April 2010 Archives

I had fretted that, as we are now only a few days behind the States, we wouldn’t be able to bring you our special video previews of future episodes of Glee, the musical comedy drama where “malicious optmism” is the order of the day.

But hurrah! They now become a pre-weekend treat rather than a Monday evening one. And we kick off with the return of the delightfully dipsomaniacal April Rhodes, played by Kristin Chenoweth, in Home.

Things haven’t gone quite according to plan for April since we last shared a wine box with her. She’s now trying to to make it to Broadway via the local roller disco — where she appears to be finally realising her dream of being “the mistress of an incredibly wealthy strip mall tycoon and the owner operator of a cabaret roller rink.” But is she really where she wants to be?

Others are also dreaming of new homes and new lives, so Kurt tries to set up his dad with an unexpected partner, but his plans for a nuclear family don’t go quite the way he was expecting. Meanwhile, new Cheerio Mercedes has trouble sticking to Sue’s dietary requirements.

Over the jump, we have THREE clips for you to enjoy…

Saturday Play: The Indian in the Cupboard Radio 4, Saturday 2.30pm
Jane Purcell adapts Lynne Reid Banks’ children’s book, in which 11-year-old Mori (Dominic Herman-Day) discovers that when he puts his plastic Iroquois Indian figure into a cabinet, it comes to life.

Drama on 3: And So Say All of Us Radio 3, Sunday 8pm
Playwrights Dan Rebellato, Lina McLean and Duncan Macmillan come together to create an absurdist take on a general election where nobody votes. In a bizarre freak of scheduling (thanks to the bank holiday altering our print deadlines this week), Moira Petty has already reviewed this drama — beware of spoilers, of course — which she describes as “a timely parody of the consequences of going against Donne’s edict that no man is an island.”

Afternoon Play: Barbershopera! Radio 4, Monday 2.15pm
Tenor Tony decides to quit his barbershop group on the eve of a big competition, so a replacement is needed — but who? John Sessions narrates an adaptation of the 2008 Edinburgh fringe success, a preview of which is below:

Afternoon Play: Gentleman Jim Radio 4, Tuesday 2.15pm
Raymond Briggs adapts his own graphic novel about a toilet attendant who dreams of a better life for himself and his wife, but finds events tumbling out of control and his dreams turning into nightmares. David Haig stars as Jim, with Jan Ravens as his wife Hilda.

Devil’s Advocate Radio 4, Wednesday 8pm
A new debate show chaired by David Aaronovitch, in which the guest speakers are required to reject their established view and instead speak for a contrary position. This first edition debates whether celebrities are entitled to a private life. John Leslie and Toby Young are the guests.

The Friday Play: RIP Boy Radio 4, Friday 9pm
Feltham Young Offenders Institution is the setting for this dramatisation of events that took place ten years ago. Zahid Mubarek (Darren Kuppan) was beaten to death by his cellmate, Robert Stewart (Matthew McNulty), a known racist with psychopathic tendencies. Neil McKay’s script explores how a catalogue of grave mistakes led to such a tragic conclusion. Produced by Nicola Shindler’s Red Production Company, an indie best known for its TV output including Queer as Folk and Casanova. You can read interviews with McKay and Shindler in this week’s issue of The Stage.

As it’s Bank Holiday weekend, the telly preview is a day longer this week…

Ashes to Ashes BBC1, Friday 9pm
The mystery of what happened to Sam Tyler deepens as the series embraces another character from Life on Mars, DCI Litton (Lee Ross). Pursuing a northern comedian wanted for stealing money, Litton and his sidekick need the cooperation of the Fenchurch East team, but there could be more to this crime than meets the eye…

Doctor Who: Flesh and Stone BBC1, Saturday 6.25pm
The conclusion to last week’s episode may have been marred by a cartoon Graham Norton, but it’s still set up for an exciting second episode featuring the Weeping Angels. This week, the explanation behind the “Crack in Time” may be revealed…

Over the Rainbow BBC1, Saturday 7.10pm & Sunday 7.15pm
Now that Emilie — who threatened to become this series’ “entertaining but not in a good way” answer to Jedward — has gone, the gap between the best and worst in this competition is much narrower and any poor performance could mean the end of the (yellow brick) road for any of the seven remaining girls. No live tweeting from me this week — I’ll be in the studio. Tamzin Outhwaite will be guest starring with a performance from Sweet Charity.

