ETHEL AND ERNEST, BBC1, 7.30pm
FROM the creator of The Snowman and When The Wind Blows comes this animated tale of two ordinary people, Ethel and Ernest, as they endure the wars, struggles and small joys of the 20th century.
The couple are based on Raymond Briggs’s parents and here they represent ordinary, decent people who just try to muddle on through whilst the century flashes its horrors at them.
Brenda Blethyn provides the voice of Ethel and Jim Broadbent is Ernest, and we watch as they meet in 1920s London, go on to marry, raise their son during the Blitz, and then cope with the massive social and cultural changes which swept post-war Britain in the 1960s.
This small, warm, decent couple represent the famed “Keep Calm and Carry On” spirit and whilst they never become heroes or glamorous, we admire them nonetheless. Briggs shows them as warm, modest and content and we get the sad sense that their kind has become increasingly scarce in our current angry world.
BURNISTOUN, BBC1, 10.50pm
UP the road noo!
Burnistoun is back for a one-off Christmas special. I wish desperately they’d give us a new series but we’ll need to content ourselves with this for now.
The sketches are all based on the theme of work and fans will be happy to know that some of the best characters are brought back tonight including the “Up the road noo!” cranks. They get the chance to complain and howl about the fancy show-offs with their iPads and laptops who hold loud business meetings in cafes.
The Quality Polis also make an appearance, being called into a primary school to give a talk to the children in the hope of setting them on the straight and narrow. What could possibly go wrong? They’re quality polis after all.
And Jolly Boy John has a phone interview which might win him a job with the Wee Chocolate Banana Company. Get real!
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