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TV preview There’s a chill in the air as landmark case is revisited
suspects, among the talking heads. But her brother speaks too, and there are interviews with journalists Joan Smith and Sarah Baxter that put the case in context and pinpoint its relevance to today.
At one point, Baxter reveals just how many unidentified bodies of women were lying in morgues at the time of Suzy’s disappearance. Prepare to be shocked. Suzy’s mother, Diana, had to suffer calls from police whenever a body was found. I had almost forgotten what an impressive woman she was,
fighting like a tigress to have her daughter’s killer caught.
It was suggested by a contributor that one officer in particular did not take kindly to Mrs Lamplugh’s efforts, and that this might have been one reason certain leads were not followed up.
But the whole Metropolitan Police investigation seemed to be a shambles from the off. When detectives travelled to Belgium to interview a Mr Kiper (one p), who turned out to have an alibi, they found half of Fleet Street already out there, waiting.
The police eventually identified a suspect, and it is hard to disagree with their choice, even before new evidence is presented. It is difficult, too, not to shed another tear for a young woman who went out one day to do her job and never came back.
Unprecedented. It is the word that has been everywhere this year and it is now being applied to Christmas.
We are warned that the festive season, like everything else since March, will be a little different this time. Fewer friends and family around, and much more comfort eating if you can imagine such a thing.
(I am enjoying those “there is no naughty list this year” adverts from Tescos. They catch the mood of the times like no other.)
With so much that will be different there is succour to be had from looking back. Who knows, you may even want to go as giddy as a reindeer who has necked Santa’s sherries and start planning Christmas 2021. If so, have a look at
This festive special of ITV’s lockdown hit is set in 2019. It is an absolute cheese fest, with heart-warming stories round every corner. What’s so cockleswarming about watching wealthy people spend £250 a head on a Christmas dinner, you might ask, or see them unwrapping an eyepoppingly expensive watch on Christmas Day?
Not much is the answer, but there are other guests to spend time with, such as Mr Howells, who runs a B&B in Wales, and has saved up every year to take his mother to the Savoy for Christmas.
Sadly, she is not with him this time, so the staff make an extra effort to make him welcome. Meanwhile, restaurant manager Thierry moves himself to tears with the tale of a customer who grew up poor but always had a dream of one day having his turkey and pigs in blankets at the Savoy Grill. Each to their own.
In next week’s magazine
I’ll be picking my top 20 shows to watch this festive season.
See you then.
Tiny Pretty Things (Netflix, from Mon)
In 2015, authors Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton welcomed the publication of Tiny Pretty Things, their collaborative novel about life at an elite ballet school. It was an instant success and has won numerous plaudits since – and now it’s been turned into a 10-part TV series. The story follows the fortunes of a group of talented teenagers from a variety of backgrounds, who have left their homes and families behind to pursue their dreams of becoming professional dancers. They are enrolled at the Archer School of Ballet, which is aligned with the city’s renowned professional company, City Works Ballet. But it soon becomes clear the institution is hiding a multitude of sins... Lauren Holly, Kylie Jefferson and Brennan Clost star.
The Expanse (Amazon Prime, from Wed)
Hopefully this sci-fi series will continue for as long as James SA Corey keeps writing the books that inspire it. The ninth is due to be published next year, with a novella to follow. Amazon is about to unleash the fifth season, containing 10 episodes, one of which will be directed by the show’s star, Thomas Jane. This time, the story begins as thousands of humans leave the solar system, hoping to find new homes and their fortunes on planets beyond the alien Ring. Meanwhile, the crew of the Rocinante face numerous personal challenges that may impact on the wider community.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix, from Fri)
This period drama, based on August Wilson’s acclaimed play, features the final performance of Chadwick Boseman, who passed away in August.
He’s on top form here as ambitious trumpet player Levee, but it’s Viola Davis who takes centre stage as Ma Rainey, the blues legend who went on to inspire a generation of singers. The story focuses on a recording session in Chicago in 1927, during which Ma is locked into a battle of wits with her white manager and producer as she seeks control of her music.
