans, and are heading for
New York — where Mira Sorvino
is a cop and Donald Sutherland
oversees immigration. In keeping
with Hollywood’s peculiar policy
of casting Brits as European
baddies, Robert Carlyle plays
Slavic supervillain Sergei. JD
Robert
Carlyle
Film choice
The Beekeeper (Sky Cinema
Premiere, 8pm/12.45am)
The magnetic Jason Statham plays
retired superagent Adam Clay, who
is reactivated when his neighbour
is scammed online. A montage of
neck-snapping sends him on a
punitive trail of destruction that
ties the phishers to the Mob,
corporate America and the US
government. There are flickers of
greatness in this. Statham, in
action, is naturally, thunderously
convincing. (2023)
Nomadland (Film4, 9pm)
Frances McDormand stars as Fern,
a transient worker who zigzags
across the US, grieving for her
husband, living out of her van
and bonding in trailer parks with
groups of other self-described
“nomads”, mostly played by
non-professionals. Other actresses
might have struggled with the loose
structure but McDormand makes
every scene urgent and every
feeling real. (2020)
On The Basis Of Sex
(BBC2, midnight)
Felicity Jones stars in this biopic
of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the
associate justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States and
feminist trailblazer. It charts
Ginsburg’s professional flowering
as she rises from Harvard Law
School to a Columbia Law School
professorship to an eventual era-
defining court battle in 1971. (2018)
3 March 2024 51
FRIDAY 8 MARCH
BBC 3
7.00pm MasterChef The fourth
quarter-final of the contest.
7.30 Queen Of Trucks A look
behind the scenes of a
family-run trucking school.
8.00 Top Gear The hosts build
a train — using caravans.
9.00 RuPaul’s Drag Race — UK
Versus The World The
queens compile a musical.
10.15 FILM: Lady Bird Stars
Saoirse Ronanalf. A teen
has a difficult relationship
with her mother.
Unconventional. (2017, 15)
11.45 High — Surviving A Dubai
Drugs Bust (Last in series)
12.15 Boarders Comedy. (3/6)
1.00 Things You Should
Have Done Comedy.
1.50 Spud Comedy drama.
2.10 Made Up In Belfast
2.40-3.50 RuPaul’s Drag Race
— UK Versus The World
Drama
6.00pm As Time Goes By Jean
suspects that Lionel is
going deaf, but has
trouble convincing him.
6.40 Last Of The Summer Wine
Foggy is determined to
plant a flag. 7.20 Last Of
The Summer Wine
Foggy’s dream is realised.
8.00 Father Brown The local
lord is strangled during a
rambling trip. (Series 7,
ep 9) 9.00 Father Brown
Lady Felicia’s home
comes under threat.
10.00 New Tricks The team
investigates the deaths
of a film critic and an
artist. (Series 11, ep 5)
11.20-12.40 Spooks A plane is
hijacked and crashed near
an airbase in the UK,
revealing illegal activity
by the American
government. (S6, ep 3)
Films
SKY CINEMA PREMIERE
5.45pm Ferrari (2023, 15) 8.00
CHOICE The Beekeeper. A man
finds someone important to him has
been scammed, so seeks vengeance.
(2024, 15; see Film choice) 10.00-
12.45 Mission: Impossible — Dead
Reckoning Part One. The IMF team
race to acquire two halves of an
interlocking key that can regain
control of a lethal AI. (2023, 12)
SKY CINEMA THRILLER
6.00pm Hanna (2011, 12) 8.00
Miami Vice. Two detectives pose as
smugglers in an effort to infiltrate a
powerful drug cartel. (2006, 15)
10.20-12.30 The Untouchables. An
incorruptible agent forms a squad
to bring Al Capone’s control of
Chicago to an end. (1987, 15)
SKY CINEMA GREATS
5.40pm Fast & Furious 8 (2017, 12)
8.00 Revolver. A gambler is helped
by two enigmatic loan sharks to
exact revenge on his deranged
former boss for landing him in jail.
(2005, 15) 10.05 The Beekeeper
(2024, 15) 11.55-1.50 War (2007, 18)
52 3 March 2024
BBC 4
7.00pm Top Of The Pops With
Sleeper, Oleta Adams and
Iron Maiden. 7.30 Top Of
The Pops With Suggs and
Mariah Carey. 8.00 Top Of
The Pops With Mike and
the Mechanics, Kate Bush
and Tavares. 8.30 Top Of
The Pops With Shakin’
Stevens and Madonna.
9.00 Shania Twain At The BBC
Archive performances.
9.45 CHOICE Johnny Cash
— The Man, His World,
His Music The life and
career of the country star.
(See Critics’ choice)
10.45 Emmylou Harris’s
10 Commandments Of
Country A performance.
11.45 Sisters In Country —
Dolly, Linda And Emmylou
12.45 Later … Country music.
1.45-3.30 Country Music By
Ken Burns Documentary.
Sky Arts
6.00pm Alfred Hitchcock
Presents: The Perfect
Crime. A lawyer has
blackmail in mind. 6.30
Alfred Hitchcock
Presents: Heart Of Gold.
A convict is released to
live with the family of
one of his cellmates.
7.00 The Joy Of Painting A
seascape with a sunset sky.
7.30 The Joy Of Painting
A snowy mountain looming
over a homely cabin.
8.00 CHOICE Lily And Lolly —
The Forgotten Yeats
Sisters Imelda May tells
the story of WB Yeats’s
sisters. (See Critics’ choice)
9.30 Bee Gees — In Our Own
Time Robin and Barry Gibb
discuss the band’s career.
10.50-1.00 Bee Gees — One
Night Only The brothers
perform their greatest hits.
SKY CINEMA SELECT
6.00pm The Bourne Ultimatum
(2007, 12) 8.00 The Lord Of The
Rings — The Return Of The King.
The hobbits Frodo and Sam near
the end of their journey. (2003, 12)
11.20-1.45 Forrest Gump. A simple
soul bumbles his way through a
series of adventures. (1994, 12)
FILM4
4.45pm The Long Arm (1956, U)
6.40 Jumanji — Welcome To The
Jungle (2017, 12) 9.00 CHOICE
Nomadland (2020, 12; see Film
choice) 11.10-12.55 Censor (2021, 15)
TALKING PICTURES TV
6.00pm Worzel Gummidge 6.30
Fireball XL5 7.05 Any Man’s
Kingdom 1956 7.30 Saloon Bar
(1940, PG) 9.05 The Cabinet Of
Caligari. Horror. (1962, 18)
11.20-1.10 Mortuary (1982, 18)
Entertainment
ITV4
5.55pm Giant Lobster Hunters 7.00
Cycling. Highlights from stage six of
Paris-Nice 8.00 FILM: GoldenEye
10.40 All Elite Wrestling — Dynamite
12.45-2.35 Giant Lobster Hunters
ITV 2
6.00pm Catchphrase Game.