I’m in a Rock’n’Roll Band! BBC2, Saturday 9.40pm
The history of rock’n’roll is explored in this new documentary series which focusses on a specific role in the band each week, starting with the lead singer.

Lewis ITV1, Sunday 8.30pm
Juliet Aubrey, Stella Gonet and Nathaniel Parker guest star in the first of a four-part series of new Oxford-based murder mysteries.

Coronation Street ITV1, Monday 7.30pm & 8.30pm
Norris and Mary’s holiday in the Lakes may be turning into a tragicomic version of Misery but the real misery is at home on the cobbles, as Deirdre receives devastating news about her mother. Maggie Jones’ portrayal of Blanche Hunt is much missed, and the character’s send-off in fiction is set to do her proud.

Glee E4, Monday 9pm
One of the more memorable guest performances of the first 13 episodes was Kristin Chenoweth as washed-up dipsomaniac April Rhodes. Thankfully, she’s back this week to cause more mayhem and, now that fellow Broadway Wicked star Idina Menzel is also in the cast, I cross my fingers that at some point the two will cross swords. A full video preview post coming along shortly…

And so the fourth weekend opened with If I Only Had a Heart, cunningly changed to If I Only Had the Part for the girls (plus a gender change in the first couple of lines). As a conceit it worked quite well, although the individual line performances showed up some of the same weaknesses that we saw in last week’s show. In particular I thought Emilie and Danielle could have done a lot better, and it sounded like several of the girls hadn’t fully warmed up.

But it tends to be the solo performances that count. First of the block, Jenny sang Duffy’s Warwick Avenue. There is such a beautiful tone to Jenny’s voice that I think she’d make a great pop singer, but she doesn’t really push the theatricality of the song to any great extent, which is why I think the judges are being harsher on her than she maybe deserves.

Next up, Emilie, massacring Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper. And a truly horrendous performance it was, an out of key caterwauling backed up by some excruciatingly bad acting - one minute sulky toddler, the next a hyperactive infant who’s just found the contents of Mummy’s special tablets drawer. The judges pulled their punches slightly, maybe for fear of setting off more waterworks and allowing Emilie through for another week on the sympathy vote.

Stephanie’s rendition of Carly Simon’s Nobody Does it Better was great. Another girl with a great voice and a good command of the stage. After last week’s supposed choreography week, where she blew the others out of the water wit the strength of her dancing in her solo, it was a more sedate performance this week, but still strong. I do find the slight lateral lisp she has on her ‘s’ sounds while singing a minor irritation — but to be honest, if Lee Mead can win and go on to great things with a similar sound to his voice, who am I to argue? Charlotte thought that, at times, her phrasing was a bit too “sing-y”. Apparently a bad thing in a song. Who knew?

This Saturday, BBC1 launched a new series of themed idents. Unusually for the channel, the ident is a cartoon animation: even more unusually it includes references to the channel’s current slate of Saturday evening shows Total Wipeout, Doctor Who and Over the Rainbow.

Outside Christmastime, it’s rare for BBC1 shows to turn up in the idents themselves. One exception has been the cast and car of Ashes to Ashes, who turned up in a live action ident, but generally the short films are generic in quality.

I like the conceit of the new idents: they imply a cohesiveness to the Saturday night schedule that ITV, for all the popularity of Britain’s Got Talent, lacks. And the use of the iconic Television Centre to provide the circular motif that is common to all BBC1 idents is both an appropriate choice and one that appeals to the TV geek in me.

So the launch of the idents should have been a success on Saturday night. Instead, a particularly stupid and thoughtless application of the new Saturday night branding turned all the positives into one almighty negative.

When the Opera Comes to Town Radio 3, Saturday 12.15pm
THe touring theatre company — or in this case, the touring opera company — is an area even older than The Stage itself. The Carl Rosa Opera Company, founded in 1866, toured the UK delivering the first British performances of La Boheme, Andrea Chenier and other operas. Susan Rutherford looks at the history of the touring company.

