TV highlights this week: Vera, The Catch, Death in Paradise and Grayson Perry’s Full English

Words by Rachael Popow

When rap and hip hop first emerged in the late 1970s, many people were quick to dismiss it as a fad. Even now, you may get the occasional cynic who claims it’s not ‘real music’, but they are firmly in the minority – and they don’t have history or record sales on their side. Hip hop has proved hugely enduring and commercially successful, perhaps because it is constantly evolving, but its impact isn’t restricted to the charts or streaming services.

That’s why the BBC has joined forces with PBS to make Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World, which explores the relationship between the genre and politics, and charts the ways in which this revolutionary artform has been informed by social changes in the US.

Of course, the BBC aren’t the first to make this observation. Rapper Chuck D, whose group Public Enemy’s anthem gave this series its title, famous labelled hip hop ‘the Black CNN’ due to its ability to address the issues that mattered to its audience. So, he’s the perfect person to present the series – and he’s only too pleased to take the job.

Chuck D says: “The hip hop community has, from the start, been doing what the rest of media is only now catching up to. Long before any conglomerate realised it was time to wake up, hip hop had been speaking out and telling truths. Working with PBS and the BBC is an opportunity to deliver these messages through new ways and help explain hip hop’s place in history and hopefully inspire us all to take it further.”

He’ll be joined throughout the series by a host of other luminaries and pioneers, who in the first episode include Melle Mel, KRS-One, Fat Joe, John Forte and Grandmaster Caz. They offer their thoughts on the genre’s deep roots, which reach back to the tumultuous changes of the 1960s and the social breakdown of 1970s New York, as well as the influence of figures like DJ Kool Herc.

Although the Sugar Hill Gang’s 1979 track Rapper’s Delight is often cited as the first rap hit, the programme argues that it was the 1982 single The Message by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five which really pointed to hip-hop’s future with its hard-hitting depiction of life in the Bronx.

The second episode in the opening double bill picks up the story in the mid-1980s, when a crack epidemic hit the US, leading to the emergence of more socially conscious rap – and police clampdowns. Chuck D responded to crack’s impact on his community with the track Night of the Living Baseheads, but on the West Coast there was an even fiercer reaction to the resultant police brutality as NWA and Ice-T responded with lyrical rage. And in May 1992, the LA riots made it clear that it wasn’t just the rappers who were angry…

If you can’t wait for the rest of the series, the remaining episodes are available on iPlayer, but the hip-hop theme continues on BBC2 with Behind the Beat Special: Public Enemy and Hip Hop at the BBC, which features the Sugarhill Gang, Run-DMC, Eric B & Rakim, LL Cool J, Jay-Z, Dizzee Rascal, Ice-T, Monie Love, the Roots, Dr Dre and Eminem.

Vera (Sunday, 22/01/23, ITV1, 8pm)

Words by Richard Jones

Brenda Blethyn’s detective is well known for solving mysteries. However, there was one puzzle that loyal fans of the fisherman’s cap-wearing sleuth wanted answering more than any other in 2022. Just where did the missing episodes go?

Early last year, with the popular crime drama two thirds of the way through its latest season, it was strangely pulled by ITV to make way for the return of The Good Karma Hospital and the launch of Trigger Point. It’s safe to say that viewers weren’t happy and they scrambled around for answers, wanting to know if and when the final two episodes of the series would be aired.

Then, they became even more annoyed when they heard Americans had the chance to watch the rest of the series, via the Britbox streaming service, before them. Nevertheless, good things come to those who wait, and UK viewers are now finally getting to see the conclusion of series 11, before a brand spanking new season starts next Sunday.

In last week’s fifth show, Vital Signs, DCI Stanhope was called in to investigate after a woman’s body is found in the back of a burned-out car. And the job doesn’t get any easier for the detective tonight in The Way the Wind Blows, as she heads to the banks of the River Tyne, where the body of another young woman has been washed up.

Initially, the victim, Lisa Mullworth, appears to have been a popular manager at a local green energy turbine company, as well as a loyal friend and a loving mother and wife. However, Vera uncovers a web of intrigue, betrayal and lost promises as she attempts to unravel Lisa’s complicated personal and professional life and find her killer.

The detective also has to deal with a mountain of lies from the victim’s family about their whereabouts and knowledge of the overall situation. The exploits of Vera, taken from the pages of author Ann Cleeves’ popular books, have been on screens on ITV for nearly 13 years, and the iconic character’s popularity shows no sign of waning.

The fourth of the upcoming 12th season’s episodes, The Darkest Evening, will be the show’s 50th, and according to Blethyn it will see viewers “learn more about Vera and her family” as she visits Brockburn House, where she has memories of visiting with her father as a child. “I feel rather proud of having reached the landmark of 50 episode – a great achievement for everyone involved,” Blethyn adds.

