March 2010 Archives

During last Friday’s audition footage and Saturday’s selection show, a number of those tweeting as the show went on (including myself, I must admit) were dismissive about one or two of the actresses taking part as being too old for the role.

For the most part, most of such comments stem not from any sense of ageism (which would of course be illegal) but more a reaction to the character of Dorothy that is so well known from the movie adaptation of L Frank Baum’s books.

In the comments to my review of Saturday’s show, some similar discussion took place. First of all, Jim opined:

…she has to be credible as a teenage girl, and appear so against the rest of the cast. For me that counts a number of them out straight away, either through age or physical size… She has to lead this whole production, have the skill and experience to do that, and yet still appear 16! I just hope the voting public know what they’re doing.

And that was followed up by Sue:

In the book Dorothy is 9 & Judy Garland had to famously have her bust flattened to make her appear pre-pubescent.

But ALW made a comment about Dorothy being 16 - does this indicate that they’re changing it.

I don’t remember Andrew Lloyd Webber making a comment like that, but even if he did it’s not really unreasonable. As Jim said, Dorothy must be the lead role in a musical and there are very practical reasons why a production team may not want to create yet another West End show where the title role must be shared out due to employment laws (cf. Billy Elliot and, of course, Oliver!).

After Friday’s sojourn in Dorothy Farm, it was into the studio for the selection of the final ten performers from the 20 still in the competition. In previous years, this stage of the selection has been done by putting on a show for Sir Andrew, the panellists, and a handful of celebrity guests, and had been treated almost as quickly as the previous rounds that Friday’s hour skimmed over.

Thankfully, someone in the production office has realised that getting performers to sing and dance might actually make good telly, so the action is moved into the studio that will be used for the live shows. And our eyes were not deceiving us: it was substantially larger than in previous years. As with the callbacks, the action has moved out of TV Centre once more, this time transferring to Wembley’s Fountain Studios, the home of production company TalkbackThames’ other entertainment shows, Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor. Some sense of continuity was maintained in terms of the overall layout, which was very much the I’d Do Anything staging writ large.

The twenty girls still in competition would be split into groups of four, with each group singing two songs, one pop and one musica — whhaaat? Everybody would be singing a musical theatre song in the first studio week? I don’t think we’re in Kansas any more, Toto. They do things so differently! Seriously, in previous series you could count the number of songs of stage origin on one hand, so after Friday’s show and now this, there really is a sense of embracing musical theatre at last.

What has always characterised BBC talent show series over any ITV ones has been the reluctance to dwell for too long on the initial audition stages. This is usually because in order to fill out the time, the commercial channel has to spend an inordinate amount of time on the hopefuls who are actually, um, hopeless.

While Over the Rainbow, as in previous years, has included occasional montages of bad auditions, it’s only ever done in an off-hand style that takes care never to denigrate those auditioning. The girls who turn up and end up screeching may cringe at seeing themselves do so badly in front of a TV audience, but they should rest assured that they go by so quickly that nobody will remember who they are.

Unfortunately, the same can be said of the good singers: everything’s such a whirl. How are we supposed to know who to root for when we hardly meet anyone? The X Factor may be excessive when it takes the best part of two months to go through the initial audition stages — but surely 15 minutes is going too far to the other extreme…?

Blood and Oil BBC2, Monday & Tuesday 9pm
Naomie Harris, Jodhi May and David Oyelowo star in a contemporary drama exploring the greed and corruption amongst the oil companies operating in Western Africa. Gripping from start to finish, Guy Hibbert’s script bristles with fine touches.

Married Single Other ITV1, Monday 9pm
After last week’s episode ended with tragedy, this final episode is tinged with sadness throughout. Never as warm and witty as Cold Feet, it’s certainly the closest ITV have come in a long while to creating a popular series with the potential to return.

Glee E4, Monday 9pm
Sectionals are finally here — but the glee club must continue without Mr Schu, after last week’s mattresses-for-favours shenanigans. And even when they get there, Sue Sylvester has been leaking the group’s set list to the opposition, so they must come up with some new tunes in short order… Halfway through the series, Glee will now take a three-week break on E4, as there are no new episodes to show yet. It returns on April 19, with each episode airing less than a week after it has been shown in the US.

• Watch our video preview of this week’s episode
• Watch Sue Sylvester’s “Sue’s Corner”

The World’s Most Dangerous Place for Women BBC3, Tuesday 9pm
I have to say, BBC3’s series of documentaries about women over the last couple of weeks have been nothing short of exemplary. Here, Judith Wanga, who was sent to safety in London at the age of three, returns to the Democratic Republic of Congo to reunite with her family. It is when she travels to the war-torn region of the Eastern Congo, meeting women and children who have been abused by soldiers, that the true horrors of the situation in the Congo really hit home. Harrowing and unmissable.

Canoe Man BBC4, Wednesday 9pm
The story of John Darwin, the man who faked his death in an apparent canoeing accident, is told in a compelling drama by Norman Hult, who penned last year’s dramadoc about the Greenhalgh family of forgers, The Antiques Rogue Show (repeated on Tuesday at 10.3pm, BBC4). Bernard Hill and Saskia Reeves play Darwin and his wife Anne, who together plotted to lie not only to the authorities, but also to their own sons, who remained unaware that their father was living next door until a photo on a Panamanian website prompte the lies to start unravelling.

Laughter Shock BBC3, Wednesday 11.05pm
A pilot for a new strnd of stand-up performance, giving young comics their first shot at impressing a TV audience.

Gracie! BBC2, Thursday 9pm
Jane Horrocks’ impersonation of music hall star Grace Fields in this biopic, first aired on BBC4, is as superb as you’d expect. Tom Hollander stars as Monty Banks, the Italian-born director who she married in the 1940s, to the consternation of a public who saw the union as unpatriotic during a time of war.

Have I Got News For You BBC1, Thursday 9.30pm
Long established in the Friday evening schedules, HIGNFY moves to a Thursday to make way for the final series of Ashes to Ashes. You know what to expect by now, surely? This week’s guest host is Lee Mack.

Over the Rainbow BBC1, Friday 9pm / Saturday 6.30pm
And so the BBC talent show genre kicks into high gear once more, nearly two years after I’d DO Anything. One can harly failt to have noticed that the recruitment process is this time looking for a Dorothy Gale for a revised stage version of The Wizard of Oz, with additional songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Glenn Slater, which will open in the West End later this year.

