I blame the producers. The subject of this week’s Icons of Football (BBC Scotland, Friday) had obviously not been sent the memo about how this tribute caper works.
The idea, basically, is that people line up to say nice things about you. It is a measure of this week’s icon that he should have turned the concept on its head. Paul Sturrock, for it was he, used his time back in the spotlight to heap praise on others, including his famously stern former boss, Jim McLean. “Some man,” said Sturrock with a smile that supplied the rest of the details.
The affection was returned with such interest by talking heads including Willie Miller, Lorraine Kelly (Dundee United superfan), and Gary Lineker, that even Sturrock would have had to acknowledge he was something pretty special as a striker.
Only after a herd of wild horses had dragged him to the conclusion, mind you, as when talk turned to whether Terry Venables had asked him to sign for Barcelona. Playing it cool, Sturrock said he heard that rumour too. While the money would have been nice, “I was playing with my mates,” he said by way of an explanation of why he stayed. Hard to imagine a player of today taking that attitude.
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Sturrock has been living with Parkinson’s now for almost a quarter of a century. “It will beat me eventually, but that’s life,” he said. The last word went to Lorraine Kelly. “I don’t think he realises just how good he was and how much we love him.” He does now. Once again this handsomely shot series looks the part and does the business.
The Sex and the City gals were back in And Just Like That (Sky Comedy/Now, Thursday). All of them are set to appear in this new series, which means, of course, the return of Kim Cattrall’s Samantha. How it will happen is top secret. With this show the off camera drama is often tastier than the on.
The new series got off to a cheerier start than last time, when Carrie’s husband Big (Chris Noth) bought the farm, sending sales of exercise bikes into a spin in the process. Time has moved on, and the widow Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) is looking forward to the Met Ball.
But into every New York life a little rain must fall, which in Carrie’s case means a dress disaster. How Cinders solves the problem takes viewers back in time. There’s little to no explanation of what is going on, with writer-creator Michael Patrick King assuming, correctly, that fans will be up to speed. Making viewers feel part of the gang has always been one of this show’s strengths, even if the gang on screen lead impossibly gilded lives.
On River City lately it’s been impossible to swing a cat, or a mood, without hitting mention of the menopause. There’s a lot of it about, even a whole comedy series should you fancy it.
At the centre of The Change (Channel 4, Wednesday) is Linda (Bridget Christie), who we meet at her 50th birthday party. Linda is having a rotten time, clearing up rubbish between coping with hot flashes, her show-off husband (Omid Djalili) and her hyper-critical mate Siobahn (Liza Tarbuck). Realising how much of her life has been spent doing things for others, Linda gets on her motorbike and leaves the lot of them.
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Christie is well-known on the stand-up circuit but not a household name. She has several of those around her though, including Paul Whitehouse, Monica Dolan and Jerome Flynn. Three episodes in, I cannot decide whether The Change is about as annoying as the menopause or is one of the sleeper hits of the year. Christie, who writes as well as stars, does not make deadpan Linda a likeable sort. But you slowly and unexpectedly warm to her and the characters she meets. If nothing else there’s a great Tupperware gag.
Generally I don’t feel sympathy for celebrities who land their own travel show. Getting paid to go on holiday: it’s not exactly a zero hours gig in a call centre. But I was tempted to make an exception for Chris McCausland, the presenter of Wonders of the World I Can't See (Channel 4, Monday).
McCausland, a stand-up comic, is blind, doesn’t like flying, the heat, and the general faff involved in travelling, so a travel show fronted by him was always going to make for something unusual. Add Harry Hill as his first travelling companion and it’s off to the comedy awards, right?
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It did not work out like that. As the pair toured Athens, Hill discovered how difficult it was to describe what he was seeing. More of a problem was the script, or rather the lack of one. Even Hill struggled to improvise his way through the hour, and McCausland, obviously in awe of his comedy mate, had a job keeping up. Here’s hoping for better next week when the likeable McCausland joins Tom Allen in Rome.
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