Pick of the week
Dermot Bannon’s Celebrity Super Spaces
Sunday, RTÉ One, 9.30pm
We love poking our noses into other people’s houses, and if those other people happen to be rich and famous, well, that just makes it all the more interesting. In this new series, celebrity architect Dermot Bannon is welcomed in to the gaffs of some of well-known figures in Irish entertainment, sport, business and arts, and hears their personal stories of why they chose where they live, and how they reimagined their homes to suit their own taste and aesthetic.
Bannon’s first stop is the house in Howth owned by Vogue Williams and Spencer Matthews. Williams tells Bannon how she first spotted the house and fell in love with it, promising herself that one day it would be hers. She and husband Matthews live in London with their three kids, but whenever Williams is back in Ireland, which is often, the Howth house makes the perfect bolt-hole.
Next stop is the home of jeweller Chupi Sweetman and her husband, Brian, which, unsurprisingly, is a gem, sparkling with gorgeous decor and dazzling design touches. It’s a house designed for generational living, with a separate private basement apartment accommodating Chupi’s mum, the writer and feminist Rosita Sweetman. Bannon also visits rugby international Andrew Porter’s home in Wicklow, which is a simple, no-frills affair, and also visits the gym that Porter designed himself. But the big surprise is the Cavan home and studio of composer and producer Don Mescall – a stunning converted church, complete with stained-glass windows.
The Cage
Sunday, BBC1, 9pm
Sheridan Smith stars as casino worker Leanne in this new crime drama created and written by Tony Schumacher. She’s the cashier at the inner-city Liverpool joint owned by a local gangster – it’s a high-pressure job, but Leanne does it with flair. When she finds herself in financial difficulties, however, she starts skimming cash from the safe, and that’s when the stakes get really high. She soon makes a shocking discovery: her boss, Matty (Michael Socha), is also stealing from the safe, and it’s not long before the casino’s criminal owner – and the police – are on their trail. Leanne and Matty will have to work together and play each hand skilfully to beat the odds quickly stacking up against them.
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Masters: Keepers of Tradition
Monday, RTÉ One, 8.30pm
In the late 1970s, RTÉ aired a landmark documentary series entitled Hands, which opened viewers’ eyes to the skill and creativity of Irish craftspeople. This new series is, if you will, a follow-up to that programme, looking at the state of the Irish crafts industry nearly 50 years later, meeting contemporary artisans and seeing who is surviving and thriving in an increasingly challenging environment for those looking to make a living from their skills. Each episode showcases an individual craftsperson, getting up close to their work, getting insights in to their everyday lives, learning what inspired them to take up a traditional craft and seeing the reality of what it takes to keep these traditions alive today. In episode one, we meet master stonemason Julia Gebel, who came to Ireland from Germany to work on the restoration of Cormac’s Church on the Rock of Cashel, and has lived in Tipperary ever since, where she runs a stone and building conservation company with her business partner Christian Helling. As we join her, Geber is taking on another commission linked to Irish history: sculpting a bust of Irish revolutionary Dick Barrett out of a block of Kilkenny blue limestone.
Secret Service
Monday, UTV, 9pm
We’re still waiting patiently for news of a new James Bond, but meanwhile here’s a five-part spy thriller series starring Gemma Arterton, who played Bond girl Strawberry Fields in Quantum of Solace. Arterton plays senior MI6 operative Kate Henderson, who is trying to balance her demanding job heading the agency’s Russian desk with the responsibilities of her role as a suburban mum with two teenagers. It all goes out of kilter, though, when the agency suspects a Russian asset is embedded in the upper echelons of power – and it may actually be a top UK politician. Kate and her team find themselves in a race against time to unmask the traitor in Westminster, but a murder puts her and her team under the spotlight, and Kate suddenly doesn’t know who she can trust. The cast includes Rafe Spall as Kate’s ambitious husband Stuart, along with Mark Stanley, Aoife Hinds and Alex Kingston.
