What a sad but ultimately revealing and enlightening film this was. As part of the BBC’s Wonderland series of documentaries, this one followed Emma Bishop and Ben Marshall as they deliberated the pros and cons of getting married.

But what sets Emma and Ben apart from other couples in their twenties who are contemplating the same thing is that they both have Down’s Syndrome, therefore their lives are not truly their own because they must be, in many ways, reliant on others to sanction or veto various aspects of their lives.

Because of the propensity for Down’s sufferers to be subject to what many consider vulnerability and an inability to make life changing decisions, there was to be no rushing into anything for this couple. Despite the fact they’re clearly devoted to each other, and I can think of few young people better suited to making a real go of a marriage than these two based on what we saw last night, there are hurdles for them at every step. Read more & comment »

I don’t think I’ve ever felt so ashamed to be British as I did while watching this documentary by Olly Lambert.

It primarily followed a gentle, kind and intelligent man who was embarking on a career as a traffic warden, and from the abuse he and his colleagues got, you might have assumed they were in fact murderers or something equally as heinous. But no, they were just traffic wardens doing a job.

Durga Pokrehl from Nepal left behind his wife and child to try to build a life for his family here in the UK, and despite having two masters degrees, being multi-lingual and having an inexhaustible knowledge of the works of Shakespeare, the best he could find here was a job as Public Enemy Number One – a traffic warden. Read more & comment »

Forty years since the release of the Carpenters debut LP this musical spectacular will celebrate the sounds and successes of the influential duo with some of the greatest pop stars of today.

Hosted by Amanda Holden and Ronan Keating and made in collaboration with Richard Carpenter, Celebrating the Carpenters, sees the following artists take to the stage to perform their own unique versions of some of the Carpenters best loved songs :

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Hannah Rothschild made this film which amounted to following Nicky Haslam around for a year. Why? I don’t know. And having watched it, I still don’t know.

If I were in a generous mood, I might presuppose she made it to dig deeper than the very shallow level on which Mr Haslam lives – to reveal a ‘different’ side to him – but frankly, he’s a shallow swimmer in a shallow pool full of shallow sharks.

But they’re rich and famous these swimmers and if they’re not, they’re not in sight. So if you, like me, can’t air-kiss, can’t say “darling” every two seconds and don’t have a propensity to drink only the most expensive champagne – then eat a blini before throwing it up – you and I are not welcome in Haslam’s circles.

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I’m not sure there was really any point to this film, other than having the rather novel experience of sitting in my living room wearing 3D glasses – and being sniggered at by my family – where previously, I’d only worn them in a cinema.

And to be honest, the 3D effect wasn’t that remarkable; I’ve seen better. However, that said, it’s worth bearing in mind that this film footage was shot in the 1950s by Bob Angell and Arthur Wooster – who both recalled their experiences charmingly for this film – so it was actually no mean feat.

In fact, the majority of the film’s charm was in these two lovely gentlemen and the very formal way in which they spoke. All very English and very tea-and-cucumber-sandwiches. I especially liked it when they implored us to put on our “3D viewing spectacles.” Bless. Read more & comment »

I had absolutely no idea that my fuzzy, warm image of one of my favourite childhood authors was totally out of whack. Enid Blyton wasn’t so much warm and fuzzy as cold and barbed it would seem.

I’d heard some rumours about Blyton’s taciturn character but I’d never really taken much notice, and I suspect that’s because, as I mentioned, her work ranks right up there on my Top Ten Childhood Memories, in the Rose Coloured section, so it was rather a disappointment to me to witness her vileness.

But Helena Bonham Carter did a remarkable job of portraying a woman who was no doubt plagued by inner demons but thought nothing of making miserable lives – quite by design – for those who crossed her or didn’t interest her, her own children included. Read more & comment »

I’ve been trawling the net for a fix of Lost gossip and I’ve found lots of little nuggets of info about season six. Yippee!

Some of the info in this article contains spoilerish news so don’t read on after the jump if you don’t want to know! Read more & comment »

Fans of David Tennant will have been drinking him in as the Doctor last night, for his time is nigh. After two Christmas episodes, Matt Smith will become the eleventh incarnation of the famous Doctor, and Tennant shall be a mere memory. Awwww.

But what a way to go; sticking his beak in on Mars in the year 2059 where there a real problem with the water. Not just those air bubbles you get sometimes and wonder if it’s something icky – this water can kill you. And unpleasantly at that.

