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There’s a bit of sad news this week in the British TV world. Alexander ‘Sandy’ Morton - better known to many as Golly the ghillie on Monarch of the Glen - has died at the age of 81.
Beyond that, he spent 14 years playing villain Andy Semple in Take The High Road, took on hard-edged roles in like Get Carter, and continued working in Scottish dramas including River City and Shetland. He also trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and remained closely tied to theatre, co-founding Raindog Theatre Company with Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty) and Caroline Paterson (EastEnders), and appearing in major stage productions including Macbeth.
It’s a sad loss, and our thoughts are with his family.
What we’re…
Watching: Don Matteo - Finishing up the Cassocks and Cobblestones coloring book (inspired by the scenery of Father Brown) had me in the mood to watch a light mystery with a crime-solving priest - and I haven’t been caught up on this one for a few years. It’s Italian with English subtitles so it may not appeal to everyone, but it’s a solid mystery with great characters and scenery.
Reading: The Malt Whisky Murders by Natalie Jayne Clark - I spotted this one while reading through the longlist for the Crime Writer’s Association awards this year - and it follows two women who set out to open the first women-owned whisky distillery in Scotland, only to see their plans complicated by two dead bodies stuffed into whisky barrels.
We’ve just opened up pre-orders for the upcoming 11th edition of the British TV Streaming Guide, and we expect the first print run to arrive here in early May (with shipment the next business day). Pre-ordering guarantees your copy from the first batch.
~230 pages cover 25 US-based streaming services, telling you which British TV shows are available on each and what they're about. No need to give yourself carpal tunnel clicking through endless on-screen menus.
An alphabetised index for when you know the name of the show, but not the streaming service.
Size 12 font! It adds a bit to our printing/shipping costs and makes the book longer, but let's be real - most of our readers are 50+, and nobody wants to be squinting at prescription bottle-sized print.
Each edition has bonus features in back. This time, we look at under-the-radar and interesting early appearances by well-known British actors.
A "Renewals & Cancellations" section that offers status updates about which shows are returning (or not).
THIS WEEK IN BRITISH TV
On BritBox, April 15th brought seasons 1 and 2 of the sitcom The Royle Family, and on the 16th, season 29 of Silent Witness premiered (one episode per week). On the 21st, we can look forward to the premiere of season 15 of Death in Paradise (also one per week). On April 23rd, season 2 of After the Flood premieres (one episode per week).
On Acorn TV, Mondays are currently bringing us new episodes of season 19 of Murdoch Mysteries, season 2 of Mystery Road Origin, season 12 of Brokenwood Mysteries, and The Feud on Shelbury Drive. On the 13th, they added seasons 1 and 2 of the Australian drama Playing for Keeps, and on the 20th, they’re adding a few nature documentaries: Chasing the Rains, Predator v Prey, and The Wild Sides. On the 22nd, they’ll add season 2 of the dark Irish comedy SisterS (binge premiere).
On PBS Masterpiece, The Forsytes premiered on March 22nd, and new episodes continue weekly on Sundays.
On Netflix, April 17th brought A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough. On the 21st, they’ll be adding the psychological thriller Unchosen, which follows a young woman who lives with her husband and daughter in a cloistered religious community - whose isolated existence changes when an escaped prisoner arrives.
On Starz, season 8 of Outlander premiered on March 6th. New episodes air weekly on Thursdays through May 15th.
On Apple TV, April 22nd brings the premiere of season 2 of Criminal Record (with Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo).
On AMC+, season 2 of the dark Irish comedy SisterS will premiere on April 22nd (binge premiere).
On HBO Max, Half Man premieres on April 23rd. Jamie Bell and Richard Gadd star, and it follows two men who bonded as kids - who were then brought together 30 years later at a wedding, only to find everything seems different.
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“There was a warmth about her. Oh, she had a temper. Her eyes could go quite flinty, but she had that rarest of qualities, the ability to forgive without a hint of rancor. But she never tried to be anything. She was someone you never wanted to hurt.”
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