Gold Digger (BritBox, from Fri)
Julia Ormond and Ben Barnes join forces for this sixpart drama from Marnie Dickens. Ormond plays Julia, a wealthy 60-year-old who has spent her entire life putting other people first, including her ex-husband Ted and their three children, highachiever Patrick, selfdestructive Della and baby of the bunch Leo. But she decides to prioritise her own happiness after falling for Benjamin, a man 24 years her junior (Barnes). Will the couple live happily ever after, or can her loved ones prove the new man in her life is only interested in her money?
The Grand Tour: A Massive Hunt (Amazon Prime, from Fri)
James May currently has an alternative as a TV chef thanks to his Amazon series Oh Cook, but now he’s back on more familiar ground, alongside his buddies Jeremy Clarkson and
Richard Hammond. The programme sees the trio take a trip to Madagascar, where they traverse dangerous, rough roads while supposedly on the trail of some elusive pirate treasure. We’ll be expecting the usual explosions, car makeovers or the familiar sight of Hammond in jeopardy. The show was initially set to air earlier in the year, but delayed because of Covid.
IN her 2015 book Naked At The Albert Hall, Tracey Thorn, owner of one of the great English pop voices, was at pains to point out that “there’s more thinking in singing than you might think”.
The line came to mind while listening to Extraordinary Voices with Nora Fischer on Radio 3 last Saturday. The first of three programmes (the second airs tomorrow night at 11pm), Fischer was exploring the idea of vocal blend and decoration. A fine excuse to hear voice after glorious voice in an hour that took in everything from Bulgarian female choirs to Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, and travelled from Monteverdi’s Vespers to the Flintstones theme tune as sung by Jacob Collier multi-tracking his voice (clever, though not necessarily enjoyable; but, then, I was always more of a Top Cat fan)
Fischer is a knowledgeable and articulate host. After listening to soprano Kathleen Battle performing Handel’s O Had I Jubal’s Lyre, she notes how much of a challenge such a piece can be. “Singing like this feels like you’re running a marathon.”
Her enthusiasm is catching. It helps that there’s no snobbery in her either. She’s gives equal attention Beyonce’s voice as Battle’s. And she’s not stuck up about the use of technology either. She even endorses the use of Auto-Tune on James Blake’s Meet You in the Maze for the way it plays “with the boundaries between humans and robots.”
The result is joyous radio. And if you’re not feeling that Christmassy yet listen to it on BBC Sounds and jump to 17 minutes in to hear
Thomas Tallis’s Spem in
Alium for 40 Voices as sung by the Taverner Choir. The word celestial applies.
Free Thinking, Radio 3, Thursday, 10pm. The ever-reliable Matthew Sweet assesses the legacy of Marlene Dietrich.
Listen Out For:
TEDDY JAMIESON
THE SHAPE OF WATER
Today, Channel 4, 9.30pm
DRAWING on influences as varied as Mike Leigh’s film Happy-Go-Lucky and legendary 1950s monster flick The Creature From The Black Lagoon, Mexican horror maestro Guillermo del Torro spins this extraordinary feat of imagination and imagemaking which wowed the 2018 Oscars with 13 nominations and four wins including Best Picture and Best Director.
It was in Happy-Go-Lucky that del Torro saw and was impressed by British actress Sally Hawkins and it was with her in mind that he wrote the character of his heroine – Elisa Esposito, a mute cleaner at a secret government laboratory to which a strange amphibian creature has been sequestered after its capture in a South American river. And here’s where The Creature
From The Black Lagoon comes in, a childhood obsession of del Torro’s and a film he was planning to remake at one time.
The year is 1962, the city Baltimore and, though we’re technically in the middle of the Cold War, this is early-1960s America as viewed by del Torro – in other words fantastical, stylised, slightly Gothic and other-worldy. Elisa is drawn to the creature (played by contortionist and regular del Torro collaborator Doug Jones) and strikes up a bond of sorts, communicating using sign language and playing him Benny Goodman records.
One thing leads to another and an unlikely love affair blossoms, with Elisa hatching a plan to release the amphibian man into the wild. She enlists the help of her neighbour Giles (Richard Jenkins) and Robert Hoffstetler (Michael Stuhlbarg), another scientist at the shadowy research facility. Not everything goes to plan and, del Torro being del