NEIGHBOUR NIGGLES

TOP TV PREVIEWS

PICK Two Doors Down – Tuesday, BBC Two, 10pm

A deserved hit, this sitcom about a group of suburban Glasgow neighbours is back for a fifth series. It introduces us to Alan’s taciturn brother, who is about to get married. Hapless Alan is the best man, which triggers a running gag among his perplexed neighbours: “Did somebody drop out?” Two Doors Down isn’t plot-driven, it’s all about the dialogue and characterisation. Nothing much happens, but there’s a lot going on. You wouldn’t necessarily want to spend time with some of these people in real life, but observing them from afar is delightful. The writers and their faultless cast are so fully au fait with this little world they’ve created, everything flows with a natural rhythm. It’s great.

Filthy Business – Monday, BBC Three, 8pm

During the various lockdowns, best mates Cam and Oli decided to start up their own waste management business. It hasn’t been easy. Due to a recent unexpected downturn in their fortunes, they have to make £7,000 in a month just to keep the whole thing afloat. Fortunately, a sputtering glut of jobs come their way throughout this documentary, but that doesn’t mean they’re entirely

home and dry. Cam and Oli are nice lads who know what they’re doing. They work

hard at the reeking coalface of an unglamorous and often precarious profession. This

is a fairly typical BBC Three documentary, in that it’s a slight yet watchable affair. It’s also a rather sweet little portrait of friendship.

AIDS: The Unheard Tapes – Monday, BBC Two, 9pm

The third and final episode of this excellent series begins in 1992, when the emergence

of a supposed ‘miracle cure’ gave hope to millions of AIDS patients and their loved ones. Crushing disappointment ensued when trials proved that the drug in question, AZT, could prolong the lives of some patients, but

it couldn’t stop people from dying. This led to an angry backlash against the medical community. Several protest groups sprang up. Many in the gay community lost count of the funerals they attended. As always, contributions from survivors, experts and campaigners are seamlessly woven together with lipsynced interviews with AIDS patients throughout the ’80s and ’90s. An important historical document.

24 Hours in A&E –

Monday, Channel 4, 9pm

The 27th(!) series of this hardy perennial returns to St George’s in London. Not only is it one of Europe’s largest hospitals,

it’s also renowned as a staff training centre. The latest episode follows a junior

doctor who for the first time in his career carries out a fine-needle aspiration. His

patient is a teenager with a collapsed lung. We also meet Mery, a young pregnant woman who is rushed to A&E after falling down a flight of stairs at home. Mery has already suffered a miscarriage, it’s been a long struggle to become pregnant again. This particular episode wasn’t available for preview, but 24 Hours in A&E is a show you can rely on. It’s quietly

exceptional.

FULL OF CHARACTER: Two Doors Down returns to BBC Two on Tuesday.