Lewis: Still solving murders, six series’ on

" Lewis and Hathaway are Oxford’s answer to Batman and Robin"

Settling down in front of the TV last night, we were treated to some magnificent rooftop views of Oxford courtesy of the opening titles of the new series of Lewis. Swiftly followed by shots of a young couple punting on the canal and a group of botanists discussing their work in the early morning sunshine

With all this peaceful scenery it’s almost possible to forget that in order for Inspector Lewis to make an appearance (something which is pretty much a given, since the programme is named after him) some sort of murder or similar wrongdoing must shortly be about to take place.

Then, with the tranquility of the setting at full throttle, the woman leading the group of botanists announces, “Today we’ll be digging up ‘Rhododendron Ponticum’ as the rest of the group scatter across the forest. Suddenly we’re acutely aware of the likelihood of one of them digging up something a bit more lively than a rhododendron something-or-other. The discovery of a buried body (let’s be honest, not entirely unexpected) signifies to the viewer the start of a long and complicated murder investigation (when is it ever simple?) and inevitably requires the assistance of… that’s right, you guessed it… Lewis and his faithful Sergeant Hathaway.

It strikes me that Lewis and Hathaway are Oxford’s answer to Batman and Robin. Lewis has all the braun, and by braun I don’t mean hard muscle (he’s too busy policing to spend any length of time in the gym), I’m referring to the weight and power of his position within the police force. He’ll knock down people’s doors and sniff out a villain from miles away, but it’s Hathaway who has a lot of the brains, and may I say the beauty (pause for swoon). In fact, there doesn’t seem to be much he doesn’t know.

Having thought about it, Hathaway may be not be Oxford’s answer to Robin at all, more Oxford’s answer to Einstein. And it seems ironic that academically apprehensive Lewis ended up with a Sergeant who can not only speak Latin, but also seems to be an expert on Theology, Philosophy and ancient Lewis Carroll poems.

Wednesday saw the start of series six (series seven has already been commissioned by ITV). The episode is hinged on the efforts of several students and professors to find the meaning and elusive ‘answer’ to Lewis Caroll’s theological poem, ‘The Hunting of the Snark’ and our Inspector strongly believes that the poem will lead them to the murderer. In every other part of the country people are usually murdered because of drugs, money or violence. In Oxford however, it only takes a work of fiction and some angry students eager to get into the prestigious Wednesday Club to send you to an early grave, so watch out.

At any other university a club on a Wednesday would usually constitute some sort of sports club. However, something tells me Oxford University’s Wednesday club for geniuses does not consist of rugby players drinking pints through each other’s dirty socks.

Celia Imrie makes a triumphant entrance to the episode after DI Innocent (Rebecca Front) warns Lewis and Hathaway of a ‘nutcase alert’ at the station. Cue Imrie as Michelle Marber, an incessant police nuisance, chattering away about conducting her own ‘wider investigation’. In fact, it is Imrie’s emotional development of her character that really makes the episode, she even manages to coax Lewis into discussing his grief over his late wife; something he usually keeps bottled up.

Although the main plot lacks a little ‘oomph’, the sub plot centred around Celia Imrie’s character, as well as Lewis and Hathway’s various interactions with her, really help to drive the story forward. Some brilliant acting from the main and guest casts, but whilst this episode is not the most gripping or exhilarating, I still have my faith in Lewis and Hathaway’s crime solving abilities because let’s be honest, there hasn’t been a pairing like them since Batman and Robin.

• Early ratings show Lewis returned with 5.21million but was beaten by The Apprentice.
• ITV have already commissioned a seventh series to air in 2013

Lewis continues Wednesday's 8.00pm on ITV

Contributed by Vicki Greenfield Follow Vicki on Twitter

BUY LEWIS ON DVD

TheCustard chats to property expert and Secret Agent Phil Spencer

Thursday sees the next episode of the new prime time series from property guru Phil Spencer.  Phil Spencer: Secret Agent sees Phil comes to the rescue of homeowners desperate to sell their homes. It's an idea that was first introduced as part of Channel 4 daytime but following a huge success there and with repeats on More4 Channel 4 has moved (if you can pardon the awful pun) this new series to prime time. I recently spoke to Phil about the series and why he thinks we're all so fascinated by property programmes on TV.

