THE HOT LIST
BEST OF TV AND STREAMING
BIRTH OF BRITPOP
TOTP: THE STORY OF 1994 BBC Two, Saturday, April 9, 7.15pm
■ THE Story Of… series continues to chart the popular culture and social history of the 1990s as the Britpop movement comes to the fore with Oasis making their first Top Of The Pops appearance this year. The clip show is followed by TOTP: Big Hits 1994 at 8.15pm which features Blur, Tori Amos, Elastica and Kate Bush then at 10.15pm the story of Britpop in The Birth Of Cool Britannia looks at the different bands that came to define the movement. Rounding things off are Top Of The Pops: Blur at 11.15pm and Suede: A Little Later at 11.45pm
ROYAL DRAMA SPENCER Amazon Prime
■ YOU don’t have to a royalist or a fan of the People’s Princess to enjoy this intimate portrait of Princess Diana over a tense weekend at Sandringham in December 1991. Written by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders), Pablo Larrain’s film examines Diana’s mental health struggles as she tries to maintain a brave face for Christmas with the Royal Family as her marriage is strained to breaking point amid rumours of affairs and divorce. Kristen Stewart puts in a powerful performance as Diana and the impressive supporting cast includes Timothy Spall, Sally Hawkins, Sean Harris and Jack Farthing.
SPACE CADET APOLLO 10½: A SPACE AGE CHILDHOOD Netflix
■ RICHARD Linklater’s best films capture moments in time with bittersweet accuracy, from the travelogue romance of Before Sunrise (and its sequels) to the era-shifting Boyhood, and the writer-director strikes gold again with this heartwarming animation set at the height of the Space Race. In the suburbs of Houston in 1969, a young boy is asked to go on a top secret mission for NASA to test out out their lunar module’s viability on a scaled-down version before the official mission takes place. A fantasy coming-of-age adventure that recreates the excitement and atmosphere of those sunny days of the late 1960s.
POIROT RETURNS DEATH ON THE NILE Disney+
■ KENNETH Branagh’s big tache is back for his second outing as Hercule Poirot in this sumptuous adaptation of the Agatha Christie classic and, as with Murder On The Orient Express, he’s directing again too. Gal Gadot and Armie Hammer play the newly-wed lovebirds on a honeymoon cruise along the Nile who seem to be the target for a killer or killers. Luckily enough, Poirot just happens to be holidaying in Egypt at the same so steps in to find out who’s behind the deadly plot. Beautifully shot and with gorgeous production design, Branagh’s film looks the part even if it doesn’t manage to generate much tension in the whodunnit stakes.
COLD CHALLENGE
FREEZE THE FEAR WITH WIM HOF BBC One, Tuesday, April 12, 9pm
■ IMAGINE a sub-zero version of I’m A Celebrity with Bear Grylls in charge and you get the basic premise of this new series about extreme survival. Eight celebrities, including Gabby Logan, Alfie Boe, Tamzin Outhwaite and Professor Green, are set a series of challenges in freezing conditions by Dutch athlete Wim ‘The Iceman’ Hof that will test both their physical and mental fortitude. Holly Willoughby and Lee Mack preside over proceedings high up in the Italian mountains as Hof tries to convince the celebrities that embracing the cold can change your life for the better.