There’s nothing like this Dane

NEVER liked TV shows about newspapers – the reality is much more dramatic. But I make an exception for Dicte: Crime Reporter, a darkly humorous Danish series in which Iben Hjejle, pictured, is the eponymous lead. The females are fully drawn characters, mutually supportive and savvy. The men are caricatures – Dicte’s ex is a selfish berk; the key detective is emotionally stunted; her photographer has the morals of a tomcat. It’s set in Aarhus and you can almost smell the cod frikadeller, but the city doesn’t come out terribly well. Dicte’s neighbour has died horribly; a newborn boy is missing; an immigrant has bled to death and when Dicte nips out for a quick coffee, an abandoned baby floats past in a bucket. Given Aarhus is nicknamed ‘the city of smiles’, the rest of Denmark must be seriously grim…