7.00 Wheel Of Fortune Game.
8.00 Superstore Jonah’s plans
to spearhead a green
initiative are met with
apathy. (S4, ep 18) 8.30
Superstore Amy is forced
to cut the staff hours.
9.00 Family Guy Brian falls in
love with Lois. (Series 2,
ep 4) 9.30 Family Guy
Peter fights with his
friends over a trophy.
10.00 Shopping With Keith
Lemon With guests
Mel B and Jimmy Carr.
10.15 Celebrity Big Brother
— Late And Live
Companion series.
11.20 Family Guy Peter invites
his new neighbour to join
the company’s softball
team. (Series 1, ep 5)
11.50-12.20 American Dad! Pilot
episode. (Series 1, ep 1)
Sky Max
6.00pm Stargate Atlantis
Sheppard tries to rescue
Weir and McKay. (S1, ep 11,
R) 7.00 Stargate Atlantis
The crew investigates a
downed enemy ship. (R)
8.00 Strike Back — Vendetta
Carolyn Fortier persuades
Section 20 to bring in
Chetri. (Series 8, ep 9, R)
9.00 Ted Blaire persuades Matty
and Susan to let Ted act as
their therapist. (6/8)
9.45 Fantasy Football League
With Billy Monger. (R)
10.20 Rob Beckett’s Smart TV
Comedy panel show, with
Natasia Demetriou, Daniel
Mays, Nicola Coughlan
and Richard Ayoade. (R)
11.05-12.05 Jurassic Greatest
Moments — Jurassic Park
To Jurassic World
Discussing the movie
franchise’s highlights. (R)
MORE4
5.25pm The Dog House 6.30 Crufts
7.30 The Secret Life Of The Zoo
7.55 Grand Designs 9.00 Astrid
— Murder In Paris. With Sara
Mortensen 11.35 24 Hours In A&E
1.45-2.45 999 — On The Front Line
GOLD
6.00pm The Green Green Grass
6.40 Gavin & Stacey 7.20 Dad’s
Army 8.40 The Vicar Of Dibley 9.20
Gavin & Stacey 10.00 Toast Of
London 10.30 Mrs Brown’s Boys
11.10 Upstart Crow 11.50 The Vicar
Of Dibley 12.30 Gavin & Stacey 1.05
Toast Of London 1.35-2.30 Ricky &
Ralf’s Very Northern Road Trip
SKY COMEDY
6.00pm The US Office 7.00
Wellington Paranormal 8.00 Will &
Grace 9.00 Curb Your Enthusiasm
9.45 The Tonight Show 10.45 Bill
Maher — But I’m Not Wrong 12.20
Insecure 1.40-2.15 Hung
5 STAR
6.00pm Home And Away 7.00
GPs — Behind Closed Doors 8.00
Shoplifters — Caught Red Handed
9.00 FILM: Ocean’s Eleven. Stars
George Clooney and Brad Pitt
ITV 3
5.55pm Heartbeat Blaketon’s
crackdown on crime
triggers a violent response;
and Gina is intrigued by a
mysterious visitor. 6.55
Heartbeat Mike makes a
shocking discovery about
Jackie; and Greengrass
arranges a funeral.
8.00 Grace A body is dredged
up from the English
Channel, setting in motion
a truly disturbing
investigation that forces
Grace to ask himself just
how far someone might
go to save the ones they
love. (Series 2, ep 4)
10.00-12.00 Inspector Wexford
The inspector ventures into
the sensitive area of race
relations to investigate
the disappearance of
a Nigerian doctor’s
daughter. (Series 5, ep 6)
Sky Atlantic
4.40pm The Wire In the
last-ever episode, Carcetti
orders a cover-up after
Daniels tells him McNulty
fabricated the serial-killer
story. (Series 5, ep 10)
6.25 Boardwalk Empire Pilot
episode of the Prohibition-
era drama, with Steve
Buscemi. (Series 1, ep 1)
7.45 House Of The Dragon
Rhaenyra navigates
continued speculation
about her children. (6/10)
9.00 Mary & George Fact-
based historical drama,
with Julianne Moore and
Nicholas Galitzine. (1/7)
10.05 Catherine The Great
Historical drama, with
Helen Mirren. (1/4)
11.10-12.30 Britannia Historical
drama, with David
Morrissey and Kelly
Reilly. (Series 1, ep 1)
11.25-2.00 FILM: American Made.
Stars Tom Cruise. Comedy drama
5 USA
6.00pm NCIS. Four episodes 10.00
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Crime drama 1.55-3.35 Law & Order
SKY WITNESS
6.00pm Nothing To Declare 8.00
Blue Bloods 9.00 Law & Order:
Special Victims Unit 10.00 Blue
Bloods 11.00 FBI 12.00 FBI —
International 1.00 The Good
Doctor 2.00-3.00 Chicago PD
W
6.00pm MasterChef Australia 7.30
Inside The Ambulance 8.00 999
Rescue Squad 9.00 24 Hours
In A&E 11.00 The Catherine Tate
Show 1.00 The Undateables
2.00-3.00 Wedding Valley
COMEDY CENTRAL
6.00pm Friends 9.00 Jason
Manford Live. The comedian
performs at the Manchester Arena in
2011 10.00 Jack Whitehall Live 11.00
Daria 12.30-2.30 South Park
YESTERDAY
6.00pm Antiques Roadshow 7.00
Great British Railway Journeys
E4
6.00pm The Big Bang Theory
Sheldon has acting
lessons. (S4, ep 14) 6.30
The Big Bang Theory A
wealthy benefactor makes
an indecent proposal.
7.00 Hollyoaks Chester soap.
7.30 Modern Family Phil agrees
to sell the old car. (S2, ep 1)
8.00 The Great Celebrity Bake
Off Carol Vorderman, Kelly
Brook, Rob Rinder and
Mo Gilligan take part for
Stand Up to Cancer.
9.00 Celebrity Gogglebox
Offerings including
Countdown, Titanic and
First Dates are appraised.
10.00 FILM: War For The Planet
Of The Apes Stars Andy
Serkis. The apes are forced
into a clash with an army
of humans. Spectacular.
(2017, 12; ends at 12.45)
Talk TV
6.00pm The Talk Well-known
faces debate the topics
everybody is talking about.