Archive on 4: The Split-Up (and the Almost Inevitable Reunion) Radio 4, Saturday 8pm
Richard Coles examines what happens when music groups call it a day, as a way of marking the 40th anniversary of the Beatles’ own self-destruction.

Woman’s Hour Drama: An Unsuitable Attachment Radio 4, Monday 10.45am repeated 7.45pm
Barabra Pym’s novel set in 1960s North London follows Sophie and her vicar husband as they try to attract the local residents to join their congregation. When the dashing Rupert Stonebird moves into the area, Penelope tries to set him up with her sister Penelope, but neighbour Ianthe has other ideas. Sophie Thomson, Raquel Cassidy and Lucy Ackhurst star, while Penelope Wilton is on narration duties.

The Vote Now Show Radio 4, Monday-Wednesday 11pm
After a shaky start, this election-themed variant on The Now Show is shaping up nicely (appalling theme tune remix aside). The addition of factual reports presented with a light touch doesn’t yet quite work as well as the equivalent reports on More4’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, but it’s a shot in the arm that makes one realise the rut The Now Show had got into.

Charles Hawtrey, That Funny Fella WIth the Glasses Radio 4, Tuesday 11.30am
When it comes to gay Carry On members, Kenneth Williams has tended to grab the interest. By contrast, the life of Charles Hawtrey is less well known. Wes Butters’ documentary looks at the man behind the image of the puny fall guy, and how he came to die a recluse.

Afternoon Play: Bette and Joan and Baby Jane Radio 4, Thursday 2.15pm
The stories behind the making of psychological chiller Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? are as fascinating as the film itself. At war for years, stars Bette Davis and Joan Crawford inflicted horrors upon each other during production and the feud continued until well after the cameras stopped rolling. Actress Tracy-Ann Oberman’s first solo play stars herself as Crawford, with Catherine Tate as Bette Davis and also starring Lorelei King and Matt Addis. Read my interview with Tracy-Ann Oberman in this week’s issue of The Stage, on sale now.

When the Dog Dies Radio 4, Friday 11.30am
Ronnie Corbett is reunited with writers Ian Davidson and Peter Vincent, who wrote his TV solo outing Sorry! in the 1980s, for this gentle comedy series. Corbett is Sandy, a 65-year-old grandfather who has no intentions of going anywhere despite a family that can’t wait to gain their inheritance.

As he prepares to leave his lucrative contract at the BBC to present ITV’s football coverage (did he learn nothing from Des Lynam’s experience?) and present GMTV (has he never watched it?), Adrian Chiles is commemorated in this frankly superb video from YouTube mashup expert cassetteboy:

Glee Channel 4, Friday 8pm
Because this show is not repeated often enough on the Channel 4 network, a new Friday night slot for Hell-O, the first of the post-Sectionals episodes that debuted on E4 on Monday, repeated last night and will be repeated again on Sunday. It’s just as well that one doesn’t get tired of watching them, especially as the performances have improved over the mid-season break. Finn, however, still can’t dance to save his life.

The Ricky Gervais Show Channel 4, Friday 10.30pm & 11.05pm
The podcasts in which Gervais and his writing partner Stephen Merchant tease colleague Karl Pilkington about his (admittedly very strange) view of the world are great fun in audio only form. They’re now brought to life using a simple style of line drawing animation that harks back to the Flintstones era of the Hanna-Barbera school.

The Cut BBC2, Saturday 12.25pm
The second series of web-first dramas. This broadcast version is an omnibus of the daily online episodes and as such can feel more repetitive and stilted than a story plotted for single 25-minute episodes would. But if the last series is anything to go by, it’s a solid enough drama that showcases some fine upcoming talent.

Doctor Who: The Time of Angels BBC1, Saturday 6.20pm
After last week’s disappointing sojourn in World War II by Mark Gatiss, seemingly designed to kickstart a new line in Dalek merchandise to little other creative value, we’re promised a return to form as Steven Moffat brings back two of his more successful creations. The Weeping Angels, the demonic killers who can’t move while you watch them, make a horrifying return. Meanwhile the Doctor and Amy are joined by the Doc’s inamorata River Song (Alex Kingston), even though we saw her demise in Forest of the Dead. Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey… SImon Dutton and Iain Glen guest star.

