Oh so grim down south
IKNOW this makes me sound a little soft in the head but I still get disproportionately excited whenever a television drama comes to film in my neck of the woods. And why not? After all, a nice bit of TV coverage will raise our community’s profile, bring us more visitors and, by doing so, boost our economy. All in all, it’s wonderful publicity.
And Dr Thomas Wotsisnane from SILENT WITNESS (BBC1, 9pm) almost sounds like the perfect PR man for my home city, to which he and his colleagues are heading tonight, as he asks his workmate Nikki: “What do you think about a trip to Brighton?”
It’s just a shame that Thomas (right) has preceded this tempting invitation with: “A body part’s been found on a municipal dump…” Well, I did say he was “almost” perfect.
Yes, I’m afraid it’s grisliness and gore a-go-go, as per usual, when our forensic pathology chums pootle down to the south coast for their latest grim investigation.
What’s specifically been found there, by workmen at the local refuse tip, is a human arm, smothered in tattoos.
And we are not talking about your run-of-the-mill arm-scribble as favoured by, say, Premier League footballers with too much time on their hands.
No, we’re talking about tattoos that look far more elaborate and symbolic. They’re Japanese and will turn out to be jolly significant to this whole case, probably.
Anyway, Thomas and Nikki’s colleague Jack, who’s actually the first on the scene (where he’s met by a pair of local detectives, one of whom is Samantha Bond, the other a delicate soul who’s struggling to keep his breakfast down) has a hunch that this lone limb is merely one piece of what will become a larger haul. He’s not wrong.
“Yes,” he confirms, as another random body bit is found among the mountains of rubbish. “That’s a foot in a pizza bag.” So who could be behind this brutal slaying? It’s a bit too early to say (there’s a second and concluding part tomorrow, don’t forget) but acting particularly shiftily is a character we see living a couple of miles along the coast, in a house just next to where I get my car serviced.
Meanwhile, over on the other side, in COLD FEET (ITV, 9pm), what better way for Adam to sort his head out than with a wee bit of drama therapy?
Well, since you ask, there are probably countless better ways but his perseverance does begin to reap benefits, steering him towards a greater understanding of his commitment issues.
It looks as though he could also offer a bit of guidance to old friend and fellow single parent Karen, as the twins’ 18th birthday draws near. For Karen’s ex-husband David, meanwhile, life as a kept man isn’t proving nearly as appealing as he’d hoped, leaving the atmosphere between him and Nikki increasingly strained. Elsewhere, Pete has yet to pick up on Jen’s health worries, so focused has he become on cheering up Evan, that chap whose soggy suicide bid he unwittingly scuppered.