It’s going to be a packed year for Vera fans, as there’ll also be another new episode – an adaptation of Cleeves’ latest novel The Rising Tide – premiering later in 2023. “Who would have thought when we made that Vera pilot 13 years ago that we would be talking about having made 51 films?” Blethyn adds. “I know the character better than anyone so when we have new writers coming in, I just look at the scripts for tiny anomalies.”

As long as the scriptwriters and ITV bosses keep any surprises in the show itself, rather than in the scheduling, everyone will be happy.

Everyone Else Burns (Monday, 23/01/23, Channel 4, 10pm)

Words by Sarah Morgan

Everyone Else Burns has been made by Jax Media, the US production company behind Inside Amy Schumer, Emily in Paris and The Conners and is the brainchild of writing partners Dillon Mapletoft (whose CV also includes episodes of Armando Iannucci’s sci-fi comedy Avenue 5) and qualified doctor Oliver Taylor. The pair were also the creators of the critically acclaimed stage show Fix My Brain, which is currently being adapted for the screen.

“Jax Media have made some of the most iconic comedy of recent years and we are so delighted to be working with them, Universal International Studios, Oli and Dillon on a project they are so passionate about,” states Laura Riseam, Channel 4’s Commissioning Editor. “We can’t wait for audiences to enter the pressure cooker of life with the Lewis family as they righteously try and defend the ideology and logic of a life of purity with the vices of the modern world encroaching fast. It’s a glorious comedy trap; contemporary, relevant and very funny.”

At the head of the aforementioned Lewis family is David, played by Simon Bird, who is no stranger to Channel 4 comedies. He made his name as former public schoolboy Will McKenzie in The Inbetweeners before tackling the role of elder son Adam in Friday Night Dinner.

Bird has also enjoyed success behind the camera, first by directing indie hit Days of Bagnold Summer. Plus, he and his old friend Jonny Sweet run production company People Person Pictures, which is backing the film Wicked Little Letters, starring Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley; it’s set for release in 2024. But for now, Bird is returning to his first love of performing and, at the age of 38, has decided it’s time for him to play fathers rather than their offspring.

David (who, if the publicity shots are anything to go by, has one of TV’s most memorably terrible haircuts) lives in Manchester with his dutiful wife Fiona, naive 17-year-old daughter Rachel and son Aaron, who’s 12. While David dreams of ascending to the upper echelons of his church, Rachel wonders if she’ll be allowed to go to university and Aaron hopes to fend off his secular bullies. In between all that, they must steer clear of the temptations of the modern world, where eternal damnation could be lurking around every corner.

Kate O’Flynn, Amy James-Kelly and Harry Connor play the other members of the clan, while Morgana Robinson, Kadiff Kirwan and Lolly Adefope have supporting roles.

“Everyone Else Burns is an irreverent, hilarious and heart-warming series from the brilliant creative minds of Dillon and Oliver,” claims Beatrice Springborn, president of Universal International Studios, while Jax Media’s Brooke Posch adds, “We are thrilled to announce our first Jax UK original series. There is no better home than Channel 4 to champion such a brilliantly fresh and subversive comedy.”

The Family Pile (Tuesday 24/01/23, ITV1, 9.30pm)

Words by Richard Jones

Can you remember the last time ITV made a successful sitcom? Back in the day, the likes of George and Mildred, Bless This House, Robin’s Nest, Duty Free, Home to Roost and Barbara were all hits. But in recent years, the broadcaster’s comedy track record has been sketchy at best.

The broadcaster had high hopes for Jack Dee’s Bad Move and the revival of 1990s BBC hit Birds Of A Feather, but both failed to win over viewers and critics. In fact, the genre was kept alive on the channel for a while by the low-brow Benidorm. Admittedly, there have, been a few moderate successes over on ITV2, with Action Team, Plebs and Timewasters all building up a bit of a following.

But back in 2019, it looked as if ITV bosses had given up completely on airing sitcoms on its main channel. However, in a change of tack last year, they commissioned The Family Pile, a six-part sitcom filmed entirely in the Liverpool city region.

In case you missed last week’s opening episode, it stars Amanda Abbington (Sherlock, Mr Selfridge), Clare Calbraith (Home Fires, Downton Abbey), Claire Keelan (Nathan Barley, No Heroics), and Alexandra Mardell (Coronation Street) as four sisters who have lost their parents and are packing up the family home to sell. Poignant and touching, the humour in The Family Pile provides an antidote to the pain the quartet of siblings are going through.

