BBC1 is stripping The Diary of Anne Frank at 7pm this week in place of The One Show, and I must say that after yesterday’s lambasting of poor TV, this is a refreshing change. It’s fabulous. Ellie Kendrick plays Anne herself, and is wonderfully naturalistic in her performance. After a few exterior scenes to convey Amsterdam, with Anne’s parents (a very dour Tamsin Grieg and a practically unrecognisable Iain Glen as her upstanding father) bustling her across the city, stars stitched into their coats, the action moves into a claustrophobic interior set as the family settle in for the long haul.
I’ll freely admit that I’ve never read the book, but you really feel that a teenager is talking to you as life goes on. It may be up against Emmerdale, but this is a finely made drama that I’ll be looking forward to throughout this week.
Meanwhile, if you’ve not been watching Underbelly on FX, you’re missing out on an absolute treat. Telling the story of the gangs of Melbourne over a ten-year period, the series is reaching its conclusion. Last night’s episode saw an horrific killing of an otherwise nasty piece of work in front of his children. This actually happened.
Underbelly aired in Australia a while ago, but the UK DVD is out in a few weeks if you’ve not watched this great miniseries.
And if, for some reason, you’re not able to use the iPlayer, The Diary of Anne Frank is out on DVD next week.