Are you happy the series has been moved to a night time slot?
Yes! I was delighted! It did really well in the daytime slot, doubling the usual audience for that time and then the repeats on More4 did really well for them so we've got five to do for prime time. It brings a bit of extra pressure but it also brings extra exposure to the series and to what I'm doing and it also means we get a bit of extra time and extra money to make the show. 

This series requires you to be brutally honest with people. Do you find that difficult?
Yes. Of course it's awkward because I do surprise them, they don't know I'm going to be there and I need to be straight with them  I'm very sensitive to the fact that I have only just met them and I'm standing in their house explaining why the house that they've lived in and loved isn't selling. I try and tackle it politely but at the same time very honestly. People seem to take it from me but I'm not being rude; I'm being objective. I'm not being offensive or personal about the way the choose to live their lives.

Do you ever think surely this is common sense why this is still sat on the market?
Yes I do. I've looked around a vast number of houses in my career so it is common sense to me but I think when it's your own house it is often difficult to see the wood for the trees. People are looking at their house as a stage set and I come along and try to help them set that stage. Often in this series the people I'm meeting are desperate and they've been trying to sell their home for a long period of time and of course it's often difficult to keep up the enthusiasm and the momentum to keep everything neat and tidy for a viewing when you might have had fifty viewings! A lot of what I do is pointing out the obvious.   

Yes and you can do that without being rude
Yes. I'm on their side. I'm there to help them get the most for their most valuable asset. The house is most likely the most valuable thing they own so you want to get the best for it. I was with a couple from Kent  who you'll see in a few weeks time and I explained them you've got two choices: do nothing to the house and take twenty grand off the price, or spend a week or two dressing it up for sale and make twenty grand. I put to them would you go to work for two weeks of twenty grand? Of course you would! 

How do you feel being tough without your TV wife by your side?
(Laughs) well my TV wife is sometimes less delicate and polite than I am.  She calls it like it is!

Phil with TV wife Kirstie Allsopp.

In 2011 you celebrated ten years of Location, Location, Location. Did you think ten years ago you would still be filming property programmes? 
No! Ten years ago I thought we were still on screen in a month it would be fantastic! It's been a very fun time. It was a very surreal start. It certainly wasn't something either Kirstie (Allsopp) or I ever imagined we'd be doing. 

You didn't start out as a TV presenter did you?
No. I never had any dreams or aspirations of becoming a TV presenter. I trained as a surveyor, I ran a home-finding business and I got call to consult on the format on Location, Location. Somebody thought that what I did at that consultation was worth doing a screen test.  They called me back and one thing led to another. 

Does the process of finding people homes still excite you?
Yes. I think it's a fascinating process. I've been doing it for fifteen years now and I still get a huge sense of satisfaction and fulfillment out of helping people buy or sell. 

What do you think makes these shows so appealing to the viewer?
I like the format of Location, Location and Secret Agent. There are ups and downs and there are serious decisions that need to be made.  There's money at stake and there's usually discussion, indecision and stress and that's always quite interesting for me to be involved in at such close quarters and equally for people to watch.

Were you ever concerned that the "Credit Crunch" could spell the end of property series on TV?
There was a time back in 2009 where we were concerned and wondered whether people would still watch property shows. In 2005, 2006, 2007 watching property on TV made people feel good, happy and wealthy but suddenly in 2009 it made them feel nervous. We thought will people want to watch these shows with all hell breaking loose with the market? As it turned out our viewing figures in 2009 increased. We put it down to the fact that people were cautious, worried and very concerned about making the wrong decision so I think they were watching the show for advice and guidance. 

What do you tend to get asked the most?
If I'm filming on my own the most frequent question is where's Kirstie? If Kirstie's filming on her own it's where's Phil? We often get asked where Kirstie buys her shoes from. Doing what we do is slightly like being a doctor. Ii is such an important decision and it isn't something people do very often so people always have questions about the process. There's an abundance of questions really and I'm always happy to try and help. I enjoy helping people with this big part of their lives.

