Uprising, BBC One review - powerful documentary about the New Cross fire

★★★★ UPRISING, BBC ONE Powerful documentary about the New Cross fire

How a tragic teenage birthday party led to protests calling for police reform

Earlier this year, Steve McQueen addressed the forgotten history of black British people through the Small Axe dramas he made for the BBC. Now McQueen has turned to documentary for Uprising. It airs over three successive nights and was co-directed with documentarist James Rogan; this viewer found it far more gripping than the dramas.

Baptiste, Series 2, BBC One review - powerful comeback for the sorrowful French detective

★★★★ BAPTISTE, SERIES 2, BBC ONE The sorrowful French detective is back

Another knotty missing-persons mystery from Harry and Jack Williams

Baptiste (BBC One) has two powerful weapons in its armoury, in the shape of its stars – Tchéky Karyo as the titular French ‘tec, and Fiona Shaw as the central character in this second series. Both of them are astonishingly persuasive at conveying unfathomable depths of pain and loss, and it looks like they’ll have plenty of opportunities to prove it across these six episodes.

Lie With Me, Channel 5 review - abuse and betrayal in the Melbourne suburbs

★★★ LIE WITH ME, CHANNEL 5 Abuse and betrayal in the Melbourne suburbs

Anglo-Australian thriller doesn't fulfil its potential

A joint production between Channel 5 and Australia’s Network 10, the four-part mystery Lie With Me didn’t do itself many favours by kicking off with its least persuasive episode. However, if you stuck with it, hidden layers began to reveal themselves, and the final instalment delivered a satisfyingly malevolent twist.

Carlos Ghosn: The Last Flight - Storyville, BBC Four review - the tycoon who fell to earth

★★★★ CARLOS GHOSN: THE LAST FLIGHT - STORYVILLE, BBC FOUR The tycoon who fell to earth

Astonishing story of power, politics, money and corruption in the automobile industry

The extraordinary story of motor industry executive Carlos Ghosn is a heady combination of power, money, corruption and international politics, with a Mission: Impossible-style ending that carries it over the finishing tape in dramatic style. It might be considered a cautionary tale, except that Ghosn’s experiences and personality were so unique that a repeat performance could never happen.

Ghislaine Maxwell: Epstein's Shadow, Sky Documentaries review - the iniquitous fall of the tycoon's daughter

★★★ GHISLAINE MAXWELL: EPSTEIN'S SHADOW, SKY Fall of the tycoon's daughter

Squalid saga of the socialite who became embroiled with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein

Last year, Netflix released Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, a four-part documentary about the notorious financier and convicted sex offender. Now, here’s a Ghislaine Maxwell: Epstein’s Shadow (Sky Documentaries), a three-parter about the woman accused by Epstein’s victims of helping him entrap them in his sordid pit of vice.

Framing Britney Spears, Sky Documentaries review - the rollercoaster ride of the former teen icon

★★★★ FRAMING BRITNEY SPEARS, SKY DOCUMENTARIES The struggle to survive the sexism and savagery of showbusiness

The struggle to survive the sexism and savagery of showbusiness

She became one of the most successful pop stars in history, but Britney Spears has also become a paradigm of the horrors and pitfalls of life in the white heat of showbusiness.

BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2021 Final, BBC Four review – an embarrassment of vocal riches

★★★★★ BBC CARDIFF SINGER OF THE WORLD 2021 FINAL An embarrassment of vocal riches

This year’s choice wasn’t easy – but Korean baritone Gihoon Kim deserved the prize

A massive musical hope for the future is what we all need right now, after 14 stop/semi-start months and a threatened decimation of the concert and opera scene, the danger of which isn't over yet. This year’s BBC Cardiff Singer of the World delivered that hope in frissons and plenty of tear-inducing moments, even though the live audience in St David’s Hall consisted of only three empathetic judges.

Loki, Disney+ review - the God of Mischief gets his own TV series

★★★★ LOKI, DISNEY+  The God of Mischief gets his own TV series

Wacky time-bending adventures with Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson

After appearing in six of Marvel’s Avengers movies, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki (the God of Mischief) gets his own TV series. Never quite enjoying the high profile of Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man or Chris Evans’s Captain America, Loki has remained a somewhat enigmatic and ambiguous character, which has given him plenty of potential room for manoeuvre in this small(er)-screen incarnation.