sat 19/07/2025

tv

Spiral, Series 6, BBC Four review - grime pays in the City of Light

Adam Sweeting

We’ve seen some “interesting” series filling BBC Four’s celebrated Saturday evening slot recently, which if nothing else have prompted plenty of below-the-line discussion. Happily, we can now turn our backs on all that and hail the return of the ace Paris-based French cop show Spiral.

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Eric, Ernie and Me, BBC Four review - he brought them sunshine

Jasper Rees

To misquote Marx (Karl, not Groucho), comedy repeats itself, the first time as farce, the second time as a tragedy. The early days of broadcasting bred comedians whose work lives on in the nation’s marrow. But being Frankie Howerd or Kenneth Williams or the Steptoe actors was no laughing matter.

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The Miniaturist, BBC One review - a lovely supernatural soap

Jasper Rees

Simon Schama called the Netherlands’ century of success an "embarrassment of riches". The thrust of Jessie Burton’s lavishly hyped debut novel The Miniaturist is that the Dutch felt guilty about their good fortune, and denied themselves the right to enjoy sugar, spice, and all things nice. The money went on surface things, on finery and furniture.

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Alan Partridge: Why, When, Where, How and Whom?, BBC Two review - a helping of Christmas Partridge

Owen Richards

Over 25 years since his modest inception as a parody sports reporter, Alan Partridge has become one of comedy’s most enduring icons. With a new BBC series expected in 2018, we were treated to a tribute (or Partribute, if you will) to the impressive and varied career of Norfolk’s favourite fictional broadcaster.

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Little Women, BBC One review - life during wartime with the March sisters

Marina Vaizey

One of the much-hyped jewels in the crown of the family-friendly BBC holiday season is this new three-episode adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's much loved novel by Heidi Thomas, the writer of Call the Midwife.

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Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time, BBC One review – a defiantly small and personal goodbye

Owen Richards

And so, with one last speech on the importance of kindness, Peter Capaldi and Steven Moffat bid farewell to the TARDIS. In their final Doctor Who episode, Twice Upon a Time subverted expectations with a small, sweet adventure which valued character above plot.

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300 Years of French and Saunders, BBC1 review - seasonal treat from the sketch duo

Veronica Lee

What joy that Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders were persuaded by the BBC to celebrate their 30 (ish) years as a comedy duo with this programme – and that this sweet confection was shown on Christmas Day.

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Maigret in Montmartre, ITV review - dirty deeds in clubland

Adam Sweeting

Whatever the Waitrose and Morrisons commercials are telling you, as far as TV schedulers are concerned ‘tis the season for murder. Thus a Christmas Maigret has become an instant tradition, with Rowan Atkinson reprising his performance as Georges Simenon’s dolorous detective.

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Peaky Blinders, Series 4 Finale, BBC Two review – Tommy faces his reckoning

Owen Richards

Luca Changretta got his just desserts, Alfie Solomons made a last gasp for the quiet life, and Thomas Shelby revealed his true enemy – Peaky Blinders wrapped up another exciting series in a high-octane and neat finale.

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The League of Gentlemen, BBC2 review - an anniversary to celebrate

Veronica Lee

In 1994, a group of students at Bretton Hall drama school – Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith – began writing and performing together.

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