Five Best TV Shows and Movies to Stream this Week on BBC iPlayer

Syndicate on BBC Iplayer. Photo: bbc

1. The Syndicate

Series 4 - Episode 1

Having given us plenty of underdogs to root for in the previous series, writer Kay Mellor has recognized that she now needs to up the ante. Hence this latest lottery-win story revolving around underdogs with dogs. I mean, what surer way is there to capture the hearts of viewers than by creating characters who, as well as living on the bones of their backsides, also care for canines?

But hold on, as this may not be as simple as a bunch of deserving kennel workers finding they own the golden ticket. Because just when you think events are going to play out like a grown-up Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, we’re introduced to newsagent Frank (Neil Morrissey), who might not be as principled as he first appears. Personally, I wouldn’t trust him to deliver my morning paper, never mind process a life-changing cash prize. And pretty soon, our syndicate – headed up by tenacious Keeley (Katherine Rose Morley) – are realizing that they face a tough job getting hold of the money that’s rightfully theirs.

PLOT

Filming for Leeds television writer Kay Mellor's fourth series of The Syndicate was held up last year but viewers can expect it to hit screens sometime in 2021.

The latest story is about a syndicate of low-paid kennel workers who think they have won the lottery but have been robbed of their ticket.

"The chase to confront the culprit takes us to the wealthy French Riviera where the young syndicate finds themselves well out of their depth," said Mellor, according to Yorkshirepost.

CAST & CREW

Keeley - Katherine Rose Morley

Roxy - Taj Atwal

Colette - Emily Head

Gemma - Liberty Hobbs

Jake - Kieran Urquhart

2. Unforgotten

Photo: amazon

Series 4 - Episode 6

After last week’s stunning episode, there’s a new, urgent aspect to the investigation into the murder, 30 years ago, of Matthew Walsh.

Each of the four suspects, who were all probationary police officers when Walsh died, faces a private hell. Those three decades might, on the surface, appear to have been kind, bringing wealth and promotion, but inside, every one of them is in turmoil.

The events of the night of the murder “happened in the blink of an eye, and changed my life forever”, says one of the groups who has carried a heavy burden of guilt.

Cassie and Sunny’s team of detectives bury deep into the past to try to find a motive for Walsh’s murder. It’s a beautifully written examination of shame, atonement, and love from Chris Lang, with extraordinary performances, particularly in tonight’s final installment from Sanjeev Bhaskar as a very focused, very determined Sunny.

PLOT

In season four, the team looks into the murder of Robert Fogerty, a man who is found dismembered and recently defrosted after being kept hidden in a freezer for 30 years. The series also looks at Cassie's return to the police force after being traumatized by the events of season three. Speaking about what to expect from her character in the upcoming episodes, Nicola told ITV: "When we meet her this series you realize she doesn’t really want to come back but she is in a terrible position that she will lose a massive amount of her pension payout on a technicality if she doesn’t come back and complete a certain number of months to comply with her pension. "It is awful, she is in a complete trap so she agrees to come back so she can access the full amount of her pension because her dad is getting more and more ill and she is looking at the fact that she will probably be financially responsible for her father’s care. So she is completely caught. Her entire career she has very dedicatedly given to the police force. She is angry and feels very betrayed and that’s how she goes into this series’ story." Hellomagazine reported.

CAST & CREW

DCI Cassie Stuart - Nicola Walker

DI Sunil 'Sunny - Khan Sanjeev Bhaskar

Liz Baildon - Susan Lynch

Dean Barton - Andy Nyman

Ram Sidhu - haldut Sharma

3. World Cup Live: England v Poland

Photo: bbc

England v Poland (kick-off 7.45 pm ITV). England’s World Cup qualification run is likely to boil down to two matches, home and away against Poland. Tonight’s the home fixture at Wembley. The visitors have a draw with Italy and a narrow loss to the Netherlands in their recent form, but that was with their best eleven on the pitch: at the time of going to press it looks unlikely that Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski will travel due to German quarantine regulations.

Scotland v Faroe Islands (kick-off 7.45 pm Sky Sports Main Event). Scotland’s game is a different sort of test, as they strive to avoid the embarrassment of somehow not winning against the Faroe Islands.

Northern Ireland v Bulgaria (kick-off 7.45 pm Sky Sports Football). Completing a trio of Home Nations playing at home in Northern Ireland, which must surely beat Bulgaria if they are to have any chance of surviving Group C.

Highlights of all three matches are on ITV at 10.45 pm (11.05 pm STV), Radio Times wrote.

4. Dragons' Den

Photo: BBC

Series 18 - Episode 1

We’re ten seconds into series 18 when we get our first close-up of Deborah Meaden’s left hand as she toys with her fingernails in that slightly sinister way she has. So despite the move to BBC1, not much has changed in the Den; we still have the same filming tics, the same coy commentary from Evan Davis, and the same five “straight-talking titans” looking like a bunch of Bond villains in a craft brewery.

Actually, one thing has changed: when they agree with a deal, no handshakes or hugs are allowed, just a virtual high-five that feels all wrong when there’s this much money at stake. Deals are done in this opener, though not always the ones you expect, and the Dragons are as eager as ever to interrogate and intimidate from their armchairs, pouncing on perceived weakness.

“It’s a complete non-starter,” says Sara Davies about what seems like a promising pitch, while Touker Suleyman cheerfully trashes a mail-order tea business.

PLOT

New series of Dragons’ Den (Thursday, 8 pm, BBC One), then. No point me saying anything like: “They have changed Dragons’ Den – it is different now.” There is no point in me lying to you. The point of Dragons’ Den is that it is always Dragons’ Den. We are 16 years, 17 series, and 18 separate Dragons deep into it now, and we have seen tectonic shifts in the global economy over that time – the collapse of the housing market! Austerity! The impending doom of the post-Covid financial reality! – and no matter what happens, somewhere in Salford Quays, Deborah Meaden is sitting next to a big stack of printed-out money, refusing to spend it, The Guardian cited.

CAST & CREW

Presenter - Evan Davis

Deborah Meaden

Peter Jones

Touker Suleyman

Tej Lalvani

5. Churchill: The Long Grass

Photo: radiotimes

Series 1

We get a good feel for Winston Churchill’s personality from this series. Some might feel there isn’t enough focus on his more questionable views and decisions, but those people are probably not in Channel 5’s target audience. What we do get is a taste of Churchill’s “incredibly overbearing ego”, as historian Tessa Dunlop puts it: “There was almost a vulgarity in his ambition… [He] was all about blowing his own trumpet.”

The episode picks up the story with Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty at the outbreak of the First World War. We follow his disastrous gamble over Gallipoli and subsequent fall from grace. Then comes the seemingly bizarre decision, days after resigning as a cabinet minister, to head to the trenches for a taste of action as a soldier on the front line – albeit one who took a bath and boiler with him as part of his luggage. It’s an extraordinary story.

Meanwhile, the interviewees (who, unusually, never appear on screen, possibly for Covid-related reasons) offer a close analysis of Churchill’s expression and body language in paintings and stills. That can sometimes feel a bit of a stretch, but for a man who clearly set so much store by his public image, perhaps it makes perfect sense?

PLOT

A look at the little-known drama of Winston Churchill's First World War. Aged 40, he became Britain's First Lord of the Admiralty, in charge of the largest naval force in the world. This edition also examines his ability to bounce back from the disaster of Gallipoli, and his experiences on the Western Front.

CAST & CREW

Director: Chris Durlacher

Director: Stephanie Seabrook

Executive Producer: Nathaniel Lippiett

Producer: Chris Durlacher

Producer: Stephanie Seabrook

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