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Daily Mail, Tuesday, March 3, 2020^Baffled by Liar last time around?
It’s back ... and with extra clues
Welcome return of the day:
Hard to believe it’s ten years
since Ainsley Harriott hung up
his apron on Ready Steady Cook
(BBC1). Now the show’s back
with permatanned Rylan Clark-
Neal as host. He’s no chef but it
really doesn’t seem to matter.N
ever give away the
secret of the trick —
that’s what every
young magician is
taught. But telly has
discovered how much fun
there is to be had in revealing
the sleight-of-hand.
Wildlife documentaries did it first,
with ten-minute segments at the
end of each episode that detailed
the agonies endured over months
by film crews in search of the
perfect footage.
Now drama is exploring the
technique, as murder-mystery
maestros Jack and Harry Williams
show us what we didn’t see during
the first season of Liar (ITv).
Ioan Gruffudd stars in this
psychological seaside thriller as a
charismatic hospital surgeon,
exposed as a rapist by one of
his victims.
At the end of the six-part series in
2 017, the body of Andrew earlham
turned up with his throat cut –
l y i n g i n a m u d d y s t r e a m a t
the shoreline.
But viewers were left to guess at
much of what happened, from the
moment earlham fled his house
one step ahead of the police, to the
discovery of his corpse.
We could never have known, for
instance, that his first move was to
break into a friend’s boat at a
marina and spend the night lying
low, planning his escape.
We saw, too, his very first meetingw i t h t e a c h e r L a u r a , p l a y e d
by Joanne Froggatt with a charm-
less arrogance.
One of the dextrous twists of
Liar is how earlham remains
likeable, even when we know what
a monster he is — while his accuser
is a cold, unsympathetic figure
with a selfish streak.
Deft camera work adds to the
sense of disorientation.
At one point the gum-chewing
detective, DI renton (Katherine
Ke l l y ) , d i s c o v e r e d a c l u e i n
Laura’s house. We couldn’t quite
see what it was, as she bagged up
the evidence.
Later, we discovered it was the
dead man’s car key — incriminat-
ing, but not necessarily conclusive.
There’s more sleight-of-hand to be
explained yet.
The only pity is that we’ve had to
wait so long to learn the secrets of
Liar. This was such a complex
story, with so many flashbacks,
that keeping track of it all was hard
enough at the time.
A two-and-a-half year gap makes
it almost impossible to remember
all the subtleties of the first series.
Art historian James Fox wasLiar HHHHI Age Of The Image HHHHH
Christopher
stevens
last night’s tv
revealing the sleight-of-hand in
the cinematographer’s trade on
Age Of The Image (BBC4).
Some of the techniques are
simple ones we see on television
every day, yet they are not
obvious until someone points
them out.
Scenes in a drama rarely start
with a close-up, for instance.
We see a couple of longer shotsfirst, to establish where the
action is.
And when a character is speak-
ing, the camera never cuts from
one side of the face to the other,
left profile then right — that
would make it look like the actor
is talking to himself.
James had reels of these
fascinating film facts to share as
he traced the modern era’sobsession with the face in photo-
graphs, from the first movies to
today’s glut of selfies.
One of the earliest was a self-
portrait in a bath.
Jacques Henri Lartigue, a nine-
year- old French boy, was so
thrilled with his box Brownie
camera in 1904 that he floated it
on a wooden platform in the tub
and gazed into the lens.
That could have ended in
disaster. Instead, he captured a
fantastic image of his own
grinning face, bobbing on the
surface of the water.
I’d never seen the photo before,
and could not have guessed how
it was taken.
It’s always exciting to realise
how a trick is done.TELEVISION
FILm ChOICES
A Wicked Vendetta, 2.20pm, Ch5
Katrina Begin is the mum who flies
into action when her daughter is abducted.
Her previous career as a hostage negotiator
should be useful — if only the kidnappers
would make contact...What Richard Did, 1.20am, Ch4
One of those
unassuming
dramas that
thrived on
word of
mouth in
cinemas.
a beautifully
acted piece,
it follows a
group of
privileged
Dublin
teenagers
whose lives are turned upside down
by a moment of despicable madness.