7.00 Plank Of The Week Mike
Graham presents the
light-hearted panel show.
8.00 TalkTV Special
Continuous news coverage
of the days events.
10.00 The Talk Well-known faces
from the worlds of politics,
showbiz, business and
current affairs debate
the latest topics.
11.00 What Just Happened?
The presenter Kevin
O’Sullivan wraps up
another eventful week.
11.30-12.00 The World
According To Mike
Graham The host explores
the week’s biggest stories.
Available on Sky 522; Freeview 237;
Virgin 606; Freesat 217; YouTube,
connected TVs and smart devices
8.00 Secrets Of The London
Underground 9.00 Tony Robinson’s
Marvellous Machines 10.00 Bangers
& Cash 11.00 Abandoned
Engineering 12.00-1.00 Great
British Railway Journeys
DAVE
6.00pm Hairy Bikers’ Best Of British
7.00 House Of Games 8.20 Would I
Lie To You? 9.00 QI XL. Two editions
11.00 Taskmaster. Mel Giedroyc
destroys a mannequin 12.00 Would I
Lie To You? 12.40 Schitt’s Creek
1.10-2.20 Release The Hounds
Factual
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
6.00pm Inside Sydney Airport 7.00
Air Crash Investigation 9.00 Car
SOS. Restoring classic vehicles
10.00 To Catch A Smuggler — JFK
Airport 11.00 Air Crash Investigation
12.00 Airport Security — First Class
1.00-2.00 Rewind The 90s
DISCOVERY
6.00pm Junkyard Empire 7.00 Gold
Rush 9.00 Expedition Unknown
10.00 Expedition X 12.00 Deadliest
Catch — The Viking Returns
1.00-2.00 Expedition Unknown
5 Sport on TV
Highlights
1
Liverpool v Manchester
City (Sun, Mar 10,
ko 3.45pm, Sky Sports
Main Event)
Whoever takes the spoils
in this tantalising match
could be a step closer to
the Premier League title.
2
Six Nations rugby
On Saturday, Italy
play Scotland (2.15pm)
followed by England v
Ireland (4.45pm) on ITV1.
On Sunday it’s Wales v
France (3pm, BBC1).
3
Saudi Grand Prix (Sat,
5pm, Sky Sports F1)
The Formula One
circus arrives at the
Jeddah Corniche
Circuit for the second
race of the calendar.
4
Aston Villa v Spurs
(Sun, Mar 10, 1pm, Sky
Sports Main Event)
Both teams will be
hoping for three points
to improve their chances
of European football.
5
Test cricket:
India v England
(Fri, 4am, TNT Sports)
The second day of the
fifth Test kicks off a
weekend of cricket.
Tim Glanfield
PBS AMERICA
5.15pm The Civil War 6.30 Her War,
Her Story — World War II 7.40 WWII
In The Pacific 8.45 The Civil War —
Remember The Sultana. Sean Astin
tells the story of the steamboat
Sultana 10.45-12.00 The Civil War.
Examining the Union’s failure to
achieve victory by the spring of 1863
SKY DOCUMENTARIES
6.00pm Young Guns — The New
Tennis Titans 7.00 The Wimbledon
Kidnapping 9.00 Pete Doherty —
Stranger In My Own Skin.
Documentary about the musician
and Libertines co-frontman
11.00-12.50 Dogtown And Z-Boys
SKY NATURE
6.00pm Hope For Wildlife 7.00
Monkey Life 8.00 My Best Friend’s
An Animal 9.00 Secret World Of
Sound With David Attenborough
10.00 Hope For Wildlife 11.00-
12.00 Great Blue Wild
DISCOVERY HISTORY
6.00pm Combat Dealers 7.00
Expedition Unknown 8.00 Mysteries
At The Castle 9.00 Combat Dealers.
A uniform 10.00 Salvage Hunters
11.00-12.00 Find It, Fix It, Flog It
England’s Ben
Duckett
Sport
SKY SPORTS MAIN EVENT
6.00am News 7.00 Good Morning
Sports Fans 9.00 Super League
Gold 9.05 LIVE NRL 11.00 Total
Football 12.00 LIVE F1 Academy.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix race
one 1.10 LIVE Formula 1 3.05 LIVE
Formula 2 4.10 LIVE Formula 1 6.30
News 7.00 LIVE EFL: Sheffield
Wednesday v Leeds United. Kickoff
at 8.00 10.30-6.00 LIVE Tennis.
Day three of the Indian Wells Open
TNT SPORTS 1
6.00am LIVE Test Cricket: India v
England 12.00 PL Netbusters 12.30
Ligue 1 Show 1.00 Ultimate Pool 2.30
World Sevens Highlights 3.30 Inside
Serie A 4.00 Test Cricket 5.00 The
Fantasy Show 5.30 Test Cricket
6.30 PL Preview 7.00 Crouchy And
Cole 7.15 LIVE Premiership
Women’s Rugby: Gloucester-
Hartpury Women’s RFC v Harlequins
Women 10.00 Test Cricket
Highlights 11.00 The Fantasy Show
11.30 PL Preview 12.00 WWE 1.00
LIVE WWE Friday Night Smackdown
3.00 AFL 5.00-8.00 LIVE AFL:
Gold Coast Suns v Richmond Tigers
Radio & Podcasts
○ Who We Are Now
(podcast)
The newest podcast
about masculinity
features Richard
Hammond and his
daughter, Izzy, who have
conversations around
masculinity and mental
health, with guests
including James May. The
bi-generational approach
adds something different
to the conversation. The
Men’s Room (TalkSport
podcast) offers a
bi-weekly, no-holds-
barred attitude to men’s
issues, with new hosts
Tom Skinner and Neil
“Razor” Ruddock. Their
guests will include James
Argent from Towie,
competitive eater Adam
Moran, and John Stiles,
son of footballer Nobby.
TIMES RADIO
5.00 Rosie Wright With Early
Breakfast 6.00 Chloe Tilley And
Calum Macdonald With Times
Radio Breakfast 10.00 Matt
Chorley 1.00 Ruth Davidson 4.00
Cathy Newman With Times Radio
Drive 7.00 Ed Vaizey 10.00 Henry
Bonsu 1.00 Stories Of Our Times
1.30 Highlights From Matt Chorley
2.00 The Best Of Times Radio
To get in touch with the Times
Radio studio, text TIMES plus your
message to 87222. Texts cost
your standard message charge.
