ACORN TV

THE MADAME BLANC MYSTERIES FOUL PLAY IN FRANCE

There’s murder under the sun in a cheery mystery co-created by Corrie’s Sally Lindsay (above). First shown on Channel 5, it’s now only on Acorn, and stars Lindsay as antiques dealer Mrs White who heads to the South of

France when her husband dies. Her French is fairly limited, so it’s largely in English. From Monday

SIGNORA VOLPE SPY TURNS DETECTIVE

Spies on TV watch people in a certain way – quietly, intensely, and without anyone else noticing. Emilia Fox of Silent Witness fame (see feature page 4-5) does a lot of that in this enjoyable show, in which she plays Sylvia Fox (below), an MI6 operative who becomes so irritated with the agency that she turns detective in rural Italy. This isn’t as random as it sounds – her sister (an appealingly earthy Tara Fitzgerald) lives there, and unwittingly provides the first mystery when a wedding goes awry. Don’t go looking for le Carré-style authenticity – this is the kind of show in which the star and the main character have the same surname (‘volpe’ is fox in Italian). But do expect to enjoy the scenery, the cases and the moments when Fox calls on her old spy buddies for help.

AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ WARTIME MUSICAL COMEDY

Robson Green and Jerome Flynn had a high-flying pop career when they made this show, set in Blitzera London, in 1997. When Eddie (Flynn) is discharged from the RAF on medical grounds, he has to fall back on his big band skills and strikes up a partnership with the charming but dodgy Eric (Green). It’s corny stuff but the pair work well together and this makes for a good buddy comedy.