Half Man
Tuesday, BBC1, 11.10pm
Richard Gadd scored a huge hit with Baby Reindeer, the semi-autobiographical story of an aspiring comedian who is stalked by a customer at the pub where he tends bar. Gadd wrote and starred in the series, which bagged a number of Emmy and Golden Globe awards, and kept newspaper columnists busy for months analysing the numerous hot-button issues raised in the series. No surprise that anticipation is high for his follow-up series, again written by and starring Gadd, and dealing with violence, loyalty and the delicate dynamics of male relationships. Gadd plays hard man Ruben, with Jamie Bell as meek and mild Niall. Though they are not related by blood, they are sworn brothers, loyal to each other and bonded for life. The series follows this volatile relationship over 30 years, culminating in a shocking act of violence on Niall’s wedding day. Unlike Baby Reindeer, this is not semi-autobiographical, but it’s still sure to get people talking at the virtual water cooler.
A Taste for Murder
Wednesday, UTV, 9pm
Sunshine, stunning scenery, gourmet Italian cooking and murder – these are the main ingredients of this new series starring Warren Brown as a British detective investigating suspicious deaths in an island paradise in Italy. DCI Joe Mottram is grieving after the sudden death of his wife, and he decides to take a career break in Italy to deal with his bereavement and hopefully reconnect with his teenage daughter Angelica (Beau Gadsdon). He’s staying with his in-laws, chef Gennaro (Urbano Barberini) and Elena (Phyllis Logan), who run a popular restaurant on the island, and starts learning to cook. But when a local man is found murdered on a beach, and Gennaro’s nephew Luca is arrested, Joe is pulled back into default cop mode, and offers to help local inspector Lara Sarrancino (Cristiana Dell’Anna) investigate the killing. But when more people start turning up dead, Lara starts to wonder if Joe is a bit of a jinx. Joe soon realises that the clues are being handed to him on a plate, as the recipes he’s learning provide unlikely insights into the investigation.
The Salisbury Poisonings: The Untold Story
Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm
Four years before Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, the peaceful English city of Salisbury was the scene of an unprecedented attack that put thousands of innocent lives in danger. The targets were Russian former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, and the weapon of choice was the toxic nerve agent Novichok, one of the most powerful and deadly poisons ever made. Skripal and his daughter were found unconscious on a park bench after the Novichok was placed on the handle of their front door, but they survived the attack. Others fell ill after exposure to the toxin, with one woman, Dawn Sturgess, dying after finding a perfume bottle containing the substance. The attack sparked a huge police and medical operation, as authorities tried to contain the toxin and prevent a public health catastrophe. This three-part documentary series tells the extraordinary story of this audacious and reckless assassination attempt that showed just how far the Russian leader was willing to go to eliminate his enemies.
Streaming
Straight to Hell
From Monday, April 27th, Netflix
Japan had its own Mystic Meg in the form of Kazuko Hosoki, a fortune teller who became a huge star, capturing the public’s imagination with her ebullient personality, and delivering such out-there predictions as “you will die” and “you’re going to hell”. She published bestselling books and was a constant presence on Japanese TV, but behind her success were accusations of fraud and links to Tokyo’s criminal underworld. This drama series starring Erika Toda tries to get behind the rumours and find out what Hosoki was really like, telling the story of her rise from poverty after the second World War to become one of Tokyo’s biggest nightclub impresarios, and her pivot into the world of fortune-telling. She presented herself as a modern-day prophet and selling 34 million books, gaining her an entry into the Guinness Book of Records. Was she a criminal, charlatan or just a self-help guru who got lucky?
Widow’s Bay
From Wednesday, April 29th, Apple TV
Tom Loftis is the mayor of a small town in New England, and top of his to-do list is boosting tourism to this quaint spot. But there’s one big problem: the town is on a remote island 60km off the coast, with no wifi and barely a mobile phone signal. And there’s another issue: the superstitious locals believe the island is cursed, and you’d be mad to invite tourists here. Loftis presses on with his plans, and soon visitors are arriving at Widow’s Bay ready to sample the island’s delights. Only one more problem: it seems the residents were right, and evil forces are lurking beneath the bucolic surface, ready to turn this nascent tourist hotspot into a hellscape. Matthew Rhys stars as the hapless mayor desperately trying to win the respect of the islanders while combating the forces of darkness in this comedy horror series.
