thu 31/07/2025

tv

The Troubles: A Secret History, BBC Four, finale review - peace at last, but at what price?

Adam Sweeting

This terrifying but gripping BBC Four series about Northern Ireland’s savage sectarian war reached its conclusion with a meticulously detailed account of how hostilities were eventually brought to a close by the Good...

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The British Tribe Next Door, Channel 4 review - risible culture-clash farrago

Adam Sweeting

What’s the most ridiculous programme that Channel 4 has ever made? Sex Box? The Execution of Gary Glitter? Extreme Celebrity Detox? Whatever, The British Tribe Next Door is up there vying for supremacy.

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Spiral, Series 7, BBC Four review - hard-hitting return of our favourite French cop show

Adam Sweeting

And welcome back to our favourite French cop show – perhaps our favourite cop show from anywhere, in fact – which has raced into its seventh series (on BBC Four) with some typically grimy storylines about death and lowlife in a very de-romanticised Paris.

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Giri/Haji, BBC Two review - inspired Anglo-Japanese thriller makes compulsive viewing

Adam Sweeting

Well here’s an interesting one. We’ve been up to our eyebrows in Eurocops for the past few years, but this Anglo-Japanese fusion from BBC Two (the title translates as "Duty / Shame") feels strikingly fresh and different.

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In the Long Run, Series 2, Sky 1 review - Idris Elba's warm-hearted comedy returns

Jill Chuah Masters

Dust off the record player: Idris Elba’s Eighties comedy In the Long Run (Sky 1) has returned for a second series.

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Lenny Henry's Race Through Comedy, Gold review - illuminating account of TV's struggle to become multicultural

Adam Sweeting

Sir Lenny Henry, PhD and CBE, is scarcely recognisable as the teenager who made his TV debut on New Faces in 1975. He’s been a stand-up comedian, musician and Shakespearean actor, and even wrote his own dramatised autobiography for BBC One.

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Chaos in the Cockpit: Flights from Hell, Channel 5 review - do we really want to watch plane-wreck TV?

Adam Sweeting

Apparently your odds of dying in a plane crash are about one in 11 million, while chances of death in a car accident are about one in 5,000. Therefore flying is theoretically safe, and supposedly getting safer.

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Studio 17: The Lost Reggae Tapes, BBC Four review - a perfectly paced tale of world-shaking basslines and human frailty

joe Muggs

If there was ever a documentary that needed you to have good speakers on your TV setup – or good headphones if you're watching on computer or tablet – this is it.

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The Capture, BBC One, series finale review - nimble drama alive with twists

Jasper Rees

What did we learn at the end of The Capture (BBC One)? A rice jar is a good place to hide USB sticks. It’s possible to withhold the opening credits for 11 whole minutes. A green coat works exceptionally well with light blue eyes and shoulder-length auburn hair.

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Doing Drugs for Fun, Channel 5 review - why the cocaine trade is no laughing matter

Adam Sweeting

Monday night’s first episode of this three-part series was a bit ordinary, as it introduced its cast of British recreational cocaine users and explained why their habit may be ill-advised.

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