PICK OF THE DAY

ONCE UPON A TIME IN IRAQ, 9PM, BBC2

THIS new series hears from Iraqis, soldiers and journalists about the invasion in 2003, and shines a light on both the hope and the reality of that time — and even finds humour along the way. Sally Mars (pictured) talks about growing up in a police state, and Waleed Nesyif — who later worked as a translator — remembers how much he longed for Western culture as a teen. We hear what it was like ‘spearheading the blitzkrieg’ from a musclebound ex-U.S. Marine, who swigs tequila before telling us his story. The real war was not the invasion, though, but what came after, as the joy that many felt at the downfall of Saddam Hussein led to despair — which is still being felt to this day.