Five Daughters BBC1, Sunday 9pm
An exploration of the stories behind the shocking murders of a series of young women, all prostitutes, in the Ipswich area in 2006. Rather than being a simple whodunnit dramatising the police’s hunt for the murderer, Stephen Butchard concentrates on the girls’ lives before their tragic deaths and creates something really rather special, if ultimately harrowing. Contonues MOnday and concludes Tuesday.

First off, apologies for the extreme tardiness of this week’s round up. It’s been busy busy busy here at Stage towers. Among other things, we’ve been setting up our own search for a musical theatre voice in assoication with PureSolo and Silva Screen records. But it’s mostly because I’ve been writing lots more print features than usual. Normal service should be resumed from hereon in!

This week’s show opened up with Ease on Down the Road from the 1975 African-American version of The Wizard of Oz. Now that is a show I’d love to see in the West End. Thanks to the ash cloud over Europe, the series’ regular musical director was indisposed — apparently flights into and out of Oz are also affected. Accomplished MD Mike Dixon stood in at short notice, though.

After we lost Bronte last week — and while that may have been a shock choice from the voting public, it was hardly “Brontegate” as Graham implied, unless the voting lines had been rigged in some way or some other nefarious activity went on — Andrew did speak up for her future career. Apparently, she has had a couple of good auditions this week, and got her a place at stage school.

While it’s good to see Andrew banging on about the virtues of getting a good musical theatre training, it does sit slightly at odds with his previous criticisms of auditionees he’s seen who’ve come out the other side of that training, and his championing of these shows’ ability to find “raw talent”.

Some of the girls competing this week really do need the additional training that Bronte and other students of musical theatre courses will get. One or two will require some intensive training should they win. However, there are also the odd one or two who could walk into rehearsals quite quickly — if they managed to overcome some of the wobbles in what turned out to be one of the most inconsistent shows yet.

And in a week which was supposed to showcase dance ability, not many of the solo numbers actually included that much dancing…

The musical comedy series Glee is returning to UK screens tonight, six days after it aired in the US. The short time gap means that we most likely won’t have access to the video previews as we did with the first half of the season.

But in the meantime, enjoy this spoof 60-second recap of Glee’s first 13 episodes, courtesy of comedy site Babelgum, featuring a cast of comedians who bear very little resemblance to the real actors. Which only makes it funnier, in a way, but there’s nowhere near enough Sue Sylvester.

• Glee, E4, Mondays 9pm

Young, Autistic and Stagestruck Channel 4, Monday 8pm
This second part of the documentary series following a group of children diagnosed with various degrees of autism, who are attempting to put on a stage show under the guidance of theatre professionals. If you missed last week’s first episode, it’s now on the 4OD YouTube channel. Also, Susan Elkin, The Stage’s Education and Training Editor, blogged about the series.

EastEnders BBC1, Monday 8pm, Tuesday 7.30pm, Thursday 7.30pm
Emmerdale ITV1, Monday-Thursday 7pm
Coronation Street ITV1, Monday 7.30pm & 8.30pm
It’s Gay Week in soapland this week, as each of the major soaps has its own storyline. The Christian/Syed relationship blows up in Albert Square, while on the cobbles Sophie dabbles in Sapphic interests. But it’s in the Yorkshire village of Emmerdale that the more interesting story develops, as Aaron (Danny Miller) takes drastic measures when it appears that his secret is out.

Glee E4, Monday 9pm
Less than a week after its US debut, the second half of the first season comes to UK telly fresh in the knowledge that, in its home country, the return saw ratings for the singing comedy nearly double. After the team won sectionals, Emma and Mr Schu attempt to go on a date, while Finn and Rachel edge closer. But Sue is back from Boca and on the warpath…

30 Rock Comedy Central, 10pm & 10.30pm
The sharpest comedy out of America at the moment, the fourth season of 30 Rock is presented in double bill episodes. In the first episode, Jack (Alec Baldwin) decrees that as parent company NBC is in financial trouble, the TGS team needs to reconnect with the public. Jenna offers to either go country or become a lesbian. Either of which, presumably, would make her more welcome in Emmerdale. Tracy decides to find a common man to connect with, while Kenneth stages a strike when he discovers how much Jack is earning.