RADIO 4
5.30 News 5.43 Prayer 5.45
Farming Today 5.58 Tweet Of The
Day (R) 6.00 Today 8.31 (LW)
Yesterday In Parliament 9.00
Desert Island Discs (R) 9.45 Book
Of The Week 9.45 (LW) Daily
Service 10.00 Woman’s Hour
11.00 Farmers And Furious. The
perceived crisis in the farming
industry 11.30 Room 101. Steph
McGovern shares her pet hates
(R) 12.00 News 12.01 (LW)
Shipping 12.04 AntiSocial. New
run. The issues of the day,
presented by Adam Fleming 1.00
The World At One 1.45 Strike Boy
2.00 The Archers (R) 2.15 Drama:
Love And Other Lies 2.45 Child.
India Rakusen looks at the
immense planning required to
give birth, asking what people are
forgetting to prepare for — or not
being told 3.00 Gardeners’
Question Time 3.45 Short Works.
Stew Woman, by Hannah Vincent.
A man’s wife is planning a very
unusual dinner for him 4.00 Last
Word 4.30 Feedback. New run
5.00 PM 5.54 (LW) Shipping 6.00
News 6.30 The News Quiz 7.00
The Archers 7.15 Add To Playlist.
Presented by Cerys Matthews and
Jeffrey Boakye 8.00 Any
Questions? 8.50 A Point Of View
9.00 Strike Boy 10.00 The World
Tonight 10.45 Book At Bedtime
11.00 Americast 11.30 Today In
Parliament 12.00 News 12.30
Book Of The Week (R) 12.48
Shipping 1.00 As World Service
Richard Hammond with
his daughter, Izzy (podcast)
○ Craig Charles
(6 Music, 1pm)
Charles continues coverage
of the BBC Radio 6 Music
Festival. This afternoon
he’s joined by CMAT, the
Irish singer-songwriter,
ahead of her performance
at Victoria Warehouse,
Manchester, and
RADIO 4 EXTRA
5.00 Titanium 5.45 The Doll: Short
Stories By Daphne Du Maurier 6.00
Proof 6.30 The Blackburn Files
7.00 Other People’s Children 7.15
Bindi Business 7.30 All Those
Women 8.00 Marriage Lines 8.30
Big Jim And The Figaro Club 9.00
The 3rd Degree 9.30 In And Out Of
The Kitchen 10.00 Titanium 10.45
The Doll: Short Stories By Daphne
Du Maurier 11.00 Proof 11.30 The
Blackburn Files 12.00 Other
People’s Children 12.15 Bindi
Business 12.30 All Those Women
1.00 Marriage Lines 1.30 Big Jim
And The Figaro Club 2.00 The 3rd
Degree 2.30 In And Out Of The
Kitchen 3.00 Titanium 3.45 The
Doll: Short Stories By Daphne Du
Maurier 4.00 Proof 4.30 The
Blackburn Files 5.00 Other People’s
Children 5.15 Bindi Business 5.30 All
Those Women 6.00 Marriage Lines
6.30 Big Jim And The Figaro Club
7.00 The 3rd Degree 7.30 In And
Out Of The Kitchen 8.00 Musical
Legends 8.30 Soul Music 9.00 And
The Academy Award Goes To 9.30
Jaws By Peter Benchley 9.45 The
Haunted Road 10.00 Stuart
Mitchell’s Cost Of Living 10.15 Jazz
Emu — The Sound Of Us 10.30
Laura Solon: Talking And Not
Talking 11.00 Absolute Power 11.30
All The World’s A Globe 11.45-
12.00 Before They Were Famous
LBC
7.00 Nick Ferrari 10.00 James
O’Brien 1.00 Shelagh Fogarty 4.00
Tom Swarbrick 6.00 Lewis Goodall
9.00 Dean Dunham. Discussion
10.00 Nick Abbot. Debate 1.00
Henry Riley 4.00 Oli Dugmore
RADIO 3
6.30 Breakfast 9.00 Essential
Classics 12.00 Composer Of The
Week 1.00 Lunchtime Concert.
Celebrating International Women’s
Day, featuring music by composers
including Clara Schumann, Cécile
Chaminade, Alma Mahler and
Rebecca Clarke 2.00 Afternoon
Concert. Including the premiere
of Camille Pépin’s Inlandsis by
the Radio France Philharmonic
Afrodeutsche. The
Humans Of XS
Manchester podcast has
an archive of interviews
with Clint Booth and a
host of creatives from the
city, including Maxine
Peake, Liam Gallagher,
Johnny Marr, Julie
Hesmondhalgh and John
Cooper Clarke.
○ Heart And Soul
(BBC World Service,
11.30am/11.30pm)
Bara’atu Ibrahim speaks to
Jibra’il Omar, who was
formerly Timothy Weeks,
an Australian teacher who
was held captive for three
years in Afghanistan by
the Taliban. He converted
to Islam and became a
member of the Taliban
after his release.
Clair Woodward
4.30 The Listening Service (R)
5.00 In Tune. Sean Rafferty’s
guests include the conductor
Dalia Stasevska 7.00 Classical
Mixtape 7.30 In Concert. The BBC
Singers and guest conductor
Ellie Slorach perform a second
collaboration with the sitarist
Debipriya Das 10.00 The Verb. Ian
McMillan celebrates best poetry,
new writing and performance
10.45 The Essay. Elizabeth Alker
celebrates Non, Je Ne regrette
Rien, the song that has come to
define Edith Piaf ever more 11.00
Late Junction. An improvised
collaboration from Mongolian
vocalist Enji and French violinist
Agathe Max 1.00 Tearjerker 2.00
Gameplay With Baby Queen (R)
3.00 Through The Night
CLASSIC FM
6.30 Dan Walker 10.00 Alexander
Armstrong 1.00 Anne-Marie
Minhall 4.00 Margherita Taylor
7.00 Jonathan Ross 9.00
Young Classical Stars 10.00
Myleene Klass 1.00 Katie
Breathwick 4.00 Sam Pittis
RADIO 2
6.30 The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show
9.30 Vernon Kay 12.00 Jeremy
Vine 2.00 DJ Spoony 4.00
Sara Cox 7.00 Michelle Visage
9.00 The Good Groove 11.00
The Rock Show 12.00 Romesh
Ranganathan — For The Love Of
Hip-Hop 1.00 Tell It To Steve
— Best Of Guests (R) 4.00 Sophie
Ellis-Bextor’s Kitchen Disco
VIRGIN RADIO
6.30 The Chris Evans Breakfast
Show 10.00 Ryan Tubridy 1.00
Jayne Middlemiss 4.00 Ricky
Wilson 7.00 Ben Jones 10.00
Rich Williams 2.00 Olivia Jones
TALKSPORT
6.00 Breakfast 10.00 Jim White
And Simon Jordan 1.00 Aherne
And Pennant 4.00 Drive 7.00
Thank Friday It’s Football 10.00
Sports Bar 1.00 Extra Time 4.00
Cricket: India v England. Day
three of the final Test, live
3 March 2024 53
SATURDAY 9 MARCH
Sharleen Spiteri in the Piano Room (BBC2, 8.35pm)
BBC 1
6.00 Breakfast Headlines.
10.00 Saturday Kitchen Live
11.30 The Great Food Guys (R)
12.00 Football Focus Discussion.
1.00 News; Weather Headlines.
1.15 Bargain Hunt Curios. (R)
2.00 Escape To The Country (R)
3.00 FILM: Chicken Run With
the voices of Mel Gibson
and Julia Sawalha. A
headstrong chicken and
her fellow fowls plan to
escape from a farm before
they are turned into pies.
