The week in audio: The Toxic Waste Scandal; How Do You Cope?; Broken Veil; Dish
There were a few intriguing new series out last week, here to take your mind off the current terrifyingness of the world. May I offer: a long-fought battle by local people to find out how toxic waste affected babies in Corby; a sensitive interview series in which famous people talk about how they cope with their darker sides; and an is-it-real paranormal serial that may keep you up at night. Come on in, the audio's lovely!
In Detail: The Toxic Waste Scandal is the true story behind new Netflix drama series Toxic Town. An eight-part podcast produced by BBC Radio Northampton, it's an excellent investigation, brilliantly hosted by George Taylor, one of several people from the Corby area in Nothamptonshire who were born in the 1990s with physical deformities. In March 1992, George was born 'navy blue', says his mum, Fiona, who features along with his dad, Brian. Poor baby George had serious heart and lung problems, and the thumb and first finger of his right hand were unable to curl into a fist. 'Like I was doing a cheesy 'finger gun' pose,' says George wryly. 'You know, like David Brent in The Office.' (His humour and personality sing out from this show from the start when he narrates: 'The English spring weather has turned to shite.')
Corby was built around its steelworks. 'The whole town was so proud of it,' says Fiona. The works were closed under the Thatcher government, and the council employed contractors to clean up the site. But the 'clean-up', with lorries to-ing and fro-ing laden with soil, wasn't as clean as it might have been: much of the lorries' cargo wasn't properly covered and a fine orange dust spread all over the town. 'It got everywhere,' recalls Fiona, who was a cleaner in Brian's pub. 'The tabletops were covered in dust. It was thick; it was every single day.' She, like many others, just cleaned it up. Nobody knew how toxic that dust was, nor what it could do to babies growing in the womb. They would soon find out.
There are moments in this series that I found very moving, a lot that is sad, and much that made me smile. And, gratifyingly, the combined power of local mums determined to get to the bottom of things, a whistleblower and a never-give-up lawyer leads to a conclusion that, if not happy-ever-after (there are too many terribly ill children for that), does at least provide some proper justice. The Netflix show might boast Jodie Whittaker, Rory Kinnear and Robert Carlyle (it's good!), but George digs into the truth of it all, and this podcast is definitely worth your while.
Comedian John Robins is usually found in laugh-out-loud 5 Live podcasts with compadre Elis James, as well as on TV and on stage. He's become an even funnier performer since getting sober a couple of years ago. A workaholic, among his many commitments he's now solo-hosting popular interview podcast How Do You Cope?, which he previously presented with James, and the series has moved from the BBC to Wondery. This new version is more earnest (the music's syrupy, the sincerity has gone up a notch, plus there are bonus mini-episodes called The Gratitude List), but don't let that put you off. The interviews are great.
There are four of them so far, and I highly recommend the ones with rapper-writer-actor Jordan 'Rizzle Kicks' Stephens and comedian-writer-actor Sophie 'Alma's Not Normal' Willan. Both are hugely gifted, effortlessly charismatic people who are riddled with insecurities. Both discuss with intelligence and insight how their backgrounds have affected how they think, feel and, yes, cope. They're just great, and it's enjoyable to hear Robins's delight in his interviewees' revelations; the moments when you can hear him learning from them. Funny and honest; great stuff.
Broken Veil is the strangest item on my take-your-mind-off-things list. A spooky series from writers Will Maclean and Joel Morris, this is a thoroughly uncanny listen in which they investigate weird things that have happened to friends. We hear cynical, clever people describing similar situations of liminal strangeness. An actor goes for a medical check-up, a comedian is booked for a corporate gig, and both separately end up in an anonymous facility that just… doesn't seem right.
Maclean and Morris set out to find the place where these bizarre encounters took place, and what they find is at once everyday and very odd. Sarah, the comedian, loses the person who's showing her where to go, and finds herself in a corridor that she can't get out of. 'There were these double doors and they'd shut, and I was pressing on them and they were completely locked,' she recalls. 'That was when I started to get really scared.' Yeah, me too.
Maclean and Morris's presentation styles are complementary – Maclean inclined to believe everything he hears, Morris is more cynical – but everything else here is weird, off-centre. There are just-heard noises and crackly voices that stay in the mind. It's hard to work out if everything happened, or nothing did. Highly recommended.
Finally, if you want some straightforward, in-your-face joy, then check out American actor/singer Billy Porter on Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett's Dish. Porter is just a whirlwind of positivity. 'Seasoned food in England!' he exclaims. 'Hallelujah!' Honestly, he's the best.
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6 minutes ago
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Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
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The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
From Love Island to BGT and Clarkson's Farm, we reveal the top 25 TV shows of the last 25 years – but do you agree?
