Today's TV; Pick of the day. (2024)

Byline: JANE SIMON

SOAP UPDATE

EMMERDALE ITV, 7pm

Bernice and Kerry may not have two qualifications to rub togetherbut their beauty salon takes a step closer to becoming reality whenBernice gets Andy to take his shirt off so she can practise her massage.

And Charity has to go to work on Megan who's threatening toboycott her brother's wedding. Charity really can't run therisk of Declan deciding to call the whole thing off due to lack ofguests now, can she?

CORONATION STREET

ITV, 7.30pm & 8.30pm

Maria's ruse of sending texts pretending to be from Kirsty isso fiendish she's not clever enough to have thought of itdeliberately.

But once she started it accidentally, and can see the wedgeit's driving between Fiz and Tyrone, she's taken the ball andrun with it. Does she really want to get back with Tyrone? When Fiz seesthe pair of them together once too often, she can't help thinkingthat yes, she does.

EASTENDERS BBC1, 8pm

You'd have to be feeling pretty damn low for snogging IanBeale to come under the heading of "things you can do to cheeryourself up".

So Jane is feeling horrified now after her moment of passion withher ex. Ian, on the other hand, thinks he and Jane are now getting backtogether - which would be great news for Denise, if only it were true.

SITCOM

REV BBC2, 10pm

It's the last episode of this wonderful third series and poorAdam is doing his best to put a cheery face on his suspension from StSaviour's.

Who cares if he and his family are going to be homeless in a fewweeks? "Goodbye annoying small kitchen and f*** off horrible bluewallpaper. Will we miss it? No we won't!" he assertsdefiantly.

While wife Alex goes to work Adam's left making fairy cakes inhis pants, amusing baby Katie and dreaming of a high-flying career inmanagement consultancy. Alex is right to hear alarm bells when she getshome to find her husband, arm deep in soil, planting radishes andcarrots in the dark.

Already feeling despondent and rejected (and doing shifts in theNifty Local corner shop), Adam is plunged into further despair whenNigel and Colin lay into him for the closure of their beloved church.

It's a sad and poignant final episode as the ensuing falloutof a boarded-up St Saviour's forces all our church friends do someserious soul-searching.

As ever, in its heartwarming way, Rev still manages to wave goodbyeand close its doors with hope, humour and a gentle smile.

EDUCATION

GOOD MORNING BRITAIN ITV, 6am

It's taken three, four we're not quite sure, there havebeen so many attempts to breathe new life into ITV's early-morningslot.

Amid much hype and fanfare, BBC Breakfast's Susanna Reid hasbeen lured to ITV to take the helm along with Ben Shephard, whocertainly knows his way around the ITV studios after his 10-year stinton GMTV.

They'll be joined by former Sky News presenter CharlotteHawkins and Sky Sports and BBC journalist Sean Fletcher. Susanna says:"We all want to have fun together and bring the news to everyone inan accessible way. We want to bring a sparkle to the mornings."

Fingers crossed ITV has finally hit on a winning formula and asuccessful combination of presenters following the blush-inducingratings flop of their predecessors Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley,Aled Jones and Lorraine Kelly.

Ben says: "The launch of a successful show always takes time.I have run seven marathons back to back. It's not about winningfirst, it's about getting us all across the finishing linetogether." Good luck, guys.

Cop on wrong side of the law

PREY ITV, 9pm

CRAIG Parkinson, who played bent copper Dot Cottan in Line Of Duty,and John Simm, from Life On Mars, are playing detectives again in thisnew three-part thriller.

Which means they both bring an awful lot of baggage with them.It's hard to trust a single word Parkinson's character (DISean Devlin) says, even if he has grown a beard. And is that the faintsound of David Bowie we can hear briefly on John Simm's car radio?

In the opening scene of an escape from a crashed police van,there's another immediate reminder of Line Of Duty, but as theepisode unfolds and Simm's character DS Marcus Farrow is wronglyaccused of murder, it turns out that what we're really watching isa Manchester-based version of The Fugitive as he goes on the run to tryto clear his name.

The investigation is being headed by DI Susan Reinhardt, played byRosie Cavaliero, an actress more usually associated with comedy.

She's played a police officer once before too, when shestarred in a short-lived sitcom called Feel The Force. There'snothing remotely funny about her performance here, though.

When we first meet her, she appears to be stalking her ex-husbandand in the scene where she interviews Farrow her callousness absolutelytakes your breath away.

That's the last time he'll be treating her to a snackfrom the vending machine.

A Mars bar. Obviously.

CAPTION(S):

GIRL TALK Charity and Megan

PRESSURE Gloomy Adam

EARLY BIRDS Sean, Susanna, Ben and Charlotte

BAGGAGE Devlin and Farrow