The Guest, BBC One review - be careful what you wish for

★★★★★ THE GUEST, BBC ONE A terrific Eve Myles stars in addictive Welsh mystery

A terrific Eve Myles stars in addictive Welsh mystery

Why isn’t Eve Myles a superstar? Though well known for her appearances in the likes of Torchwood, Broadchurch and the brilliant Keeping Faith, you’d imagine that by now she’d have been snapped up for some mega-budget extravaganza on Amazon or Apple TV or be romping around with Tom Cruise.

King & Conqueror, BBC One review - not many kicks in 1066

★★ KING & CONQUEROR, BBC ONE Turgid medieval drama leaves viewers in the dark

Turgid medieval drama leaves viewers in the dark

In this strangely dreary recreation of 11th century history, it’s not just grim oop north, it’s grim everywhere. King & Conqueror purports to be the story of how the Norman monarch William (the titular Conqueror) and England’s King Harold found themselves locked in a battle to the death at Hastings, each having negotiated a fearsome labyrinth of plots, treachery, ambition and murder in order to become top dog on either side of the English Channel.

The Bombing of Pan Am 103, BBC One review - new dramatisation of the horrific Lockerbie terror attack

★★★ THE BOMBING OF PAN AM 103, BBC ONE New dramatisation of the Lockerbie terror attack

Six-part series focuses on the families and friends of the victims

The appalling destruction of Pan Am’s flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988 was put under the spotlight in January this year in Sky Atlantic’s Lockerbie: A Search for Truth. This focused on the dogged and agonising search for truth by Jim Swire (played by Colin Firth), whose daughter Flora was killed in the attack, and raised a host of possibilities and theories about who did it and why.

The Split: Barcelona, BBC One review - a soapy special with seasonally adjusted sentimentality

Abi Morgan's fine legal drama loses its sting on foreign soil

Maybe it was the timing, even though most of the action takes place in bright sunlight, that made The Split’s two-parter uncharacteristically soft-centred. This was a Christmas-but-filmed-last-summer special, often a guarantee of a mushy mash-up. And indeed, it was as if writer Abi Morgan had started channelling Richard Curtis. 

Death in Paradise Christmas Special, BBC One review - who killed Santa Claus?

★★ DEATH IN PARADISE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, BBC ONE Don Gilet steps into the detective's shoes on the island of Saint Marie

Don Gilet steps into the detective's shoes on the island of Saint Marie

Though Death in Paradise is an Anglo-French production filmed in Guadeloupe, in the French West Indies, the Frenchness seems to have mysteriously leaked away. Where Sara Martins was a long-standing regular as DS Camille Bordey, and other French actors have rotated through the cast, the only glimmer of Gallicness remaining in this seasonal special was the vestigial presence of Elizabeth Bourgine as Catherine Bordey (Camille’s mum, pictured below with Danny John-Jules as Dwayne Myers).

Until I Kill You, ITV1 review - superb performances in a frustrating true-crime story

★★★ UNTIL I KILL YOU, ITV1 Anna Maxwell Martin and Shaun Evans are compelling, but the script needs more ballast

Anna Maxwell Martin and Shaun Evans are compelling, but the script needs more ballast

The latest true-crime adaptation about a murderous man and his female victims turns its star into a bloody mess on a hospital table, her vital signs flatlining. And that’s just halfway through, with two episodes to go. 

Ludwig, BBC One review - entertaining spin on the brainy detective formula

★★★ LUDWIG, BBC ONE Entertaining spin on the brainy detective formula

David Mitchell is a perfect fit for this super-sleuth

The latest incarnation of David Mitchell, TV actor, looks at first sight much like the familar one from Peep Show and Back. Not a pufflepant in sight. His only costume change for Ludwig is a pair of wire-frame spectacles. 

Nightsleeper, BBC One review - strangers on a runaway train

★★ NIGHTSLEEPER, BBC ONE Six-part thriller goes off the rails

Six-part thriller goes off the rails

“Let the train take the strain”, as the old advertising slogan urged us. The train in this six-part drama has to soak up a whole world of strain, as it’s taken over by cyber-hijackers who demand a huge ransom before they’ll consider relinquishing their technological grip.