In the first show, we’ll see the auditions process overseen by casting director David Grindrod, gradually giving way to Charlotte Church, Sheila Hancock and John Partridge as they whittle down the hundred of applications to 20 possible finalists. Then on Saturday, those twenty will compete in a pre-recorded studio show, after which the panellists and Andrew Lloyd Webber will select the ten who they want to compete in the live shows. Of the remaining ten, one more will make it through after a public vote as a ‘wild card’ entrant into the live shows, shiwch start proper at Easter weekend.

As ever, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the show - bookmark thestage.co.uk/dorothy now!

Comedy Rocks with Jason Manford ITV1, Friday 9pm
Stand-up Jason Manford hosts an evening of comedy and music. Providing the laughs are John Bishop, ventriloquist Paul Zerdin, Jo Brand and Joe Pasquale, with music acts Pixie Lott and Scouting for Girls helping ensure this isn’t just an ITV version of Live at the Apollo.

Wallander BBC4, Saturday 9pm
A new 13-part series of the Swedish version of their own country’s premier detective. It’s superior in almost every way to the (itself excellent) Kenneth Branagh-led BBC version — so much so that this first episode, The Revenge, got a cinematic release in Sweden.

Dancing on Ice: The Final ITV1, Sunday 7.45pm
If Hayley Tammadon and Daniel Whiston don’t win there will be tears before bedtime. Mind you, just looking at Jason Gardiner’s increasingly bizarre neckwear this season produces much the same effect…

Lark Rise to Candleford BBC1, Sunday 8pm
Threatened post office closures? Disruption caused by the advance of the railways? Is this a historical drama, or a re-enactment of life in a modern Chilterns village threatened by a high-speed rail link? Of course, it’s the former. It’s also the last in the series, though, so quite what state the genteel village life will be in by the end is anyone’s guess…

Saturday Play: Playing with Trains Radio 4, Saturday 2.30pm
Stephen Poliakoff’s family drama moves forward to the 1980s, with Bill (Timothy Spall) facing a libel trial and an increasingly strained relationship with daughter Roxanna (Zoe Tapper).

Archive on 4: Sculptress of Sound - the Lost Works of Delia Derbyshire Radio 4, Saturday 8pm
Back in the days before synthesizers and sequencers, the BBC Radiophonic Workshop made futuristic music by recording sounds, then speeding them up or slowing them down to create changes of pitch before painstakingly gluing bits of audio tape together to physically manufacture a melody. One of the premier exponents of the form was Delia Derbyshire, now best known for realising Ron Grainer’s theme for Doctor Who into a mysterious, otherworldy confection that helped the programme became what it is today. Her other output is no less impressive, though — Blue Veils and Golden Sands is one of my favourite musical works of any genre.

Elaine Paige on Sunday Radio 2, Sunday 1pm
EP’s guest is Hollywood actress Shirley Jones, currently performing at the Arts Theatre.

Barry Letts - Who and Me Radio 7, Sunday 6pm (repeated 12 midnight)
Actor and director Barry Letts assumed the mantle of producer of Doctor Who in 1969. Jon Pertwee had just been cast, and the Letts/Pertwee partnership continued into 1974 with the casting of Tom Baker. Letts sadly passed away in October last year, but here we have a delightful chance to hear him reading his autobiography, serialised in seven parts.

Afternoon Play: Arabian Afternoons Radio 4, Monday-Wednesday 2.15pm
BBC1 had moderate success with its Shakespeare Retold and Fairy Tales seasons, creating original plays inspired by classic stories. The same template transfers here to radio, with three contemporary dramas inspired by tales from the Arabian Nights.

Afternoon PLay: Last Family Standing Radio 4, Thursday 2.15pm
Its is 1946, and Britain is recovering from World War II in Paul Watson’s play. Five million victorious men and women have returned from the war effort to a peace time of few jobs. Money, food and decent housing are also scarce. Charles, Marjorie and their children struggle to survive, as remembered by Dorothy, the only surviving member of the family.

The Doctor and Douglas Radio 4, Friday 11am
Our third Doctor Who-themed radio programme of the week. Anybody would thank a new TV series was on the way or something… Here, Jon Culshaw (he of the Tom Baker impression on Dead Ringers) examines the effect on the show of a script editor who joined the show in 1979. The then little-known Douglas Adams went on to stratospheric success, of course, but his work on Who propelled the series into new directions (his City of Death, written under the pseudonym of David Agnew, was something of a template for the approach to humour that Russell T Davies would bring to the show when he revived it in 2005).

With Over the Rainbow starting on Friday to find a new Dorothy for the Wizard of Oz, new panellist John Partridge took time at the press launch to talk to our broadcasting correspondent Matthew Hemley about his role on the show — and the role of similar shows in modern musical theatre.

If you don’t have a brilliant agent or you don’t know the casting agent, you would not get seen to play this role. The fact we open it out this way means thousands of girls who would never have an opportunity to get seen are seen. And lots of things happen because of that… Look at Connie Fisher and Lee Mead. These were people who were hustling in the West End to get a break and could not get one. Now they have one.

…The days of the show being the star or the composer being the star are goine. You do need somebody to a degree to help a show run — to help bring people in. Also, tickets are very expensive now and people want to know what the are getting. That is just the way it is.

The full interview is in this week’s print edition of The Stage, and is also available on our podcast. Either subscribe, download and listen with iTunes or listen to a streaming version on the podcast blog.

Our full Over the Rainbow coverage will continue here on TV Today, starting with reviews of this weekend’s forthcoming audition and selection shows and continuing throughout the run.

We’re battening down the hatches here for the wails from protest from all the Gleeks who are going to be disappointed when, after next week’s episode, Glee takes a three week break from UK transmission. Of course, in America they’ve had to wait since December, so we don’t have it too bad — especially since, when it returns, we’ll be seeing episodes barely a week after they air Stateside.

In anticipation of the series’ return, Fox has started teasing with what I hope is the first of many ‘Sue’s Corner’ web exclusives:

And that’s how Sue “C”s it.

Don’t forget that you have until 12pm Friday to enter our competition to win GLEE: THE MUSIC, VOLUME 2 on CD. See http://j.mp/stage-glee-cd for details

• Glee, Mondays 9pm E4, Sundays Channel 4. For more information go to http://www.e4.com/glee

The BBC’s latest theatrical recruitment series, Over the Rainbow, starts with its first pre-recorded show on Friday, and so the promotional items on the Corporation’s website are starting to drip out slowly.