Comedy Lab: iCandy / Happy Finish Channel 4, Monday from 11.05pm
A new series of comedy pilots begins with two sketch shows.

Three in a Bed Channel 4, Wednesday 8pm
It seems that Channel 4’s factual commissioners have a better idea of the mash-up than producers of Over the Rainbow do. Here, we take the Come Dine With Me entertain-your-rivals element and mash it up with The Hotel Inspector. Sadly, it works all too well…

Ashes to Ashes BBC1, Friday 9pm
Sick of the General Election yet? Why not escape with Alex Drake back to 1983. She, Gene Hunt and the rest of the Fenchurch East mob investigate a series of politically-motivated arson attacks in the run up to…er, the General Election. Sorry.

Marco’s Kitchen Burnout ITV1, Friday 9pm
Hell’s Kitchen meets Celebrity Masterchef, with Marco Pierre Whi…zzzz…. Oh, sorry, fell asleep for a moment there.

Doctor Who BBC1, Saturday 6.30pm
Doctor Who Confidental BBC3, Saturday 7.15pm
As shown at the end of the last episode, Victory of the Daleks sees the Doctor return to World War II at the behest of Prime Minister Winston Churchill. In the underground Cabinet War Rooms, the PM has a new weapon to deploy against the Nazis: metal pepperpots with single eyestalks that look vaguely familiar… Over on BBC3 immediately afterwards, Doctor Who Confidential includes a visit to the real Cabinet War Rooms. Previous Confidentials on New York in the Great Depression (after Daleks in Manhattan) and the fate of Pompeii (after The Fires of Pompeii) have been some of the most effective in the series, combining a small amount of behind-the-scenes footage with an exploration of history. Let’s hope that tradition continues here.

Over the Rainbow BBC1, Saturday 7.15pm & Sunday 6.15pm
Nine go down to eight, plus the top ten Totos are reduced to five. Somewhere in there, let’s hope that there are some show tunes — but really, just watch it for Sheila Hancock’s amused contempt at the whole process. I’ll be livetweeting as usual (as @scottm) and posting a full review after Sunday’s show.

Britain’s Got Talent ITV1, Saturday 8pm
Thankfully Susan Boyle free this year. Unfortunately, Piers is still there with Simon and Amanda. You know what to expect by now, as it’s ITV-talent-show-by-numbers: rubbish act, rubbish act, potentially rubbish act that turns out to be quite good, rubbish act, amazing act — and repeat ad nauseam…

The Prisoner ITV1, Saturday 9.30pm
Bill Gallagher’s reworking of the classic 1960s drama finally hits British screens, after a lukewarm reception in the US. Jim Caviezel stars as Six, a man who finds himself in a strange village in the middle of a desert. In seeming control of things is Two (Ian McKellen). If you loved the original, this may well rankle: if you’ve never seen the Patrick McGoohan version then you really should hunt it down.

Pineapple Dance Studio Sky3, Sunday 5pm
Sky is this week using its only Freeview entertainment channel to showcase some of the programmes people could see if they “upgraded” to the company’s pay channels. So here’s your chance to see Louie Spence and the array of characters that have made this series a must-watch, even if it’s through the teeny tiny cracks between your fingers.

The South Bank Show Revisited: Ian McKellen ITV1, Sunday 10.15pm
If there’s any glimmer of hope in the cancellation of the South Bank Show, it’s this series of retrospectives that allows the programme makers to study how particular individuals, and their works, have changed over the years. Here, we see two very different sides to Ian McKellen: from the uptight thespian with a distate for cinema and who would not acknowledge his homosexuality, to the relaxed, comfortable out gay man he has become.

On to the second week of live shows, and proceedings were conducted under the watchful gaze of one of The Stage’s expert bloggers. Not me, as you’ll have guessed from the use of the word ‘expert’, but critic and daily blogger Mark Shenton, who kept his eye on proceedings from inside the studio. Me, I took my usual space on the sofa, armed only with my eyes and ears, plus all my friends on Twitter.

