Guy Martin's Our Guy in Colombia and Your Home Made Perfect: TV highlights this week

Moneyball (Saturday 22/07/23, ITV1, 8pm)

Words by Scheenagh Harrington

Millions of children (and adults) dream of becoming professional sportspeople: playing at elite levels of football, rugby, tennis, cycling or boxing, reaching the highest highs and winning the shiniest trophies.

What the dreamers don’t often talk about is what happens afterward. Some major sports stars choose to step away from the spotlight and enjoy a private life, others go into coaching to remain in the discipline they love.

Others are scooped up by the entertainment industry and become expert pundits in their chosen field. For years, former Crystal Palace and Arsenal forward Ian Wright delighted football fans weekend in and weekend out on the pitch, and won 33 caps for England.

He was a sporting star.

Ian retired from football in 2000, two years after he launched a new career on the small screen, hosting Friday Night’s All Wright.

He has gone on to rack up an impressive CV of television appearances, including BBC game show They Think It’s All Over and Sky docuseries Football Behind Bars, alongside his regular punditry for Match of the Day.

In February 2021, he was unveiled as the host of this prime time game show, and won acclaim from critics and viewers alike.

For the uninitiated, the premise can be summed up in a neat nutshell: the roll of a ball determines whether players win a life-changing sum of money or go home with nothing. Wrighty is back for this second series and contestants will participate in pairs – double the tension.

Wright is clearly delighted at the programme’s return, saying: “It’s great that the show is back, and I’m so happy people loved it as much as I do. I think I get more nervous than the contestants because I want them to win so badly.”

Wrighty’s authenticity and inability to keep his composure is part of the reason the show has gone down a storm with viewers.

When asked what he likes most about hosting Moneyball, he says: “meeting all the lovely people that come on the show, seeing how gracious they are when they lose and how overwhelmed they are when they win. It’s an honour to be part of a once-in-a-lifetime experience for people. This season everyone is coming up in pairs, so they have some help but also someone to share the experience with.”

As someone who is used to the pressure of competition, he has solid advice for anyone thinking of taking part.

“Most people won’t get to go on a game show in their lifetime, so enjoy the whole experience and don’t be afraid to show your emotions and trust your gut,” he says.

“The pressure changes things so you have to trust yourself.”

Wrighty reckons that, if he was in their place, he’d end up getting somewhere in the middle. “I’d get nervous and want to make sure I win something so I probably wouldn’t risk it all,” he said. “Questions-wise, sport, history and films would probably be my strongest categories.”

As for who would fare well out of his celebrity friends, Wrighty says John Barnes would be “brilliant”, Roy Keane would also be “great”, but Gary Lineker would beat fellow MOTD pundit Alan Shearer.

“He hosts a general knowledge quiz show, so he’s got an advantage,” quips Wrighty.

Our Guy in Colombia (Sunday 23/07/23, Channel 4, 9pm)

Words by Scheenagh Harrington

Grimsby-born Guy Martin has come a long way since he started out as a teenage apprentice lorry mechanic. In 2003, he launched a motorbike road racing career, securing 17 podium finishes at TT events.

In 2011, he shifted gears and made his first TV appearance with the series The Boat that Guy Built, and has fronted more than 20 documentaries, exploring motoring and other technology, as well as various periods in history.

Cameras have also followed Guy as he set himself seemingly impossible tasks, such as rebuilding his transit van and trying to break the van lap record at Germany’s Nurburgring, or attempting to build the world’s fastest tractor and set a speed record of over 100 mph.

He has flown with the Red Devils, trained to be a Second World War fighter pilot and found out whether he had the right stuff to be a Lancaster Bomber crewman.

Aside from his twin, life-long love affairs with engineering and speed, Guy has also trotted the globe, taking a closer look at what makes China, Russia and Japan tick.

A quote on his website reads: “I’m always looking for a new challenge but sometimes the challenges seem to find me.”

He definitely finds it with this eye-opening two-parter, in which he visits Colombia to explore whether one of the most beautiful and biodiverse countries in the world can finally escape its long history of drugs and violence.

In the opener, Guy soon discovers that risk is something the Colombian population has to live with every day as he undergoes the same brutal kidnap training that is given to politicians, including being gagged and bound and thrown into the back of a car. Viewers of a squeamish disposition should be warned the next part isn’t for the faint hearted, as the presenter is then tortured and water-boarded for real.

This understandably shocking experience is followed by a visit to a uniquely Colombian business: a factory that manufactures designer bullet-proof clothing. Of course, Guy tests to see if the products work in the only way possible: he puts on a bullet-proof hoodie and is shot at point-blank range by someone using live ammunition. It goes without saying: don’t try this at home.

