Liar makes a lame move into Hollywood territory
‘I’m not scared of you,” the rape victim snarled at her attacker in Liar (ITV). “You’re scared of me. You’re scared of all women. What happened to you? Was it your mother? It usually is.” What began as a standard “he said/ she said” puzzler turned into something altogether more intriguing midway through this six-part drama, when we learnt that surgeon Dr Andrew Earlham (Ioan Gruffudd) did indeed rape teacher Laura Nielson (Joanne Froggatt).
Instead of a mystery thriller, the second half of the series has been about the fallout. While Laura struggled to recover from her ordeal, suave Andrew resumed his life as if nothing had happened – despite being unmasked as a serial offender who callously drove his wife to suicide and has raped at least three women, with hints of many more.
This penultimate episode saw the plot move on apace. Laura’s resolve to bring Andrew to justice stiffened and she resorted to dangerous methods: giving him a taste of his own medicine by spiking his drink with date-rape drug GHB and trying to frame him for another attack on her.
DI Vanessa Harmon (a fine performance from Shelley Conn), who investigated Laura’s case, queasily realised that she too had been drugged and sexually assaulted while unconscious by Andrew. It was an air-punch moment when the two females joined forces against him.
Meanwhile, the illicit affair between Laura’s ex-boyfriend Tom (Warren Brown) and sister Katy (Zoë Tapper) – there are all kinds of liars here – finally came to light.
This episode’s late lurch into vengeful vigilantism wasn’t entirely successful, stretching credibility with its Hollywood-style chase scene and contrived coincidences. However, its melodramatic twists were carried off by the two leads.
Froggatt perfectly captured a range of emotions, from rage to self-destructiveness. Gruffudd has grown into his monstrous role. Emboldened by the charges being dropped, he was all creepy smirks and darkly ambiguous threats. The stunning setting on the Kent marshes lent an extra eerie quality to the pair’s psychological battle.
It’s all neatly poised for next week’s finale, when we’ll hopefully see the dastardly doctor get his comeuppance – presumably caught out by that secret stash of GHB and incriminating recordings in his mother’s shed. It usually is the mother’s fault, after all.
Steph and Dom’s One Star to Five Star (Channel 4) had a title crying out for a one-star or five-star review. Sorry to disappoint but it’s going to get neither. This new teatime series found Steph and Dom Parker, the tippling toffs from Gogglebox, helping fellow B&B owners upgrade their establishments from the lowest rating to luxury status.
Across five days, they’ll move in, muck in and try to improve every aspect of service: food, drink, decor, comfort and hospitality. Say goodbye to lumpy mattresses and greasy fry-ups.
The Parkers’ first destination was the 16-room Ransdale Hotel in Bridlington, all tatty valances and faded Seventies wallpaper. The Parkers challenged the owners to expand their breakfast menu (never can the word “kedgeree” have been greeted with such suspicion), create a seaside-themed bedroom and throw a beach party. Soon they were accidentally melting plastic bowls on the hob and making hungover guests feel queasy with the stench of smoked haddock.
This was shamelessly formulaic fare in the vein of Four in a Bed, Alex Polizzi’s Hotel Inspector, Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and countless other makeover-mission shows. It was also burdened with an over-fiddly scoring system. Marks out of five were dished out four times per episode, before an overall rating gets calculated at the end of the week. Still, at least any watching schoolchildren could practise working out averages.
The clapped-out format was just about kept afloat, though, by the sheer force of the Parkers’ personalities. While “southern softie” Steph spat out a cockle and declared it “revolting, utter filth”, Dom fretted about splashing paint on his brogues. They boozed, bickered and brayed with laughter. After 20 years of marriage, the couple clearly still adore each other. Maybe they should get a room. Oh, they already have.
Liar ★★★ Steph and Dom’s One Star to Five Star ★★