WHAT TO WATCH NEW ELIZABETHANS WITH ANDREW MARR

BBC Two, 9pm

At the beginning of this four-part series, journalist Andrew Marr announces that his intention is to focus on some of the lesser known ‘New Elizabethans’ – those who came of age throughout Elizabeth II’s reign. It’s a smart move and one that leads to some interesting decisions, such as the inclusion of the groundbreaking transgender writer Jan Morris, who died last week, and who, as James, was special correspondent for The Times and accompanied Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay on their 1953 conquest of Everest. We also learn about screen queen Diana Dors, Ruth Ellis (the last woman to be hanged in England) and, incongruously, Nancy Mitford, who is really from an earlier generation.

Marr has written a number of well-received popular histories and his series takes a similar breezy tone. Yet while a great deal of ground is covered – this week’s theme is progression and Marr takes us up to the present day – there are also a number of flaws. Not least the fact that you constantly feel as though you are skating on the surface of these people’s lives. Fewer biographies and greater depth would have meant a stronger programme. Sarah Hughes

Andrew Marr examines our newest historical figures