This year the BBC turns 100. Fundamental to Britain and funded by licence fee payers, the BBC has garnered a worldwide reputation for quality. For this special post highlighting the highlights of the corporation's massive contribution to television, I've decided to...
Welcome to the latest look back at another week at a very slow TV week in which I look at one returning show and track the progress of three programmes that I've been enjoying over the last month. The returning show on the list is Endeavour which is back for its fifth...
There are three words guaranteed to make most documentary lovers shudder: ITV Factual Entertainment. Uuugh! The most recent show to fall under that umbrella was 'Gone to Pot' a three-parter that sent a few celebs over to America to investigate the positives and the...
If there is one thing that the Harrop Fold team believes in, it’s second chances. Last night's Educating Greater Manchester put the spotlight on two badly behaved students and the teachers that refused to give up on them. We watched expectantly as the...
It's that time of year where pick the best shows of the year. A lot has been made of what generally awful year 2016 was but when the television was good it was bloomin' brilliant. Here are our picks! Walking The Himalayas (January 2016, Channel 4) We've always enjoyed...
Today saw the nominees announced for the Royal Television Society Programme Awards 2016 Britain’s favourite hosting duo Ant and Dec (I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, Britain’s Got Talent and Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway) are...
Happy New Year one and all and welcome to the first Matt on the Box of 2016 We kick off with ITV's biggest dramatic offering of the week in the form of Harry Price: Ghost Hunter. Price (Rafe Spall) was a man who was known as a ghost hunter but more famously as an...
Gary takes down his TV Diary we review, Capital, The Apprentice and stunning Nordic Noir The Bridge returns for a third series!
Welcome once again to this saunter through this week's big highlights in the world of TV. It's fair to say that, with one or two exceptions, this year's BBC One drama output has been quite stale. However this week the channel took steps to redeem itself in the form of...
As the nights become darker and cooler TV seems to be getting back into its stride again as we head into the autumn months. One indicator that we're hurtling towards Christmas at an alarming rate is that The X-Factor returned this week for its twelfth series. There...
In the first podcast of the autumn we discuss whether The X Factor has finally run its course. The return of the 'Educating' series and whether ITV's new drama was tainted by Ray Winstone.
A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be invited to the screening of Channel 4's latest school documentary Educating Cardiff. Just like they did with Essex, Yorkshire and the East End, the team behind the documentary have created a portrait of what it's like to...
Kim Shillinglaw, Controller BBC Two and BBC Four, celebrated the unique role of BBC Two and announced a raft of new commissions at a special preview event in London. The programmes cover every genre from comedy, drama to the powerful factual that we've come to expect...
In a week in which we lost an X-Factor host, a Top Gear host and gained a new Homes Under the Hammer host in Dion Dublin; the actual TV output has been quite quiet. Indeed it comes to something when one of the biggest shows of the week is a macabre comedy drama that...
In our latest podcast we discuss James Corden's late night debut in the US. Louis Theroux's latest doc on BBC Two, the return of Inside No.9 and wonder where Gary really is!
Happy New Year one and all and welcome to the first Matt on the Box looking at the major shows that have debuted so far in 2014. As both Broadchurch and Celebrity Big Brother have already been covered in some depth on the site they won't be included in this article...
After a week's absence I'm back to dissect some of TV's most recent highlights. We start with BBC One's latest flagship drama The Missing, which has already received its fair share of critical praise The drama's interweaving narrative sees writers Jack and Harry...
BBC Thee has announced that their Fresh strand will be returning as they showcase documentaries that have been produced by six new directors looking for a break into prime-time film making. The six documentaries will look at a range of topics and some of them will...
Hello friends, welcome once again to a look back at the week's TV in which the battle lines were once again drawn between BBC One and ITV's two Saturday night entertainment Goliaths. In the glittery corner we had Strictly Come Dancing; which returned properly on...
The BBC has announced the line-up for the latest series of Who Do You Think You Are? Which this includes legendary chef Mary Berry, comic legend Billy Connolly and recent BAFTA fellowship winner Julie Walters. Actress Sheridan Smith will be learning more about her...
Channel 4 have confirmed that The Hotel will return for a new eight part series as we reacquaint ourselves with the marvellous Mark Jenkins. Last seen packing his bags at the end of series three, Mark is now returning to Torquay in his new position as Entertainment...
Channel have announced Make Leicester British, a follow-up to 2012's award-winning documentary Make Bradford British. The new two-part series, Make Leicester British, focuses on a city whose ethnic makeup has undergone significant changes thanks to migration,...
Welcome back to another look at the past week's TV. We start with yet another crime drama on ITV but I can say without a doubt that Prey is nothing like the channel's recent offerings such as Endeavour and Vera. The drama focuses on Marcus Farrow (John Simm) a...
Felicitations to all of you and welcome to this special edition of Matt on the Box where I'll be looking back at all of the Christmas Specials that have aired so far this year. We start with a festive treat courtesy of one of our programmes of the year, Educating...