This year, the let’s-do-anything-but-call-it-Boot-Camp phase of the show is “Dorothy Farm”, where the prospective Gale girls are actually holed up in a barn during the series of workshops that will help panellists Sheila Hancock, John Partridge and Charlotte Church whittle the auditionees down to just 20 actresses.

This montage of clips from the Dorothy Farm stage is, I must admit, a little too reliant on Charlotte Church for my liking. Hopefully that’s more down to the selection of clips for the montage: these panels work best when all three experts are equally vocal, but purely on the basis of this clip, it seems that Church’s vocal insistence meets little resistance from Partridge or Hancock. We’ll see on Friday whether that pans out into the full-length show…

• Over the Rainbow, Friday 9pm and Saturday 6.30pm, BBC1.
• Tomorrow’s edition of The Stage Podcast will feature a conversation with EastEnder and Over the Rainbow panellist John Partridge. Listen online or in iTunes.

We hope you’ve been enjoying the Glee video previews that we’ve been able to show you thanks to the generosity of our friends over at E4. This will be the last for a few weeks, but only because we’ve finally caught up to the US schedules, and ‘Sectionals’ is currently the last episode that has been seen in the US. Following Monday’s show, Glee will be taking a break from shoing new episodes for a while, before returning with all new episodes on Monday, April 19 — just a few short days after they have been shown in the US.

To help tide you over that three week gap, here are this week’s two clips from what our transatlantic cousins like to call “the mid-season finale”, which airs next Monday.

Rachel’s suspicions are aroused about Quinn’s big secret. She does what she thinks is right — but it might mean the end of Glee club’s chances for Sectionals, as one member just can’t take it anymore…

With Mr Schu having to step down, the kids take full creative and directive responsibility of the club, including composing their own set list. Furthermore, with what seems like the whole universe already conspiring against them, they arrive at Sectionals to find that their set list has been leaked and used by the competition!

Without a leader, a director and no set list, how on earth will they be able to continue? Surely they can’t let Sue Sylvester win?

Meanwhile, things are not going so well for Emma and Ken. And Terri tries to win back the love of her life, but can Will ever bring himself to take her back?

• Glee: Sectionals, Monday, March 29, 9pm on E4; repeated Sunday, April 4, 5.35pm on Channel 4. For more details, go to www.e4.com/glee.

COMPETITION: WIN A COPY OF GLEE THE MUSIC VOLUME 2

If you’re on Twitter, you could win a copy of the second volume of songs from the TV series. All you have to do is, from your Twitter account, post the following message:

RT @TheStage: Watch a preview of #Glee at sectionals! http://bit.ly/stage-glee-cd RT this link and you could win a CD!

There are some terms & conditions for this competition - see below:

1. You must be following @TheStage on Twitter. We will be notifying the winner by direct message - if you win and we can’t contact you because you are not following us, we will draw another entry instead.

2. To enter, you should tweet a message that includes the hashtag #glee, the username @TheStage and a link to http://bit.ly/stage-glee-cd. We will provide a link which you can retweet (see above).

3. For tweets to be eligible, they must be publicly visible and posted directly from your account before 12pm on Friday, March 26, 2010. “New style” retweets are not eligible.

4. You may enter multiple times if you wish. However, in order to prevent potential spam activity, we will only accept one tweet per hour from each account. Any tweets posted more frequently will be ineligible for entry.

5. Usual Stage competition rules apply.

6. Competition only open to residents of the United Kingdom.

7. The judges’ decision is final.

**UPDATE: The competition is now closed. Many thanks to all who entered!

Glee E4, Monday 9pm
It’s yearbook time and the glee club has been denied space for their group photo. Rachel thinks she has discovered a new way for the group to achieve celebrity status, but of course there are no shortcuts to fame and so the consequences will be dire… See our video preview of this week’s episode…

The Delicious Miss Dahl BBC2, Tuesday 8.30pm
Model-turned-food writer Sophie Dahl becomes the latest TV chef. The conceit of this series is that each week is themed around a particular mood, kicking off with “selfishness”, which roughly translates as cooking up scrummy recipes for one so that they don’t need to be shared. Sounds like my kind of food…

Women, Weddings, War and Me BBC3, Tuesday 9pm
Girls on the Frontline BBC3, Thursday 9pm
When all the furore kicked off about the BBC’s proposal to close national stations 6music and the Asian Network, a number of people pointed to BBC3 and said, “Look! Look! The BBC spends money on that?” And while some corners of the channel’s schedule may justifiably raise some eyebrows about public service endeavours (or lack thereof), such programmes do help ensure that the channel is a regular destination for young people. In turn, that means that the BBC3 audience tends to see documentaries such as this that they would skip over if scheduled on BBC2 or on a commercial station.

Nel is a feisty 21-year-old whose family fled Afghanistan for the UK when she was just six. in WOmen, Weddings, War and Me the cameras follow her as she returns to Kabul to explore the contradictory feelings she has about her own identity, and in the process should help more of us understand what life in Afghanistan is like, and why our forces are there.

Thursday’s documentary Girls on the Frontline looks at the role of four women in the armed forces who are serving in the same conflict. Quite why it’s not called Women on the Frontline, maybe BBC3 can tell us…

The Gemma Factor BBC3, Tuesday 10.30pm
It’s cruder than it needs to be, some of the supporting characters struggle to even be one-dimensional — but I can’t help smiling throughout every episode. This week, dodgy agent Angus cons Gemma and Jeff into using the village fun run as a means to promote themselves.

Russell Howard’s Good News BBC3, Thursday 10.30pm
It’s turning into something of a BBC3 promotion on Square Eyes this week, if only because the terrestrial channels’ season launches don’t start getting underway until this weekend. Here, Mock the Week panellist Howard uses his stand-up skills to present his own take on some of the weirder stories of the week, in the second series of the show that first time round gave the channel its highest rated entertainment show.

Sport Relief: The Choir BBC2, Friday 10pm
BBC1 gets the bulk of tonight’s huge charity telethon, but while the news break in, attention switches to BBC2 to see choirmaster Gareth Malone attempt to train 20 Olympic and Paralympic athletes to sing as a group. Caution: may contain James Corden.

