What a weekend of TV! I have to admit that, unlike most Brits, I am not sporting a cricketing tan because, quite frankly, I couldn’t tear myself away from the box – sad, I know. Anyhow, it’s Monday, and while there’s nothing quite like a talent show combo to consume our waking hours this evening, there are a few little gems lined up. Here’s my pick...
Just a Minute - 6pm, BBC2
Radio shows transferring their enduring success to TV have historically met with mixed fortune. The Goons, The Day Today, The League of Gentlemen, Whose Line is It Anyway, Room 101 have all prospered, while I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, possibly Just A Minute’s nearest relation, withered on the vine. Nonetheless, it’s a class act - with its host of 45 years standing Nicholas Parsons and panel regulars Paul Merton, Sue Perkins, Phill Jupitus and Graham Norton - and fine that the challenge of talking on a subject for 60 seconds without repetition, hesitation or deviation should be witnessed in its full-blooded glory by more people, over the course of an anniversary 10-episode special.
The Little Paris Kitchen: Cooking with Rachel Khoo - 8.30pm, BBC2
Not sure which came first, Rachel Khoo living this kind of life, or Audrey Tautou bringing her dainty-footed, whimsical characters to the big screen. If Amelie were to turn her attentions from gnomes to buns, this would be the result - an unbelievably skinny, pretty lady hopping between Parisian markets, bunging a baguette in her bag, chatting with bypassing admirers before returning to her bedsit studio, tiny but nonetheless a treasure chest for all her culinary wonders. I’m expecting Gene Kelly to appear round the corner at any moment. With a rose.
If you can bear to watch this fantasy life in action - she even wears polka-dot dresses for heaven’s sake! - then this is inspiring, picturesque, escapist telly. It’s a big if...
One Night - 10.35pm, BBC1
Good to see Douglas Hodge (Capital City, Red Cap, plus Middlemarch and a catalogue of other period drama) back on the screen, in this new drama series, centred around his character Ted basically having a bad day, made worse by a crisp packet idly dropped in front of his house. From there, strangely coincidental yet believable drama unfurls, in one of those plots we used to see more of a decade or more ago, usually from the pen of David Lodge. Sweet, sad and satirical, Hodge channels the existential angst of the middle-aged age to great effect. The first of four episodes.
Some pics of tonight's picks...