The show itself decided it had to be even more camp this week, so we had witch-green pyrotechnics, Amy’s jewelled shoes hanging from a chandelier and Graham Norton in a waistcoat that, thankfully, was mostly obscured by an equally hideous jacket.

After a so-so group version of Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead (how good would that have been as an exit song?), Andrew announced that Sheila had been working on the girls’ acting (hurrah), especially as there’s a difference between acting for a large West End stage and for the TV cameras — something that we’ve commented on in series past. Of course, Sheila being Sheila and bearing no truck with the artifice of television, she later revealed that she had little more than 15 minutes with each girl at the start of the week, so there was less focus than might have been.

And, sadly, it showed in all too many of the solo performances.

Ashes to Ashes BBC1, Friday 9pm
The addition of Daniel Mays’ Jim Keats has shaken up the investigations team in ways that greatly enhance this third and final series. With a sense that the fantasy elements are finally coming to the fore, Alex is now investigating Life on Mars’ Sam Tyler’s “death”, but that gets put on hold when three members of a dating agency are murdered. The brilliant Montserrat Lombard really comes to the fore in this episode, which just adds to the appeal.

The Great American Songbook night BBC4, Friday from 7.30pm
Yet another glorious evening of classic music, including Walk On By at 7.40pm looking at songs from the great film musicals, and BBC Four Sessions: The Great American Songbook featuring new performances of classic numbers by current artists.

Doctor Who BBC1, Saturday 6.15pm
After last week’s extended introductory episode, we’re back to the 45-minute episode structure now that Matt Smith and Karen Gillan have been introduced to the nation. In the far future, the entire population of Britain inhabits a starship scouring the galaxies for a new home. Sophie Okonedo guest stars.

Over the Rainbow BBC1, Saturday 7pm & Sunday 8.15pm
Now that we’ve had our first expulsion (in the campest sending off in the history of television ever) it feels like the hunt for Dorothy Gale is finally under way. Last week’s episodes had a disappointing dearth of musical theatre related content — will that be rectified this week?

The 100 Greatest Stand-ups 2010 Channel 4, Saturday 9pm
After a similar theme evening in 2007 (which prompted Stewart Lee to title his subsequent stand-up show 41st Best Stand Up Ever) C4 once again takes public votes and tries to rank comedians with very different styles. Presumably the survey results were conducted a while ago, so expect Frankie Boyle to rank higher than he possibly might after recent media coverage.

Foyle’s War ITV1, Sunday 8pm
With A Touch of Frost going to the great police interview room in the sky, it’s nice to see a programme that, having previously been cancelled, return to the screens. Michael Kitchen returns as the weary detective, with Honeysuckle Weeks in support as ever.

A Passionate Woman BBC1, Sunday 9pm
Kay Mellor’s drama about illicit love spans the decades, with Billie Piper and Sue Johnston playing the same role thirty years apart. Based on her play for West Yorkshire Playhouse (itself inspired by incidents from Mellor’s mother’s life).

Touched by Frost: Goodbye Jack ITV1, Tuesday 8pm
After last night’s final episode of A Touch of Frost (don’t tell me what happened, it’s still lined up on my recorder!), this retrospective looks back at the entire series, as well as the filming of the last story and an interview with David Jason about his time playing RD Wingfield’s character.

True Stories: Starsuckers More4, Tuesday 10pm
The tabloid media’s obsession with celebrity, which both feeds and is fed by the public’s appetite for the same, comes under the spotlight in this documentary. Already the subject of some notoriety thanks to the film-makers’ success in planting untrue (but easily verifiable as such) stories in the red tops’ gossip columns, it also apparently includes hidden camera footage of reporters and PR men indulging in nefarious activity to fuel the thirst for stories.

Walk On By / Nina Simone: A Tribute / Legends: Ella Fitzgerald / The Rodgers and Hart Story / Meet Sammy Davis Jr. BBC4, Tuesday from 7.30pm
if you enjoyed Good Friday’s Great American Songbook themed evening on BBC4, here’s some more along the same lines to delight you. All have been shown, before of course, but it’s an opportunity to wallow in some beautiful music as well as hear of the stories behind the artists and composers who have become legends. The season conitnues on Thursday, with a montage of numbers from Later… With Jools Holland and a showing of Frank Sinatra musical movie Pal Joey.

