SARAH VINE’s My TV Week: Sacre bleu! This could have the makings of a classic
MURDER IN PROVENCE
SUNDAY, ITV
Rating: 
From the opening credits of Murder In Provence the casual viewer could be forgiven for thinking this was an advert on behalf of the French tourist board: fields of lavender swaying gently in the breeze, neat vineyards stretching off into the horizon, sun-drenched terraces – you know the sort of thing. You can almost smell the scent of pine trees, hear the sound of cicadas in the hot afternoon sun.
So it comes as something of a surprise to discover that everyone – well, pretty much everyone – is English. Except they’re not: they’re English actors pretending to be French characters, which is a little confusing at first.
Roger Allam (left) takes the lead as Antoine Verlaque, Investigating Judge in Aix-en-Provence in new TV programme Murder In Provence, while Nancy Carroll (right) plays his romantic partner-in-solving-crime
And perhaps just a tiny bit silly. It certainly takes a bit of getting used to.
Roger Allam takes the lead as Antoine Verlaque, Investigating Judge in Aix-en-Provence, while Nancy Carroll plays his romantic partner-in-solving-crime, Marine Bonnet, a professor of criminal psychology. They seem to spend most of their time wafting around their stylishly Provençal home, drinking lovely glasses of chilled amber wine and casually whipping up delicious gourmet suppers for each other.
That is when they’re not having lunch in picturesque bistros or fending off Marine’s ferocious mother, Florence, aka Patricia Hodge, who here reprises a similar role to the one she played as Miranda Hart’s pushy parent, only not quite so slapstick. And there is, of course, much air-kissing and cigarettesmoking, as you would expect.
Sarah Vine (pictured) says that when you get past the awkward cliches it is an easy and enjoyable watch
Based on the books by Canadian author ML Longworth, who has lived in France for many years, the show presents an idealised version of Provence in much the same way as Inspector Morse did for Oxfordshire. Judge Antoine even drives the French equivalent of Morse’s classic Jaguar, an old Citroën, and there is no shortage of opportunities to take a spin around the local villages.
But actually, once you get past the clichés (the first murder is almost comedically hammy, as is the denouement), this is a really enjoyable watch. Allam plays the part with a curious mixture of French curmudgeonliness and British reserve, and the writing, especially round these two, is witty and well-observed. There’s a decent joke about Marmite, and some great one-liners. In particular, the dynamic between Allam and Carroll works beautifully, a portrayal of a couple in a mature relationship who are together by choice rather than circumstance.
It’s this that really holds the show together: their united front in the face of her ghastly mother, their gentle ribbing of each other’s failings, their bedtime banter about life, love, death and the vicissitudes of growing old. And their mutual respect for each other. It’s very nicely done.
Elsewhere, Keala Settle does an excellent job as Judge Antoine’s bruiser sidekick, the brawn to his brain – and there is a plentiful cast of suspects, all more or less plausible. If they could just tighten up the plotlines a bit and lean a little less on the talent of the cast, this could have the makings of a classic.
AS HUMBLING AS IT IS HEART-BREAKING
SUPER SURGEONS: A CHANCE AT LIFE
MONDAY, CHANNEL 4
Rating:
Super Surgeons: A Chance At Life follows surgeons operating on the margins of what’s medically possible
The inspirational life and death of Dame Deborah James offered a unique insight into the struggles of those dealing with life-threatening illness. She helped the world see patients such as herself as real people rather than mere statistics, and brought a tremendous sense of humanity and humour to the grim realities of dealing with the devastating effects of cancer.
I couldn’t help thinking of her as I watched this, a journey to the outer reaches of medical science and the limits of human endeavour in the field of surgery. At the heart of it were the patients – from Jade, under attack from a tumour in her throat, to Lizzie, suffering from incurable stage four bowel cancer, these were agonising stories of tragedy and, occasionally, triumph.
For people like them, surgery is often a last resort, a voyage into the unknown from which they may not return. It’s as humbling as it is heart-breaking.
For the surgeons themselves, operating on the margins of what’s medically possible, it’s a nerve-racking prospect. Anything and everything can – and does – go wrong, and the difference between life and death is often no more than a hair’s breadth.
Although definitely not for the squeamish – expect a lot of blood and guts – I was gripped. There is really only one way to describe it: awe-inspiring.
- I was blown away by Maryland (Wed, BBC2). It’s an adaptation of a play by Lucy Kirkwood, first performed at the Royal Court in 2021, the same year Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa were murdered. Zawe Ashton and Hayley Squires play two women, both called Mary, reporting a sexual assault. The terrible dehumanising process at the police station, almost like being assaulted all over again, the humiliation, the shame: it makes the blood boil. There’s a Greek chorus of Furies, past victims. Daniel Mays is superb as a creepy policeman. Don’t watch this expecting to be entertained: it’s a howl of rage, written more in anger than in sorrow. Uncomfortable but brilliant.
BLOOMIN’ LOVELY…
Sarah says that Kew Gardens is her happy place and they she loves the new series Kew Gardens: A Year In Bloom
As a fully paid-up member of Kew Gardens (it’s my happy place), I loved the first series of Kew Gardens: A Year In Bloom. The second series (Tue, Ch5) is more of the same, but what’s not to like about spending an hour in the company of some of the most beautiful and rare trees and plants on the planet – and the dedicated men and women who look after them? This is the televisual equivalent of a nice cup of tea and a slice of cake: bloomin’ lovely.
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