Puzzling with Lucy Worsley, Alone and Wolf: TV highlights this week

Champion (Saturday 12/08/23, BBC One, 9.15pm)

Words by Sarah Morgan

Have you been hooked on this series so far? If you haven’t, either you’ve yet to catch an episode (and there’s no excuse not to – they’re already on the BBC iPlayer) or you think it isn’t for you.

If you fall into the latter category, it’s time you gave it a go – Champion might just surprise you. After all, at its heart is an age-old tale of family strife and sibling rivalry.

It’s the brainchild of novelist Candice Barty-Williams, who is best known for her acclaimed debut novel Queenie. At the centre of it all is Vita Champion, a talented performer who is finally getting a chance to step out of her elder brother’s shadow. She’s played by Deja J Bowens, who could be described as the show’s breakout star. She’s clear on what she believes makes Champion so special.

“It’s the absolute talent behind the music, and the artistry within the series,” claims the actress and singer. “We had a conversation about how in other series the music can be a bit cheesy – but in Champion just as much effort behind the camera has been put into the production and the music.

“Candice’s writing is spectacular, the performances are spectacular. I think that is what makes it so amazing, that there are real life artists behind this. The music is just as good as the drama.”

Before landing the role of Vita, Bowens had previously only sang in public as a member of her church choir, so her assured appearance in Champion is perhaps even more remarkable.

“A reason why I really love this project and was drawn to it in the first place is that I feel like myself and Vita are very connected in terms of our stories,” she explains. “A lot of what happens to her has actually happened to me in my own personal life. A lot of things are similar and mirror each other, such as the fact that we are from the same area in real life.

“I have always sang in church, as part of a choir, but I was never seen as good enough to be the lead or soloist. I have always been OK with being the background vocalist. The fact that I knew this role was going to be a singing role was very nerve-wracking for me, but I just felt such a connection to this story.”

She adds: “So I thought I would just have to get over this fear, do the audition and see what happens. And now that I am in this series, acting, singing and I am dancing… I never expected that I would be dancing!”

Bowens certainly struts her stuff tonight, after Vita’s musical career takes another massive step forward following her performance in Jamaica. But success may come at a price – a split from her dysfunctional family.

Meanwhile, Beres has a big confession to make – the Champion Crown contract states he has control over all of Bosco’s future earnings.

This is the penultimate episode, so expect it to be full of dramatic moments ahead of next week’s enthralling series finale.

Alone (Sunday 13/08/23, Channel 4, 9pm)

Words by Richard Jones

Could you survive in the wilderness with only a handful of basic tools?

The answer may be a simple “no” or “why would I want to try?”, but that’s exactly what 11 ordinary people are subjecting themselves to in this survival challenge show dubbed the “most pure and extreme competition on TV” .

After being dropped in the remote wilderness of northwest Canada last week, the group are competing to survive for as long as possible, with the last person standing winning a whopping £100,000.

Tonight, the reality of living alone in one of the most inhospitable places on Earth is kicking in.

Among those already struggling is Kian, as the scale of the challenge threatens to overwhelm 19-year-old student from London.

Before the show started, its youngest competitor was upbeat.

“I cannot describe how huge and how crazy this challenge is,” he said.

“I could go 30 years on this planet and this would be the most interesting and most amazing thing I ever do and I’m having to grapple with that now at the age of 19.

“It’s very, very exciting and very, very scary.”

While some of the contestants prioritise building shelters for long-term survival, others are focused on sourcing food.

Twenty-eight-year-old Wallasey builder Louie is desperate to make his first kill, but his hunting doesn’t go to plan.

Nevertheless, he clearly thinks he has the mental fortitude to succeed.

“I think this challenge I’m about to do will test every ounce of grit, determination, intelligence, and common sense,” he says.

“This is the ultimate challenge for anyone, and I just hope I’m ready for it.

“For me, this is 100 per cent a mind game.

“The physical bits can help me through it, but when push comes to shove, this is a mental challenge, and I’m really ready to see what I’m actually made of.”

Another one looking for food is Alan, a forestry manager and father of two from Birmingham, who is autistic.

He heads deep into the forest to try and snare game, but his poor sense of direction lands him in grave danger.

Finding nutrition is something that worried him before the challenge started.

“The only thing I’m worried about out there is procuring food,” the 43-year-old said.

“I’m not worried about the mental at all, maybe I should be.”

Finally, 40-year-old Lincolnshire entrepreneur and Atlantic rower Laura claimed she was looking forward to a bit of Alone time during the series.