How long do you think you could continue making these shows? Could I be talking to you in five years time and asking you about the property market?
I hope so Luke I really do. I always say if people carry on watching it then we'll carry on making it. We enjoy working together and we enjoy our separate shows as well and I still genuinely get a kick out of helping people make that big decision. When we first started doing the revisits I never used to like doing those. For the first few years Kirstie did all the revisits because I enjoyed going out, finding the house, doing the deal and that's that. When Kirstie went on maternity leave Channel 4 asked me to do some revisits and I rather begrudgingly said OK. I realised that going back into people's lives, two or three years after we've found them house and being welcomed back with open arms was lovely.  They say they would have never found this house, never had done that deal and it's all worked out! That is an incredibly satisfying and fulfilling thing.  It is a nice conclusion to the story. They bought but are they happy? 

What do you love on TV?
I loved Spooks so you can imagine my delight that my new series was called Secret Agent!

You can catch Secret Agent Thursdays at 8pm on Channel 4

Follow Phil on Twitter

Silk: There’s a new Q.C. in town

Where Whitechapel has police investigations and Silent Witness has Pathology, Silk has barristers at the top of their game battling against criminals, the law and sometimes each other.

If criminal and legal dramas are your thing you’ll love the second series of the BBC’s hard-hitting drama, Silk. On the other hand, if you’ve never watched a crime drama in your life, make this your first. You won’t be disappointed.

“This law show on BBC One has sucked me in. I was meant to change the Channel” one viewer tweets.

This view is hardly surprising when the BBC has managed to cram all the tension, courtroom jargon, and moral dilemmas of the previous series into the opening five minutes of its intriguing courtroom drama. Having said that, one shouldn’t really pigeon hole Silk as a courtroom drama, since a lot of the plot occurs outside the courtroom and within the confines of the chambers inhabited by our main characters.

Maxine Peake slips effortlessly back into the role.

Maxine Peake returns, somewhat triumphantly, as barrister Martha Costello, whose recent, successful Silk application has earned her the coveted position of Queen’s Counsel along with a new name plaque outside chambers. If you followed the first series, you’ll know all about Martha’s insatiable desire for justice, passion for her job and deeply charismatic character. You’ll also be glad to know that second time round Maxine Peake has fallen elegantly back into the role and is as confident and perceptive as ever.

Resident ladies’ man Clive Reader (Rupert Penry-Jones) rides, more boyishly than gallantly, into chambers on his new motorbike, sporting a leather jacket several decades too young for his 38-year old self, causing his colleagues to muse over a possible mid-life crisis. Unfortunately for Clive he arrives just in time to see his name being slid down the plaque to make way for Martha’s new title.

Cue many jealous stares, uncomfortable silences and malicious remarks. Or so you might think. However, one of the most refreshing things about this episode (and hopefully the rest of the series) is the development of Martha and Clive’s relationship. You begin to get a real sense of the trust in their friendship. It feels as though Clive’s character has evolved and matured since series one, as he tells Martha, “you look terrific”  in a sincere and thoughtful manner.  So it’s almost a relief when he follows up his comment with, “vintage lesbian; it’s a good look for you Martha”. Back to the sarcastic Clive we know and love.

In fact the whole episode is filled with laugh-out-loud moments; something you might not expect from a drama based on the British legal system, including a trial where the defendant is accused of gauging out a man’s eyes. Oh sorry, did I forget to say? Aside from all the job promotions and hilarious one-liners, there is actually a gritty plotline and some highly credible courtroom performances.

Billy is back on top.

As well as the return of the chambers’ two best barristers, viewers can look forward to the reappearance of the brilliant Neil Stuke as Senior Clerk, Billy, as well as bumbling South London lad Jake (Theo Barklem-Biggs) and quietly efficient John played by John MacMillan. It appears the whole ‘family’, as Billy puts it, is back together again. Almost.

For it seems that that Shoe Lane Chambers have not decided to keep pupils Niamh and Nick on the payroll. A shame, as their character relationships and legal innocence helped drive much of the plot in the first series. But before the viewer has much chance to lament over absent faces, in saunters solicitor Mickey Joy played by the ever compelling Phil Davis (Whitechapel) followed later on in the episode by the ‘vicious’ Q.C. (her words not mine) CW (Frances Barber) known worryingly as Lady Macbeth by her peers.

