Pick of the week
Trackers: The People v The Banks
Monday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
Following the financial crash in the late noughties, interest rates hit rock bottom, and the banks were none too happy that they weren’t making profits from customers’ tracker mortgages. So they improperly moved many of their customers from tracker mortgages on to high-interest fixed mortgages, in what became the biggest banking scandal in the history of the State. More than 40,000 homeowners were affected by the scandal, many of them suffering untold stress and health problems, and facing financial ruin and marriage break-up, with several losing their homes as a result of sharp banking practices. Following years of campaigning on behalf of homeowners, the banks were eventually brought to book, paying more than €1 billion in fines and redress. Many of the cases are still working their way through the courts system nearly 15 years later. This two-part documentary tells the story of the tracker mortgage scandal from the perspective of the families who were most badly affected, with contributions from some the professionals who helped families in their battle for justice. It’s a first for Irish television, laying bare the greed and callousness of the banks as they fleeced families already badly affected by the financial crash, and showing how the banks were taking bailout money off the government with one hand, while overcharging customers with the other. And the documentary also asks the question: what’s to stop banks from exploiting a new generation of mortgage holders?
Highlights
Ireland’s Fittest Family
Sunday, RTÉ One, 6.30pm
No, you’re not so exhausted you’re seeing double. The new series of Ireland’s Fittest Family has twice as many coaches - and promises to be 10 times more challenging and competitive than ever before. It’s not just the coaching crew that’s been ramped up - this new series also promises some pulse-racing new games and challenges in a series of new locations around the country. Presenter Laura Fox and the three original coaches, Donncha O’Callaghan, Davy Fitzgerald and Anna Geary, are back for this 13th series, with Fitzgerald the reigning champion. They’re joined by Paralympic swimming champion Ellen Keane, former Dublin GAA star Michael Darragh Macauley, who has won eight All-Ireland medals, and 70-times capped former Irish rugby star Andrew Trimble. Each coach will be put in charge of two super-fit families, who will battle it out on a series of gruelling challenges in a bid to win the IFF title. When you see what these families have to go through, you’ll be glad you’re at home on your cosy couch. The first heats will be held at Gormanstown Army camp, and members of the Defence Forces will be on hand to demonstrate the challenges, including Box to the Top, where participants have to get through an army training ground carrying all their kit plus some heavy sandbags, and Truck Pull, in which the families will have to haul a 7½-tonne army truck along a disused runway. In each heat, a new coach will be pitted against an original coach, and in the first episode it’s Anna Geary with her families the McClements from Co Down and the Carr family from Co Westmeath versus Michael Darragh MacAuley’s Walsh family from Cork and Byrne family from Dublin. The two families with the highest scores will go on to the next round, while the low-scoring pair will face the notorious Army Eliminator. I’ll just get a few extra cushions here and get nice and comfortable.
Game of Wool: Britain’s Best Knitter
Sunday, Channel 4, 8pm
Forget extreme sports and punishing boot camp - can you survive with just a pair of knitting needles and a few balls of wool? We’ve had Bake Off and The Great British Sewing Bee, but now it’s time for Britain’s amateur knitters to step up and prove they can knit like a champion without dropping a stitch. But who will guide our contestants as they cast off on their bid to become Britain’s top knitter. It’s Olympic diving champion Tom Daley, who’s a pretty nifty knitter himself. He’ll coach the contestants as they try to impress the judges - Di Gilpin and Shelia Greenwell - with their woolly creations. The first solo challenge will be to design a tank top using the classic Fair Isle technique, and that’s followed by a gargantuan team challenge: a fully stitched sofa. You won’t believe how tense and nail-biting this normally genteel pastime can get.
Anthony Hopkins: A Career in Character
Wednesday, BBC Two, 7.30pm
We’ve all seen Clarice Starling’s harrowing interview with Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, but in real life, Anthony Hopkins, who played the iconic serial killer in Jonathan Demme’s Oscar-winning film, is an affable enough interviewee, so it shouldn’t be too scary a task for journalist Katie Razzall, who meets the veteran actor in Los Angeles for this in-depth look at his extraordinary life and career. Hopkins recounts his traumatic childhood in Port Talbot, Wales, when his parents and teachers branded him a failure, through a young adulthood marked by depression and addiction, and to his rise as one of the most recognisable and revered British actors of the age. The interview coincides with the publication of the 87-year-old actor’s memoir, We Did OK, Kid.
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Shetland
Wednesday, BBC One, 9pm
The crime series set in the wilds of Scotland has proven a hardy perennial, and now it’s returning for its 10th series, once again starring Ashley Jensen as DI Ruth Calder and Alison O’Donnell as DS Lorna “Tosh” McIntosh. Shetland is based on the best-selling novels by Ann Cleeves, and in this new six-parter, Calder and Tosh are summoned to the sleepy hamlet of Lunniswick, where the body of a retired social worker has been found, having been left exposed to the elements for several days. The detectives have to delve into the victim’s past to find clues to her killer, and it’s not long before they uncover some sinister goings-on in this small community. Jensen and O’Donnell will be joined by regular cast members Stephen Robertson, Lewis Howden, Anne Kidd and Angus Miller, with a whole bunch of guest stars including Clive Russell, Ellie Haddington, Niall MacGregor and Stuart Townsend set to appear throughout series 10.
