The Repair Shop, Rain Dogs and Pilgrimage: Here's some of the TV highlights this week

Words by Sarah Morgan

Saturday night – a time for lavish shiny floor shows, chat and… murder?

Actually, BBC Four viewers have witnessed more than their fair share of unlawful deaths over the years thanks to its 9pm imported crime slot, but such events are rarer on sister channel BBC One.

However, we’ll see at least one when Magpie Murders makes its debut this weekend. If the title sounds familiar, it’s because the series was originally made for the streaming service BritBox, but proved so popular, the Beeb decided to bring it to traditional TV as well.

“I’m very happy that Magpie Murders is going to be shown on BBC – its natural home,” claims Anthony Horowitz, who wrote the series of novels that inspired it before adapting the first one for the small screen. “I had such fun writing the scripts and they’ve been brought to life by a brilliant director and cast.”

It was no doubt the strength of the screenplay – not to mention Horowitz’s reputation following his work on Foyle’s War and Midsomer Murders, as well as his successful literary career – that attracted that ‘brilliant director’ (Peter Cattaneo of The Full Monty fame) and cast.

Lesley Manville heads the latter as Susan Ryeland, a book editor who, in the present day, begins investigating the death of famous author Anthony Conway after he dies, leaving his latest novel unfinished. Conway appears to have committed suicide, but Susan isn’t convinced that’s what happened. Luckily for her, his fictional detective, 1950s-set Atticus Pund, is around to lend her a hand.

Sounds weird? Well, it is, but it’s also a “playful, distinctive murder mystery,” according to executive producer Jill Green, who also happens to be Horowitz’s wife. “I don’t think there’s ever been a crime show like it with a strong female lead treading the line between reality and fiction as she fights to uncover the truth.”

Ahead of the programme’s BritBox debut, Manville told the Radio Times that she had a perhaps unusual inspiration for her portrayal of Susan.

“It would be easy to imagine that highly intelligent women with important jobs don’t worry about clothes, but I just thought, ‘No, come on, I’m going to rock this one.’

“I remember seeing Emily Maitlis walking across the foyer of BBC TV Centre and, while obviously the mind is brilliant, she was looking fabulous in really high heels. So I’ve channelled her. I hope she’s pleased!”

The series is six episodes long, so there’s plenty for viewers to get their teeth into over the coming weeks, but the really good news is that if you enjoy it, the BBC has already secured the rights to its sequel, Moonflower Murders, which should hit our screens next year.

Tim McMullan (in a role originally intended for Timothy Spall, who had to drop out due to a scheduling problem) co-stars as Pund, while Conleth Hill is reunited with his Vienna Blood co-star Matthew Beard in a supporting role. Look out too for Daniel Mays, Michael Maloney and Claire Rushbrook in a show that may persuade you that staying in on Saturdays is the new going out.

The Olivier Awards 2023 (Sunday 02/04/23, ITV1, 10.15pm)

Words by Richard Jones

It may only stand 10 inches high and weigh seven pounds, but the bronze statue of Lawrence Olivier as Henry V at the Old Vic Theatre in 1937 means an awful lot to the people working in British theatre.

Equivalent to Broadway’s Tony Awards and France’s Molière Award, the Olivier Awards are organised by the Society of London Theatre, with the prizes covering all major acting and creative disciplines and celebrating the world-class status of the West End.

Claire Walker and Hannah Essex, co-CEOs of the Society of London Theatre, says: “The Olivier Awards are the highlight of the theatrical calendar – a time for the industry to come together with fans to celebrate the extraordinary talent both on our stages and behind the curtain.”

The star-studded 2023 ceremony takes place tonight, with the RSC’s production of My Neighbour Totoro, which played at the Barbican Theatre, in the lead with nine nominations.

That’s followed by Standing at the Sky’s Edge at the National Theatre with eight, Oklahoma!, with seven, and Rebecca Frecknall’s new revival of A Streetcar Named Desire with six.

Also at six nods are To Kill a Mockingbird at the Gielgud Theatre and The Band’s Visit, which played at the Donmar Warehouse.

Following in the footsteps of previous hosts Jason Manford, Michael Ball, Imelda Staunton, Clive Anderson, Gemma Arterton, Stephen Mangan, Hugh Bonneville, Sheridan Smith, Lenny Henry and Catherine Tate is stage-and-screen actress Hannah Waddingham.

Hannah made her West End debut in 2000 in The Beautiful Game and has previously been nominated for three Olivier Awards herself – for Spamalot, A Little Night Music and Kiss Me, Kate.

She has also appeared in Into the Woods and The Wizard of Oz, before recently going on to find stardom on the screen, winning a Primetime Emmy for her AppleTV+ series Ted Lasso and appearing in Sex Education on Netflix.