Comedy Exchange Dave, Friday 10pm
Phill Jupitus has moved away from his stand-up heritage in recent times, so it’s nice to see him return here. However, there’s a twist involved — he’s trying his luck in New York, swapping places with Manhattan-based comic Eugene Mirman. Not only do both comics have to contend with being unknowns once more, there are cultural differences to trip them up as well. It’s a great programme that really exposes how hard the art of stand-up is.

Piers Morgan’s Life Stories: Bruce Forsyth ITV1, Saturday 8.30pm
You spend seven decades in show business, and not only are you not given a knighthood but you have to recite your entire career history while sharing a stage with obsequious upstart Piers Morgan. There’s no justice, is there?

Boyzone: A Tribute to Stephen Gately ITV1, Sunday 8.30pm
Boyzone: Life after Stephen ITV2, Sunday 10pm
Will Jan Moir be watching? The tragic death of Gately last year at the age of 33 is commemorated with a line-up including Bono, Mika, Paul O’Grady, Robbie Williams, Westlife and former Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern. It’s followed later by a documentary following Gately’s bandmates in the months after losing their friend and colleague.

Pineapple Dance Studios Sky1, Sunday 6pm
Personally, there’s only so much Louie Spence I can take, and Harry Hill’s TV Burp more than delivers on that front. If your stomach is stronger than mine, you can hear Michael Buerk give possibly the best voiceover performance since Dave Lamb on Come Dine With Me.

Jonathan Ross Radio 2, Saturday 10am
Guests include Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, authors of Ghost Stories playing at the Lyric Hammersmith.

Sport Relief Comedy Controller Radio 7, Saturday 10am (repeated 8pm)
To mark the BBC/Comic Relief sports-related charity event, Radio 4 & 5 Live sports presenter Garry Richardson introduces comedy episodes all with a sporting theme, including Knowing Me Knowing You, Radio Active, Hancock’s Half-Hour, The Game’s Up, Richardson’s own Look Away Now and Dad’s Army.

Saturday Play: Playing with Trains Radio 4, Saturday 2.30pm
A new version of Poliakoff’s 1989 play, originally staged by the RSC and here playing over two Saturdays. Timothy Spall is Bill Galpin, an inventor who made his fortune in the gramophone industry in the 1960s, and decides to use his wealth to help other inventors rather than growing his business for quick profit. His philanthropy sets him in conflict with his financier son.

Desert Island Discs Radio 4, Sunday 11.15am
Private Passions Radio 3, Sunday 12pm
Playwright, screenwriter and former Coronation Street scribe Frank Cottrell Boyce is Kirsty Young’s castaway on Radio 4, after which TV choirmaster Gareth Malone shares his favourite classical music with Michael Berkeley. Unsurprisingly for Malone, most of his choices are choral in nature, which should make for a good listen for Sunday lunchtime.

Elaine Paige on Sunday Radio 2, Sunday 1pm
A special edition marking Stephen Sondheim’s 80th birthday on Monday.

The Laurence Olivier Awards Radio 2, Sunday 8pm
The Society of London Theatre’s annual bash makes its debut on Radio 2. How it will work on radio remains to be seen, but there are plenty of musical performances so it should be an interesting listen. Video coverage of the ceremony will also be streamed live online.

Drama on 3: Arms and the Man Radio 3, Sunday 8pm
George Bernard Shaw’s 1894 romantic comedy, starring Rory Kinnear as Captain Bluntschli and Lydia Leonard as Raina Petkoff.

Composer of the Week: Stephen Sondheim Radio 3, Monday-Friday 12pm (repeated 10pm)
To celebrate Sondheim’s aforementioned 80th, Radio 3 celebrates his work as composer and lyricist, with contributions and reminiscences from the man himself.

Barry Cryer’s You Won’t Believe This Radio 7, Monday-Friday 2.45pm
Comedian and writer Cryer wrote his “autobiography of sorts” in 1998, so this repeated broadcast of his reading of the same doesn’t cover the last 12 years.

Afternoon Play Radio 4, Monday-Friday 2.15pm
With all the hubbub over Radio 4’s decision to drop the Friday Play slot and the subsequent reactions, it’s nice to see a week of Afternoon Plays that shows off the range of drama that this slot carries throughout the week. a * Monday: Listening to Time sees Kate Buffery and David Troughton play a couple who meet by chance when meeting the Aran Islands * Tuesday: Crime and Trial: Rage on the Road dramatises the real-life story of Tracie Andrews (Sian Brooke), who claimed that the brutal murder of her fiance had been the result of a road rage incident, but had in fact set up an elaborate plan to kill him herself * Wednesday: The Sensitive - A Nobody sees the return of Glawsegian psychic detective Thomas Soutar, whose assistance with solving crimes has left him with mental health problems of his own * Thursday: Scummow: Things Washed Up By The Sea is a surreal comedy by Annamaria Murphy, in which a Cornish woman rescues an Irish sailor whose healing effect on the local village is in contrast to his own demons * Friday: No Place Like Home stars Alex Jennings and Toby Stephens in a topical tale of a man who confronts a burglar armed with a (legally owned) shotgun. When shots are fired, the neighbours, the authorities and the media start to take interest.

There have been people hoping and praying that, with Steven Moffat taking over from Russell T Davies, Doctor Who will be headed in brand new directions. Equally, there have been people who love the series as it is, and who don’t want it to change at all.

After seeing the first episode last night, I think both camps will be somewhat satisfied.

The Eleventh Hour — cunningly named, as it features Matt Smith’s first full outing as the Doctor, and has been extended beyond the standard 45-minute episode length — will air on BBC1 on April 3. As with the last couple of series, TV Today will be reviewing each episode in full.

I’ve tried not to give away too many spoilers, but Doctor Who more than most has fans who don’t want to know anything about the show before each episode airs. So for them, take this as a mild spoiler warning — and then join me after the jump…

She may be playing a nun in the current West End production of Sister Act, but it seems that in real life Sheila Hancock is far from saintly.

Speaking at today’s launch for Over the Rainbow, BBC1’s new Saturday night talent show aimed at casting a young female actress as Dorothy in a major new Andrew Lloyd-Webber-produced production of The Wizard of Oz, Hancock revealed that she is slightly concerned that her tongue might land her in trouble come the live shows of the series.

“The thing I most worry about is swearing. I do swear a great deal,” she admitted. That may frighten the producers, but it’s the girls taking part in the show who might want to be wary of Hancock.