Awesome. (2000, U)
4.20 Final Score Discussion.
5.30 News; Weather Reports.
5.50 Gladiators Bradley and
Barney Walsh host as four
more contenders take on a
series of brutal challenges.
6.50 The Wheel Michael
McIntyre hosts the
gameshow, as contestants
take on a huge spinning
wheel in the hope of
securing a cash prize.
7.50 The Weakest Link Romesh
Ranganathan asks general-
knowledge questions
against the clock as
contestants try to avoid
being voted off the team.
8.35 Pointless Celebrities
Alexander Armstrong and
Richard Osman present a
star-studded version of the
general-knowledge quiz.
9.20 Casualty Hospital drama
with the staff and patients
of Holby’s accident and
emergency department.
10.10 News; Weather Reports.
10.30 Match Of The Day Gary
Lineker presents highlights
of the latest Premier
League matches, including
Manchester United v
Everton, Bournemouth v
Sheffield United, and
Arsenal v Brentford.
11.45 FILM: Candyman Stars
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and
Teyonah Parris. Unsettling
horror sequel. (2021, 15)
1.15 Joins BBC News Update.
6.00 Breakfast Headlines.
7.40 Match Of The Day (R)
9.00 Sunday With Laura
Kuenssberg Political chat.
10.00 Politics Discussion.
10.30 Sunday Morning Live
11.30-12.15 Love, Faith And Me
Jewish marriage rituals. (R)
SCOTLAND 12.00 Sportscene.
2.30 Icons Of Football. 4.30
Sportscene Results. Roundup.
54 3 March 2024
ITV 1
6.00 Love Your Garden (R)
7.30 Love Your Weekend (R)
9.25 News; Weather Reports.
9.30 James Martin’s Saturday
Morning With Gaby Roslin.
11.40 Prue Leith’s Cotswold
Kitchen With Paralympic
swimmer Ellie Simmonds.
12.40 James Martin’s French
Adventure The chef
visits Saint-Tropez. (R)
1.10 News; Weather Reports.
1.30 Six Nations Rugby: Italy v
Scotland. Coverage of the
encounter in the fourth
BBC 2 round of fixtures, live
from Stadio Olimpico in
Rome. Kickoff is at 2.15.
6.20 Children’s Shows Fun. 4.20 Six Nations Rugby:
9.00 Monty Don’s Spanish England v Ireland. All the
Gardens Insights. (R) action from both teams’
10.00 12 Puppies And Us (R) fourth and penultimate
11.00 Operation Wild (R) game of the championship,
12.00 The Hairy Bikers Go West live from Twickenham.
Culinary journey. (R) Kickoff is at 4.45.
1.00 Nadiya’s British Food 7.15 Saturday Night Takeaway
Adventure Insights. (R) Ant and Dec host the
1.30 Talking Pictures: entertainment show,
Laurence Olivier. (R) featuring pranks, surprises,
2.00 FILM: Richard III Stars guests and competitions.
Laurence Olivier. A 8.50 The 1% Club Quiz hosted
ruthless deformed duke by Lee Mack, in which the
plots to seize the throne, questions are all about
killing anyone in his way. logic and common sense.
9.50 The Jonathan Ross Show
Engaging Shakespearean
adaptation. (1955, U) With guests Liam Gallagher,
John Squire, Raye, Millie
4.35 Flog It! Selling items. (R)
Bobby Brown, Rob Beckett
5.35 Celebrity Antiques Road
and Luke Littler.
Trip Well-known faces
10.45 News; Weather Reports.
embark on the treasure-
11.05 Olivia Attwood — Getting
hunting challenge. (R)
Filthy Rich The growing
6.35 This World Examining new
world of cam girls. (R)
research to find Malaysian
12.05 Teleshopping Purchasing.
Airlines flight MH370 that 3.00 Inside M&S Insights. (R)
disappeared in 2014. (R) 3.50 Unwind Daily relaxation.
7.35 Great Asian Railway 5.05 Prue Leith’s Cotswold
Journeys Michael Portillo Kitchen Cooking. (R)
travels around Southeast 6.00 English Football League
Asia, guided by his 1913 Highlights Action. (R)
Bradshaw’s Handbook. (R) 7.30 James Martin’s Saturday
8.35 Texas Live In The Piano Morning Food and chat. (R)
Room The band’s recent 9.25 News; Weather Reports.
Radio 2 performance. 9.30 Love Your Weekend
9.05 Texas At The BBC Clips 11.30-12.30 Raymond Blanc’s
from the archives. Royal Kitchen Gardens
10.15 Texas With The BBC
Scottish Symphony
Orchestra The band and
the BBC SSO perform at Films
Glasgow’s Barrowland. (R) SKY CINEMA PREMIERE
11.15 TBA 3.25pm Mission: Impossible —
Dead Reckoning Part One (2023,
12.15 FILM: A Bigger Splash
12) 6.10 Asteroid City (2023, 12)
Stars Tilda Swinton and
8.00 The Beekeeper. A man
Ralph Fiennes. A rock star finds someone important to him
recovering from surgery has been driven to harm, so seeks
finds her Mediterranean vengeance. (2024, 15) 10.00-
retreat disrupted by the 12.15 Ferrari. The former racecar
arrival of a former lover. driver Enzo Ferrari embarks on an
Tantalising. (2015, 15) epic race across Italy. (2023, 15)
2.15 FILM: The Macaluso SKY CINEMA THRILLER
Sisters Stars Alissa Maria 4.25pm Anon (2018, 15) 6.15
Poker Face (2022, 15) 8.00 Now
Orlando. Five sisters living
You See Me. Four magicians use
together in Palermo have their lavish stage shows to cover
their lives torn apart when seemingly impossible heists.
one dies. Evocative drama. (2013, 12) 10.00 Yes, Madam!