Hannah’s mother sang with the Royal Opera House and the English National Opera and was the daughter of two opera singers herself and believes her love for theatre is in the genes.

“Musical theatre people don’t get into it for money or fame,” she says.

“It’s in your blood; it’s in your bones; it’s a vocation.

“I don’t remember ever not wanting to sing or act – I remember the opposite.

“Finding out some people’s parents worked in offices, I was like, ‘What do you mean? Doesn’t everyone sing and dance for a living?’”

“You take the work you are offered, and I do it with my full heart.”

Hannah has confirmed that she will sing and dance at the ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall, while in previous years all of the Best New Musical nominees have also performed, so that could be the case again tonight.

A few winners have already been announced ahead of the ceremony. The winners of the special awards were announced in February, recognising outstanding contributions to the theatre industry.

The winners are Dame Arlene Phillips, awarded this year’s Special Award as a world-renowned choreographer and theatre director on Grease and her forthcoming new show Guys & Dolls.

Plus, Sir Derek Jacobi has been awarded this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his remarkable 60-year career on stage and screen.

Quite fitting as he was a founding member of the Royal National Theatre, enlisted by Mr Olivier himself.

Unforgotten (Monday 03/04/23, ITV1, 9pm)

Words by Sarah Morgan

For some, stardom arrives early, and they’re thrust into the limelight at a young age, while for others, it comes much later in life.

The latest run of Unforgotten, which ends this Monday, has featured an actress who has experienced one of those, and an actor who is dealing with the latter.

Hayley Mills was a child star in the 1960s thanks to films such as Whistle Down the Wind, The Parent Trap and Pollyanna, winning a special juvenile Oscar for the latter. Her grown-up career hasn’t been as successful, but she’s continued popping up in projects occasionally, including in a few scenes of the acclaimed crime drama as the wife of Tory peer Lord Anthony Hume.

Playing Hume is Ian McElhinney. In contrast to Mills, he came to showbusiness late, having had a career as a teacher in East Yorkshire before treading the boards professionally. Now 74, he’s become a familiar face in recent years due to his memorable performance as Granda Joe in Derry Girls; he’s also popped up in the likes of Game of Thrones, The Split, Doctor Who and The Outlaws.

The duo had never worked together before, but it seems they got on well.

“She’s lovely,” says McElhinney of Mills. “Of course, I remember when she was a young girl in the various things that she did, so it’s like you’re working with a bit of a screen icon.

“We shot all our stuff together in one week, because it all took place in the one location, which was the family home. It was not exclusively, but primarily, the two of us, and it was a good vibe. That was my first working week on the show, and I really enjoyed it.”

As regular viewers know, Hume is one of the main suspects in the case being investigated by the team led by Jess James and Sunny Khan. He certainly seems to have plenty to hide – and a lot to lose; we’ve seen him trying to seal his legacy before succumbing to terminal cancer.

“Outwardly, he probably wants to be remembered in a certain way. Inwardly, he’s probably desperately trying to compensate for some of the things he’s done in the past,” says the actor before commenting on the others in the frame for the murder of Precious Falade, whose remains were found stuffed into the chimney of a house under renovation: “It’s fascinating because they’re such different types from such different worlds. How do they all tie up?

“It is intriguing, but they’re great plots and they’re well layered, and there’s a question mark over everybody. At one point you might be leaning one way, or you might be leaning another way, and ultimately you don’t know until the end. And that’s how it should be.”

As the series reaches its conclusion, fans are still scratching their heads, wondering whodunit.

“They’ll not learn anything from me!” laughs McElhinney. “I don’t always watch everything that I’m involved in, but I will watch this because I liked the series and I enjoyed doing it. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all comes together.”

And so are we – as well as finding out what this late-blooming star gets up to next.

Rain Dogs (Tuesday 04/04/23, BBC One, 10.40pm)

Words by Richard Jones

The world can’t get enough of Daisy May Cooper at the moment.

Since shooting to fame alongside her brother Charlie in This Country, the 36-year-old Cirencester-born actress has been seen in The Personal History of David Copperfield, Avenue 5, The Witchfinder and Am I Being Unreasonable?, as well as Celebrity Gogglebox, Taskmaster, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and even donning an Otter disguise for The Masked Singer.

Her latest project is an eight-part BBC/HBO dramedy, created by acclaimed writer Cash Carraway, telling the story of a single mum living with her 10-year-old daughter in the landscape of austerity Britain.

Cooper plays Costello Jones, alongside Jack Farthing as Florian Selby, Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo as Gloria Duke and Fleur Tashjian in her debut role as Costello’s daughter Iris.

They are a makeshift and dysfunctional family living a life of chaos, but with a deep and complicated love.