With a cast of this quality it’s hard to be anything other than completely captivated by some seriously brilliant performances. Particular highlights include Jake’s nervous chatter about the chambers loo-roll consumption to new, attractive Junior Clerk, Beth, Martha’s cigarette out the window (to avoid being arrested for ‘passive manslaughter’) of the robing room at court with Lady Macbeth and Clive’s slip of the tongue when asking a female solicitor for a drink; “Do you want to go for a quick a f**k? Drink! Jesus, sorry.”

Clearly praise should go also to the wonderful script of Peter Moffat. Moffat was a barrister before becoming a writer and he writes so truthfully about the world. This opening episode struck a perfect balance between personal and ethical predicaments, courtroom revelations and sharp, witty comedy showing this British drama to be one of the best on television.

And whilst at first it may seem that those of us without a degree in law might struggle to understand what on earth is going on, with terms such as ‘court mentions’ and ‘duress’ being thrown around willy nilly, this is certainly not the case. The refreshing thing about Silk is the relative simplicity of the plot. Much of the focus is on the inner workings of the chambers themselves and the characters’ interactions within their set; the competitiveness, the jealousy, the compassion and the sheer organisation of the whole thing.

So if you’re curious to find out how watching a bunch of narcissistic, competitive barristers squabble and bicker their way through the British legal system can make for compelling drama, turn your tellys to BBC1 at 9pm next Tuesday. And catch up on episode one if you missed it on BBC iPlayer now.

• Early ratings show Silk made a strong return with 5.63million viewers. 

Silk Continues Tuesday's at 9.00pm on BBC1

Contributed by Vicki Greenfield Follow Vicki on Twitter

Read our Interview with Neil Stuke
Buy Series One on DVD

The TVWEEK: Sunday 20th -Friday 25th May 2012

Sunday
9.00pm Channel 4's Comedy Gala Channel 4 - Headlining this year's extravaganza - filmed at London's 02 Arena in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital - is Jessie J, who opens the show with an exclusive live performance. The all-star line-up also includes Lee Evans, Michael McIntyre, Jonathan Ross, Micky Flanagan, Sean Lock, Kevin Bridges, Jo Brand, Jack Whitehall, Jack Dee, Jon Richardson, Seann Walsh, Lee Nelson, Josh Widdicombe, Paul Chowdhry, Andi Osho, Keith Lemon and Alan Carr.
9.00pm The Survivors Five - Documentary about the people who survived Anders Behring Breivik's killing spree on July 22nd, 2011. Featuring testimony from survivors on Utoya Island and Oslo, this is a narrative of the events as they unfolded.
Monday
8.30pm Gok Cooks Chinese Channel 4 - Gok Wan is firing up his wok to showcase his other great passion in life: Chinese cooking. Growing up with a Chinese restaurateur and chef for a father, Gok loves nothing more than home-cooked Chinese food, and over the years has perfected many dishes of his own. Now he is joined by his beloved dad John, affectionately known as Poppa Wan, for this brand new cookery series exploring Chinese home cooking and healthy, quick meals devised by Gok himself - proving that he is master of the cleaver as well as the cleavage! In this first programme Gok guides viewers through the simple basics of Chinese cooking, from the 'holy trinity' of ingredients - garlic, ginger and spring onion - to the 'love box' of condiments. His first aim is to demonstrate how to cook the perfect egg fried rice: it's the fastest Chinese food anyone can master, from wok to plate in five minutes. Gok heads to Leicester to see his dad and rustle up a classic dish.

9.00pm The Fall of Singapore: The Great Betrayal BBC2 - This landmark film by Paul Elston tells the incredible story of how it was the British who gave the Japanese the knowhow to take out Pearl Harbor and capture Singapore. For 19 years before the fall of Singapore to the Japanese, British officers were spying for Japan. Worse still, the Japanese had infiltrated the very heart of the British establishment - through a mole who was a peer of the realm known to Churchill himself. 

9.00pm Are Fake Breasts Safe? BBC3 - Former Miss Great Britain, Gemma Garrett, investigates how she - and 50,000 other British women - ended up with toxic breast implants made by the French company PIP. 

