TV review Hold on, Carrie, help is on its way ... we hope

PARTING is such sweet sorrow. Well, Shakespeare never earned a crust as a jobbing television critic. If so, he would know that sometimes it is sheer joy to dump a programme after one date. It’s not me, you tell the screen as the credits roll, it’s you. Away and never darken my reviewing schedules again.

But then there are the keepers, the shows one is genuinely sorry to see go away for a while. Homeland (Channel 4, Sunday, 9pm), which had its series finale this week, is one such drama. We’ve been together now for seven years and seven seasons, Homeland and I. Occasionally it has seemed a day too long, with season three, dealing with the aftermath of the Langley bombing, taking a while to find its feet. But on the whole, the last two series particularly, Homeland has been bang on the money with its tales of a presidency splitting the country and Russian meddling in US affairs.

The basic set up is always the same. Brilliant, bipolar CIA agent Carrie Mathison (Clare Danes), fresh from another triumph, delves too deep into a new case and suffers a mental health crisis. Events spiral out of control and uncle Saul (Mandy Patinkin), who has previously disowned Carrie for her maverick ways, forgives her. Together, the two of them save the day, leaving behind a pile of now out of work actors who have to find other jobs.

This series finale was different. Certainly it had the heart-pounding action, the handbrake-turn plot twists, even, for Carrie, a nerve-shredding walk along the ledge of a Russian government building. All present, correct and expected. But that last scene was a shock to the core. We’ve seen Carrie hit some lows, but this time … For pity’s sake, hurry up and get going on season eight.

Adam Frost. It’s part of the broadcaster’s commitment to the Chelsea Flower Show, which includes 15 hours of coverage of the event, beginning on May 21. Here, however, Saunders and Frost look back at some of the most memorable moments in its history. There’s also a chance to meet some of those taking part in the 2018 event, including prolific gold medal winner Sarah Eberle.

British Academy Television Awards 2018 (BBC1, 8pm)

Eurovision will be out of the way by the time this awards ceremony begins – and thanks to the fact that the overwhelming number of nominees are British, the UK does at least have a chance of triumphing here. Having said that, three of the four CIA operative Carrie Mathison (Clare Danes) takes her life in her hands, again, in the Homeland season finale

As one door closed on Homeland another opened to reveal The Bridge (BBC2, Friday, 10pm). This will be the fourth and final season of the Scandi-noir drama which has earned a reputation for quality writing and gut-wrenching violence. Whatever can be done to a body usually has on The Bridge. This series opened with the stoning of a woman government minister. The director took care to shoot mostly at a distance but it felt, and sounded, like a grisly new low.

What has always rescued The Bridge from excesses in the past has

folk in the running for Entertainment Performance hail from these shores – Adam Hills, Graham Norton and Sandi Toksvig are all from elsewhere, leaving Michael McIntyre to fly the flag. Despite his recent problems, Ant McPartlin (and his mate Declan Donnelly) are the favourites to win Best Entertainment Programme for Saturday Night Takeaway. The Crown is expected to do well in the Drama Series category, although it has stiff competition from Line of Duty, Peaky Blinders and The End of the F***ing World. Other big names in the running include Jessica Lange, Elisabeth Moss, Thandie Newton and Toby Jones.

Midsomer Murders (STV, 8pm)

The crime drama returns, with Barnaby and Winter