Costello is a struggling writer and single mother with a sharp tongue and a glint in her eye.

Although she appreciates the character of the gutter, she is prepared do anything to keep her beloved daughter from it.

In tonight’s opening episode we see Costello, at her lowest – struggling financially, making ends meet by working at peep show Flesh Pot, and constantly moving from place to place, with Iris.

Costello is convinced that she can write her way out of their problems with her current project, but there are little signs of that happening anytime soon.

Meanwhile, her friend, the privileged but quietly menacing Selby, has recently returned from prison.

He frequents shady gambling dens, carries out sex acts with men in toilets, slips Iris money, telling her to keep it quiet, and has a debt to a fellow inmate for protection on the inside that is sure to be due at some point.

As Costello’s circumstances worsen, she has a run-in with Brett (Stephen Wight), who overhears about her predicament and offers her a place to stay with conditions attached.

Afterwards, she comes to rely on Selby more and more, and he eventually uses some gambling winnings to clear the debt on her flat, so she and Iris have a place to stay.

However, the threat of eviction is never too far away, suggesting that the cycle isn’t quite broken just yet.

Costello is also concerned that Iris is growing up surrounded by total pandemonium, and that the wealthy but damaged felon Selby, who she clearly loves, isn’t really their saviour.

Recently sober, Costello does have one or two people around her who also care about her that we will get to know.

They include Gloria, who works at her father’s funeral home yet ends up running into some troubles of her own.

Although she doesn’t feature much in tonight’s opening episode, she does play a vital part moving forward.

Due to its dark subject matter – it’s a hard-hitting indictment of Britain’s social welfare system – Rain Dogs can be bleak at times.

But there are flashes of humour and it certainly has a potential to be a sleeper hit, much like the Coopers’ gem This Country. The less said about the BBC’s late-night scheduling the better, though.

It also proves that its leading star Cooper can mix drama and comedy with ease.

Little wonder she seems to be in everything at the moment.

The Repair Shop (Wednesday 05/04/23, BBC1, 8pm)

Words by Rachael Popow

For a show that originally snuck onto the BBC2 schedules with relatively little fanfare five years ago, The Repair Show has quickly become a national institution.

Viewers were reminded of just how popular it is last year with a special episode that proved even King Charles III is a fan. (It was filmed while he was still Prince of Wales and aired after he came to the throne.)

He certainly made a big impression on the show’s presenter Jay Blades, who says: “Working with King Charles… I couldn’t believe that someone from a council estate and someone from a royal estate, we just got on like a house on fire.”

However, Blades is getting used to being embraced by the viewers as, during his appearance on Desert Island Discs, he revealed that being involved in the hit show has transformed his life.

He said: “The Repair Shop has fixed me because what it’s done is actually brought me into another family, that’s people in front and behind the camera, who have looked after me and understand my kind of, I’ll call them differences, and just accepted them.”

He believes that sense of belonging is part of what makes the show so special, adding: “It talks about stuff that we all want, which is community, people coming together, love, and then also just kindness. It’s like people just feel comfortable and just open up.”

We’ll get to see just how much the team’s work means to people in this episode, as ceramics expert Kirsten Ramsay repairs a precious clay keepsake of a baby’s footprints.

It belongs to husband-and-wife Emese and Luke, whose twin sons David and Joshua were born prematurely in February, 2020. David was later diagnosed with a rare heart condition and passed away when he was only five months old. In his final weeks, Emese and Luke made clay imprints of his footprints, but the material has now sadly begun to crack.

Meanwhile, Matt Nickels faces one of his biggest-ever challenges when Bekki brings in a wreck of shattered glass and mangled metal that was once an antique terrarium. It used to take pride of place in her grandparents’ home, and they even took it with them when they moved to Spain in the 1990s.

Following their deaths, it was couriered back to Britain, but Bekki was devastated to discover it had broken in transit. Can Matt work his magic and bring it back to life, even when the original structure seems beyond repair?

Art conservator Lucia Scalisi meets Rokeya and Patricia, who have brought in a painting of their family’s home in Bermuda, which Patricia’s father Edward commissioned in the 1950s. The work has badly faded – family dog Spot is in danger of disappearing all together – but Lucia hopes to restore it to its former vibrancy.

Meanwhile, horologist Steve Fletcher meets a mother and son whose thermometer has been in the family for 60 years and even survived a spell in the Arctic, but is now permanently stuck on 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Reunion Hotel (Thursday 06/04/23, BBC2, 8pm, BBC1, 8pm in Wales)

Words by Rachael Popow

As the host of The One Show, Alex Jones has plenty of experience when it comes to dealing with human interest stories. So, she’s the ideal person to host the new series Reunion Hotel, which gives members of the public the chance to be reunited with someone pivotal from their past.