A root cause of Colombia’s issues is the cocaine trade, and in an effort to find out more, Guy loads a motorcycle into the back of a classic Douglas DC3 cargo plane before flying into the Colombian Amazon, where he lands at an airfield that was cut into the jungle by notorious drugs kingpin Pablo Escobar.

Guy rides the motorbike to a hidden drugs lab to find out how cocaine is made, then takes to the streets with a secret camera to see just how easy it is to buy a range of drugs in Medellin, once considered the most dangerous city in the world.

A meeting with the nephew of the aforementioned Escobar to watch some revealing home movies uncovers the inside story of the drug lord’s vast wealth, before a whirlwind first week of adventure concludes with Guy joining the elite jungle commandos on a drugs raid.

The Unique Boutique (Monday 24/07/23, C4, 10pm)

Words by Scheenagh Harrington

The Western fashion world is a strange one. From size zero to supermodels who won’t get out of bed for less than a king’s ransom, and haute couture to the High Street, we are fascinated with clothes and how we look.

Despite that appetite, millions of women, in particular, can feel underserved when it comes to something as simple as finding clothes that fit properly. In the UK, the average woman’s dress size is a 16 but, according to the fashion industry, anything over a 10 is regarded as a plus size, something that frustrates many would-be shoppers.

For all the strides that have been made in the industry, such as body positivity and greater diversity, there is still a long way to go to make sure everyone can find a style that makes them feel a million bucks.

This uplifting series aims to drive that change by looking at fashion from several very different standpoints that go beyond the need for a wider range of sizes.

It welcomes a variety of people who feel that they aren’t served by mainstream fashion and can’t find what they want to wear on the High Street, and offers them fabulous new looks.

To do that, a team of highly skilled inclusive fashion designers, stylists, tailors and dressmakers – each of them identifying as disabled – have been assembled. They will all dare to do what the clothing industry doesn’t: make bespoke and beautiful outfits to fit every type of body, all brought to life in their custom-built shop.

They comprise trailblazing adaptive designer Victoria, stylist and model Triple Minor (also known as Georgie), fashionista and body confidence coach Natalie and celebrity stylist David.

The quartet will listen to a range of candid stories about the physical, psychological and financial challenges several ordinary people have faced while trying to find clothing from conventional retailers, before they pool their creative talents and come up with a specially adapted outfit to match each person’s individual taste and needs.

In this opening episode, three customers arrive at the Unique Boutique, looking for fabulously fitted outfits. Prom queen Emma-Jane craves a dress that won’t catch on her wheels as she traverses the catwalk. Before she can say “fairy godmother”, adaptive designer Victoria hits a bullseye with the brief, creating a showstopping gown that is packed with innovative access features.

Next up is separated dad Huw. He wants a new look to help rekindle his love life and also needs a style that works for him as an ambulatory wheelchair user. Stylist David rolls up his sleeves and assembles an ensemble that includes some clever adaptations in a bid to boost Huw’s confidence to swim in the dating pool again.

Finally, cancer patient Lisa admits she’s lost her style mojo after undergoing treatment, while her body changes mean her wardrobe is no longer fit for purpose.

Sure enough, the fab four soon have her feeling glamorous again with a fabulously bespoke new outfit, including a surprise reversion of Lisa’s own favourite coat.

Your Home Made Perfect (Tuesday 25/07/23, BBC2, 8pm)

Words by Harrington

We live in an amazing technological age: from speakers capable of indulging our almost every whim (even if it results in the next generation is learning to ask for something without saying please), to jaw-dropping entertainment created using a computer.

And now, as well as being able to bring long-dead stars vividly back to life and transporting us to any corner of the planet, virtual reality (VR) is opening doors across multiple industries, including the world of interior design.

AI software allows us to nose around potential properties, see how our possessions would look in various rooms, and even try out new furniture to make sure it will fit. The possibilities are exciting and endless.

This show takes that VR technology and runs with it. Imagine walking into your home, but suddenly it transforms before your eyes. Dark, poky corners are swept away, replaced by a light, bright space. Impractical rooms are remodelled into warm and welcoming places, outdated decor is overhauled in favour of, well, whatever you want.

It is the ultimate ‘try before you buy’ experience.

That’s because the VR is in the hands of two of Britain’s leading architects. They are given a brief to produce a spectacular design, offering radically different solutions to the property’s various problems. Working to the homeowner’s budget, the professionals come up with innovative, creative layouts that elevate these homes to the next level, from flipping the entire accommodation to make the most of the stunning sea views, a room-dividing double bunk bed, or a design inspired by a house in the treetops.