In Confidence Sky Arts 1, Tuesday 10pm
Sky Arts are billing this new interview series as an offshoot from drama In Treatment, but in reality it owes more to the classic John Freeman series Face to Face that ran from 1959 to 1962 (revived in the 1990s with Jeremy Isaacs) and even More4’s much more recent Shrink Rap with Pamela Connolly (or Radio 4’s In the Psychiatrist’s Chair). Laurie Taylor interviews a variety of people from various aspects of the arts, starting with Damien Hirst. Future subjects will include Lily Allen, Richard Dawkins, Kathy Burke, Jonathan Miller, Martin Rawson, David Starkey and, um, Ann Widdecombe. Who I suppose just creeps in now that she’s a TV celebrity rather than an MP, but does seem to be making up the numbers somewhat.

Waterloo Road BBC1, Wednesday 8pm
A new term at the school from hell, as the fifth series resumes after its long break. Little has changed, other than that oily Tom Chmabers’ headmaster is now but a memory. As, indeed, is Grange Hill, which at times seemed far more grown-up than Waterloo Road does.

Bruce Forsyth: a Comedy Roast Channel 4, Wednesday 10pm
The “roasting” is a peculiar form of tribute that seems to be popular in America — friends make jokes about a particular celebrity, in their presence, but do their best to make them as rude as possible. Brucie is the genial subject of barbs tonight, so expect jokes about his age, his prediliction for wives younger than him, his golf handicap and such. Sharon Osbourne is similarly ‘celebrated’ on Thursday and Chris Tarrant on Friday. You have been warned.

Outnumbered BBC1, Thursday 9.30pm
As the three children in this family sitcom start to age, the improvised nature of their dialogue becomes a little more honed, a little less unpredicatble. But it should still be head and shoulders over most comedies, as Monday’s My Family clip show proved. Ramona Marquez, Daniel Roche and Tiger Drew-Honey continue to run rings around harrassed parents Claire Skinner and Hugh Dennis, this week as the family go on a sightseeing trip around London.

And so the real battle commenced, after last week’s not-live show. Thankfully the horrendous opening titles seem to have been shortened somewhat, although they still include some tortuously painful grimacing from Andrew Lloyd Webber.

And in the studio, a huge pair of ruby stilettos encompass the orchestra, with a rather more usually sized pair sitting in a glass dome in front of Andrew. Because this programme just wasn’t camp enough before.

As usual, each contestant has been given their signature colour, here recreated as a slightly slutty version of Judy Garland’s gingham outfit, with umpteen petticoats and see-through tops. An odd choice to represent the youthful innocence of the farmgirl, one might argue. The simpler blue gingham given to the ten wildcards-in-waiting was a much more appropriate design.

But on to the performances - that’s what we’re all here for, isn’t it? All eleven girls are supposed to be singing songs that showcase their leading lady potential. Which is a theme that we’ve had in previous years, but surely it ought to be the theme every week?

With BBC flagship shows such as Casualty and Doctor Who relocating to a new base in Cardiff, broadcast writer Maggie Brown reflects on how the programmes are coping with budget cuts and who’ll feel the impact

As the 11th Doctor Who, played by the skittish, 27-year-old Matt Smith, launches a new era of time travel this Easter weekend, there is far more at stake than whether the public takes to his new garb of timeless fogey Harris tweed jackets, bow ties and braces - rather than the Jarvis Cocker-inspired sharp suits of David Tennant.

For those attending a glitzy premiere in Cardiff earlier this month - hosted by the cream of the Welsh broadcasting establishment - it also underscores the massive turnaround in the fortunes of TV drama production in the principality. And that in turn poses the question of whether it can be maintained long term, by genuine indigenous growth.

The Great American Songbook BBC4, Friday from 8pm
Friday night is most definitely music night on BBC4, with a celebration of some of the greatest popular song ever written. Starting with a documentary about the development of pop music, Walk On By, at 8pm, followed by a compilation of clips from Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers singing and dancing to Gershwin numbers at 8.50pm, the main centrepiece is …Sings the Great American Songbook, a compilation of performances from the BBC Archives.

