Truthfully, I am gripped

IT’S taken a ridiculously long time – two and a half years, to be precise – but ITV drama LIAR is finally back tonight (9pm) for its second series. It’s the one that began, you may recall, with Joanne Froggatt’s Laura – a teacher and newly single – going on a date with Ioan Gruffudd’s Andrew, a smooth-talking surgeon, then afterwards insisting she’d been drugged and raped.

At first it wasn’t obvious which of them was telling the truth (hence the title).

The writers had made Andrew’s denials sound chillingly convincing. Even when we did find out, it took a while to realise just what a monster he was. Laura, it transpired, was merely his latest victim.

Tonight we pick up the story three weeks after Andrew’s body is found in the Kent marshes, his throat cut.

Put in charge of the case are Katherine Kelly’s DI Karen Renton and DannyWebb’s DS Rory Maxwell. But it turns out they’re not allowed simply to go: “Oh, well, good riddance to bad rubbish”.

Instead, they’re professionally obliged to find his killer.

For Laura, then, fresh hell awaits. There’s new drama for daytime, too, with the return of Jimmy McGovern’s MOVING ON (BBC1, 2.15pm).

Conveniently, each of these new stories is once again a stand-alone affair (it makes life so much easier than having to remember who the heck all these characters are), starting with the tale of a chap just out of prison.

Things are at last looking up, it seems, for Joe (Tom McKay) when he befriends single mum Lisa (Angel Coulby).

Trouble is, he’s neglected to tell her about the tag he has to wear. That, plus his 7pm curfew. Elsewhere, THE SPLIT (BBC1,

9pm) pops up a day earlier than usual (helping clear space in tomorrow night’s schedules for the Chelsea vs Liverpool FA Cup tie, hope it’s worth it).

And what a fun-packed episode it is, the drama cranking up several gears after Nathan decides to take a peep at wife Hannah’s phone.

He’s curious, as indeed he should be, as to the content of a voicemail that’s been left for her.

And Hannah, despite being a super-sharp legal mind, seemingly isn’t quite super-sharp enough to think: “Hmm, that’s a message from my lover and therefore likely to be rather incriminating, probably best I don’t now leave my mobile in my jacket on the bed, slap bang in front of my already suspicious husband, while I nip to the bathroom to freshen up…” (I mean, honestly, what on earth is the matter with these people?).

The upshot being that her secret is suddenly not so secret any more.

And Nathan gets jolly cross.