Radio Times 18-24th June 2022

THIS WEEK THE BBC clears the decks for Glastonbury, which has reached the venerable age of 50 (albeit two years later than planned due to Covid). And to mark the occasion in this issue we’re celebrating another birthday – that of the man who is the festival’s headline act, Sir Paul McCartney, who turns 80 on 18 June. What new is there to say about a star who for more than half a century has been at the heart of our popular culture? Well, having spoken to one of those who knows him best, his daughter the photographer Mary McCartney, we have discovered there’s plenty new to learn about his life as a father – and a grandfather, as you’ll discover on page 8 where Mary shares her favourite photographs of…

Television Your TV guide starts on p43 ▶ 1 Glastonbury Friday 7.00pm BBC3, from 8.00pm BBC4, from 9.00pm BBC2 The BBC kicks off three days of wall-to-wall coverage of the music festival from Worthy Farm in Somerset. At the age of 20, Billie Eilish (pictured) is Glastonbury’s youngest ever headliner and she’s on the Pyramid Stage at 10pm on BBC2. FEATURE P8 ▶ 2 Back in Time for Birmingham Monday–Thursday 8.00pm BBC2 The Sharma family experience what it was like for Asians arriving to work and live in Birmingham in the 1950s. The conditions were grim but this living history series is always watchable. FEATURE P19 ▶ 3 Lenny Henry’s Caribbean Britain Wednesday 9.00pm BBC2 The comedian, actor and writer takes a candid look at his own efforts to “fit in” as he explores the impact of Caribbean culture in the UK…

SIR LENNY HENRY “I’m enjoying the US drama series This is Us on Amazon Prime,” says the comedian and actor. “It contains the black experience, the working-class experience, the American dream, mental health issues… If you haven’t cried and laughed several times in an episode, there’s something wrong.” Sir Lenny meets Clive Myrie — page 14 MARY McCARTNEY “I loved the Netflix documentary Kiss the Ground,” says the photographer. “It’s about the environment but it’s not doom and gloom. I love the fact that it’s got positive solutions. And I’ve also been enjoying the BBC comedy series Here We Go.” My dad Paul — page 8…

IF THE GOVERNMENT is serious about spending £3.7 billion on a new hospital programme (as announced last July), maybe a tiny bit of that huge budget should be set aside for some decent signage. Because, as I discovered recently, finding your way through the maze of a sprawling hospital can be an anxiety-inducing experience. I had turned up for my nine o’clock appointment with plenty of time to spare – you really don’t want to be late for an MRI scan. At the reception desk I asked for directions to the MRI Unit. “Straight on, turn left, past the pharmacy, down the stairs and through the double doors – it’s actually outside.” Off I trotted, and within a few yards I was lost. I stopped a cleaner, who again told me it…

WHAT WE WATCHED The fact that the Tardis is bigger on the inside was coming in handy on Doctor Who. Current time-travelling partner Donna was being joined not only by Martha, but also Rose, with whom the Doctor was clearly still smitten. “Just wait till you see his face when he claps eyes on her again,” teased writer Russell T Davies. “She was always very special to him, but I don’t think he realises how much until he learns of her return.” Speaking of comebacks, Russell T Davies has himself now resumed showrunner duties on Doctor Who — and secured David Tennant and Catherine Tate for a new adventure. WHAT YOU SAID It was the end of an era on Home and Away with Kate Ritchie bowing out after two decades playing Sally…

WHEN PAUL MCCARTNEY came on stage to close the British leg of Live Aid at Wembley in July 1985, he was 43. At the time, that seemed old for a rock star. As we realise now, nearly 40 years later, as he prepares to mark his 80th birthday by headlining Glastonbury on Saturday 25 June, he was just getting started. In the years since, he has continued to make new albums, which are in the main well received by the critics and his hard core of fans, but aren’t exactly massive sellers. He makes his real living touring, in the era when people expect to get their recorded music for free, but will pay Covent Garden-style prices for tickets to large-scale live shows. Making the albums satisfies his undimmed urge to…