Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SECRETS OF THE MIDDLE WE ARE NOT ALONE
AISLE AT CHRISTMAS Dave, 9pm
Channel 4, 8pm
Have you ever nipped to certain supermarkets for a pint of milk and come out with a hot-dog toaster? Or a heated dressing gown? Or perhaps a glowing unicorn?
“The middle aisle has become a bit of a British obsession,” says Denise Van Outen, who hosts tonight’s guide to this bizarre shopping destination, which lures customers in with eclectic products they never knew they needed.
In this special Christmas edition,
Denise uncovers the clever tactics behind the seemingly disorganised middle aisle and how supermarkets keep us in their aisles during the festive season.
The secret to winning the war, apparently, is in the middle aisle.
Retail expert Kate Hardcastle says: “They need to get in first. They have got to make sure the middle aisle has all the items you want so you can tick items off the list early.”
Denise puts some favourite middle aisle products to the test and also meets fellow devotees, who tell her: “You never know what you’re going to find!”
In this sitcom starring a host of brilliant comedic actors, aliens known as the Gu’un have taken over Earth, but are struggling to govern a species as baffling as humans. They need help.
They decide to run Britain from its geographical centre, Clitheroe, hiring hapless council worker Stewart (Declan Baxter) as their human liaison officer.
“You know the species, is there any way to make large numbers of them immediately like you?” asks alien boss Trater (Vicki Pepperdine). The answer,
of course, is tea. She and tightly wound soldier Gordan (Mike Wozniak), along with clumsy underling Greggs (Joe Thomas) find humans “very basic” but “utterly baffling”.
They can only hope Stewart will give them intel from the man on the street. Stewart soon attracts attention from the Anti-alien Resistance fighters and finds himself working for both sides, despite wanting neither job.
Also starring Amanda Abbington, Georgia May Foote, Rob Delaney and Miles Jupp, this comedy is brilliantly observed and very funny.