Spotlight on . . .

INSPECTOR GEORGE GENTLY: gOODBYE CHINA

MARTIN SHAW must surely by now be a national treasure. He’s been on our screens since the 60s, and his most famous role of Doyle in the Professionals, can still be seen in repeats of the all-action series nearly 35 years after it was first broadcast. Of course since then Shaw has played popular TV characters such as Chief Constable Alan Cade in The Chief, Commander Adam Dalgliesh and Judge John Deed - spot the trend there.

He’s back on screens this week as another authority figure, Inspector George Gently.

It’s 1966 and the world is changing fast. Gently and his sidekick Bacchus, played by Lee Ingleby (pictured below), investigate the suspicious death of Gently’s friend and ex-snout, China.

The Coroner’s office tells Gently that China was a drunk and a vagrant and died after falling in a derelict building.

Bacchus believes the story and tells Gently not to feel guilty about his friend’s death, but when Gently speaks to the nurse who tended to him in his final hours he gets a very different story – and as her husband is a local copper it seems the police are hiding something.

Then when a teenage boy goes missing, it appears that China’s death is inexplicably linked.

Great TV for an autumn evening.

BBC 1, Sunday, 8.30pm

clubbing

RED BULL END OF FESTIVAL PARTy

THOUGHT the Edinburgh Festival was done and dusted for another year? Over at The Rutland on Shandwick Place this Sunday there’s a final chance to wave goodbye to the month of madness when Red Bull hosts its end-of-festival party at The One Below.

Sunday also marks the launch of Insider, an exciting new club night for those who prefer to kick-start their weekend on a Sunday. So check out the Red Bull party truck, complete with sound system, which will be outside The One Below from 10pm - revellers are then invited to party all night with music from resident DJ Jez Hill.

The weekly Insider night, which will run every Sunday, will feature local DJ talent plus drinks promo and VIP booth packages.

Nick Pike, club manager, says, “Lots of people prefer to enjoy a night out on a Sunday, particularly those in the hospitality and retail sectors who work over the weekend. Insider provides the exclusivity of a private members’ club but with a hedonistic vibe and enables people to come together to celebrate the end or the start of their weekend.”

At the end of Sunday’s launch night, guests will receive a wrist band giving them free entry the following week.

Insider, The One Below, Rutland St, Sunday, 10pm, £3 (to secure a place on the guest list, limited to 150, email: [email protected]), 0131-229 3402

DVD

bLITZ

WHO says British film-making is dead? Jason Statham stars in this release from Lionsgate Films as no holds barred copper Tom Brant, a man dispatched to take down a serial killer who has been targeting police officers.

Like The Bill on steroids, Blitz is set in and around a south-east London police station, where the squad are suffering collective burnout.

With tragic deaths, excessive habits, uncontrollable anger and the wrong kind of friendships, the team never had it so bad until a serial killer decides to target them.

Enter Aidan Gillen at his psycho best as Barry Weiss, a vicious murderer aiming for tabloid glory by killing cops.

Gillen is just one of a top notch cast that includes Paddy Considine, David Morrissey and Mark Rylance. Well worth a look.

Blitz (18) is released by Lionsgate on DVD (£17.99) and BluRay (£22.99) on 26 September