The actress, attending today’s launch alongside fellow panelists for the show, Charlotte Church and John Partridge, does not look like she will hold back on saying what she really thinks.

She told today’s audience at the Café de Paris that she hopes some of the girls who are taking part may find themselves “giving up the business”.

“I mean that sincerely. If they can’t survive this they should not be in the business. They really shouldn’t and some will drop out.”

Not that Hancock thinks any of the contestants taking part are going to be made a laughing stock.

Speaking today she made it clear that Over the Rainbow is not out to poke fun at any contestant, unlike other programmes.

She revealed that a lot of this year’s contestants have had training of some sort, and aren’t “all people who have walked off the streets”.

“In some reality shows, people are chosen because they are laughably bad, so that the nation and panelists can laugh at them. It’s not like that on this show, it really isn’t. We are looking for talent.”

Another week, another fun episode of Glee to look forward to! By now, you may have seen tonight’s E4 episode, Hairography - if not, don’t worry, it’s repeated on Thursday on E4 and then Sunday and the following Saturday on Channel 4.

Next Monday’s episode, Once Upon a Mattress (also known just as Mattress) is the final one before Sectionals, the last episode to air in the US before the series took its mid-series break. So we’re catching up fast!

Mr Figgins denies the Club a photo in the yearbook, but the kids decide that might be a blessing in disguise. Things are looking up for Glee Club when Rachel discovers a way for everyone to reach celebrity status at school — but in doing so, may have jeopardised the very thing they’ve been working towards.

With Terri’s fake pregnancy getting harder and harder to hide, surely Will can’t still believe he’s going to be a father — can he? And Sue Sylvester’s plans to derail the Glee club receive opposition from one of her former allies…

• Glee, Mondays, 9pm E4, repeated Thursday & weekends on Channel 4. For more details, go to www.e4.com/glee

• UPDATE: Apologies for those who were having problems with the videos posted yesterday — some gremlins with the new style video players, it seems. The code below should work for all users!

Coronation Street ITV1, Monday 7.30pm & 8.30pm
If there’s one thing that brings out the best in the Weatherfield soap, it’s a dramatic funeral. And with Joe, the world’s worst fraudster, being laid to rest, things come to a head for Gail as Tina makes a call to the cops. We all know that the hamster-faced one didn’t kill him, but when has that ever prevented the soap police from making an arrest?

Panorama: Are the Net Police Coming for You? BBC1, Monday 8.30pm
The Government’s Digital Communications Bill contains what the government claims will protect the creative arts from illegal copying and sharing. There is substantial opposition, though, to plans to disconnect broadband users if they offend. Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley investigates.

Glee E4, Monday 9pm
Schu organises a sing-off with some rival show choirs, including a deaf choir and a group of young offenders. And when Quinn decides she wants to keep her baby. Terri enlists her (frankly demonic) sister to help…

• Watch our video preview of this episode

The Gemma Factor BBC3, Tuesday 10.30pm
Although Gemma’s delighted to now have an agent, her friends Nell and Jeff are still concerned about the man’s previous conviction for human trafficking. Unfortunately, when Jeff goes with Gemma to help extricate her from her contract, he gets so star struck that he ends up signing too, and Kenny makes them do a showreel together… Not quite as fun as the first episode, but it still manages to be a delight.

• Raed The Stage TV reviewer Harry Venning’s verdict on The Gemma Factor
• Listen to our interview with Anna Gilthorpe, who plays Gemma - plus John Byrne details how not to make her mistakes

Life of Riley BBC1, Wednesday 7.30pm
It’s sitcom, but not as we’ve come to know it. The humour works at a level which seemed asinine years ago. Television has moved on, but nobody told these scriptwriters, it seems…

The Lady and the Revamp Channel 4, Thursday 9pm
The longest standing women’s weekly on the market, The Lady is a mer five years younger than The Stage, having first been published in 1885. It recently appointed a new editor, Rachel Johnson (sister of Boris) and this Cutting Edge documentary follows her attempts to bring the publication up-to-date while still retaining its loyal readers — a tough balancing act, we can assure you…

Sacred Music BBC4, Friday 7.30pm
Actor Simon Russell Beale presents a second series looking at 150 years of church music, this week concentrating on Brahms and Bruckner. Beale is a warm host who manages to inspire interest even if your tastes are otherwise secular.

Eurovision: Your Country Needs You! BBC1, Friday 8.30pm
After last year’s weekly talent show that propelled Jade Ewen into fifth place at Eurovision 2009 and into the Sugababes earlier this year, the BBC returns to the more familiar one-night format, with sic acts vying to perform a song written by Pete Waterman and Mike Stock in Oslo on May 29.

Let’s Dance for Sport Relief BBC1, Saturday 7pm
The grand final of what has proven to be just as fun as the first, even though none of the dances have had the shock factor of Robert Webb’s Flashdance. Katy Brand and Rufus Hound must surely be favourites, but for sheer shock value nothing could beat Kate Garraway showing that she is, on occasion, able to dance on the beat…

Harry Hill’s TV Burp ITV1, Saturday 7.30pm
It’s the K Factor Not-Live Final. Thank God. I love Harry, but the obsession with knitting this series has occasionally overshadowed the genius for observation that makes TV Burp so watchable.

Tropic of Cancer BBC2, Sunday 8pm
Wonders of the Solar System BBC2, Sunday 9pm
Simon Reeve’s latest travelogue is another round-the-world venture in the vein of Equator and Tropic of Capricorn, but this time following the, er, Tropic of Cancer — which means that he ends up travelling trhough some of the world’s most dangerous countries. He’s wonderful company though, and with Professor Brian Cox’s series on the solar system following it, BBC2 has the popular documentary format sewn up for the next few weeks.

Celebrity Come Dine With Me Channel 4, 8pm
From the sublime to the ridiculous, as Tom O’Connor, Claire Sweeney, Kim Woodburn and Darren Day take turns to act like the world’s worst dinner party host while the others take the role of people you’d least like to share a meal with. Still, always worth watching for Dave Lamb’s sardonic voiceover.

