MY TOP recommendation this week for relaxing and wholesome telly is Tales from the Riverbank with Clare Balding (Channel 5, Thursday). As a fan (nay, friend, surely? I watch her presenting Crufts every year, after all), I would enjoy watching Clare Balding read the weather, so engaging is her warm presenting style. Is it too early for us to name her a national institution? Her trademark hairstyle should definitely be given its own spin-off show, alongside Claudia Winkleman’s fringe.
Balding is a reliable and cosy pair of hands for this journey along six of Britain’s rivers. The first episode explores the River Dart, from picturesque Dartmouth (where Clare meets the “famous crab lady”, Judith, who runs the Crab Shell café) all the way up to Dartmoor. Taking in the landmarks and the people she meets along the way, and exploring some of the history and current life on the river, this is charming viewing. If anything induces feelings of patriotism in me, it is exposure to the beautiful physical geography of this country. Tales from the Riverbank is a lovely showcase for it: the kind of viewing for which the adjective “heart-warming” was invented.
EastEnders was a weekly staple in my house when I was growing up; so I couldn’t not watch this anniversary celebration of Britain’s number-one soap. EastEnders: 40 Years on the Square (BBC1, Monday of last week) is more than just a compilation of best moments from the past four decades: it is also an exploration of 40 years of broad sweeping change in social attitudes.
Ross Kemp, who played the “hard man” Grant Mitchell, meets current and former members of the cast and crew, who help him to revisit some of the most iconic storylines. There are matriarchs to rival those of the soap’s northern counterpart, Coronation Street. There are epic feuds, such as that involving the love triangle between Frank, Pat, and Peggy, played by Mike Reid, Pam St Clement, and the late and wonderful Barbara Windsor.
There are legendary lines: who can forget Zoe Slater yelling, “You ain’t my mother!” and her sister Kat responding, “Yes, I am!”? Or my own personal favourite: “Get outta my pub!”, Peggy’s stock phrase, one that I aspire to say with authority — and accuracy — one day.
EastEnders has a long tradition of covering the contentious issues of the day, such as gay rights, HIV, teenage pregnancy, domestic violence, and, most recently, the subtle bigotry of colourism. Its function hasn’t just been to entertain, but to mirror wider attitudes and prejudices, as well as the fears, hopes, and dreams of working-class communities. This enjoyable reminder of the significant social function of soap opera is well worth viewing.