LOFTY critics might hail It's A Sin, Bleak House and Wolf Hall as Britain's best TV. But Sun readers feel differently and champion old-fashioned laughs, fun Saturday-night frivolity and shocking reality TV. Here, our TV experts Ally Ross, Clemmie Moodie, Steve Corbett, Rod Mcphee, Dulcie Pearce and Felicity Cross pick the greatest shows of the past 25 years that we know YOU love too. The Crown 2016-2023 25 CONTROVERSIAL, captivating, sophisticated and sensational, The Crown brought together top writers, a massive budget, an elite cast and lots of 'artistic licence'. Netflix reached some kind of zenith by being brave enough to make a drama about the royals that made us reassess the entire British establishment. RM The Other Side Of Jimmy Savile, 2012 25 ARGUABLY one of the biggest landmark documentaries of the century, in 50 minutes this show exploded the myth of the once-adored presenter. 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SC Sherlock 2010-2017 25 BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH became a household name as the eponymous lead in this drama – one of the most cleverly scripted and directed ever. An original take on legendary detective Sherlock Holmes that brought the story bang into the modern world. He and Dr Watson (Martin Freeman) were a TV gold double act. A must-see for any British drama fan. SC Love Island 2015- IN 2015, ITV planted a group of fun and frisky Brits into a Majorcan villa with one aim – finding love. And so a whole new genre of TV was firmly established. Love Island, now hosted by Maya Jama, is the big daddy of dating shows, which has spawned copycats but remains on top today, with more record figures this summer. Ten years on, watching hot people bicker, bitch and, yes, bonk, remains just as thrilling. FC Britain's Got Talent 2007- SHOWBUSINESS at its finest – and funniest. Granted, the ITV variety show has had its fair share of flops. But time and time again, Simon Cowell and the team have shaken up the format to win over a fresh generation of fans with a mix of slapstick acts, amazing singers and top dancers. BGT – also featuring regular judges Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon – could well bring the spirit of British entertainment to life for years to come. FC Clarkson's Farm 2021- 25 WITH this documentary which is, at times, part comedy and part soap opera, Jeremy achieved the feat of captivating millions of urban Brits with his honest take on the highs and lows of rural life. Clarkson's Farm is a hitherto unseen look at the hardy members of our population who fight daily to survive the weather, farming red tape – and cattle that can castrate with a single kick. RM Blue Planet II 2017 25 SIR David Attenborough 's nature shows have always pushed the boundaries. But this series in particular cut through the public consciousness like few others. It showed us how single-use plastics – a phrase most people had never heard before – were ruining our oceans. And it pushed the issue to the very top of the global agenda. RM Big Brother 2000- THERE'S a reason the original reality TV experiment still airs to such acclaim – it is the best fly-on-the-wall concept out there. Another format which entirely changed the game and forged its own genre, Big Brother's success relies on each series' cast and the tricks producers use to strip them bare. Since its launch, BB has given us some of TV's most memorable moments. FC Bodygaurd, 2018 25 LINE Of Duty creator Jed Mercurio shunned the modern drama rulebook, with dull, woke dictats, and gave us a whip-smart thriller packed full of sex, guns, spies and politics. With Keeley Hawes and Richard Madden delivering career-defining performances, Bodyguard had the nation on the edge of their seats. RM Gavin & Stacey 2007-2024 25 STARTING life on BBC Three in 2007, this story of long-distance love between an Essex boy and a Welsh girl went from hidden gem to national treasure. Subsequently shown on BBC One, there were three series and three Christmas specials, written by show stars James Corden (Smithy) and Ruth Jones (Nessa). The warm tales of friendship and family resonated with us and made, 'Oh' funny for all time. DP Strictly Come Dancing 2004- 25 FEW TV shows these days can bring together multiple generations across the country – but Strictly still manages it. With 22 series under its glittery belt, the dance contest has been entertaining us from September to Christmas since 2004. It's made house-hold names of the most minor celebs and has had us gasping, weeping and waltzing for more than two decades. DP Line Of Duty 2012-2021 25 A GRIPPING plot, stellar acting and scream-at-your-telly shocks made Jed Mercurio's series about police anti-corruption unit AC-12 an adrenaline hit. Never shying away from violence, or killing off a lead character in dramatic style, its fast and ferocious pace – mixed with incredibly clever twists – make it a crime thriller masterpiece. DP Top Gear 2002-2022 25 THE Jaguar of motoring shows, it always delivered and kept devoted fans in fifth gear for years. The glory days under Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, from 2002 to 2015, produced some of TV's finest moments – be it banter in the studio or epic challenges. A tour de force in broadcasting that successors could never live up to. FC Taskmaster 2015- 25 IF Have I Got News For You relies on pithy barbs, then Taskmaster's beauty lies in its innocence. Hosted by Greg Davies and Alex Horne, it's comedy in its purest form, with a group of funny people competing in nonsensical challenges. No politics, no edgy humour or upset – just off-the-cuff gags and mayhem. It's been a great launchpad for up-and-coming comedians. FC X Factor 2004-2018 25 THE contest that put all other singing shows in the shade. At its peak, Simon Cowell's talent-seeking series united families around TVs, and fans at battle buses, as finalists drummed up votes. And it created huge stars including One Direction, Little Mix and James Arthur. A real one-of-a-kind show. CM The Chase 2009- 25 BRADLEY WALSH's quiz show is among TV's most watched. Its simple premise – to 'outrun' a professional quizzer and reach a prize pot – is fun to play along with at home. But those 'Chasers' are the real draw, with their distinct characters and jaw-dropping knowledge. That's why The Chase is our top quiz of the century among a thriving pack. FC The Traitors 2022- 25 JUST when we despaired there would never be any new ideas on television, along came Claudia Winkleman and The Traitors. Thrilling and dastardly gameplay combined with human hope, joy and savagery, made the BBC show irresistible viewing and united friends and family to watch TV 'live'. Another format that's been copied, but The Traitors is still best in class. FC The Office 2001-2003 25 TV's first 'mockumentary' had us biting our toenails in cringe by the second series – because we'd gnawed through every fingernail during the first. Ricky Gervais' David Brent is the office boss we all secretly fear being. He's the ultimate awkward character whose dancing gave us one of the most hilarious, hellish-to-watch comedy scenes of all time. SC