Calbraith who plays “lively, glass half full” middle sister Yvette, told PA: “We are so rubbish in this country at death, we’re so silent about it, and we all go through it and we’re all miserable on our own, and there’s something about sharing that awfulness that just helps.”

“I’m one of five sisters, and we also lost our mum not that long ago,” adds Keelan, who plays “perfectionist” high-achiever Ursula. “You know, when it does happen, it isn’t all schmaltzy and sentimental,” she adds. “There’s moments of huge, horrific pain, of course, which everyone knows, but there are moments of almost hysterical humour.”

Keelan and Calbraith are joined by Abbington, who plays “matriarchal”, “acerbic” and loyal eldest sister Nicole, and Mardell, who plays the youngest, Gaynor. All four women are fully-fledged grown-ups with marriages and long-term partners, children, and homes of their own when we meet them, and three out of the four are firmly in middle age. “I liked the idea of it being four women in central characters, and not younger women, women slightly older, who’ve had a bit of experience,” says Abbington.

In tonight’s second episode (the entire series is available on ITVX, if you fancy a binge watch), Nicole and Ursula uncover their father’s guilty secret while clearing out his shed. But they may not be able to keep it from the others for very long. Meanwhile, Gaynor and Greg are on the run from pesky sea fowl, and Connor (Sonny Lackey) pays tribute to his grandfather.

So can The Family Pile buck the trend and become a success for ITV, or will it be a pile of you know what, like so many of its recent comedy efforts? If last week’s opener is anything to go by, the early signs are good, and the channel might be onto its first hit sitcom for a long time.

The Catch (Wednesday 25/01/23, Channel 5, 9pm)

Words by Rachael Popow

Even if you don’t immediately recognise actor Jason Watkins’ name, you’ll know his face. Over the past decade, he’s become one of British TV’s most in-demand actors. He won a Bafta for his performance in the title role of the 2014 drama The Lost Honour of Christopher Jeffries, has played former Prime Ministers Harold Wilson and Winston Churchill in The Crown and SAS Rogue Heroes respectively, and been one half of the detective duo McDonald & Dodds.

So, he’s clearly a man with an eye for an interesting script and an acting challenge, which is what drew him to Channel 5’s new four-part psychological thriller The Catch. Jason says: “I’ve always loved thrillers on screen and The Catch has all the ingredients to keep audiences hooked. Three dimensional characters, a family unit under stress, with a tragedy at the heart – all brilliantly framed in the thriller genre. I’m always looking for parts I may not have played before and Ed is a person in extremis, trying to do what’s best. Failing and succeeding in equal measure. It’s great to play a character so buffeted by events.”

It probably didn’t hurt that he’s also working with a great supporting cast that includes Oscar-winner Brenda Fricker and Aneurin Barnard, whose credits include Cilla, Dunkirk and Peaky Blinders. Aneurin is certainly excited about The Catch, saying: “There is such a wonderful group of talented people making this drama thriller. It’s so great to work in a calm environment with people who love story telling as much as I do. The script has a wonderful intensity which will deliver a gripping drama for audiences. The cast has a very close chemistry, which I hope delivers on the screen.”

We’ll get to find out if it does in this opening episode, which introduces viewers to fisherman Ed Collier (Watkins), who is struggling to keep his head above water when rivals start stealing his business. His homelife is also threatened when his daughter Abbie (Poppy Gilbert) brings home her new boyfriend. On the surface, Ryan (Barnard) is perfect son-in-law material as he’s young, successful and rich, but Ed is instantly wary.

His wife Claire (Cathy Belton) puts it down to Ed’s over-protectiveness – since losing his son in a boating accident 15 years earlier, the grieving dad has tried to keep his daughter close. However, Ed is determined to follow his gut, and begins digging into the newcomer’s past, and he grows even more suspicious when he struggles to find any record of Ryan online before 2018. After Claire warns him that if he keeps trying to find fault with Ryan, he risks pushing Abbie away, Ed agrees to stop digging.

However, after his boat is deliberately sabotaged and he discovers that his daughter is considering giving up on her plans to study abroad so she can move in with her boyfriend, Ed becomes desperate. An incriminating phone call seems to give him the ammunition he needs to discredit Ryan, but does he risk making everything worse?

Grayson Perry’s Full English (Thursday 26/01/23, Channel 4, 9pm)

Words by Sarah Morgan

Arise, Sir Grayson…Despite claiming he’s “not quite ready” for it, the cross-dressing ceramicist was awarded a knighthood in the New Year’s honours list for his services to the arts, something he claims he was never tempted to turn down because, “I’ve always been very much of the opinion that it’s more interesting to be inside the tent and you can have more fun.” But what will he wear when he receives his award? If it’s a plain old suit, his fans are going to be very disappointed indeed.