Celebrity Race across the World
Thursday, BBC One, 8pm
Hot on the heels of the latest series of Race across the World comes another star-studded version of RATW, and it sees four famous duos take on a travel challenge minus the platinum credit card, luxury hotels and VIP treatment. Each pair have to travel like ordinary Joe shmoes over a distance of nearly 6,000 miles, with no room in their backpacks for a comforting celebrity security blanket, and use their wits and what little street smarts they have to get to the finishing line. The dynamic duos are broadcaster and writer Anita Rani with her dad, Bal; actor Dylan Llewellyn and his mum, Jackie; presenter DJ Tyler and his partner, actor and singer Molly Rainford; and celeb siblings broadcaster Roman Kemp and singer-songwriter Harleymoon. But what hostile and treacherous terrain will these famous people have to follow? Quite a scenic route, actually - in fact, pretty stunning. They’ll start their journey on the Caribbean paradise of Isla Mujeres, off the coast of Mexico, and will cross Central America to reach the remote Península de la Guajira in Colombia, known as the gateway to South America. Along the way, our celeb teams will encounter some vibrant culture and traditions, but will also have to be creative and canny if they want to win the race. Travel agents in the UK have already been put on alert to expect extra interest in the region sparked by this new series of Celebrity RATW.
All Her Fault
Friday, Sky Atlantic & Now, 9pm
So there you are, arriving at some house to pick up your kid from a playdate, and the person answering the door has no idea who your kid is or what you’re talking about. Then you realise you took down the wrong address cos you weren’t paying attention. Happens to me all the time. But when Marissa Irvine calls to collect her son Milo from his first-ever playdate, and a complete stranger answers the door claiming no knowledge of Milo, it’s the beginning of a nightmare that will draw in neighbours, friends and family, and descend into paranoia, suspicion and eventually murder. With each passing hour, the chances of getting Milo back alive diminishes, and the blame, rumours and gossip threaten to tear the community asunder. Who can Marissa trust, and can she find out who has taken Milo before it’s too late? And is it all her fault? Sarah Snook leads an all-star cast including Dakota Fanning, Jake Lacy and Michael Peña in this twisty psychological thriller that ratchets up the parental guilt.
Streaming
All’s Fair
From November 4th, Disney+
Kim Kardashian heads up a cast of strong, glamorous go-getting women - nothing unusual about that. But while The Kardashians totter through another so-so series of their reality show, Kim is changing things up a bit, leading a star-studded cast in a legal drama revolving around an all-women law firm. The tagline? Never settle. Kardashian plays high-flying divorce lawyer Allura Grant, who is sick of the patronising, testosterone-fuelled firm she works with. So she decides to set up her own law firm, and gathers a team of serious women to join her on her new venture. The series co-stars Naomi Watts, Sarah Paulson, Niecy Nash and Teyana Taylor, all with exotic names like Liberty, Emerald, Milan and Carrington. Of course, they need an elder lemon to deal out wisdom, and Glenn Close fills that role. And just to keep your attention, there’ll be guest appearances throughout the series from the likes of Elizabeth Berkley, OT Fagbenle, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ed O’Neill, Brooke Shields and Jessica Simpson.
Death by Lightning
From November 6th, Netflix
This historical drama gets its title from a famous quote by the 20th president of the US, James Garfield: “Assassination can no more be guarded against than death by lightning.” It tells the story of Garfield’s brief term as president in 1881, and how his self-professed greatest admirer, Charles Guiteau, became his killer. Michael Shannon stars as dark horse Garfield, a man from humble beginnings who rose to the highest office in the land, only to be cut down less than a year later by an assassin’s bullet. Matthew Macfadyen co-stars as Guiteau, an attention-seeker with delusions of grandeur who believes killing the president will confer immortality on him.
The Vince Staples Show
From November 6th, Netflix
What’s daily life like for a rapper and actor trying to make a name for himself in the entertainment business? Pretty damn surreal, if this series is anything to go by. No sooner have we recovered from the mad goings-on in the first series than a second series arrives hot on its heels, and it finds our hero going on a wild roller-coaster ride in hot pursuit of inner peace and tranquillity. Once again, Staples plays a version of himself, a rapper who’s kinda famous, sorta rich and maybe a criminal - or maybe not. The series follows his everyday life in Long Beach, California, although any resemblance to real events is purely satirical.
Pluribus
From November 7th, Apple TV+
Rhea Seehorn from Better Call Saul stars in this sci-fi series as Carol, the most depressed person in the world. She’s got good reason to be glum: the rest of the human race has been hit by a mysterious wave of happiness, but somehow she has remained immune to the universal jollity that has engulfed the world. If she was depressed before, now she’s on a real downer, having to put up with relentlessly happy-clappy family, neighbours and friends, whose unrelenting efforts to cheer her up only make things worse. Even the US president rows in, promising to recruit the best scientific minds to find out what makes Carol different and “cure” her. But how can she cure humanity of all this toxic happiness?