(2020, 15; Italian with Two women cops from Hong
subtitles; ends at 3.40) Kong and the UK try to crack a
murder case. (1985, 18) 11.40-
6.45 Countryfile Reports. (R)
1.20 Into The Deep (2022, 15)
7.40 Breakfast Headlines.
9.00 Wild About Your Garden SKY CINEMA GREATS
Creating wildlife havens. (R) 6.00pm The Beekeeper. Thriller.
9.45 Saturday Kitchen Best (2024, 15) 8.00 Fast & Furious 8.
Bites Series highlights. A street racer betrays those
closest to him because of a
11.15-12.15 Tales From A
mystery woman. (2017, 12)
Kitchen Garden (R)
Channel 4
6.15 The King Of Queens (R)
7.00 Everybody Loves
Raymond Comedy. (R)
7.50 The Simpsons Cartoon. (R)
11.50 Four In A Bed Contest. (R)
2.25 The Dog House A timid
puppy and a grumpy
Westie seek new homes. (R)
3.30 Crufts Clare Balding and
Sophie Morgan present live
coverage of the dog show
from Birmingham NEC,
featuring the quarter-finals
of the flyball competition.
6.00 Crufts Revisited A look
back at the flyball events
during last year’s show.
6.30 News; Weather Reports.
7.00 Crufts Dion Dublin gets
advice on how to look after
and show his mastiff; and
Scruffts gives crossbred
dogs their chance to shine,
with Radzi Chinyanganya
presenting the awards.
9.30 Formula 1 Lee McKenzie is
joined by David Coulthard,
Lawrence Barretto and
Mark Webber to present
highlights from the Saudi
Arabian Grand Prix, the
second round of the
season, which was held at
Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
12.00 FILM: K-19 — The
Widowmaker Stars
Harrison Ford and Liam
Neeson. The crewmen of
Russia’s first nuclear
submarine try to prevent a
cataclysmic explosion.
Workmanlike fact-based
thriller. (2002, 12)
2.20 Ramsay’s Kitchen
Nightmares USA Gordon
Ramsay revisits three of his
most difficult cases. (R)
3.10 The Simpsons Cartoon. (R)
3.35 Hollyoaks Soap. (R)
5.40 TBA
6.00 The King Of Queens (R)
7.15 Everybody Loves
Raymond Comedy. (R)
8.30 The Simpsons Cartoon. (R)
9.30-12.30 Sunday Brunch
10.20-12.05 War. An FBI agent
is drawn into warfare between
yakuza and triad gangs. (2007, 18)
SKY CINEMA SELECT
5.10pm Out Of Africa. A writer in a
marriage of convenience in Nairobi
falls for a British adventurer. (1985,
PG) 8.00 Gladiator. An enslaved
Roman general seeks revenge on a
tyrant for the murder of his family.
(2000, 15) 10.40-12.45 The King’s
Speech. The son of George V seeks
help to cure his stammer. (2010, 12)
FILM4
4.10pm Close Encounters Of
The Third Kind (1977, PG) 6.55
Hampstead. An American widow
finds love with a man living wild
on Hampstead Heath. (2017, 12)
9.10-12.30 Django Unchained.
An escaped slave tries to
rescue his wife from a sadistic
plantation owner. (2012, 18)
TALKING PICTURES TV
5.15pm Desert Sands (1957, U)
7.00 Dixon Of Dock Green 8.00
Maigret 9.00 The Edgar Wallace
Mystery Theatre 10.10-12.20 Cause
Célèbre. Courtroom drama, with
Helen Mirren and David Suchet.
Channel 5
6.00 Milkshake! Children’s fun.
8.50 Spongebob Animation. (R)
9.05 Entertainment News
9.10 Friends Sitcom. (R)
10.00 The Hotel Inspector (R)
12.00 Dogs Behaving (Very)
Badly With Graeme Hall. (R)
2.00 Eggheads Team quiz. (R)
4.00 Ant & Dec’s 30 Greatest
Moments A countdown
celebrating the pair. (R)
6.00 News; Weather Reports.
6.05 Secrets Of Buckingham
Palace Alexander
Armstrong examines the
history of the residence
from before the outbreak
of the Second World War
to the present. (6/6, R)
7.00 Princess Anne — Dignity
And Duty Exploring the life
of Princess Anne, who
represented Britain in
the 1976 Olympics and
survived a kidnapping
attempt in 1974. (R)
8.30 St James’s Palace —
Secrets Of A Royal HQ
A look at the history of the
royal palace in the City of
Westminster, revealing the
family dramas that have
taken place there since it
was built on Henry VIII’s
order in the 1530s.
10.00 When Reality TV Goes
Horribly Wrong Vicky
Pattison narrates a
compilation of on-air
disasters from the
world of reality TV. (R)
12.00 TBA
1.05 Casino Show Gambling.
3.00 Britpop — The Music That
Changed Britain (R)
4.25 Around The World By Train
With Tony Robinson. (R)
5.05 Wildlife SOS Animals. (R)
5.30 Entertainment News
5.35 Children’s Shows
6.00 Milkshake! Children’s fun.
8.50 Spongebob Animation. (R)
9.05 Entertainment News
9.10 Friends US sitcom. (R)
11.00-12.00 Holidaying With
Jane McDonald (R)
Entertainment
BBC3
7.00pm EastEnders 8.00
MasterChef 9.00 Two Pints Of Lager
And A Packet Of Crisps 11.00 High
— Surviving A Dubai Drugs Bust
11.30 Boarders 1.50-3.50 Two Pints
Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps
ITV2
7.05pm FILM: Legally Blonde 2 —
Red, White And Blonde. Comedy
sequel 9.00 FILM: Bad Neighbours 2
10.50 Family Guy 11.50 American
Dad! 12.50 The Sex Lives Of College
Girls 1.55-2.35 Celebability
ITV4
6.00pm River Monsters 7.00
Cycling. Stage seven of the
Paris-Nice race 8.00 The Best Of
Saint & Greavsie 9.00 EFL Highlights
10.30 FILM: Death Wish V — The
Face Of Death 12.35 The Chase
1.35-2.35 Dempsey And Makepeace
E4
5.35pm The Big Bang Theory 6.40
FILM: Star Trek Beyond 9.00 Celebrity
Gogglebox 10.00 Gogglebox 12.05
First Dates 2.10-4.05 Gogglebox
BBC 4
7.00pm Rick Stein’s Long
Weekends The chef
embarks on a series of
extended culinary breaks.
