Karen Dunbar’s School of Rap – Thursday, BBC Scotland, 10:30pm
Dunbar playfully admits in her intro that this sounds, on paper, like a terrible idea for a documentary: a comedian running a rap workshop for elderly grannies? The potential for embarrassment is immense. You know where this is going, folks, but of course it’s not embarrassing. On the contrary, it’s a touching exercise in which Dunbar and a friend from empowering community outreach initiative the Glasgow Girls Club encourage older working-class Scottish women to express themselves. The abiding lyrical themes are friendship, faith and family. Self-evidently lovely people, they reflect upon their losses while celebrating life’s treasures. In their modest way, these unlikely rappers are representing a generation whose voices are so often ignored. A delightful programme.
The Gold: The Inside Story – Monday, BBC One, 9pm
A companion piece to Neil Forsyth’s excellent dramatisation of the notorious Brink’s-Mat robbery, this documentary revolves around a fascinating interview with Detective Chief Superintendent Brian Boyce. He led the convoluted investigation, and this is the first time he’s spoken about it on camera. The programme exposes glaring loopholes in 1980s banking machinations. A lack of strict regulations with regards to money laundering coupled with fervent Thatcherite desires to rebuild London’s docklands laid the groundwork for the biggest gold bullion haul in history. Corrupt opportunism writ large; white and blue collar crimes working in tandem. A disastrous domino effect. If you haven’t caught up with The Gold, all six episodes are available on iPlayer. Watch this afterwards.
24 Hours in Police Custody: The Honeytrap Murder – Monday and Tuesday, Channel 4, 9pm
A Luton man has been brutally murdered. He bled to death in the hallway of a block of flats. The police are baffled. What happened and why was he totally naked? A terribly bleak story unfolds. As usual, I recommend this sort of thing with a sensitive note of caution. 24 Hours in Police Custody is very well-made, it’s objectively better and more thoughtful than all of those rubbernecking ‘Woo! Bang! What a Grisly Crime!’ atrocities you sometimes stumble across in the nether regions of our TV schedules. But what are we left with when the closing credits roll? A gnawing sense of hopelessness. That’s my default setting, I’d rather it wasn’t compounded. Tastes may vary.
Imagine… Stephen Frears: Director for Hire – Monday, BBC One, 10:40pm
Stephen Frears is a talented British filmmaker who doesn’t reside in one particular genre. Highlights from his eclectic body of work include High Fidelity, My Beautiful Laundrette and The Queen. This profile follows Frears as he wanders ruminatively around Vienna while filming an ambitious drama for HBO. He’s dryly amusing and affable. Glowing tributes are gushed by associates such as Steve Coogan, Judi Dench, Hugh Grant, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren. As always with Imagine, you’ll have to grit your teeth and tolerate the buffoonish presence of host Alan Yentob. But after years of dogged practice I can assure you that it’s almost possible to blank him out. Imagine there’s no Yentob, it’s easy if you try…
Anton & Giovanni’s Adventures in Sicily – Tuesday, BBC One, 9pm
Anton Du Beke and Giovanni Pernice, for it is they, are the stars of this standard-issue sunny travelogue. Pernice was born and raised in Sicily, so he does at least possess some local knowledge and emotional attachments. His Panama hat-sporting Strictly pal is just along for the expenses-free ride. Both men merrily embrace their designated roles: Du Beke is the hapless Englishman abroad, while Pernice is the laidback expert. Scenic odd couple jollity ensues. These shows are contrived by their very nature, we’re essentially watching semi-scripted holiday videos, but I must admit that our guides do come across as actual friends. Their chemistry feels fundamentally warm and genuine.
Phoenix Rise – Friday, BBC Three, 7pm
Based around a fictional school in Coventry, this promising coming-of-age drama follows six teenage students as they re-enter the mainstream education system after being excluded. A likeable bunch played by an entirely natural cast of talented young actors, at first they don’t appear to have much in common beyond their shared situation. But gradually, close friendships start to form. Their fresh start is a significant experience, something they’ll never forget. Phoenix Rise is – if you’ll excuse the pun – textbook BBC Three, and I mean that in a positive way. A drama about, and primarily aimed at, young people, it’s empathetic and authentic. The target audience isn’t patronised. Grange Hill creator Phil Redmond would doubtless approve.
Locked Away: Our Autism Scandal – Friday, Channel 4, 7:30pm
The award-winning filmmaker Richard Butchins presents this Dispatches report about parents on the autism spectrum who are struggling within mental health units. Preview copies weren’t available, but it sounds stark. Butchins, who is autistic, allows his interviewees to tell their stories via secretly recorded videos. Many of them have been incarcerated for years in unsuitable wards and hospitals. The press release contains this quote from a young inpatient: “People need to speak out and so many voices are silenced. I feel like that’s my duty to do, not just for myself, but for others because it’s not going to change if… it’s not going to change if it’s not spoken about and we need to be heard.”
