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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...

The Only Gay In The Village RTE Player, until December 9 Being gay in rural Ireland has never been easy — being different in small, isolated, tight-knit communities never is — and even post-Referendum, the levels of acceptance are still far from where they could be, as this excellent documentary establishes. Along with the heart-warming tales of acceptance and love, of families digging deep in order to understand and embrace a son or daughter who is gay or bi-sexual, there is also testimony of violence and rejection from the commentators, who are without exception a remarkably open and honest bunch. The stories are as diverse and individual as the people involved, but they all, somewhere, speak of a need to continue the battle for acceptance and openness. Documentary making as it should be.

Ruth Rendell’s Thirteen Steps Down UTV Player, until December 20 This two-part psychological thriller, based on Ruth Rendell’s 2004 novel and part-filmed in Dublin, was first broadcast in 2012 on ITV, and is well worth a watch. Over the three hours of its time span, the story unfolds at just the kind of pace the material needs — slowly, with full attention paid to the gradual build-up of menace. Mix Cellini is an isolated, introverted young man living in an apartment in a crumbling old Victorian house in Notting Hill. His landlady is an eccentric recluse, and Mix begins to follow suit, withdrawing from the world, and growing ever more obsessed with serial killer John Christie, who murdered at least eight women in his Notting Hill flat. He is also increasingly fixated on a model who lives close by. Stars Luke Treadaway and Elarica Gallacher.

The Bord Gais Energy Irish Book Awards Highlights RTE Player, until December 19 An hour-long whiz through the highs and highs of the Irish Book Awards. Keelin Shanley and Evelyn O’Rourke do the honours, with plenty of great style and literary stars, including John Montague, Jilly Cooper and even Graham Norton.