Last night on television Michael Hogan
The Great British Bake Off
CHANNEL 4, 8.00PM
Along with falling
leaves and ripening
hedgerow fruit, the return
of The Great British Bake
Off is a sure-fire portent
of impending autumn. As
they enter their third year
in the tent, Sandi Toksvig
and Noel Fielding are now
comfortable enough to
swap double for single
entendres in an opening
episode that manages to be
both utterly filthy and
entirely family-friendly
from the opening Wizard
of Oz skit onwards. Paul
Hollywood and Prue Leith
are willing foils as ever,
while an extra baker adds
a twist to the format,
effectively guaranteeing a
double elimination down
the line. The contestants
are another appealing
bunch, from manbunned
support worker Dan and
vet Rosie (she proves her
dough in her python’s
tank) to irrepressible-
bordering-on-slapdash
youth Jamie and straight-
arrow chorister Henry.
Week one is Cake Week,
which means a Signature
fruitcake, a retro classic
for the Technical and a
Showstopper based on
dream childhood birthday
cakes: cartoon dogs, space
rockets, sweet shops, The
Magic Faraway Tree, thatsort of thing. Butterfingers
are in evidence early on,
with blood and broken
sugarwork, and a fewcontestants already look
set for the final. But as
always, the joy is in the
journey. Gabriel TateArtsFranco Building with
Jonathan Meades
BBC FOUR, 10.00PM As incontrovertibly
iconoclastic as ever, the
architecture and former
food critic Jonathan Meades
continues his occasional
survey of dictators and
their buildings by looking
at Francisco Franco, the
man who ruled Spain for
over three decades. He
feasts on the tower blocks
of Benidorm and other
resorts, scrutinises Franco’s
mausoleum and assesses the
darkest aspects of his reign
in a documentary that may
be provocative, but is most
enjoyable as well. GTDocumentaryKathy Burke’s All Woman
CHANNEL 4, 10.30PM Kathy Burke concludes
her compelling series with a
look at attitudes towards sex
and relationships. Amongher interviewees tonight
are Love Island presenter
Caroline Flack, Skunk
Anansie’s Skin and a gigolo
called Darren. GTDramaKeeping Faith
BBC ONE, 9.00PM The sheer weight of
melodrama has occasionally
threatened to overwhelm
this second series, but
Keeping Faith has continued
to grip viewers nonetheless.
It concludes tonight
with Faith (Eve Myles)
discovering who she can
really trust and Steve (Mark
Lewis Jones) attempting
to close the book on the
Reardons for good. GTWhat to watch
Radio choice Charlotte Runcie
A gruesome death: Jack Rowan played slain boxer Bonnie Gold in Peaky BlindersPeaky Blinders swaggers
from strength to strength
B
limey, those Billy Boys
certainly mean business.
The second episode of
period crime yarn Peaky
Blinders (BBC One) saw a
deadly new threat arrive in
the form of the Glasgow Protestant
razor gang, who announced
themselves in song.
“Hello, hello/ We are the Billy Boys/
We’re up to our knees in Fenian
blood/Surrender or you’ll die” rang
out through the woods before they
coldly crucified and killed gipsy boxer
Bonnie Gold (Jack Rowan), leaving his
broken-hearted, broken-armed father
Aberama (Aidan Gillen) barely alive to
tell the tale.
Unfolding in a mist-shrouded forest,
it was a stunning scene, cinematically
shot and stomach-knottingly tense.
Peaky Blinders has always been
visually ambitious but with its
promotion from BBC Two to BBC One
for this fifth series, it seems to have
gone up another gear.
Another case in point was the
opening sequence, in which Brummie
kingpin Thomas Shelby (Cillian
Murphy) realised the Billy Boys had
laid a lethal minefield in the grounds
of his country estate. Shelby called
upon his First World War experience
to painstakingly pick his way through
it, before using an aptly namedTommy gun to explode the devices in
a swell of slow-motion fireballs,
billowing smoke and falling mud.
“Yes,” writer Steven Knight seemed to
be saying, “the Blinders are back with
a bang all right.”