8.00 South Pacific The fight for
survival among creatures
inhabiting the region’s
islands, and how the arrival
of new species can upset
the natural balance.
9.00 Prisoner Drama, with Sofie
Grabol. News spreads that
there is a dirty cop in the
prison; and the four guards
face challenges when they
receive a devastating
message. (5/6) 10.00
Prisoner The officers
tensely wait for the
response to the death of
the inmate. (Danish with
subtitles; last in series)
11.00 Parkinson The television
and stage star Michael
Crawford talks about his
life and career, from Some
Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em to
Phantom of the Opera, and
performs Music of the
Night from the Andrew
Lloyd Webber show.
11.55 To The Manor Born
Comedy, with Penelope
Keith and Peter Bowles.
12.25 Yes, Prime Minister
Political comedy series,
with Paul Eddington.
12.55 Country Music By Ken
Burns The history of the
American art form and how
it has evolved over time.
2.40-3.40 South Pacific
F1 highlights (C4, 9.30pm)
MORE4
5.45pm Four In A Bed 7.55 Perfect
Pub Walks. Bill Bailey is joined by Paul
Merton 9.00 24 Hours In A&E 11.05
8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown
1.15-3.20 24 Hours In A&E
GOLD
5.40pm Only Fools And Horses
9.40 Detectorists 11.40 Ricky &
Ralf’s Very Northern Road Trip
12.40-2.30 Detectorists
SKY MAX
6.00pm Hawaii Five-0 8.00 Freddie
Fries Again 9.00 A League Of Their
Own — European Road Trip 10.00
Rob Beckett’s Smart TV 10.45 Ted
11.30 Fantasy Football League
12.05 From 1.05-2.00 Road Wars
SKY COMEDY
6.00pm Will & Grace 6.30 The US
Office 9.00 Rob Beckett — Wallop.
Stand-up show 10.15 Saturday Night
Live 11.30 The Tonight Show
12.30-3.10 Curb Your Enthusiasm
SKY WITNESS
6.00pm Nothing To Declare 8.00
FBI 11.00 Fire Country 12.00 The
Rookie 1.00 Law & Order: Special
Victims Unit 2.00-3.00 Good Doctor
Sky Arts
2.00pm Best Of Landscape
Artist Of The Year Contest
highlights. (Last in series)
3.00 Julie Andrews Forever
4.00 Dean Martin — A Legend
In Concert Performances.
4.55 Close To You —
Remembering The
Carpenters A profile.
6.10 Discovering James
Brown Music critics look at
the life and career of the
Godfather of Soul.
6.35 Discovering Stevie
Wonder Examining the life
and career of the musician.
7.00 Hitsville — The Making
Of Motown The history
and origins of Motown.
9.00 Tears For Fears — Scenes
From The Big Chair
A profile of the band.
10.20 Greatest Albums Live
Artists perform the albums
they believe made them.
11.20-12.20 Classic Albums
Drama
11.00am Lovejoy Comedy
drama, with Ian McShane.
2.05 The Marlow Murder Club
Judith Potts’s evening in
Marlow is shattered when
she witnesses a murder.
(1/2) 4.05 The Marlow
Murder Club Judith, Becks
and Suzie are asked to help
the police investigation.
6.00 The Brokenwood
Mysteries The team
investigates a convent after
a nun is killed. (S9, ep 3)
8.00 The South Westerlies
Kate discovers who is
behind the oil pipeline. (5/6)
9.10 Whitechapel The killer runs
rings around the team. (S4,
ep 4) 10.10 Whitechapel
Buchan is kidnapped.
11.10-12.30 Strike — Career
Of Evil Strike goes in
search of a murder
suspect. (Series 3, ep 2)
W DISCOVERY
5.40pm My Family 7.00 Miranda
9.00 The Catherine Tate Show 11.00
Katherine Ryan — Parental Guidance.
Out-of-the-box parenting ideas 12.00
Wife Swap USA 1.00 Undateables
2.00-3.00 Wedding Valley
YESTERDAY
6.00pm Great American Railroad
Journeys 10.00 One Foot In The
Grave 12.00-1.00 Bangers & Cash
DAVE
5.40pm Mortimer & Whitehouse
— Gone Fishing 7.00 My Family.
Three episodes of the comedy 9.00
Not Going Out 10.20 Mock The Week
11.00 8 Out Of 10 Cats 1.00-2.15
Comedians Giving Lectures
Factual
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
6.00pm Air Crash Investigation.
Back-to-back editions 11.00
Trafficked. Mariana Van Zeller
investigates the growing popularity
of bare-knuckle fighting 12.00 Car
SOS. Fuzz Townshend and Tim Shaw
secretly restore classic vehicles
1.00-2.00 Inside Sydney Airport
Sky Atlantic
9.00am The Sopranos Drama.
2.25 The Wire Marlo makes a
deal with Avon. (S5, ep 2)
3.30 The Wire Marlo offers
a reward for information
about Omar. 4.35 The
Wire Marlo tries to win
favour with Vondas. 5.40
The Wire McNulty leaks
further details about the
killer to the press. 6.45
The Wire Marlo assumes
control of the co-op.
7.55 House Of The Dragon
Rhaenyra oversteps at the
Small Council. (2/10) 9.00
House Of The Dragon
Daemon and the Sea Snake
battle the Crabfeeder.
10.10 House Of The
Dragon Rhaenyra
continues her search for a
suitable match. 11.20-
12.30 House Of The
Dragon Alicent seeks the
truth about the princess.
Talk TV
10.00 Jake Berry News and views
on the latest goings on.
1.00 Nick De Bois The former
MP asks the big question
on everyone’s minds,
with monologues, lively
debates and plenty of
time for viewers’ calls.
4.00 Trisha Goddard The
broadcaster looks through
the week’s leading stories.
7.00 James Whale Unleashed
More commentary and
bold opinions of events
going on in the news.
10.00 That Was The Woke That
Was Andre Walker quizzes
an opinionated panel.
11.00-1.00 The Late Night
Phone-In Andre Walker
serves up another helping
of viewers opinions.
Available on Sky 522; Freeview 237;
Virgin 606; Freesat 217; YouTube,
connected TVs and smart devices
6.00pm Gold Rush 8.00 Salvage
Hunters 9.00 Naked And Afraid.
A hunter and a farmer try to survive
in South Africa 11.00 Expedition
Unknown 12.00 Expedition X 1.00-
4.00 Mystery At Blind Frog Ranch
PBS AMERICA
5.50pm Victorian Britain On Film.