She said: “I’m desperate to get out and connect with nature, and be away from the noise of digital and other people and to go really, really deep and see what I’m capable of.”

However, she has a petrifying night-time encounter tonight and finds the isolation increasingly hard to bear.

Alone is already proving to be one of the most uncompromising survival shows on the box, with the individuals’ time in the wilderness revealing their truest selves.

Without the likes of have Bear Grylls or Jason Fox to help them, as is the case in other shows, will the challenge prove too much for some and tempt them to tap out?

Wolf (Monday, 15/08/23, BBC1, 9pm)

Words by Rachael Popow

If you think TV police officers are looking younger these days, it might not be a sign that you are getting old.

According to Megan Gallagher, who adapted Mo Hayder’s detective books for the screen, the fact that the central character is younger than your average troubled cop is part of the selling point.

She says: “At the heart of it all is Mo Hayder’s central character, whom I truly adore: DI Jack Caffery. What sets Jack apart from so many other maverick detective characters is rather simple – he’s a millennial.

“At just 32 years of age, Jack isn’t dealing with a failed marriage or a strained relationship with his children. He’s also not a deeply corrupt detective. Rather, he’s trying to make all of these life decisions for the first time. Do I want a relationship or family? What kind of detective am I going to be?”

Anyone who has seen the first four episodes would probably argue that Jack’s age isn’t the only thing that has made Wolf stand out from the very crowded crime-drama field.

The opening first instalment introduced viewers to Jack (Ukweli Roach), who is haunted by his brother’s childhood disappearance, and is convinced his neighbour was responsible. It also saw a family return to their rural Welsh home from London to be confronted with disturbing discoveries that have echoes of an infamous double murder committed in the area.

Many viewers thought were less intrigued by the plots than the offbeat and sometimes unsettling tone.

And if you thought the opening episodes were designed to grab your attention, before Wolf settled down into something slightly more routine, you could be about to be proved wrong, as Gallagher hints the series is building to something even more startlingly unusual.

Gallagher says: “This series charts two storylines that are nail-bitingly close to one another but don’t collide until one heck of a finale that includes song and dance (yes, really), and a fair bit of blood.”

She adds: “It’s a series for people who like their crime served up in a slightly different way. The episodes build and build and the finale is truly an example of everyone – actors, directors, scripts, music, art department, everyone! – all coming together in a gorgeous harmony. This is not a series that deflates in its climax; this is a series that sings.”

If that doesn’t whet your appetite for the season’s conclusion, possibly nothing will, as tonight we get the penultimate episode.

When Jack receives a creepy gift from Penderecki, it sets him off in a new direction – and it involves getting more information from the Walking Man. Meanwhile, Honey tries to take control following a visit from the police, but it seems it may be too late.

Then, in tomorrow’s highly anticipated finale, Jack unearths a clue that leads him to the Anchor-Ferrers’ home, and Honey attempts to escape – but luck is not on his side.

Henpocalypse (Tuesday, 15/08/23, BBC2, 10pm)

Words by Rachael Popow

For some people, the very idea of being invited on a hen weekend is enough to send shivers down their spine – especially if they can’t escape at the end of the night when the drinking, matching t-shirts and party games finally gets too much.

So, the concept of the new sitcom Henpocalypse will sound like a horror movie. Or, as Tanya Qureshi, Head of Comedy at the BBC, puts it: “What could be more hilariously nightmarish than a hen do that never ends?”

The idea has been dreamed up by Caroline Moran, whose previous comedy credits include the semi-autobiographical Raised by Wolves (which she co-wrote with her columnist and author sister Caitlin) and Hullraisers.

The plot sees demanding bride-to-be Zara (Lucie Shorthouse) and her bridal party leaving their Birmingham council estate for an isolated cottage in Wales. They are expecting the party to get messy, but it becomes more chaotic than they could have ever imagined when the world ends.

Suddenly, the women – Zara’s formidable mother Bernadette (Elizabeth Berrington), long-suffering chief bridesmaid Shelly (Callie Cooke), conspiracy theorist beautician Veena (Lauren O’Rourke) and one-woman disaster area Jen (Kate O’Flynn) – have to try to survive the Armageddon, armed with little more than some plastic hen-do paraphernalia and a diminishing supply of chocolates in rude shapes.

It may be a nightmare for them, but it’s a dream come true for Moran. She says: “I can’t believe I am getting to make a sitcom for BBC Two! That’s pretty much all I’ve ever wanted in life.

“The nation is now officially invited to our never-ending post-apocalyptic hen do. I guarantee high drama, tons of jokes, massive surprises and lots of pound shop tat!”

