SIGNORA VOLPE
UKTV Play
After flying below the radar since 2022 via the pay TV service Acorn, this glossy, sun-soaked series starring Silent Witness’s Emilia Fox now sees the light of day – and it’s a very light day – on the free on demand service UKTV Play. So, if that’s the good news, what’s the story?
Ms Fox plays Sylvia Fox, a disillusioned senior spy at MI6. She’s the sort who runs to work for a dull but high-powered meeting with chippy young women from the Foreign Office, clacks resentfully around the corridors of power with a furrowed brow and an excellent blow-dry, and, of an evening, occasionally sleeps with her smooth ex-husband Adam (Jamie Bamber), who also happens to be a colleague.
When Sylvia Fox (played by Emilia Fox, pictured), a disillusioned senior spy at MI6, goes to stay with her sister in Umbria, she morphs into Signora Volpe (volpe is Italian for fox), aka Sylvia the detective
When Sylvia’s chippy, female (it’s a theme) boss calls a meeting about an operational situation in which some of Sylvia’s Middle Eastern informants (from the, uh, ‘Emirate of Hezrah’) are threatened with exposure, Sylvia pouts and books some holiday at short notice (‘Where are you going?’ asks Adam. ‘You’re a bloody spy, you work it out!’).
She hops over to Umbria to stay with her sister Isabel (Tara Fitzgerald), her Italian husband Matteo and Isabel’s daughter Alice (Issy Knopfler, daughter of Dire Straits’ Mark), who is about to marry a suspiciously handsome, charming young Italian.
Which is where Sylvia-the-spy morphs into Signora Volpe (volpe is Italian for fox, ho-ho!), aka Sylvia the detective.
She’s a woman who can outwit the local coppers, drive like The Stig, gun down international gang members without breaking a sweat, neck a quick negroni and still make it to dinner on time… mildly shaken though definitely not stirred throughout the 90 minutes.
It’s all gorgeous to look at – Umbria is effectively a cast member – and complete nonsense. Though that’s not necessarily a criticism because, frankly, I’d expect nothing more or less from writers whose CVs include the ‘gorgeous nonsense’ pioneer Midsomer Murders.
Kathryn Flett (pictured) loved the Signora Volpe score by British composer Anne Dudley
The plot also turned out to be entirely by-the-by and didn’t make much sense if, like a TV detective, you asked too many questions of it.
Meanwhile, Emilia Fox (who looks marvellous, incidentally) is busy displaying the entire range of emotions… from A to C.
Nonetheless, Signora Volpe (freshly recommissioned for a second series) is undemanding escapism for prosecco o’clock, and viewers aren’t forced to pay more attention to the plot than they are to Ms Fox’s stylish accessories (her Rolex plays a strong supporting role).
However, for me, the best thing about the show (aside from Umbria) is a lush score by Brit composer Anne Dudley, formerly of the 1980s synth-pop band Art Of Noise and an Oscar winner for The Full Monty.
Never mind the nonsense storyline, just pour yourself another glass, close your eyes and lose yourself in those luscious strings!
A time-travelling triumph…
THE LAZARUS PROJECT
SKY/now
In The Lazarus Project, Paapa Essiedu (pictured) plays troubled hero George, who wakes up one morning to discover the calendar has rewound six months
Having loved the first series of The Lazarus Project, I’m delighted by the return of this intelligent, witty, twisty-turny tale… a Back To The Future-meets-Groundhog Day-meets-Interstellar mash-up that keeps viewers on their toes.
Written by super-talented British screenwriter Joe Barton (whose 2019 series Giri/Haji, available on Netflix, was one of the most exciting, innovative dramas the BBC has ever produced), Lazarus is an edge-of-the-seat end-of-days thriller.
Delivering a script full of warmth, wit and occasional outbreaks of explosive violence is a great cast. Paapa Essiedu is troubled hero George, who wakes up one morning to discover the calendar has rewound six months (though girlfriend Sarah hasn’t noticed).
George soon starts work at The Lazarus Project, a secret organisation that has harnessed the ability to turn back time whenever the world is under threat of extinction, and whose boss, the inscrutable Wes, is played (in a pleasingly unexpected bit of casting) by Caroline Quentin.
You could theoretically start the journey in season two, however I’d advise getting to grips with the complex and compelling backstory right from the start.
And don’t worry if quantum physics isn’t your bag – at its beating heart Lazarus is effectively a touching love story.
Bill’s perfect company
The title Bill Bailey’s Australian Adventure (Sun, Ch4) is mildly misleading as this series only covers Western Australia – but as it’s roughly 13 times the size of the UK there’s plenty to enjoy.
Of course, celebrity travelogues are only as good as the company we’re forced to keep, and happily whether he’s singing with The Albany Shantymen or learning about a space station landing in a garden, Bill is never less than amiable. Recommended.