On Bowie Base One – love that – Captain Adelaide Brooke, excellently played by Lindsay Duncan, is showing that in the future, women are still in charge of anything that’s important. However, Brooke and her team dropped a clanger in that they melted some ice in the ice fields and let loose a nasty virus. Worse than Swine ‘flu even. Or David Cameron. Read more & comment »

I’ve always hated wasps; they’re useless critters and sure enough, as if I needed more reason to dislike them, it was a spawn of Satan wasp that caused the Collision.

But I suppose to give the wasp its due, it also caused love among the pile up. Mind you, one of those love affairs would’ve meant a bloke leaving his wife… mmm, every silver lining has a cloud eh?

I must say, it was a factor that took me a tad by surprise in a drama that had been filled with intrigue and what-ifs, but the wasp did in fact make its presence known in the very first episode, so the clue was there, we just had to be able to absorb seemingly useless trivia.

The scene in which the waitress tried to kill it didn’t seem especially relevant at the time but of course, with hindsight, if she’d swatted it, none of what happened would’ve happened. It’s all very interesting and chaos theory, which for me, added to the general excellence of the drama. Read more & comment »

Can you believe that it’s just a month to Christmas? Panic!

But the good news is, this week, we get to see last Christmas’s Gavin and Stacey special again. I wish I’d got it on DVD actually so I could watch it over and over… hope you’re reading Father Christmas?

Anyway, without further ado, here’s what we recommend you take a look at this week. We haven’t included Friday’s Children In Need because, well, you won’t need a reminder from us that it’s on! Read more & comment »

On Monday, Doug spots a lonely looking David eating in the café and tries to talk to him about Leyla. Doug insists girls like Leyla are one in a million and he’d be stupid not to fight for her.

David plucks up the courage to visit her at the shop and they agree to talk once she’s finished work. Later, at Leyla’s house, David reveals his date with Priya didn’t go very well and it made him realise how much he misses Leyla, although he’s not sure he’ll be able to trust her again. Thrilled, Leyla urges David to let her earn his trust back and assures him she’ll never let him down again. Are David and Leyla back on track?

Sally gives Ashley a “get well soon mummy card” that she made with the children to give to Laurel in hospital. Later, as Sally cooks dinner for Ashley, she insists she doesn’t mind and there’s no use in hurrying Laurel home before she’s back to her normal self. Is Sally preparing to move in on Ashley? Read more & comment »

On Monday, Archie wanders into the Vic and asks Roxy to call Peggy for him. Roxy, however, reminds him that he shouldn’t be there as Peggy’s barred him. While waiting for Peggy, Archie talks to Jack about Sam and claims that she won’t last long if she’s sent to prison.

Having seen the pair kiss the previous week, Archie suggests that Jack should help Sam because she trusts him. Jack’s left thinking it over while Roxy eventually tells Archie that Peggy’s not even in and that she’s at Aunt Sal’s.

Later, Archie’s having lunch with Sam at Fargo’s and he broaches the subject of prison. Sam claims that she’s prepared for whatever life behind bars has in store for her if she’s sent down, but Archie suggests that she get a second opinion on her legal position. Read more & comment »

On Monday at 7:30pm, Tony’s a desperate man and as he frantically tries to cling on to the new life he’s created, he packs Maria off to a health spa for the day, knowing the police are about to come calling.

Keeping up the façade, Tony goes to work but when the police arrive and arrest him on suspicion of Liam’s murder, he can feel his world falling apart. Down at the station Tony’s interviewed about the Croppers allegations, and as the police pile on the pressure, saying they’ll speak to Maria, will Tony crumble and confess to murder?

Meanwhile, Roy and Hayley return to the café and are relieved to hear that Tony’s been arrested and taken to the police station. But as gossip about Tony’s arrest spreads, Maria arrives back on the street. Is she about to discover the awful truth about Tony? Read more & comment »

Actually John, the kids aren't alright

So, I was browsing through Toys R Us today and noticed John Barrowman’s visage on the front of a board game. Ah, celebrity endorsements, money for old rope, innit?

Well, no, not when your management can’t be arsed reading the text on the front of the box, which effectively encourages people to beat kids for money! Imagine what would happen if the tabloids got hold of this? The headlines:

• Torchwood star encourages child beatings
• No John, The Kids Aren’t Alright

Damn, I thought I could stretch that out a bit further before the ideas ran out. Any ideas from the floor?

David Haye and Sarah Harding join Jonathan Ross for this week’s Friday Night With Jonathan Ross on BBC One.

Sarah Harding tells Jonathan that Girls Aloud will get back together but they don’t know when: “We’re simply taking a break, we all felt it was time… we said about a year, but we’re going to see.”

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