That’s not the only thing that qualifies her for the role. The series is based on Gwesty Aduniad, which originated on S4C – the channel where Alex, who is fluent in Welsh, gained some of her early TV experience.

Although Reunion Hotel will be in English, it is keeping the Welsh setting, as the participants check into a hotel in north-east Wales. Some will be looking for answers or forgiveness, others will want to say thank you, but it’s going to be emotional.

Ahead of filming Alex said: “To be able to play an integral part in the reunion of lost friendships, family members and past loves is very exciting. I’m so looking forward to checking into the hotel to help bring these heart-warming stories to life, and helping the guests reconnect with a piece of their lives they thought had been lost.”

It seems the finished product has lived up to her expectations, as she recently had an emotional reunion of her own when the first episode was shown at a press launch.

She says: “Being back at Iscoyd Park to watch the first episode of Reunion Hotel was very special. This show is an emotional journey as we bring people together that are connected through an incredible story. Watching it with a room full of people, hearing them laugh and even get emotional, is what the show is all about.”

Now it’s time for viewers to check in themselves as the first episode airs.

The very first arrival at the hotel is 21-year-old Tegan, whose girls’ trip to London took a dramatic turn when she slipped and fell on to the tracks at a Tube station. Luckily for her, a stranger made the split-second decision to pull her to safety – and out of the path of an oncoming train.

Ever since the incident, she’s been trying to track down her mystery hero so she can thank him for saving her life. Is she finally about to come face to face with him?

Meanwhile, Lee only discovered after his mother’s death that he had an older brother who was placed for adoption. The news came from a relative who revealed that his mum had died heartbroken that she had never been reunited with her elder son. Now, Lee is hoping to meet his long-lost sibling so he can tell him how much he was loved.

Finally, five-year-old Pippa was born with a rare skin condition that meant she couldn’t be held by her parents for the first six month of her life. Her mum Rhiannon wants to thank the team of volunteer builders who helped to raise the funds for and then install a state-of-the-art bath which helped transform the youngster’s life.

Pilgrimage: The Road Through Portugal (Friday 07/04/23, BBC2, 9pm)

Words by Rachael Popow

There are many traditions associated with Easter, and Pilgrimage, the series in which celebrities undertake a trek to learn more about their own spirituality, is fast becoming one of them.

It’s now back for a fifth iteration, with a new crop of seven famous faces of differing faiths – actress Su Pollard, who was raised Church of England; Jewish actress Rita Simons; Pentecostal Born-Again Christian, Shane Lynch of Boyzone fame; reality TV star and influencer, Vicky Pattison, who is agnostic; Bobby Seagull, a practising Catholic, maths whizz and TV personality; Nabil Abdulrashid, a comedian and practising Muslim; and Paralympian skier Millie Knight, who is non-practising Church of England.

They are meeting in Portugal for a modern-day Catholic pilgrimage known as the Northern Way. It will take them 364km by foot, road and train to the famous Sanctuary in the city of Fatima, where in 1917, three local shepherd children reported seeing apparitions of the Virgin Mary.

They’ll be expected to carry their own backpacks and stay in hostels, camp sites and even a working fire station. The celebrities won’t be able to take their own sweet time getting there either – in a Pilgrimage first, they are working to a deadline, as they need to arrive in time for a major celebration which ends with a spectacular night-time candlelit vigil, attended by nearly 70,000 pilgrims.

Their 15-day itinerary should allow time to visit some places of historical interest en route, and to sample a few local delicacies, but it is going to be tough. So, what made our pilgrims sign up?

For many them of them, they are hoping it will be a chance to ask themselves some big questions. Pollard says: “I’m not deeply religious but I do like to think that God is my friend and when you’re on a journey like this, without your usual comforting things around you, you’ve got more time to talk to yourself and ask yourself certain questions.”

It’s also a chance to learn more about different faiths. Abdulrashid says: “I went on a pilgrimage to Mecca as a kid, but I’m yet to do it as an adult, so it’s kind of funny that I’m going on a Catholic pilgrimage first!

“Obviously, I will not be partaking in any of the religious rituals, but I’ll obviously give them their due respect, as I like seeing and learning new things. Watching any group of people do something for the sake of God, even if it’s not my way, will be inspiring.

He adds: “I’m not looking forward to sleeping in tents and dorms. I’ve never shared a room, except in marriage. I like my space and being in a dorm with people, inhaling other people’s farts, will be a challenge. But there are worse situations in life – I’m just being a diva.”

Before they get to that stage of intimacy though, the celebs will be getting to know each other in this opening episode, and taking their first steps on what could be a journey of self-discovery.