I spied the English teacher (From The Northern Echo)

I spied the English teacher

6:26pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012 in Entertainment By Steve Pratt

Waterloo Road (BBC1, 8pm)
Big Body Squad (Channel 5, 8pm)
Winterwatch (BBC2, 9pm)

THERE’S a moment in the critically-acclaimed movie version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy which probably bypassed serious film critics, but left Waterloo Road fans amazed. No, it wasn’t Gary Oldman’s Oscar-worthy performance, but the sight of Philip Martin Brown, playing the wonderfully-named Tufty Thesinger.

For the past few years, PMB’s Grantly Budgen has been one of the strongest elements of Waterloo Road, the hit saga about long-suffering teachers and pupils at the eponymous school.

While the likes of Amanda Burton (Karen Fisher), Eva Pope (Rachel Mason) and Holly Kenny (Sambuca Kelly) are sorely missed by many, Grantly Budgen has been a consistent presence, grumbling his way through series after series.

Sadly, the last term at Waterloo Road wasn’t quite as unmissable as the previous run. The loss of Ms Burton and Robson Green left a huge hole in the show, but at least Jaye Jacobs proved to be a welcome addition to the series as heartbreaker Sian Diamond.

In the first of the new series, Ms Diamond has her hands full while covering for Michael as the school is infiltrated by a local gang, the DSC.

Meanwhile, Tariq’s attempts to put his bad ways behind him are challenged by new pupil Mason. He is fresh out of a youth detention centre and expects Tariq to join the DSC.

It seems Finn is the object of the gang’s attention, and when Mason secures a knife, things go from bad to worse. Jez soon becomes the prime suspect to Michael’s hit-and-run, but with his marriage looking a lot healthier, he’s worried that Sian will find out he was with Janeece.

Elsewhere, Chalky backs up Linda’s story, but his suspicions are soon aroused, and Grantly incurs the wrath of dinner lady Maggie Croft when he criticises her culinary efforts.

The cast also includes Alec Newman, Alex Walkinshaw and Naveed Choudry, while Melanie Hill plays Grantly’s new nemesis, Maggie. She’s been a TV regular since the Eighties when she played Aveline in Bread and, like Philip Martin Brown, is one of TV’s most reliable supporting stars, able to turn her hand to either comedy or drama.

“I started off in the business mainly doing comedy, so there was quite a lot of pressure because I had to take over from someone in that part,” she explains.

“You’ve either got an inkling for it or you’ve not, really, and I’m lucky to have done quite a bit of stuff, but I do like a good bit of drama as well.”

BIG Body Squad follows the daily routines of ambulance teams, fire crews, equipment specialists, builders and carers. It documents the lengths that are gone to and all the associated complications that come with treating the supersized (there are almost a million morbidly obese people in England).

In the first episode, an eight-strong team struggles to get 53st Keith home after a stint in hospital. Simple tasks such as getting him through the door prove difficult, but every second of the move is vital because of his fragile health.

It’s a harsh realisation for the staff that they need to be as fit and healthy as is possible – it’s something that they train yearround for.

And at Southend airport, firefighters and ambulance crews have joined forces for a training session – their aim: to rescue a real-life supersize man from a simulated plane crash.

WHAT do you do when you’ve created a hit nature strand such as Autumnwatch? Simple. Just make a series of seasonal shows which also revel in the gloriousness of our wildlife.

Whether you’re keeping the local birds happy with hanging feeders in the garden, or are plagued by foxes rooting through your bins, there’s plenty of activity on your doorstep. The one-off Winterwatch with Chris Packham and the team should also keep naturalists happy.

You may think that the most interesting birds and animals will be hibernating, but thanks to scientific wizardry and impressive camerawork, we’re guaranteed to see nature’s majesty played out in all its glory.