No wonder Shelby was growing
paranoid: “People are starting to
circle,” he said. “Who wants to take my
throne?” As well as the Billy Boys
heading south, the IRA were on the
phone, the Metropolitan police were
sniffing around and sinister politician
Oswald Mosley (a ’tache-twirling turn
from Sam Claflin) had a proposition for
him. Even the Peaky wives, no mere
gangster’s molls, were turning against
him. Shelby’s mental state wasn’t
helped by his escalating drug habit
and dreams of black cats, meaning a
traitor was close by.
Having watched this defiantly
regional drama grow from cult
concern to mainstream phenomenon,
its loyal fans have a sense of ownership
and pride. Americans tend to have the
monopoly on mythologising their
more colourful working-class history,
so it’s refreshing to see a home-grown
show beating them at their own game.
Peaky Blinders isn’t to everybody’s
taste. It’s stylistically self-conscious,
convoluted for newcomers to follow,
full of thick accents and mumbled
threats – not to mention plentifulswearing and bloodshed. For devotees,
though, it goes from strength to
strength with exhilarating swagger.T
he seemingly liberal but deeply
troubled American city of
Portland, Oregon, hit the
headlines again last week following
confrontations between a far-right
rally and anti-fascist demonstrators.
Thus it seemed an apposite time to air
A Black and White Killing: The Case
The Shook America (BBC Two), a
true-crime two-parter about a racially
charged murder case which concluded
last night.
In 2016, outside a Portland
convenience store, a member of a
white supremacist gang ran over and
killed a young black man. CCTV
footage of the red Jeep chasing down
the fleeing pedestrian went viral,
reverberating across America – not
just because of the incident’s brutality
but because of the question at its core.
Did Russel Courtier, an ex-convict
with the logo of white supremacist
prison gang European Kindred on his
baseball cap and tattooed on his leg,
murder Larnell Bruce because he was
black?
Documentarian Mobeen Azhar,
a cool-headed and slightly hangdog
screen presence, headed to Portland to
take the temperature of America’s race
war, meet people on both sides of the
divide and sit in on Courtier’s trial,
which had all the plot twists of a work
of fiction. Azhar was calm and
scrupulously fair towards both sides.
First we saw damning footage of
Courtier using the N-word.
Sympathies swung the other way
when we learned that Bruce was
carrying a machete that fateful night.
There was even a jaw-dropping piece
of police incompetence, with
investigators making a basic
mathematical error and miscalculating
the Jeep’s speed at impact.
Tension mounted. After three days
of deliberations, the jury’s verdict was
delivered. Courtier was found guilty
and sentenced to 28 years in East
Oregon Correctional Facility – where
European Kindred, ironically, has a
strong presence.Telling Tales: Cathy
FitzGerald
RADIO 4 EXTRA, 11.00AM The radio producer
Cathy FitzGerald, always
imaginative, is under the
spotlight in Telling Tales,
discussing highlights of
her radio career and the
programmes she’s most
proud of making, includingLittle Volcanoes, an award-
winning documentary
featuring conversations
with the patients and staff
of Pilgrims Hospice in
Margate. She also talks
about Strange & Charmed,
her radio school for people
to learn how to tell stories
with sound, and give a
glimpse of the possibilities
for the future of radio.Art of Now: Cymru Rising
RADIO 4, 11.30AM Welsh-language music
has never been more
abundant than it is today,
in large part thanks to a
generation of young people
coming of age in Wales
having been educated in
the Welsh language.
