TV REVIEWS

Happy Valley – Sunday February 5, BBC One

That sound you heard at around 10.50pm last Sunday was approximately eight million people yelping “Don’t go in!” when Catherine discovered the whereabouts of Tommy Lee Royce. Their mesmerising final confrontation was faultlessly written and performed. Writer Sally Wainwright even managed to include a few notes of dry black comedy amidst the rage and recrimination. She also toyed with the ambiguity of whether Royce genuinely cared about his son, Ryan. Were his tears a sign of some genuine emotional attachment, or were they shed in selfpity? Wainwright and actor James Norton always ensured that Royce was never a mere pantomime villain. A truly exceptional drama, Happy Valley deserves its place in TV’s marbled Pantheon.

World’s Most Secret Hotels – Sunday February 5, Channel 4

A textbook piece of soothing Sunday vision, the latest episode of this awestruck series whisked us off to a vast desert valley in Jordan, which is home to an ingenious luxury resort consisting of large recycled plastic domes. “It feels like you’re in a suburb on Mars,” gushed one stargazing guest. Meanwhile, in Norfolk, we checked into a historic 80ft windmill that has operated as a hotel for the last 40 years. One of its most famous frequent guests? None other than hapless pop singer James Blunt. As if that weren’t exciting enough, the programme also found room for a unique wildlife retreat nestled deep in the Ecuadorian jungle, and, at Sweden’s busiest airport, the world’s only 747 jumbo jet hotel.