The Saturday Play: Confessions of a Medium Radio 4, Saturday 2.30pm
Bill Nighy and Robert Glenister star in award-winning novelist AL Kennedy’s gothic and darkly comic drama about illusion, delusion and desire. Based on a true story and set in 1870s London, Nighy plays a medium who Mr Parker (Glenister) goes to in an effort to move on from conventional religion to the world of sprituality and seances. Unfortunately for Parker, the man is a complete fake…

Elaine Paige on Sunday Radio 2, Sunday 1pm
La Paige is graced by the presence of the shy and retiring John Barrowman, who if coaxed and mollycoddled may be persuaded to sing, plus Glenn Slater, lyricist on Sister Act and Love Never Dies. The hand-picked golden oldie is from Oklahoma!, which is shortly to tour - see our competitions section for details on how to win tickets to a venue near you!

Classic Serial: Clarissa - the History of a Young Lady Radio 4, Sunday 3pm
Hattie Naylor adapts Samuel Richardson’s novel, starring Richard Armitage as the libertine Robert Lovelace who attracts the attentions of young heiress Clarissa Harlowe (Zoe Waites). Alison Steadman and John Rowe play Clarissa’s parents.

Drama on 3: Gone Radio 3, Sunday 8pm
A young woman has gone missing. A group of otherwise unconnected people relate who she touched their lives in some way on the last day anyone saw her. The different versions of events combine to form a disjoined version of the woman and what may have happened to her.

Afternoon Play: Hitched Radio 4, Monday and Tuesday 2.15pm
Emma and Richard are getting married. While they have done their best to keep their families apart, as the nuptials approach the in-laws must meet each other…

Showstopper: The Improvised Musical Radio 4, Tuesday 11pm
A success on stage in London, Edinburgh and further afield, Pippa Evans, Ruth Bratt, Lucy Trodd, Sean McCann and Oliver Sentin bring their ability to construct a new musical based entirely on audience suggestions.

Behind the Brel: The Story of a Musical Genius Radio 2, Tuesday 11.30pm
Soft Cell frontman Marc Almond is an authority on French chanson, so he’s the perfect choice to presen this three-part documentary on Belgian singer/songwriter Jacques Brel, who sang exclusively in French before dying of lung cancer in 1978, aged 49.

Scrooby Trevithick Radio 4, Thursday 11pm
A second series of the comedy written by and starring Andy Parsons continues to follow the exploits of the hapless Scrooby (Andy Parsons), a well-meaning but flawed young man who is desperately trying to better himself through his own website. This week, he tries to become an entrepeneur by misspending his inheritance. Dara O’Briain, Russell Howard, Hugh Dennis all also star — obviously they all had some time free between recording episodes of Mock the Week…

Sorry for the tardiness of this week’s Glee preview. I’m still recovering from all the wonderful songs from Monday’s episode, Ballads (if you missed it, it’s on Sunday on Channel 4 and gets a further repeat the following Saturday).

On to Monday’s E4 show, Hairography:

While Sue Sylvester continues to sabotage Glee, the rest of the Gleeks are becoming increasingly distracted.

Having invited their rival choirs in for a “friendly” sing off, Will is distracted by the flowing locks and bootyliciousness of the Jane Adams Academy. Much to the horror of the Glee club, he panics and decides to make some hair raising changes to McKinley High’s own act, but Rachel is convinced everyone will see through the smoke and mirrors of Schu’s “Hairography”. Is she right?

Terri is becoming increasingly desperate, knowing her fake pregnancy is on the brink of exposure. Employing some diversionary tactics of her own, can she maintain the illusion or will Schu see through his wife’s particular brand of hairography?

Clip 1:

Clip 2:

Glee is on E4, Monday 9pm, repeated Thursdays on E4 and weekends on Channel 4. For more details, go to http://www.e4.com/glee

Sport Relief Does We Are The Champions CBBC, Monday-Friday 4.30pm
Another brand from my youth returns, as the BBC revives We Are the Champions, with Paddy McGuinness taking over Ron Pickering’s commentator duties, supervising over teams of school children competing in a series of obstacle-laden relay races on the athletics track and in a swimming pool. As it’s a Sport Relief event, sporting celebrities will be on hand, ranging from medal-winning Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes to never-quite-winning-Wimbledonian Tim Henman. If you miss it this week, the whole thing will air on CBBC’s BBC1 strand next week.

A Band for Britain BBC2, Monday 9pm
The The Choir meets Brassed Off, presented by the winner of Maestro. Comedian Sue Perkins meets the Dinnington Colliery Brass Band, in its heyday a particularly find example of the colliery band. Now on the verge of extinction, can Sue persuade local residents to join and revive the group to the extent that they can play on the concert stage? She’ll have two more episodes after this one to try and get there, but the fact that you can tell the direction the series is heading doesn’t detract from a heartwarming show.

Glee E4, Monday 9pm
The glee club kids are randomly paired up by Mr Schuester this week, in an attempt to get the choir to bond with each other. Such events have consequences, of course, and when Mr Schu stands in for one of the club, his singing partner starts to develop a crush on him. And the news about Quinn and Finn’s baby starts to extend beyond the school gates…

• Watch two musical clips from tonight’s episode

Holby City BBC1, Tuesday 8pm
As promised last week, we see different perspectives on the events of last week. It doesn’t really have the same pace, and there’s a tendency to burden with a little too much exposition. But it’s always nice to see continuing dramas break up the monotony of the usual pace of a soap.

The Gemma Factor BBC3, Tuesday 10.30pm
A new BBC3 sitcom set the beautiful scenery of West Yorkshire, but with the sort of scatological and sexual references that are seemingly compulsory for a BBC3 comedy commission these days. The odd combination does make this seem like some form of Two Pints of Summer Wine, but writer Tony Pitts (who also appears as a cafe owner with OCD) has crafted a fluffy view of Gemma (Anna Gilthorpe, pictured above), a girl whose desperation to become famous leads her to make some bad career choices, including hooking up with a crooked agent (Angus Barnett). Gilthorpe is charming as the ditzy wannabe and manages to make the cast of extreme caricatures around her more tolerable. Standing out in the cast, though, are Gwyneth Powell (aka Grange Hill’s legendary Mrs McCluskey) as Gemma’s Nan and Emma Kearney as Janet, Kenny’s scheming wife/assistant.

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit BBC4, Tuesday 10.30pm
A repeat for Jeanetta Winterson’s BAFTA-winning drama, with Geraldine McEwan on fearsome form and the late Charlotte Coleman reminding everybody what a great acting talent was lost when she died in 2001.

