CATCH-UP TV - IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...

Victoria UTV Player, until September 27, episode 1 So many period dramas end up all costume and no content; too much spirited bonnet-tossing and “fiddle-di-di Sir!” This eight-part series manages to stay very much on the right side of the plot-props divide, moving at a smart enough pace to keep attention focussed, without swallowing up whole slices of history in an instant. Beginning with the young Victoria — Alexandrina as she was then — on the day of the old king’s death, this follows her attempts to assume the Crown, manage Palace life, escape from the clutches of her mother and Sir John Conroy and the machinations of her uncle, all the while batting off the general determination to see her married. Jenna Coleman is a very good Victoria, the right mix of imperiousness and childishness, and Rufus Sewell is excellent as Lord Melbourne, her first prime minister and closest advisor. Of course some historical accuracy has been sacrificed for a gripping story, but all in all, this is a very good portrait.

Luke Kelly: Prince Of The City RTE Player, until October 2 Luke Kelly was just 44 when he died of a brain tumour, 32 years ago. There has never been an Irish singer like him, and the recollections of his personality and legacy offered here by Phil Coulter, Imelda May, Glen Hansard and many more, give a clear picture of the remarkable impact he had on Irish music and life. Born in Sheriff Street, Kelly moved to England while still a teenager and started working on building sites, but was fired for asking for higher pay. His musical career began in Leeds, where he started playing the banjo and singing, and he later moved back to Dublin where he was a founding member of The Dubliners, who, at the time, were part of a revival of Irish folk music that mixed with a more general folk revival in England and America. The stories of Kelly’s drinking and carousing — many contained here — may be legendary, but are nonetheless eclipsed by his musical legacy. His interpretation of Kavanagh’s Raglan Road is still the gold standard.