For many, their first experience of the Essex-born star came when he was named as the winner of 2003’s Turner Prize, a ceremony he attended in the guise of his alter ego Claire. Some were shocked, others raised their eyebrows or were amused, while the rest probably couldn’t have cared less – his fabulously outlandish garb was perhaps more proof, if it was needed, that artistic types are also often eccentric.

Twenty years on from that headline-hitting event, Perry is regarded as a national treasure thanks in no small part to the series of documentaries he’s made for Channel 4, as well as his much-loved Art Club programme, which also features his wife, psychotherapist Philippa Perry, their celebrity friends and creative members of the public. It proved inspirational to many viewers during lockdown and continues to be hugely popular – here’s hoping it won’t be long before another run is heading our way.

Now Perry – or should we be addressing him as Sir Grayson? – is back with a new three-part series in which he takes a tour of England in search of the true meaning of ‘Englishness’. “The last time Grayson went on the road for a Channel 4 series, it was to try and understand the complex mood and tribes of America,” explains Shaminder Nahal, Commissioning Editor at Channel 4.

“Now, closer to home, he’ll be getting under the skin of the English at a moment where our identity politics seem more in flux than ever. With Grayson’s utterly distinctive take, the series promises to be genuinely eye-opening and entertaining.”

“With all the talk about identity these days I thought it would be a good time to look at one shared by over 80 per cent of the UK population: Englishness,” adds Perry. “What is Englishness in 2022? The Scots, the Welsh and the Irish seem to be more comfortable with feelings around national identity. I’m criss-crossing the country trying to weave a picture that helps us understand who the English are.”

During each programme, Perry goes in search of the objects, art, design, fashion, personal mementoes, family heirlooms and pieces of popular culture which have helped shape England’s national identity. He’ll then showcase them in an exhibition which will also feature his own interpretation of Englishness.

He begins in Kent, where he meets Druids and a man who looks out for immigrants making their way to Dover. Plus, Pearl Lowe and her musician husband Danny Goffey discuss their love of faded glamour. It’s surely the perfect task for a brand new knight of the realm.

Death in Paradise (Friday, 27/01/23, BBC1, 9pm)

Words by Rachael Popow

Ralf Little may get top billing in Death in Paradise, but as far as he’s concerned, the detective series is very much an ensemble show – and he has nothing but praise for the actors who play his fellow cops.

The actor, who has played DI Neville Parker since 2020, explains: “The dynamics of the team are crucial to the show’s success. The show stands or falls on whether the audience takes them into their hearts. Don Warrington is literally a living legend. Every time I’m in a scene with him, I’m thinking about how lucky I am.

“Shantol Jackson was an incredible addition last series. She’s a joy. Tahj Miles is annoying because he’s too good. He came in effortlessly. When I was his age, I wasn’t cool, and he’s effortlessly cool. He’s brilliant at his job.”

He adds: “Ginny Holder calls herself the aunty of the group. Darlene really stepped up to being part of the police team. She humanises and grounds a lot of Neville’s quirkier stuff and Ginny just nails it.”

To prove he’s not just saying that, the former Royle Family actor has singled out this week’s episode as one of his favourites because it gives one of his co-stars a chance to shine – and also gives the characters a chance to get away from the beautiful-but-deadly island of Saint Marie.

It begins when Naomi (Jackson) heads to Saint Barnabas to attend her best friend Monique’s wedding. Unfortunately, it turns into a bit of a busman’s holiday when Rex, the estranged husband of Monique’s mother Odette, is fatally stabbed. Luckily, she knows a few people who can help her get to the bottom of it. Ralf explains: “Saint Barnabas is such a small island that the only police force they have is one guy who was Naomi’s mentor, so they quickly enlist our help.”

However, that doesn’t mean that Neville will be completely taking over. Ralf says: “It’s lovely for Shantol Jackson playing Naomi because we go back to her roots, trying to solve a case with her mentor but she’s already had much more experience than him now, so there’s all that conflict.

“She’s able to step up and Neville sees that it’s important for Naomi to have autonomy in her own space. He follows her lead and I think that only strengthens their working relationship and their friendship.”

Ralf also relished the chance to explore a different setting, saying: “All Caribbean islands have their own unique tone and vibe, so it was a nice challenge to portray the slightly different vibes of the islands.”

But while this fourth episode may have been one of his personal highlights, he promises there are more intriguing editions to come. Ralf says: “Episodes six and seven are going to be brilliant. When people see them, they’re going to freak out. I think they’re going to love it, but they’re going to be like ‘no way!’”