The Bill: Ricochet ITV1, Thursday 9pm
First of a two-part story centring around Jo Masters (Sally Rogers), last seen imitating Shakira on Let’s Dance for Sport Relief wearing Dierdre Barlow-sized specs. I never did find out why. Anyway, Rogers is back on more familiar territory here, as she falls out with DS Carter once again.

A League of Their Own Sky1, Thursday 9pm
James Corden hosts an hour-long comedy sports-based panel show. I don’t know any more, as that first sentence contains at least three reasons why I will never, ever watch it.

EastEnders BBC1, Monday 8pm
It’s the day of Bradley’s funeral and, of course, everybody (expect Stacy and Max) still thinks that he murdered Archie Mitchell. It’s worth watching EastEnders at the moment, if only to work out what the heck Harry Hill’s referring to in TV Burp each week.

Five Days BBC1, Friday 9pm
The final episode of this superb drama should reunite all the remaining loose threads. It’s been a much more satisfying story than the original Hugh Bonneville-starring Five Days — I just hope it doesn’t go the same way as ITV1’s Collision and ruin the great four hours of setup with an hour of unsatisfying endings.

Heavy Metal Britannia BBC4, Friday 9pm
BBC4 has been building a reputation of great analysis of musical genres, and now the documentary strand turns to heavy metal. Not my kind of thing at all, but purely on the basis of other …Britannia documentaries it’ll be riveting stuff.

Piers Morgan’s Life Stories: Simon Cowell ITV1, Saturday 9pm
I find Piers Morgan loathsome, his interviews in this series often unbearbly twee — but Simon Cowell is fascinating: far nicer and humbler in person than his judges’ persona sometimes implies.

Wallander: Faceless Killers BBC4, Saturday 9pm
Kenneth Branagh’s take on the Swedish detective begins a repeat run of the second series.

FILM: Henry V BBC2, Sunday 2pm
And speaking of Branagh, his take on Shakespeare’s monarch.

FILM: In the Loop BBC2, Sunday 10pm
Armando Ianucci’s team of writers take The Thick of It spin doctor Malcolm Tucker and place him in the heart of a transatlantic political whirlwind as the US and Britain prepare to go to war. One of the best British films of the decade and, fingers crossed, a possible Oscar winner this weekend.

FILM: Don’t Worry About Me BBC2, Sunday 11.45pm
Actor David Morrissey, last seen in Five Days, makes his directorial debut with this adaptation of The Pool, a play by Helen Elizabeth and James Brough (described by The Stage reviewer Paul Vale as “a delightful two-hander… filled with wonderfully natural dialogue, filled with humour and pathos”). The authors reprise their roles here, Brough playing a man stranded in Liverpool who gambles his last few pounds in the hope of winning his fare back to London, and the bookies’ assistant he meets.

Jonathan Ross Radio 2, Saturday 10am
Joining Ross in the studio is Sheridan Smith, currently starring as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde The Musical.

Saturday Play: Vincent Price and the Horror of the English Blood Beast Radio 4, Saturday 2.30pm
The 1968 film Witchfinder General is the setting for this play by Matthew Broughton, which documents the behind-the-scenes battles between Price (played by Nickolas Grace) and his youthful director Michael Reeves (Blake Ritson). The anitpathy between them ultimately led to one of Price’s most chilling roles.

The Wire: Lucy Island Radio 3, Saturday 9pm
Playwright Laura Lomas, currently on attachement with Paines Plough’s Future Perfect scheme, writes a tale about a sixteen year old girl who, grieving for her dead father, decides to harden up and retreat from everyone - but her emotional retreat results in physical manifestations in the surrounding countryside. Georgia Groome and Joe Dempsie star.

Portraying the Poor: in Film and TV Radio 4, 1.30pm
From Saturday Night and Sunday Morning to Coronation Street, and from On The Buses to Big Brother, British film and TV has had plenty to say about the working class. But the writing, directing and commissioning tends to be done by more affluent writers.

Classic Serial: Of Mice and Men Radio 4, 3pm
David Tennant stars as George in this new adaptation of John Steinbeck’s classic work.

Kenneth Tynan’s Theatre Writings Radio 7, Monday-Friday 2.15pm
Michael Sheen and David Horovitch read from a selection of articles by one of the 20th century’s most influential theatre critics. Fascinating stuff, but who on earth scheduled this to run at the same time as Radio 4’s daily drama slot? Thank goodness for the radio iPlayer…

Rory Bremner’s International Satirists Radio 4, Monday 11pm
First in a three-part series that sees satirical impressionist Rory Bremner look at how comedians in other countries use their craft to examine their state’s culture. The first programme looks at the Netherlands through the eyes of Hans Teeuven.

Radio 1’s Stories: The A-Z of Gorillaz Radio 1, Monday 9pm
An eclectic programmes detailing 26 influential tracks that inspired the cartoon rock band Gorillaz. Somehwat surreally, the guest is the fictional Murdoc from the band.

Afternoon Play: Say What You Want to Hear - the Endgame Radio 4, Tuesday 2.15pm
After The Startup a couple of weeks ago, Radio 4 invited listeners to contribute their pithy phrases to a custom website just like the one proposed by enterpeneurs Erik and Mike (Stephen Tompkinson and Ewan Bailey). Some of these public contributions are used in this sequel.

I’ve Never Seen Star Wars Radio 4, Tuesday 6.30pm
Marcus Brigstocke’s comedy show in which guests try out new experiences makes for better radio than it did on the TV screens, so it’s good to see it back where it belongs for a third Radio 4 series. First guest in this new series is actor Sanjeev Bhaskar.

A Date with Dolly: Michael Ball Meets Dolly Parton Radio 2, Tuesday 10.30pm
The doyenne of country music is awarded a two-part career retrospective. Michael Ball, currently on a break from his Sunday Brunch show and preparing for his own ITV1 chat show in the summer, is a relaxed and effective interviewer, so this should be a delight.

Afternoon Play: Not Bobby Radio 4, Wednesday 2.15pm
Mackenzie Crook and Emerald O’Hanrahan star in a surreal story about a man whose pet rabbit starts to exhibit signs of intelligence - starting off with its ability to finish the newspaper crossword.

Friday Night is Mercer Night Radio 2, Friday 7.30pm
A welcome repeat of November’s concert celebrating the music of lyricist Johnny Mercer, from Moon River to That Old Black Magic and Come Rain or Come Shine.

A little later than usual this week, for which our apologies - but to make up for it, this week we have two musical clips from next week’s episode, Ballads.