Ashes to Ashes BBC1, Friday 9pm
Fire up the anachronistic right-hand drive Quattro! The final series of the time-hopping crime drama fantasy. Series 2 of the 1980s-set drama ended with Alex Drake (Keeley Hawes) apparently back in the present day after being accidentally shot by Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister). Alex is back in the 1980s, though, and Gene is on the run. There’s a new regular character, too, with Danny Mayes as a disciplinary officer intent on bringing Gene down once and for all.

The Door ITV1, Friday 9pm, Saturday 8.25pm
Take The Crystal Maze, turn some of the individual games into phobia-challenging rounds similar to those in Fear Factor or I’m a Celebrity…. And then neuter any chance of it being watchable by having it hosted by Chris Tarrant and Amanda Holden.

K-9 Disney XD, Saturday 4pm
The return of a certain time traveller later on Saturday evening will perhaps overshadow another regeneration, this time seeing the tin dog from Tom Baker’s era and The Sarah Jane Adventures regenerated as a floating, cutesified plastic mutt. The same voice artist, John Leeson, provides K9’s voice, but I’ve yet to be convinced by the new look, Australian-made series. Time, as they say, will tell.

Chuck Jones: Extremes & In-Betweens Sky Arts 1, Saturday 5.30pm
The freewheeling genius behind Road Runner, Bugs Bunny and a huge number of the best cartoon shorts ever made is profiled here. You’d be looney tunes to miss it.

Doctor Who BBC1, Saturday 6.20pm
Matt Smith makes his full debut as the Doctor in this specially extended first episode of the new series. I previewed it after the press launch a couple of weeks ago. It’s a really good romp, proving that despite the regeneration of both lead actor and production team, it’s still the same Doctor Who that has topped the ratings for the last few years. Look out for child actress Caitlin Blackwood, who delivers a superb performance in the opening scenes of the episode. It’s an excellent performance. A new series of Doctor Who Confidential starts on BBC3 straight after.

Over the Rainbow BBC1, Saturday 7.25pm (results show Sunday 6.20pm)
After last week’s audition and selection shows, we hit the first of the live elimination rounds. Not definite yet, but I may be live tweeting again, as I was last week. I’ll definitely be reviewing the show afterwards at http://thestage.co.uk/dorothy. In a break from previous series, the results show will be shown on Sunday evenings, a la previous years of Strictly Come Dancing.

Jonathan Creek BBC1, Sunday 8pm
Once a full series, David Renwick’s magician-turned-detective is now only seen in seasonal specials. Alan Davies’ slightly shambolic lead is once more backed up by the ubiquitous Sheridan Smith as assistant Joey Ross. The pairing is so natural that it it’s easy to forget that it is only Smith’s second stint in the role.

A Touch of Frost ITV1, Sunday 8pm & Monday 9pm
The end of an era, as DI Jack Frost (Dvaid Jason) takes on his final case before hanging up his grey anorak. The exact nature of the ending is, as many series try to claim, a closely guarded secret. Will Frost retire, or pop his clogs? Either way, it’s another returning drama brand that ITV1 has lost, but will live on endlessly in the netherworlds of ITV3.

West End Story: What Nancy, Joseph and Maria Did Next BBC1, Monday 4.10pm
Now that Over the Rainbow has started in earnest, the BBC looks back at its previous contest winners Jodie Prenger, Lee Mead and Connie Fisher and how their professional lives have fared since winning their respective series.

Vincent Van Gogh: Painted with Words BBC1, Monday 5.10pm
Benedict Cumberbatch (soon to be seen as a 21st cenutry Sherlock Holmes in Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss’ retelling of Conan Doyle’s characters) stars in this documentary with dramatised scenes, retelling the life of the famous painter through the letters he sent to his brother Theo. Useful for Doctor Who fans to use as revision material prior to a certain episode later in the series…

An Extras Night In BBC2, Monday from 9pm
The entire first season of Extras in a single night. Magic.

Channel 4’s Comedy Gala Channel 4, MOnday 9pm
Recorded earlier this week at the O2 Arena, a selection of stand-up spots and sketches performed in aid of Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.