TV Times top picks for today
What’s on telly tonight? Here the TV Times team of expert reviewers highlight the best shows on Wednesday 11th April
The Assassination of Gianni Versace, 9pm, BBC2
There hasn’t been nearly enough of Penélope Cruz’s wonderful Donatella Versace so far in this drama. So it’s pure joy to see far more of her tonight, especially as the episode takes us back to the early 1990s and a big camp showdown with her brother Gianni over her meddling in his fashion empire! What better way to make up than joining forces to design the “dress to beat all dresses” for Donatella to wear at a glitzy Vogue party in New York!? But the publicity it brings for Donatella stirs envy in Gianni, and it’s not long before the jealous designer gets his scissors out and butchers the dress… A slightly lighter episode, thanks to Donatella – we just adore her! Rating: ****
Benidorm, 9pm, ITV
In a feverishly nutty episode, Monty realises he might have made a mistake in hiring Sammy ‘Get Off My Grass!’ Valentine (Shane Richie) as the Solana’s next big entertainment act. He’s just about to tell him that the gig is off when he has a change of heart. Maybe Sammy isn’t so washed up after all? Elsewhere, Robert decides he can’t live without the love of his life Cyd and races to the airport to confront her over-bearing father, Franco (Gary Oliver) as he flies in. And while Jacqueline recognises Dennis and Nigel (Gareth Hale and Norman Pace) as the police officers who investigated her late husband for fraud, Noreen’s twin sister Doreen turns up to meet her loaded toy boy! Rating: ***
Bacchus Uncovered, 9pm, BBC4
Historian Bettany Hughes presents this fascinating look at the ancient deity Bacchus. The god of wine and fertility, Bacchus has long embodied the battle between chaos and control, so for the ordered Romans, worshipping him was banned, but in the counterculture of the 1960s, he saw a revival as liberty was embraced. But how do we balance freedom of spirit with the need for a rational and ordered society? A question as vital today as it was millennia ago. Rating: ****
More previews tomorrow.