She adds: “This is a dream cast, the locations are epic – the apocalypse has never been so much fun.”

Her characters may not agree as the first episode sees them dealing with the breakdown of society – not to mention their own internal politics.

Once the reality starts to sink in, the hens are forced to venture outside the cottage and into post-Apocalyptic Snowdonia, where they try to work out exactly what happened to the rest of the society.

After nine weeks of living off owl meet, they are also keen to find a new food source, but instead they encounter a fearsome radicalised Pilates instructor who’s on a top-secret mission.

Meanwhile, the hens are keeping a secret of their own – they aren’t the only residents at the cottage. They’ve also got a prisoner in the form of male stripper-come-entrepreneur Drew, who they believe is the only man to have survived the apocalypse. But while having the last male on Earth is probably a bonus, what exactly are they going to do with him?

And where do a Fray Bentos pie, a carving knife and a spirit animal that seems to have taken the form of Danny Dyer fit in to the women’s experiences?

All should become clear as the Henpocalypse gets under way.

The 1970s Supermarket (Wednesday, 16/08/23, Channel 5, 9pm)

Words by Richard Jones

Gone are the days when people pass down secret home-cooked family recipes from generation to generation.

Instead, people are sharing memories of their favourite childhood supermarket foods with their kids, and getting them to try them for themselves.

The 1970s was a decade of change, with the way we shopped, cooked and what we ate triggering a culinary and retail revolution.

It was a golden era of cool cereals, slimming snacks and show-off dinner parties, when convenience was king and big flavours took over from our bland, grey diet of meat and two veg.

The sausage and egg McMuffin came out, while cheese fondue and Black Forest gâteau were fashionable, and Blue Nun, which counted David Bowie and Rod Stewart among its fans, was the drink of choice.

This three-part series tells the story of the grocery transformation, as Brits swapped small, behind-the-counter shops for massive mega-stores with trolleys, booze sections and bar codes.

It’s a celebration of the new products that took the nation by storm, from Chicken Kievs to Vesta Beef Curry, with experts and industry insiders revealing how our supermarkets grew and transformed.

Meanwhile, TV chef Rustie Lee and food scientist Dr Chris Clarke uncover the secrets behind the nation’s favourite dishes and explain how they got their bizarre looks, exquisite tastes and their incredible ability to last forever in the cupboard.

In the opening edition, we discover how the nation went crazy for convenience food and how the supermarket revolution began.

At the start of the 1970s, a lot of food came in cans and many of us tucked in to wartime favourite Spam.

Chris discovers why it lasts for a long time in the tin and reveals the secret behind its pink colour, while Rustie rustles up Spam fritters in the kitchen.

During the decade, supermarkets and food manufacturers responded to our desire for dinner in an instant.

Boil-in-the-bag gave us a meal in minutes, while the Pot Noodle delivered a snack where you didn’t even need a saucepan.

We find out how Cup Noodles were originally invented by Japanese inventor and businessman Momofuku Ando, before two Welsh lads brought the idea over here and Golden Wonder launched the Pot Noodle brand in the UK.

Nowadays the brand sells more that £100million worth of the snacks each year.

But it wasn’t just savoury dishes that became convenient during the 1970s.

Remember Angel Delight – the powder designed to be whisked with milk to create a sweet dessert?

Dr Chris discovers what makes Angel Delight whisk up into a fluffy mousse, and we get chance to relive the catchy advert that had us all humming along.

Finally, there’s a look at how the rise of the home freezer heralded the birth of chains Iceland and Bejam.

To celebrate, Rustie attempts to recreate the classic Findus Crispy Pancake –which proves to be more difficult than it looks.

And we’ll get an answer to that age-old question – just how scientifically crispy is a crispy pancake?

While we might like to think we are a nation of sophisticated chefs, this programme proves that we haven’t lost our fondness for the kitsch brands we enjoyed when we were younger.

And while some manufacturers are hoping to cash in on older consumers’ memories, others are targeting a new generation of shoppers who weren’t even born when the brands were popular the first time around.

Puzzling (Thursday 17/08/23, Channel 5, 8pm)

Words by Rachael Popow

Historian Lucy Worsley has always seemed like a TV natural.

She first grabbed viewers’ attention in 2011 with the four-part series If Walls Could Talk, which explored the history of the British home, a job she was more than qualified for – she’s chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces, and has also worked as an inspector of historic buildings for English Heritage.

But it wasn’t just Lucy’s knowledge that impressed audiences and programme-makers. She was also admirably at ease in front of the camera, and has proved time and time again that she’s more than willing to dress up to make history come to life.