Jack reynor (pictured), in the title role,
leads the young cast.C H A N N E L 5
6.00 milkshake! Peppa Pig (R) 6.20 Mya Go
(R,HD) 6.25 Fireman Sam (R,HD) 6.40 Noddy:
Toyland Detective (HD) 6.50 Abby Hatcher
(HD) 7.00 Thomas & Friends (R,HD) 7.15
Milkshake! Monkey’s Amazing Adventures
(R,HD) 7.20 Peppa Pig (R,HD) 7.30 Peppa Pig
(HD) 7.40 Top Wing (R,HD) 7.55 Paw Patrol
(HD) 8.10 Floogals (R,HD) 8.25 Becca’s Bunch
(R,HD) 8.40 Little Princess (R) 8.55 Ben and
Holly’s Little Kingdom (R,HD) 9.10 Sunny
Bunnies (R,HD)
9.15 Jeremy Vine (HD)
1 1.15 nightmare tenants, Slum
landlords (R,HD)
1 2.10 5 news at lunchtime (HD)
1 2.15 Paddington Station 24/7 (R,HD)
1 .10 access (HD)
1 .15 home and away (AD,R,HD)
1 .45 neighbours (AD,HD)
2 .20 a Wicked Vendetta (2018) (PG) ●
(HD) Thriller, starring Katrina Begin,
Joey Lawrence and Lily Delamere.
See Critics’ Choice.
4 .00 friends (R,HD)
4 .30 friends (R,HD) Chandler
dates Rachel’s boss.
5 .00 5 news (HD)
5 .30 neighbours (AD,R,HD) Finn is
annoyed when Bea refuses his
request to stop singing.
6 .00 home and away (AD,R,HD) Ryder
is charged with uploading the tape.
6 .30 5 news tonight (HD)7.00 m&S vs Waitrose: Which
Is Better Value? (R,HD)
Documentary examining the
ongoing rivalry between the
two supermarkets as they try to
attract the well-heeled shoppers.
(Followed by 5 News Update)8 .00 dogs Behaving (Very) Badly
(HD) Graeme Hall helps to train
three dogs that go overboard in
protecting the family home, as
well as a cavapoochon that loves
to run faster than its owners.
(Followed by 5 News Update)9 .00 Ben fogle: make a new life in
the country (HD) A couple who
have given up successful careers
to run a brewery. Last in series.
See Critics’ Choice.1 0.00 my new Greek life (HD)
A couple who retired to Kefalonia
struggle with being separated
from family. Laura and Ross
move their yacht to a new
island, only to encounter fierce
weather. Last in series.1 1.05 eamonn & ruth meet the
Billionaires (R,HD) Eamonn
Holmes and Ruth Langsford meet
Dr Mohammad Zahoor and his
wife, Kamaliya, in Kiev, Ukraine,
to see how the billionaire couple
have spent some of their fortune.12.05 how to have a Better orgasm
(R,HD) 1.00 The 21.co.uk Live Casino
Show (HD) 3.00 Access (R,HD)
3.10 Hotel Inspector: Checking In,
Checking Out (R,HD) 4.00 Tattoo
Disasters UK (BSL,R,HD) 4.45 House
Doctor (BSL,R) 5.10 Nick’s Quest
(BSL,R) 5.35 Wildlife SOS (BSL,R,HD)■ Family viewing ● Generally suitable for all ◆ Caution recommended^ ▲ Particularly liable to offend
WELSh TV VARIATIONS
BBC1: 11.00am Wanted Down Under. 11.30 X-Ray.
12noon Saved on Camera. 12.30 Bargain Hunt.
1.30 BBC Wales Today; Weather. 6.30 BBC Wales
Today; Weather. 10.25 BBC Wales Today; Weather.
10.35 Young, Welsh and Pretty Minted. 11.05
Beauty Laid Bare. 11.45 The Truth About
Takeaways. 12.45am BBC News.
BBC2: 1.50pm First Minister’s Questions. 2.40 Coast.
11.15 New Voices from Wales. 11.25 Natural World.
S4C: 6.00am Cyw. 12noon Newyddion S4C a’r
Tywydd. 12.05 Ffasiwn Mecanic. 12.30 Heno. 1.30
Ffermio. 2.00 Newyddion S4C a’r Tywydd. 2.05
Prynhawn Da. 3.00 Newyddion S4C a’r Tywydd.
3.05 Corau Rhys Meirion. 4.00 Awr Fawr: Peppa.
4.05 Awr Fawr: Y Brodyr Coala. 4.20 Awr Fawr:
Antur Natur Cyw. 4.35 Awr Fawr: Sion y Chef. 4.45
Awr Fawr: Deian a Loli. 5.00 Stwnsh. 6.00 Codi Pac.
6.30 Rownd a Rownd. 7.00 Heno. 7.30 Newyddion
S4C a’r Tywydd. 8.00 Pobol y Cwm. 8.25 Rownd a
Rownd. 8.55 Newyddion 9 a’r Tywydd. 9.00 Cynefin.
10.00 Walter Presents: Yr Un Awyr. 11.00 Nyrsys.PICK
FILM
CHOICE