Tuesday
7.30pm Trash to Treasure ITV - Documentary series about two reclamation yards in the north west of England.

9.00pm Harlots, Housewives and Heroines: A 17th Century History for Girls BBC4 - Historian Lucy Worsley immerses herself in the world of Restoration England, exploring the captivating lives of the women of the period.  

10.00pm My Big Fat Fetish Channel 4 - Fat girls eating food is becoming an underground internet activity. Magazines and online websites featuring 'Big Beautiful Women' have become more and more popular. These women love their fat bodies and there are millions of men around the world who admire them and are willing to pay to watch them eat online. My Big Fat Fetish follows the lives of four 'Big' models in the USA and UK.
10.00pm Hit and Miss Sky Atlantic - The Channel's first original UK drama series from acclaimed writer Paul Abbott. Oscar nominee Chloe Sevigny stars as an assassin with a secret, Mia's life is changed forever by a letter from her ex.
Wednesday
9.00pm Hitler's Children BBC2 - Documentary that looks at the descendants of the most powerful figures in the Nazi regime: men and women who were left a legacy that indelibly associates them with one of the greatest abominations in history. What is it like to have grown up with a name that immediately raises images of genocide?
9.00pm Euro's Most Shocking Moments BBC3 - Richard Bacon and David James count down the most inspirational, ridiculous and mind-blowing incidents from the last 20 years of football's European Championships, combining footage with anecdotes and memories.
10.35pm Soccer Aid 2012 ITV - Cat Deeley presents the first of three shows in the build-up to Soccer Aid 2012, the charity football match in aid of UNICEF. She chats to celebrities including England captain Robbie Williams and Hollywood star Mike Myers and catches up with the action from the training ground. Plus Keira Knightley reports from Chad on how the money raised can help.
Thursday
9.00pm National Treasures: Jubilee Special BBC1 - Special edition of the history magazine show presented by Dan Snow and Sian Williams. Filmed at Westminster Abbey, the programme celebrates Britain's royal past in the church which has witnessed more than a thousand years of pageantry and regal history.
9.00pm The Fish Market: Inside Billingsgate BBC2 - London's oldest wholesale market is on the verge of its biggest change in over a thousand years. Fish merchants are facing tough times. The market is under pressure to modernise and its iconic and ancient traditions are under threat. The job of the licensed fish porter, once a job for life, could be thrown open to all comers. The market is divided: will ancient custom or modern commerce win out?

9.30pm Don't Trust the B#### in Apartment 23 E4 - New US sitcom. Sweet, innocent June moves from rural Indiana to start a new life amid the bright lights of New York City. Things immediately turn sour when she finds her dream job no longer exists, thanks to a CEO who is wanted for embezzlement, leaving the company to shut down. In debt and on the streets, fresh-faced, trusting June thinks her luck has changed when she gets the chance to move in with party girl Chloe, who is a charming and vivacious roommate, at least on first impressions. However, it transpires that Chloe is a con artist with the morals of a viper who attempts to scam the newcomer out of her savings. Her partner in crime is her ex-boyfriend and best pal, actor James Van Der Beek. 

Friday

The Great British Story: A People's History BBC2 - Historian Michael Wood presents a series exploring the United Kingdom's remarkable past from the perspective of ordinary people. Travelling across Britain, Michael works with local communities, tapping into their extraordinary energy and knowledge, and exploring our unrivalled local and national archives. The first episode spans the period from the end of the Romans to the eighth century. It explores the crystallization of our regional identities in the Dark Ages, the legacy of Rome and the coming of the Anglo Saxons, the ancestors of the English.

Custardtv Live: US Shows and interview with Britain's Got Talent Winner

In our latest Live Podcast we spoke about the dwindling ratings of The Voice and the huge success of Britain's Got Talent and the shows axed and coming back from the US.

Britain DOES HAVE TALENT!: I can't even get my dog to sit!

