Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy

BBC2, 8.20pm

It’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it: yes, once more Hollywood star Stanley Tucci (far right, with vintner Matteo Bisol) takes on the onerous task of sampling the food and wine of the different regions of Italy.

He’s in Venice for the first episode, discovering the sophisticated open sandwiches that pass for fast food in the lagoon city. He also discovers the secrets of the gondoliers and learns where they take their working lunches. There are mouth-watering visits to restaurants too, including one staffed entirely by refugees and another where a goulash unlike any other is on the menu.

Tucci may currently play a killer on Death Row in the BBC1 drama Inside Man, but he’s civilised charm personified here as he effortlessly switches between English and Italian. ★★★★★