Radio Times

Before we start, let's remind ourselves that sitcom couples come in all varieties, not just the "we're-married-and-argue-a-bit"-type in the My Family mould, a shining example of sitcom coupledom though they are. When you dig deep into the Quality Street box of our sitcom heritage, there are less obvious but more tasty examples to be found (they're the equivalent of the purple ones with the nut and caramel centre).

The platonic couples: Tony and Gary from Men Behaving Badly, defenders of mid-30s underachievement, are completely devoted. They love booze, birds and belching, but not as much as they love each other. Even when Gary's scathing girlfriend...

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As the mother of a two-year-old, I'm extremely familiar with a wide range of children's TV. And most of it is lost on me – it's garish, fast-paced, loud and, OK, more than a little bit silly. But that's fine, because it's not meant for me. If I were two, I'd probably love it.

However, when In the Night Garden started last year it made a big impression on me. At first I was stunned, and wondered what this surreal video-art installation was doing on CBeebies. But soon I found myself actually looking forward to sitting down and watching it with my son.

So...

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Poor old Kenneth Williams. The comic's final years - as detailed in his epically depressing diaries and, now, The Pain of Laughter: the Last Days of Kenneth Williams (Tuesday 8 April, 11:30am, BBC Radio 4) - were characterised both by virulent despair and tedious domesticity.

His days consisted of fish cakes and visits to Boots, of overpriced department store socks and disappointing day trips to buildings of putative historical interest, of calamitous encounters with members of the public and the methodical removal of nonexistent dust from his tiny, pristine London flat, of newspapers, enemas, aspirin and late-night phone calls to long-suffering friends during which he would...

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A visitor to the UK who finds himself bored senseless in a hotel room on a weekday afternoon - and let's face it, it can happen - might well turn on the TV and be confronted by Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. He might well be unmoved by the strangely mismatched couple sitting awkwardly on a sofa. He may even, heaven forbid, think about changing channels.

But he won't have an inkling of the extraordinary affection that Richard and Judy inspire in British television viewers. The intro sequence to the current Channel 4 series shows a giant set of letters spelling out their names, hovering like...

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When I met Michael Caine in early 2000, he was covered in blood. Stage blood – he was playing a promoter in boxing movie Shiner. That morning, a newspaper had run a story about him illustrated by a caricature. “Everybody else gets a photo,” he railed. “I’m a bloody cartoon!”

Caine was still prickly about public perception. (“A vulgarian,” was how he felt he was regarded.) Even though he’d won Oscars for Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules, he still felt undervalued.

I think that prejudice has evaporated. Yes, we still love his early films – many of which (Alfie,...

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Francis Ford Coppola spent 16 months in the Philippines making his Vietnam War odyssey Apocalypse Now, a shoot beset by typhoons, ill-health and potential bankruptcy. After a year in the editing suite, the press nicknamed the movie “Apocalypse When?”

You could argue that without the trials and tribulations, it wouldn’t be half the film it is. The same goes for The Fountain (pictured left), Darren Aronofsky’s beleaguered sci-fi meditation. After losing star Brad Pitt over "creative differences", the plug was pulled, sets auctioned off and the budget halved for this second attempt, which was greeted with rapture and bafflement by critics. But I say that less...

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Put simply, Cash in the Attic makes me want to go into the attic and find something of worth that I can then swap for loads of lovely cash. This is despite the fact that I don't have an attic. Or anything of worth.

So why does CITA inspire such devotion in me? I have a kitchen, but I don't get upset if I miss an episode of MasterChef. And why does CITA stand head and shoulders above the glut of other antiques shows - of which there are now so many and all so similar that I can't remember whether or not they're real or I'm...

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The hedgerow parts and a hunched, hooded figure beckons to us from among the brambles. Intrigued by the ferocity of the lurker's hand gestures we approach with haste, treading on a twig in the process.

Shh! The figure turns and scowls. It's Clare Balding and she's spotted Something Serious through the trees. "Look at that," she hisses, squinting behind an unusually large leaf. "It's some pigs." A series of indistinct snuffles confirms the broadcaster's observation. It's some pigs. The excitement mounts. "This one's snout is going right into the mud. And that one is in mud right up to her shoulder. Ah," she concludes, exhaling jubilantly, as...

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