Welsh-language music isno longer confined to folk
clubs and festivals in Wales,
as Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens
explores in this invigorating
documentary celebrating
the diversity of creativity
spreading through the UK
music scene. Stephens
meets artists who perform
in Welsh, and asks how
this momentum might
continue in the future.The Affair
SKY ATLANTIC, 9.00PM It may be a series too far
for a show which lost sight
of the narrative quirk that
made it unique – playing
a quartet of unreliable
narrators off against each
other – and plumping
instead for a parade of
lurid plot twists only just
about held together by its
excellent cast. Still, here we
are at the end of the road,
with Anna Paquin joining
the cast as Joanie, daughter
of Alison (Ruth Wilson),
who explodes into the lives
of Noah (Dominic West) and
Helen (Maura Tierney). GTEntertainmentSink or Swim for Stand Up
to Cancer
CHANNEL 4, 9.30PM Eleven celebrities have
12 weeks to prepare for
a relay swim across the
English Channel in aid
of the titular charity. The
volunteers – all of them
nervous swimmers –
include Olympic gold
medallists Linford Christieand Greg Rutherford,
The Last Leg’s Alex Brooker
and Simon Webbe of boy-
band Blue. GTFactualSaving Lives at Sea
BBC TWO, 8.00PM A fourth series following
RNLI volunteers around the
country begins with crews
in Pembrokeshire, Jersey
and the Wirral, as they
answer a wide range of
emergencies including
a plane crash, a missing
swimmer and a horse
that’s stuck in the mud
and at risk of drowning. GTPeaky Blinders ★★★★★
A Black and White Killing: The Case
That Shook America ★★★Franco Building: MeadesThe Affair: West and TierneyHollywood, Toksvig, Fielding and Leith return for a new seriesRadio 1
FM 97.6-99.8MHz
6.30am The Radio 1 Breakfast Show
with Greg James 10.00 Radio 1
Anthems with Clara Amfo 11.00 Clara
Amfo 12.45pm Newsbeat 1.00 Scott
Mills 4.00 Nick Grimshaw 5.45
Newsbeat 6.00 Nick Grimshaw 7.00
Radio 1’s Future Sounds with Annie
Mac 9.00 Rickie, Melvin and Charlie
11.00 Radio 1’s Indie Show with Jack
Saunders 1.00am Annie Nightingale
3.00 The Reality Tea 3.40 Radio 1 and
1Xtra’s Stories – How Wrestling Saved
My Life 4.00 - 6.30am Early Breakfast
with Adele RobertsRadio 2
FM 88-90.2MHz6.30am The zoe Ball Breakfast Show
9.30 Ken Bruce 12.00 Jeremy Vine
2.00pm Craig Charles in the
Afternoon 5.00 Sara Cox 7.00 Jo
Whiley. Music and chat 9.00 The Jazz
Show with Jamie Cullum. The world of
jazz 10.00 Trevor Nelson’s Rhythm
Nation 12.00 OJ Borg 3.00am Sounds
of the 80s with Gary Davies 4.50
Radio 2 Sounds of the 80s Mastermix
5.00 - 6.30am Nicki ChapmanRadio 3
FM 90.2-92.4MHz
6.30am Breakfast 9.00 Essential
Classics 12.00 Composer of the Week:
Dufay 1.00pm News 1.02 Radio 3
Lunchtime Concert 2.00 Afternoon
Concert 5.00 In Tune. Featuring a live
performance from pianist Marc-Andre
Hamelin 7.00 BBC Proms 2019. A
special staging of Glyndebourne’s
new production of The Magic Flute
live from the Royal Albert Hall10.30 New Generation Artists. Jazz
bassist Misha Mullov-Abbado performs
with his mother, violinist Viktoria
Mullova 11.00 Late Junction 12.30am- 6.30am Through the Night
Radio 4
FM 92.4-94.6MHz; LW 198KHz
6.00am Today 9.00 Fry’s English
Delight 9.30 Classified Britain 9.45
Book of the Week: My Name Is Why
9.45 LW: Daily Service 10.00
Woman’s Hour 11.00 The Age of
Consultancy 11.30 Art of Now:
Cymru Rising. See Radio choice 12.00
News 12.01pm LW: Shipping Forecast
12.04 The Offing 12.18 Call You and
Yours 12.57 Weather 1.00 The World
at One 1.45 Our House 2.00 The
Archers 2.15 Glue 3.00 Short Cuts
3.30 The Walk: Across the Water 4.00
Word of Mouth 4.30 Great Lives.
