These riotous dames deserve a whole series, not just one show

Picking celebrities to invite to an imaginary dinner party is a popular game to play with friends. Anyone who watched Nothing Like A Dame (BBc2) will have instantly added the four feisty ladies featured to their guest lists.

The one-off programme celebrated the work and friendships of Dames Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright and Eileen Atkins.

Filmed at the chocolate box Sussex home of Dame Joan, the actresses discussed their early careers, marriages and plans for the future.

They may have cabinets groaning with Oscars and Baftas, but hearing them talk about their insecurities and the stage fright they still suffer was an eye-opener.

Dame Judi described her fear as ‘the petrol’ that drove her to give a good performance. All had been told they weren’t pretty enough by casting agents at some point in their career.

Dame Eileen turned down the chance to play the lead in Shakespeare’s Antony and cleopatra as she thought she wasn’t attractive enough. Dame Judi said ‘people openly laughed’ when she was cast in the role and added. ‘i was a menopausal dwarf . . . so that’s how i played her.’

it triggered another memory for of her friend, saying the only roles she gets offered are ‘something Judi Dench hasn’t got her paws on yet’.

Director Roger Michell did a beautiful job with his gentle, hands-off approach, which led to a marvellously entertaining programme. With so many stories to tell, i only wish they had been given a whole series.

Many fine thespians started out in soap and The British Soap Awards (iTV Saturday) celebrated the best in the field.

Filmed at London’s Hackney Empire, it’s fair to say that the occasion lacked the glitz or glamour of the Oscars or Baftas. The red carpet was a sea of fake tans, fake boobs and tattoos known as ‘tramp stamps’ as the stars of the soaps headed in to see if they’d bagged a gong in any of the 16 categories. Hosted by Phillip Schofield, it went on for two hours, during which time most of the awards blurred into one.

The event was live — we know this because Phil reminded us every five minutes, warning us of the perils of live TV and how things are prone to go wrong. it’s almost as though he hoped for a stage invasion or a streaker, just to liven things up.

Watching the soap stars mouth ‘Who’s that?’ every time one of the not very well-known presenters took to the stage became more entertaining than the awards themselves.