Documentary 7.15 Prince Albert —
A Victorian Hero Revealed. Professor
Saul David examines Prince Albert’s
significant influence on British
culture 8.15-12.00 SAS — Rogue
Warriors. Three-part documentary
examining the history of the
British Army special forces unit
SKY NATURE
8.00pm Deadly Australians
9.00 Africa’s Claws And Jaws.
Documentary examining the weapons
at the disposal of Africa’s predators
10.00 Extreme Snakes: Australia
11.00-12.00 Extreme Snakes: Africa
DISCOVERY HISTORY
6.00pm Combat Dealers 8.00
Gunslingers. A man exacts justice on
the cowboys who shot his brothers
9.00 Gunslingers. The story of Wild
Bill 10.00-12.00 Find It, Fix It, Flog It
ITV3
1.45pm Marple With Geraldine
McEwan. An unpopular
colonel is found dead in
the vicarage of St Mary
Mead. (Series 1, ep 2) 3.50
Marple The sleuth looks
into a friend’s claim to
have witnessed a murder
on a passing train.
5.55 Rosemary & Thyme The
duo are invited to create an
Arabian-style garden in
Malaga, but it is not long
before a resident is found
dead. (Series 3, ep 4) 6.55
Rosemary & Thyme A
psychiatrist’s body is found
in Regent’s Park, where
Laura and Rosemary are
re-creating a Victorian
garden. 8.00 Rosemary &
Thyme The duo find a
baby abandoned under
a gooseberry bush.
9.00 McDonald & Dodds
Drama about chalk-and-
cheese police partners
solving crime on the streets
of Bath, beginning with the
murder of a homeless man.
With Jason Watkins and
Tala Gouveia. (Series 1, ep 1)
11.00 Scott & Bailey Police
drama, with Lesley Sharp
and Suranne Jones. The
detectives investigate the
case of a pregnant woman
who was killed in her
bedroom. (S1, ep 1) 11.50-
12.40 Scott & Bailey
Rachel’s life becomes
more complicated.
Steve Wright (BBC Sounds)
Sport
SKY SPORTS MAIN EVENT
6.00am News 6.30 LIVE NRL
8.30 Good Morning Sports Fans
10.00 Soccer Saturday Pre-Match
10.30 Saturday Social 12.00 LIVE
EFL: Cardiff City v Ipswich Town.
Kickoff at 12.30 3.00 Soccer
Saturday 3.30 Formula 1 4.55
LIVE Formula 1. The Saudi Arabian
Grand Prix. Start-time at 5.00 5.30
LIVE SNF: Arsenal v Brentford.
Kickoff at 5.30 8.00-6.00 LIVE
Tennis. The Indian Wells Open
TNT SPORTS 1
8.00am PL Preview 8.30 Reload
8.45 LIVE A-League 10.45 Around
The Block 11.00 LIVE Premier
League: Manchester United v
Everton. Kickoff at 12.30 3.00 Xtra
Time 3.15 The Football’s On 4.15
Crouchy And Cole 4.30 Fight
Night 5.00 LIVE National League:
Southend United v Dagenham &
Redbridge. Kickoff 5.30 7.45 LIVE
Serie A 9.45 WWE 11.15 MotoGP
11.45 FIA Formula E 12.45 Formula
E 1.45 MotoGP 2.15 Cricket Reload
2.30 Test Cricket 3.30-12.00
LIVE Test Cricket: India v England
Radio
○ Steve Wright
(BBC Sounds)
Three hours of highlights
from the first three
episodes of the
broadcaster’s BBC
Sounds series Tell It To
Steve — Best Of Guests,
with Amy Winehouse,
Thom Yorke and Eddie
Izzard. Wright was a
skilled interviewer among
the zoo radio mayhem.
Clair Woodward
TIMES RADIO
6.00 Chloe Tilley And Calum
Macdonald With Times Radio
Breakfast 10.00 Hugo Rifkind
1.00 Alexis Conran 4.00 Ayesha
Hazarika With Times Radio Drive
7.00 The Best Of Times
Podcasts 8.00 Stories Of Our
Times 8.30 Highlights From
Times Radio 10.00 Darryl Morris
1.00 Stories Of Our Times 1.30
Highlights From Matt Chorley
2.00 The Best Of Times Radio
RADIO 4
5.30 News 5.43 Prayer 5.45
Lent Talks (R) 6.00 News And
Papers 6.07 Ramblings (R) 6.30
Farming Today This Week 7.00
Today 8.31 (LW) Yesterday In
Parliament 9.00 Saturday Live
10.00 You’re Dead To Me. Greg
Jenner and guests learn about
Queen Emma of Normandy
10.30 The Kitchen Cabinet 11.00
The Week In Westminster 11.30
From Our Own Correspondent
12.00 News 12.01 (LW) Shipping
12.04 Money Box 12.30 The
News Quiz (R) 1.00 News 1.10
Any Questions? (R) 2.00 Any
Answers? 2.45 Short Works (R)
3.00 Drama: Turning Point —
This Is For Everyone, by Matthew
Broughton 4.00 Weekend
Woman’s Hour 5.00 Saturday
PM 5.30 Political Thinking 5.54
Shipping 6.00 News 6.15 Loose
Ends. Clive Anderson and Arthur
Smith are joined by Emmanuel
Sonubi 7.00 Profile 7.15 The
Infinite Monkey Cage. Brian Cox
and Robin Ince explore the
history of poison 8.00 Archive
On 4: The Upside Of Anxiety (R)
9.00 Drama: China Towns (R)
10.00 News 10.15 Add To Playlist
(R) 11.00 Counterpoint (R) 11.30
Uncanny 12.00 Midnight News
12.15 Poetry Detective (R) 12.48
Shipping 1.00 As World Service
RADIO 3
7.00 Breakfast 9.00 Record
Review 11.45 Music Matters 12.30
This Classical Life (R) 1.00 Inside
Music 3.00 Sound Of Cinema.
With Denis Villeneuve 4.00 Music
Planet 5.00 J To Z. A live set by
drummer Jas Kayser and friends
6.30 Opera On 3: Dido And
Aeneas And The Fairy Queen.
William Christie conducts Les
Arts Florissants in performances
of two Purcell operas 10.00
New Music Show. Kate Molleson
presents a performance of
Sky Macklay’s Microvariations
by the London Sinfonietta, and
the Hebrides Ensemble playing
David Fennessy’s Changeless
And The Changed 12.00
Freeness 1.00 Through The Night
3 March 2024 55