Ramsay MacDonald, Britain’s first
Labour Prime Minister 5.00 PM 5.54
LW: Shipping Forecast 5.57 Weather
6.00 Six O’Clock News 6.30 Paul
Sinha’s General Knowledge. New
series. The comedian presents his
guide to fascinating facts 7.00 The
Archers. Will gets the wrong
impression 7.15 Front Row. Arts
programme 7.45 The Country Girls. By
Edna O’Brien 8.00 Rape Trials: Is The
Jury Out? 8.40 In Touch 9.00 Science
Stories 9.30 Fry’s English Delight
10.00 The World Tonight 10.45 Book
at Bedtime: The Offing 11.00 Phil Ellis
Is Trying 11.30 Beyond Today 12.00
News and Weather 12.30am Book of
the Week: My Name Is Why 12.48
Shipping Forecast 1.00 As World
Service 5.20 Shipping Forecast 5.30
News Briefing 5.43 Prayer for the Day
5.45 Farming Today 5.58 - 6.00am
Tweet of the DayRadio 5 Live
MW 693 & 909KHz
6.00am 5 Live Breakfast 9.00 Your
Call 10.00 The Emma Barnett Show
with Chloe Tilley 1.00pm Nihal
Arthanayake 4.00 5 Live Drive
7.00 5 Live Sport 7.45 5 Live Sport:
EFL Cup Football 2019-20 10.30
Sarah Brett 1.00am Up All Night
5.00 Morning Reports 5.15 - 6.00am
Wake Up to MoneyClassic FM
FM 99.9-101.9MHz
6.00am More Music Breakfast 9.00
John Suchet 1.00pm Anne-Marie
Minhall 5.00 Classic FM Drive 7.00
Smooth Classics at Seven. Relaxing
sounds 8.00 The Full Works Concert.
Works that have defined composers
and their careers 10.00 Smooth
Classics 1.00am - 6.00am Sam PittisWorld Service
DIGITAL ONLY
6.00am Newsday 8.30 Business Daily
8.50 Witness History 9.00 News 9.06
The Arts Hour 10.00 World Update
11.00 The Newsroom 11.30 In the
Studio 12.00 News 12.06pm Outlook
1.00 The Newsroom 1.30 The
Documentary 2.00 Newshour 3.00
News 3.06 People Fixing The World
3.30 World Business Report 4.00 BBC
OS 6.00 News 6.06 Outlook 7.06 The
Newsroom 7.30 Sport Today 8.00
News 8.06 People Fixing The World
8.30 Digital Planet 9.00 Newshour
10.00 News 10.06 The Documentary
10.30 World Business Report 11.00
News 11.06 The Newsroom 11.20
Sports News 11.30 In the Studio
12.00 News 12.06am The Arts Hour1.00 News 1.06 Business Matters
2.00 News 2.06 The Newsroom 2.30
The Documentary 3.00 News 3.06
HARDtalk 3.30 The Compass 4.00
News 4.06 Newsday 5.00 News 5.06
The Newsroom 5.30 - 6.00am Digital
PlanetRadio 4 Extra
DIGITAL ONLY
6.00am To Be Sung Underwater 6.30
Ebony: Black on White on Black 7.00
Living with the Enemy 7.30
Austentatious 8.00 Lines from My
Grandfather’s Forehead 8.30 Beyond
Our Ken 9.00 The Now Show 9.30
Stilgoe’s Around 10.00 Inspector
Resnick – Slow Burn 11.00 Telling
Tales. See Radio choice 12.00 Lines
from My Grandfather’s Forehead
12.30pm Beyond Our Ken 1.00 To Be
Sung Underwater 1.30 Ebony: Black
on White on Black 2.00 Reef 2.15
Charisma: Pinning Down the Butterfly
2.30 Bindi Business 2.45 My Life in
Houses 3.00 Inspector Resnick – Slow
Burn 4.00 Act Your Age. Comedy
panel show 4.30 The Sit Crom 5.00
Living with the Enemy 5.30
Austentatious 6.00 Haunted 6.30 Dad
Made Me Laugh 7.00 Lines from My
Grandfather’s Forehead 7.30 Beyond
Our Ken 8.00 To Be Sung Underwater
8.30 Ebony: Black on White on Black
9.00 Telling Tales 10.00 Comedy Club
12.00 Haunted 12.30am Dad Made
Me Laugh 1.00 To Be Sung
Underwater 1.30 Ebony: Black on
White on Black 2.00 Reef 2.15
Charisma: Pinning Down the Butterfly
2.30 Bindi Business 2.45 My Life in
Houses 3.00 Inspector Resnick – Slow
Burn 4.00 Act Your Age 4.30 The Sit
Crom 5.00 Living with the Enemy
5.30 - 6.00am Austentatious32 ***^ Tuesday 27 August 2019 The Daily Telegraph
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