Wedding Season, all episodes on Disney +
I think a lot of people will recognise the yearning in Wedding Season’s Stefan (Gavin Drea). Young, good-looking, presumably doing well in his career as a doctor, he’s eminently unlucky in love.
Episode one sees the medic, in desperation, propose to his wildly uninterested girlfriend of seven months – despite their dwindling romance. All while at another friend’s nuptials.
It’s the middle of what he and his gang of pals have dubbed ‘wedding season’. Not a week or month seems to pass by without someone signing up ‘til death do they part’, and in increasingly bizarre ceremonies. One in a random nightclub. Another with a theme of...driving instructor.
This oddball collection of folk, and equally oddball weddings, sets the tone for a great deal of fun.
We begin at the wedding of Katie McConnell and Hugo Delaney. Stefan crashes in at just the right (or maybe wrong) moment, as they prepare to seal their vows, telling her to stop.
The story then rewinds to their meet cute – where newly heartbroken and impressionable Stefan is instantly drawn to Katie’s annoyingly aloof, kooky and impulsive nature.
Fastforward again, and having been knocked out at Katie’s wedding by a less-than-impressed relative, Stefan is down the police station. How does he know the bride? What’s their connection? Was he in on it? In on the poisoning and suspected murder of eight people at the McConnell-Delaney wedding – with a bride who is now on the run?
Stefan breaks into a cold sweat. Who is Katie really? Well, he’s about to find out, because she’ll convince him to go on the run on a mission to clear her (and his) name.
The story runs at a pace, with clever writing (cue the pair being given a lift by an unsuspecting policeman) that never gets boring.
For light relief it’s a winner.
Charlotte Smith-Jarvis
Shetland, BBC One, Wednesday, 9pm
Regardless of whodunnit in this most recent series of Shetland, what we do know is that as far as Douglas Henshall is concerned, it’s curtains For Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez.
This means I have watched every episode of season seven effectively waiting to see if Perez is going to end up in the mortuary that he already spends most of his time in anyway.
I’m not going to spoil the end of Shetland – the last episode was this Wednesday and you can now watch every episode on catch-up – but whatever Perez’s fate, it’s the end of an era for him and the end of the line for that donkey jacket.
Henshall announced his departure from the series earlier this year and it’s hard to blame him for wanting to hand in his badge: he’s lost both parents, his one-time love interest was involved in human trafficking, Duncan has said he won’t return to Shetland after his prison sentence and he’s just been taken to tribunal.
That said, Shetland is simply gorgeous, all muted shades of green, heather and blue, gorgeous coves, rolling hills and enough murderers to keep Agatha Christie in business for eternity, so if Shetland Police Station is looking for a replacement, I’m ready to talk.
Let’s hope that Perez gets to ride into the sunset with slightly irritating new love interest Meg Pattison, or that he’ll take over the Cairns family B&B, or even better go Bake-Off on us all and start supplying the cakes for the Shetland honesty stall.
Either way, my vote for the BAFTA supporting actor goes to the donkey jacket. Or Tosh’s facial expressions – both worthy winners.
Stacia Briggs
Celebrity Cooking School, E4 10pm Mondays and The Great British Bake Off, Channel 4, 8pm, Tuesday
Cooking shows. It’s what we need right now isn’t it? There’s a nannying sense of comfort about watching people cook (and eat). This is soporific telly at its best. I couldn’t resist shouting out about two very different shows.
Let’s start with Celebrity Cooking School, which will have you slapping your forehead in dismay.
Billed as having an all-star cast (they’re not), the show sees the likes of former popstar Kerry Katona, Made in Chelsea’s Sam Thompson, comedian Paul Chowdhry, the Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder, and Kim Woodburn (what does she do now?) cook against one another in a bid to please Michelin-starred chef Giorgio Locatelli.
The catch? They’re all rubbish. And I mean seriously rubbish. ‘Feed the food to the dog’ rubbish.
I mean, the first episode saw one of the contestants serving Locatelli a sandwich.
Ideally they’ll all pick up a few skills, and come out the other side able to chop and onion and boil an egg...but for car crash viewing, this is brilliant.
Less disastrous (we hope) is the return of The Great British Bake Off. Yes, the silver fox himself (Paul Hollywood), Prue Leith, and presenters Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas are back for more fun with flour in ‘The Tent’.
The first episode was dedicated to cake, with bakers charged with making 12 mini cakes, a sponge cake for the technical challenge, and, in the showstopper, a scale model home!
We don’t have details of this week’s bakes yet, but upcoming themes include Bread Week, Biscuit Week and Patisserie Week.
On Tuesday nights you’ll find me on the sofa, biscuit and cuppa in hand, dunking into what I think is one of the most comforting shows on the box.
Charlotte Smith-Jarvis
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