So, it’s no wonder she was snapped up to present more documentaries, including Six Wives, British History’s Biggest Fibs and The First Georgians: The German Kings Who Made Britain.

The presenter has also shown an interest in crime, with the series A Very British Murder, her Radio 4 show Lady Killers, and a three-part profile of Agatha Christie.

When you consider that TV CV, it perhaps isn’t surprising that Channel 5 thought she would make a great quiz show host.

Or, as Lucy put it herself when Puzzling was first announced: “I’m delighted to be taking on the role of puzzle-mistress in this brand-new quiz show. I’ve spent most of my career finding answers to historical questions so getting to ask the questions is going to be an exciting new adventure for me, I can’t wait to get puzzling!”

However, it seems that the reality of hosting a show in the studio proved to be more challenging than she expected.

She told the Daily Star newspaper’s Hot TV: “I’m a wreck, an utter heap of nerves. This is all new to me and the pressure of it is extraordinary.

“There are so many things that could go wrong for the contestants, but also for me. It’s been a real joy, but also nerve-wracking and terrifying. Normally I’m out with a very small crew stuck on a rainy street corner in Edinburgh. I’m not used to working with such a large, complex team in such a big TV studio.”

Luckily, it doesn’t seem to have taken too long for her to get the hang of it, and she’s now giving Only Connect host Victoria Coren Mitchell a run for her money.

If you haven’t seen Puzzling yet, the programme’s format is designed to challenge every aspect of each player’s brain across five rounds which test their skills at language, calculation, lateral thinking, visual intelligence and memory.

The competitors initially form teams, but as the game progresses, turn on each other in a bid to come out on top – and win a place in the series final.

Tonight, it’s the turn of contestants from Bristol, London, Bromborough, Aberdeen, Fordingbridge and Croydon to take on the challenge. If they are feeling nervous, perhaps it would reassure them to know that even Lucy has found the process anxiety-inducing – and she’s the one with all the answers.

Susan Calman’s Summer by the Sea (Friday, 18/08/23, Channel 5, 8pm)

Words by Sarah Morgan

Celebrity travelogues aren’t exactly a rarity these days – it often feels as if everybody and their grandmothers are making them. And if someone hasn’t appeared in one yet, they’re sure to be offered a chance to explore some far-flung place in the near future.

Susan Calman has been fronting them for Channel 5 since 2019’s Secret Scotland. That’s only four years ago, but she feels like an old hand at it because she’s made so many variations on the theme in the years since, including Grand Day Out, Cruising with Susan Calman and now her own Summer by the Sea.

It’s quite an astonishing turn of events for the former lawyer, particular when you consider the fact she has a fear of flying.

“I can now get on a plane,” she revealed, rather proudly, last year after undergoing hypnotherapy, which she feels “really helped”.

The comedian says she was encouraged to try it after lockdown made her feel as if she had “missed out on the world”.

“You know when you actually cannot leave your house, you start saying, ‘I really wish I could leave my house. Well, the only thing that’s stopping you is your fear of flying.’

“I still don’t enjoy it, but I know that the destination at the end will make it worthwhile. Which is why I always think if you’re going, see somewhere that’ll make you happy.”

She adds: “I love people and I love being inquisitive and I love the excitement of meeting new people. It is such a privilege to be able to do what we are doing just now. So we are trying to show people everything out there that is still there for them to discover.”

Susan is looking forward to more cruises in the future, but at the moment, she’s exploring the British coastline, which she finds just as exciting, particularly as each trip brings her face-to-face with a celebrity who has a link to wherever she’s visiting.

She claims she finds hanging out with famous folk “quite mind blowing,” especially if it’s someone she’s been watching on the box for years: “That’s always a big ‘pinch me’ moment, that I’m meeting these fabulous people and having a chat with them.”

This week Susan meets interior designer Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen during a trip to Suffolk. He ventures outside when she rocks up at Southwold following a short but fabulous ferry ride to the picturesque village of Walberswick.

Unfortunately, her efforts to view the stunning coastline from the sea isn’t as successful as she’d hoped thanks to the inclement weather, but back on dry land, she visits a quirky pier attraction before playing quoits on the beach with Laurence. After that, they take a trip to Minsmere Nature Reserve, where he falls in love with an avocet.

Look out too for Susan’s trip to Thorpeness, which was once a luxury holiday village designed to be the turn-of-the-20th century’s answer to Center Parcs. By the end of the jaunt, it’s clear the area has stolen her heart – you can bet it won’t be long before she’s back, perhaps without the cameras this time.