BATES MOTEL

And mother makes... a murderer

Although many Hitchcock fans were apprehensive at the thought of a contemporary prequel to Psycho, this Norman Bates origin story turned out to be darkly impressive. Bates Motel ran for five series on the now defunct Universal TV channel, and now makes its free-to-air debut. Teenager Norman (Freddie Highmore) and his mother Norma (Vera Farmiga, above, with Highmore) move to a small coastal town to assume ownership of a run-down motel. However, the place isn’t quite as idy idyllic as it seems. BBC BB iPlayer, from Sunday