I have never missed an episode of Britain's Got Talent. Never missed  an audition, never missed a semi-final, never missed a link from Ant &  Dec and never missed a open shirt moment from Simon Cowell. I remember how excited I was back in 2007 when the first series started. It seemed so different, fun and enjoyable. Opera singing dustman Paul Potts won that first series and I was hooked. What struck me about the  series back in 2007 was how patriotic and warm it felt. In 2007 X Factor and American Idol were still auditioning hopefuls in a glammed up but soulless hotel room, but Britain's Got Talent stuck their prospective acts on a stage in front of a live studio audience. 

In 2009 The X Factor followed suit, but back in 2007 this was a revolutionary idea. The idea was that the audience, with their cheers and jeers, became the fourth judge. Some acts were put through solely on the reaction from the audience who had presumably been doped up on fizzy drinks and chocolate before each show. The aspect of this live audience gave the show a different feel to any other talent show that was clogging up our channels back then. With Ant & Dec in the wings everything felt perfect.

2008 saw success for street dancer George Sampson who has since gone on to appear in films and TV series Waterloo Road but it was 2009 that Britain's Got Talent gained interest from around the world. I'm not going to describe in intricate detail the audition that saw Susan Boyle catapulted into mega stardom as it has since become one of those "JFK moments" where everyone remembers where they were when Susan belted out "I dreamed a dream" to an initially disinterested judging panel. Of course Susan came second that year with street dancers Diversity voted most popular by the public. I was one of those people a little left out by "Boylemania"; I wasn't as moved or as compelled to vote for Boyle but I did appreciate the fact that Britain's Got Talent was one the one show that would embrace an act like Boyle and lead her to the success she was deserving of.

By 2010 the format of Britain's Got Talent was over familiar and  though I remember being impressed by acrobatic winners Spellbound I also remember the series felt like it was losing its charm and steam.  Of course it isn't the fault of producers really as it's a rare series that doesn't lose its steam after four series.

The less said about the 2011 series the better. I enjoyed the inclusion of Michael McIntyre but the series and the judging panel  suffered from the lack of Simon Cowell. People are very vocal when  Cowell's name is mentioned but whatever you think of him, he knows how to put a great talent show together. Cowell knows what the public like, what the public expect and what the public get excited by and although he was still working as a producer on the series, his absence at the auditions was felt by auditionees  and the audience alike.

I hold my hand up and say I was less excited by the sixth series of Britain's Got Talent. I felt as if I'd seen it all before and although Cowell was returning to the panel I was sceptical about yet another  new judging panel. However, just like Cowell, I'm happy to admit when  I'm wrong. I had preconceptions about the series before I'd seen it and that's the one thing you should never do with a series like this. There was a lot of fuss made (by me too) about Britain's Got Talent competing with the BBC's new jewel The Voice. Some even suggested Cowell was concerned by the success of The Voice but in actual fact there's no question which was the more fun and more entertaining.

The new panel of David Walliams, Alesha Dixon, Simon and Amanda  clicked with instant chemistry and as an audience member I reveled in the fun they were having. Its a difficult thing to achieve but the series felt fresh again. This was, of course, an example of how well Simon Cowell knows things will work. The "refreshed" production was less in your face and took itself less seriously and because of that I was at ease and somewhat transported back to 2007 and reminded why I love the show so much in the first place.


Skip forward 7 weeks and we arrive at the final. It is fair to say  that the semi-finals were a mixed bag of talent and cringeworthy moments but that is what you've come to expect if you're a long time viewer like myself. What struck me on final night though was the diversity (pardon the accidental pun) and the sheer calibre of each of  the acts. Each one of them would have been deserving winners but one act stood out. Of course Jonathan and Charlotte were amazing and the  Loveable Rogues were so credible and new but it was dancing dog Pudsey I was most looking forward to.


You would have had to have a heart of stone not to be ooh and ahhring at the relationship between the two as they darted across the judges table. It was so nice to see such a genuine loving relationship between a 16 year old and her pet and everything Pudsey did amazed me and left my whole living-room in fits of laughter, applause and admiration. I don't want to be too over sentimental but I was overwhelmed at times by the amount of Talent displayed here and genuinely rooting for everyone. It was a night that did make me feel proud to be British and a night that  celebrated just how fantastic a medium television is and of course most importantly and without cynicism demonstrated more than ever that Britain DOES HAVE TALENT!

Watch their winning performance below..