In this edition, Angela Scanlon is joined by Damion Burrows and Lynsey Elliott who will battle it out to win the chance to redesign the way one Rickmansworth family lives.

Moving from a tiny city flat to a three-bed house was a dream come true for Caitriona and Kevin, at least at the start. However, as their twins Lilly and Fionn have grown older, there are nightly squabbles over which of them has to sleep in the box room.

As if that wasn’t irritating enough, Caitriona needs a comfortable home office away from the damp conservatory, and harbours dreams of a sociable kitchen with a garden view.

With no one settled at night, no comfortable family space downstairs and a cramped kitchen, they are itching for some big changes.

Architects Damion and Lynsey pitch their ideas to fix the dysfunctional family house, and their plans couldn’t be more different. One design is super-dramatic, while the other is sleek and elegant.

As work gets underway in total secrecy, the duo also take Angela to some of the UK’s most sensational homes to showcase an inspirational feature from their own design.

Eventually, the chosen design is revealed in all its glory, so the presenter and the chosen architect pay a final visit to Caitriona and Kevin’s family home to see if nightly squabbles and “musical beds” have become a thing of the past.

VR technology may be smart but as we will see, the real world is far better than the on-screen version, creating practical solutions to family bedtimes and working from home.

The Girl from Plainville (Wednesday 26/07/23, Channel 4, 10pm)

Words by Sarah Morgan

Elle Fanning has grown up before our very eyes.

Now 25, she made her film debut in 2001’s I Am Sam, playing a younger version of her big sister Dakota’s character. But since then, she’s come into her own, and is now one of Hollywood’s leading twenty-something stars.

Since 2020 Fanning has concentrated on TV work, earning plaudits for her leading role as the 18th-century Russian empress Catherine in The Great, for which she’s received Screen Actors Guild, Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her performance.

While speaking to Harper’s Bazaar magazine earlier this year, she stated, “I’ve been playing Catherine in such formative years of my life. I’ve grown as a woman alongside her,” before adding: “I do sense I’m in another transformation phase right now, sometimes you can just feel you’re growing another layer.”

Perhaps Fanning had her role in The Girl from Plainville in mind during the interview, because apart from the fact she plays another real-life person in the eight-part drama series, the two characters couldn’t be further removed.

Here, she takes the role of Michelle Carter, who hit the headlines in 2014 in disturbing circumstances. Two years earlier she had met troubled teenager Conrad Roy III. Despite living just 35 miles apart, they conducted their relationship mostly by text and email, and it was these messages that sealed her fate.

Roy, at the age of 18, eventually took his own life. He had received texts from Carter in which she appeared to conspire with him, suggesting methods he could adopt, eventually writing a message to a female friend stating: “I could have stopped him… All I had to say was I love you.”

In 2017, Carter was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, but was released early from her sentence due to her good behaviour.

The case caused controversy in the US, and was ripe for turning into a drama. The resulting series has been acclaimed by critics, with Fanning’s performance singled out for particularly high praise. It wasn’t an easy role, however, as she had to spent a lot of time in hair and make-up to make her resemble Carter.

“The physical transformation like that, I hadn’t done quite like this before — playing someone that really is still alive and is so recognisable,” claimed the actor during an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

It’s so convincing that you may not even recognise her immediately. She also puts her heart and soul into the performance, something that’s become a hallmark during her career to date: “I get pumped up like before a match, like you’re going out there to try to win something,” she says.

So, what’s next for the star? At the moment her diary seems to be empty, but you can bet it won’t be long before she’s back on our screens – after all, she claims she’s inherited a tough work ethic: “My parents instilled the importance of dedication in us – work hard for what you want, always show up on time, reinvigorate yourself constantly.”

She may be a grown-up now, but it seems Elle Fanning hasn’t stopped developing – and maybe never will.

David Harewood on Blackface (Thursday 27/07/23, BBC2, 9pm)

Words by Rob Lavender

The Homeland star David Harewood’s ancestors were slaves owned by the Harewood family; now, thanks to a dialogue with the present Earl of Harewood, his portrait hangs in the family’s ancestral home – Harewood House near Leeds.

When it comes to issues of race, the actor is not one to shy away from difficult conversations, and often he is apt to ensuring a positive outcome stems from these discussions. His recent series Get on Up: The Triumph of Black America was a celebration of the creativity and inspiration of the heroes he had while growing up. Meanwhile, his documentary 1000 Years A Slave highlighted a lack of representation of Black history in places such as Harewood House, and sought to remedy this in as positive a way as possible.

This new hour-long film, made by historian David Olusoga’s indie production company Uplands Television, also charts the history of Black entertainment, albeit in a rather less celebratory tone than Get on Up.

