This week's TV: Good and Theroux

William Gallagher looks ahead to the week's TV

By the BBC's William Gallagher

All anyone has seen of the much-awaited new When Louis Met the Hamiltons is that great trailer that just shows Theroux's face falling when he hears Christine and Neil are being arrested.

Officially the programme is being edited too close to transmission (Tuesday 2100 GMT BBC Two) for preview tapes to be released but it is possible that the BBC just does not want its gem spoiled by having too many bits printed in advance.

Waiting

And the waiting is part of the fun, because we have wanted to see this show ever since seeing Louis Theroux in the background of all that news coverage of the Hamilton's arrest on (later disproved) allegations of sexual scandal.

The original When Louis Met Jimmy was an unexpected slap across the face as half the viewing populace thought Theroux had been bettered by Jimmy Savile.

The rest considered that Theroux had got the half-recluse to admit to some amazing things.

But then one of the people fooled - if fooled they were - was Savile himself, who not only approved the use of some indiscreet footage but then recorded a new commentary track with Theroux for the DVD release of the show. (It's a bonus episode on Theroux's Weird Weekends disc.)

Theroux's last special with Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee was disappointing

It is fascinating to try to work out what motivates celebrities to do programmes where they plainly put themselves at risk and maybe it was because they did too well that When Louis Met Paul (Daniels) and Debbie (McGee) felt a little flat.

But then it could also just be that the title of the show is getting a little tedious.

It is common, perhaps even mandatory, for good film titles to be ripped off for endless TV shows that think they are clever (such as happened to When Harry Met Sally and especially Sex, Lies and Videotape).

So maybe with a third When Louis Met, to be followed by at least a fourth and fifth as he meets Ann Widdecombe and Chris Eubank, will make it too worn out a title.

Struck gold

Both promise to be fun, but perhaps he has really struck his best and richest gold with this profile of the Hamiltons, it remains to be seen when we can watch more than just the trailer.

Though it is also a truism that trailers give away the best part of a show - as you may have seen evidenced by the clips for the new children's drama I Was a Rat (Sunday, 1750 GMT BBC One).

Look away if you do not want to see the scores yet, but what the trailers make crystal clear and the drama itself tries to hide for a time is that the boy claiming to have been a rat, was indeed one.

And specifically one of the rats turned into a pageboy for Cinderella.

You will not get much of a surprise when that is revealed, then, but this is a good and very well played new drama of the genre that the BBC has surely owned all to itself before.