The Walk‐In ‐ Monday, STV, 9pm
This intensely powerful factual drama confronts the horrifying resurgence of fascism in western society. Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered by a racist in 2016. One of the journalists who investigated that appalling tragedy was a former Neo‐Nazi turned anti-fascist campaigner. A brave man, he’s played by the great Stephen Graham. The Walk‐In is written by Jeff Pope, a television heavyweight rightly renowned for his outstanding catalogue of assiduously researched dramas steeped in sensitive subject matter. This, I assure you, is a vitally important piece of work. Fuelled by compassion, it seeks to understand the deep‐seated causes of bigotry and radicalisation. TV dramas such as this can make a difference. They matter.
24 Hours in A&E ‐ Monday, Channel 4, 9pm
The 29th series of this hardy perennial returns to St George’s Hospital in south-west London, which is home to one of Britain’s busiest A&E departments. The first patient we encounter is Graham, who’s been involved in a high-speed motorcycle accident. Graham’s doctors fear that he may have suffered significant damage to his back and neck, so he’s sent off for an urgent CT scan. His worried wife, Kate, talks movingly of their relationship and the various unforeseen problems they’ve faced. And that’s the very essence of 24 Hours in A&E: unlike so many programme of its ilk, it never fails to remind us that these people are three-dimensional human beings. They’re victims of circumstance.
Paxman: Putting Up with Parkinson’s ‐ Tuesday, STV, 9pm
Jeremy Paxman is a notoriously short‐tempered man. He doesn’t suffer anything gladly. Eighteen months ago he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. And this is his response. He’s on typically frank form during a programme in which he converses with leading neurological researchers and some other people who have Parkinson’s, while challenging myths about his condition. He also attends an English National Ballet therapy dance class and learns how to play bowls. Paxman often comes across as a rather blunt and dislikeable person, but that’s his act I suppose. It’s all showbiz. In this context, however, speaking honestly as himself, his no-nonsense approach is tempered with some sensitive insight. It should, one hopes, provide a bit of comfort.
This England ‐ Tuesday, Sky Atlantic, 9pm
An excoriating factual drama from the estimable writer/director Michael Winterbottom, This England traces the absolute chaos of Boris Johnson’s first year in office as Prime Minister. Preoccupied with getting Brexit done, whatever that actually means, Johnson’s government were utterly unprepared for COVID. That’s understandable, but Winterbottom gets his acute point across in no uncertain terms: for all his Churchillian bluster, Johnson was fatally ill‐equipped to take charge of a national crisis. Kenneth Branagh as Johnson pulls off a difficult feat: playing a man who deliberately presents himself as a caricature. Behind the façade, he comes across as an irresponsible fool floundering with the consequences of a pyrrhic victory, while creepy Dominic Cummings pulls the strings.
Doc Martin ‐ Wednesday, STV, 9pm
As the final series of this comfort blanket continues, Louisa is understandably perturbed when her estranged father (that fine actor Kenneth Cranham) turns up out of the blue. Meanwhile, Doc Martin is still struggling with his blood phobia, so he seeks some counsel with Ruth (that other fine actor, Dame Eileen Atkins). The third storyline ‐ there are always three, that’s how these shows operate ‐ involves a squatter who refuses to be budged from a vintage caravan. I have no truck with kneejerk cynics who sneer at the likes of Doc Martin. There’s nothing wrong with basking in good‐natured entertainment. You mustn’t always avoid the middle of the road, as Bob Dylan probably once sang.
Taskmaster ‐ Thursday, Channel 4, 9pm
Self-effacing sidekick ‘Little’ Alex Horne ‐ the brains behind the entire Taskmaster enterprise, but don’t tell faux-domineering host Greg Davies that ‐ is in his element this week. He oversees several tasks involving admin, ducks and flour. As always, his pedantic efficiency while dealing with such nonsense provides much of the humour. I appreciate that I’ve just described the appeal of Taskmaster in the driest possible terms, but Horne would presumably see the funny side of that. The whole point of the show is that none of it matters, but it wouldn’t work at all were it not treated with at least some degree of dedicated seriousness. And from thence the comedy arises. You’re welcome.
Jon Richardson: Take My Mother‐in‐Law ‐ Thursday, Channel 4, 10pm
You’ve got to hand it to the professionally grumpy comedian Jon Richardson, the man has an unerring knack for coming up with vehicles for himself. His pitch meetings presumably involve him reading from a list of things he finds vaguely annoying or in some way commercially viable. This latest one, as you’ve presumably surmised, involves his mother‐in‐law. She’s about to retire, so Richardson has to pretend he’s intent on finding her a home in Spain ‐ otherwise she might move in with him and his wife! Yes, the premise is knowingly contrived, it’s a post‐modern take on mother‐in‐law gags. But it’s really just an excuse for yet another harmless/pointless TV road trip.