Blackface, as the title suggests, explores the history of minstrelsy, from its origins in early 19th-century America, and how it crossed the Atlantic to Britain, through to more regrettably recent examples.

Following the rise to prominence of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, sparked by the murder by police of George Floyd, society collectively reassessed a lot of its shortcomings, including the use of blackface in light entertainment.

Ant and Dec issued an apology for playing two Jamaican women for a prank segment on Saturday Night Takeaway, while US comedian Jimmy Fallon said he was sorry for using blackface in an impression of fellow comic Chris Rock.

Meanwhile, the BBC and Netflix both removed episodes of Little Britain from their libraries due to the fact that Matt Lucas and David Walliams’ sketch show featured blackface in a number of its sketches. Other shows caught up in the scandal included Chris Lilley’s Angry Boys and Summer Heights High.

The problem with blackface is that, historically, it was used as a delivery system for racist tropes. Due to its immense popularity in Victorian Britain, it actually shaped the ways in which Blackness was perceived – attitudes which may have lasted generations.

Such was the long-term popularity of the medium, the touring stage version of the BBC’s long-running Black and White Minstrel Show was in fact among the first jobs Lenny Henry was signed up for by his then-manager after he initially found fame as a stand-up comedian and impressionist on the New Faces talent show in 1975.

Henry has since spoken about the profound toll this period of his life took on him.

But how did it spread from its birthplace in the USA to these shores, and beyond – and why deemed to be acceptable for so long?

In this film, Harewood will seek to understand how minstrelsy as entertainment managed to ingrain harmful stereotypes in popular culture, and investigates its endurance – after all, it’s only relatively recently that it’s finally been regarded as being harmful and wrong.

The Power of Parker (Friday 28/07/23, BBC One, 9.30pm)

Words by Richard Jones

What can you remember about the late 1980s and early 90s?

While the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the Soviet Union were dominating global news, the UK was also going through a sizeable shift, with Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government entering its last days and the public beginning a period of relative certainty following the previous decade’s upheaval.

However, not everyone in Britain was feeling optimistic about the future.

Take Martin (Conleth Hill), the lead character in new six-part comedy The Power of Parker which is set in Manchester in 1990.

The ambitious self-made impresario, who is described as having ‘the ambition of Alan Sugar and the swagger of Kilroy Silk’, owns a chain of electrical stores and appears to live the high life.

However, in reality, the greedy and ruthless businessman has screwed over people to satisfy his constant need for money, sex and success.

He is swimming in debt and his complicated private life is about to catch up with him.

Those plotting Martin’s downfall and seeking the ultimate revenge include his wife Diane (played by Code 404’s Rosie Cavaliero), father-in-law Dougie (Rita, Sue and Bob Too’s George Costigan), mobile hairdresser Kath (Car Share’s Sian Gibson) and Kath’s best friend Gladys (Benidorm’s Sheila Reid).

In tonight’s opening episode, Kath is planning her anniversary celebrations, while Diane is worried she’s not got enough cheese for the soiree she’s organising for the ‘French Exchange people’.

Meanwhile Martin is under financial pressure and needs to make some big decisions.

The Power of Parker was penned by Blackpool Express, Dial M for Middlesbrough and Murder, They Hope star Gibson, along with fellow writer Paul Coleman.

She says: “Luckily my fashion sense hasn’t changed since 1990 so it’s a dream to be reliving my youth and dusting off my crimpers with this amazing cast and wonderful team.”

Coleman adds: “I’m thrilled to be writing this series and working with such a wonderfully talented cast, who are all helping us shine a much needed light on the themes of family feuds, revenge and top-loading VCRs.”

Playing the lead is Irish actor Hill, who is best known for his role as bald eunuch Lord Varys in Game of Thrones, but has also starred in the Agatha Christie adaptation Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? on BritBox earlier this year, plus ITV drama Holding.

He’s also been seen in Derry Girls, Holding, Magpie Murders, Suits and Dublin Murders.

The Power of Parker is the BBC’s latest new comedy following hot on the heels of Catherine Tate’s Queen of Oz, which ended last week.

Jon Petrie, Director of Comedy, is confident the series, which was filmed in Stockport, will be a hit.

“Sian and Paul have created an irresistible gang of comedy characters and a world packed with joyful nostalgia,” he says.

“The quality of their writing is matched by a fantastic cast and we’re incredibly excited to introduce Martin Parker and bring this lovable rogue to BBC audiences in 2023.

“The actors loved going back to 1990. The writers as well. They all love a lot of nostalgia, retro jokes and stuff. So there’s a lot of that in this comedy.

“It’s an interesting period of time, with the downfall of Thatcher. You know, you sometimes see stuff earlier in the 1980s, but the early 1990s is quite an interesting time.”