Here the TV Times team of expert reviewers highlight three of the best shows on telly tonight for Friday 6th October including Porridge
Here the TV Times team of expert reviewers highlight three of the best shows on telly tonight for Friday 6th October including the return of Porridge...
Porridge, 9.30pm, BBC1
Following the success of last year’s pilot, Kevin Bishop reprises his role as Nigel Norman Fletcher, the grandson of Ronnie Barker’s character from the 1970s, Norman Stanley Fletcher, as this prison sitcom returns for a full series. No one could ever fill Barker’s enormous shoes, so it was a relief when the show’s creators, Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, opted for a sequel rather than a remake, and fans of the original should be pleased with this new if fairly familiar offering. Expect plenty of gags, canned laughter and a fine turn from Catastrophe star Mark Bonnar as Officer Meekie, a fan of the sort of regime 1970s stickler Mr Mackay would recognise. Rating: ****
Sing: Ultimate A Cappella, 9.00pm, Sky 1
Cat Deeley presents a singing competition with a difference. Five groups compete each week, over three rounds, in front of five judges – using only their voices. The standard of singing is incredible and it’s a pretty slick production too… fast paced, with nice touches such as a house group and an a cappella performance from a superstar each week, beginning with The Vamps. After their opening number, the lowest-scored group is eliminated, then the remaining four go through to the iconic artist round, which is David Bowie tonight. Finally, the last two groups battle it out in the showdown, with one going through to the final. The prize is the chance to record an album and release a single in time for Christmas. Rating: ****
A Celebrity Taste of Italy, 9.00pm, C5
The famous five continue to explore the wonders of Italian life and they’re all finding it rather bellissimo. As Rula, Johnny and Ian forage for black truffles to make faggotini, Judith and Diana learn a bit of the lingo before heading off for a wine-tasting session with a baron whose family invented Chianti. For wine-tasting read getting sloshed on fine vino rosso! Later, Judith and Rula explore Siena, where UK tourists queue to have a selfie with the ladies, while Johnny, Ian and Diana visit the walled city of San Gimignano where a gelato maker proves to be as smooth as his dessert when he meets the former Green Goddess. Rating: ***