The glee club kids are randomly paired up by Mr Schuester this week, in an attempt to get the choir to bond with each other. Such events have consequences, of course, and when Mr Schu stands in for one of the club, his singing partner starts to develop a crush on him. And the news about Quinn and Finn’s baby starts to extend beyond the school gates…

Our first clip sees Finn and Kurt rehearsing The Pretenders’ I’ll Stand By You:

And for our second clip, the club express their solidarity for one another — as usual, through the medium of song — with a rousing rendition of Bill Withers’ Lean On Me:

• Glee, Mondays 9pm on E4 (repeated Thursdays E4, Sundays & Saturdays Channel 4). For more details, go to E4.com/glee
• Episodes 1-8 of Glee are now available on demand at channel4.com/programmes/glee/4od. New episodes are added after their first Channel 4 transmission.

With all the fuss about Tim Burton’s latest attempt to bring Lewis Carroll’s children’s fantasy Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to the big screen (which I’m relieved to hear I may be able to see in my home town after all — it’s cheaper than traipsing into London and paying West End prices), the British Film Institute has posted its restored version of the very first film version online.

As the BFI’s notes suggest, there is a curious symmetry between this 1903 version and Burton’s 2010 retelling: just as the new film casts the director’s partner, Helena Bonham Carter, as the Queen, the silent film’s co-director Cecil Hepworth cast his wife in the role.

Made just 37 years after the novel’s publication and eight years after the birth of cinema, the first film adaptation was directed by Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow, and was based on Sir John Tenniel’s original illustrations. Hepworth cast his wife as the Red Queen, and he himself appears as the Frog Footman. His production secretary May Clark played Alice, and even the family cat and dog got in on the act. The cat played the Cheshire Cat, and the dog would go on to become the first authentic British film star (canine or otherwise) to have his name in the credit of a film when he headlined the pioneering chase film Rescued By Rover in 1905.

Although originally running just 12 minutes, Alice in Wonderland was the longest film produced in England at that time and represented a major investment for the pioneering Hepworth Studios. However, despite its historical importance, it was almost lost for good, and just one incomplete print is known to survive.

• BFI National Archive: Alice in Wonderland restoration

Over in our news section, Matt summarises the key nominations for this year’s RTS Programme Awards.

Below are the nominations for all the programme award categories. Do you have any favourites? Has the RTS omitted anybody that deserves recognition? Let us know in the comments!

ACTOR (FEMALE)

• Naomie Harris - Small Island, Ruby Television Production in association with AL Films for BBC One
• Suranne Jones - Unforgiven, Red Production Company for ITV1
• Julie Walters - A Short Stay in Switzerland, BBC Productions for BBC One

ACTOR (MALE)

• Stephen Graham -The Street, ITV Studios for BBC One
• Tom Hardy - The Take, Company Pictures/Warner Sisters for Sky 1
• David Oyelowo - Small Island, Ruby Television Production in association with AL Films for BBC One

ARTS

• Baroque, ZCZ Films for BBC Four
• The First Movie, A CONNECTfilm/Screen Siren Pictures Production for More4
• What Is Beauty?, Seneca Productions for BBC Two

CHILDREN’S DRAMA

• MI High, Kudos Film and Television for CBBC
• Roy, JAM Media for CBBC
• The Sarah Jane Adventures, BBC/BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC & BBC One

CHILDREN’S PROGRAMME

• Big and Small - Blame it on the Drain, Kindle Entertainment for CBeebies
• Bookaboo, Happy Films for CITV
• Horrible Histories, Lion Television for CBBC

COMEDY PERFORMANCE

• Peter Capaldi - The Thick of It BBC Productions for BBC Two
• Miranda Hart - Miranda BBC Productions for BBC Two
• Ruth Jones - Gavin and Stacey Baby Cow Productions for BBC One

CONSTRUCTED FACTUAL SERIES

• Famous, Rich and Homeless, Love Productions for BBC One
• The World’s Strictest Parents, Twenty Twenty Television for BBC Three
• Victorian Farm, Lion Television for BBC Two

(continues after the jump)

Five Days BBC1, Monday-Friday 9pm
BBC1’s latest stripped-across-the-week drama is a thoughtfully constructed piece by Gwyneth Hughes. A magnificent ensemble cast headed by Suranne Jones and David Morrissey investigate the ramifications of two seemingly separate events: a small baby abandoned in the hospital, and a suicide in front a cross-country train. As the week progresses, myriad smaller strands promise to converge.

Married Single Other ITV1, Monday 9pm
The first episode of ITV1’s new romantic comedy drama held much promise, and hopefully it’ll live up to that as it continues. Tonight Clint (Ralf Little) decides to throw a dinner party with the aim of wooing Abbey (Miranda Raison), unaware that his friends and relations are on the verge of self-destructing.

This is Jinsy BBC3, Monday 9.30pm
Writers Justin Chubb and Chris Bran play Maven and Sporrall, the hapless administrators of Jinsy Island, in this whimsical surrealist sitcom pilot that should satisfy people mourning the lack of any new Boosh output.

Holby City BBC1, Tuesday 8pm
New consultant Toby Geddes (Rick Warden) is one of those hugely irritating new characters that will either get written out within a few episodes, or mellow into one of the long-running characters we grow either to love, or to love to hate. Menawhile, a massive road accident and a hostage crisis mean that the ED is overflowing and the Acute Assessment Unit must take the strain. A tense episode, made all the stronger in the knowledge that next week’s will cover the same timeframe from different perspectives.

First Time Voters’ Question Time Live BBC3, Wednesday 8pm
We’re just weeks away from a general election — and for voters under the age of 23, it’ll be their first. Political representatives from each of the main parties face an audience of new voters in a debate hosted by Dermot O’Leary. While his TV persona is more used to voting of a telephone-for-your-favourite-popstrel kind, O’Leary is a warm and engaging host with more than a passing interest in politics, so should be the perfect moderator for this debate.

Eddie Izzard: Marathon Man BBC3, Thursday 10.30pm
Most people would be happy running the London Marathon for charity once in their life. Others may enter it multiple years. Running 43 marathons? In the space of 51 days? That’s crazy. But that’s just what Eddie Izzard did to raise money for Sports Relief. This first part of a three-episode documentary covers Izzard’s training regime (a dizzyingly breif two weeks) and his first few marathons.