Stonehouse
January 2nd, ITV
British politician John Stonehouse was a star of Harold Wilson’s Labour government in the 1960s – until he began selling secrets to the Czechoslovakian government. When his political life and complex finances started to unravel, he did a Reggie Perrin and faked his own death, leaving his clothes on a beach, stealing the identity of one of his dead constituents, and fleeing to Australia to live with his secretary Sheila Buckley. Thespian power couple Matthew Macfadyen and Keeley Hawes star in this three-part series retelling the incredible story of how Stonehouse’s house of cards came down.
Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street
January 4th, Netflix
Not quite as catchy a title as the Wolf of Wall Street, this documentary series by film-maker Joe Berlinger tries to unravel the story of Bernie Madoff’s monster $64 billion (€61 billion) Ponzi scheme fraud, interviewing victims, whistleblowers and investigations, and featuring video depositions from Madoff himself.
First Dates Ireland
January 5th, RTÉ2, 9.30pm
The restaurant of romance reopens for a new season of the datin’ and eatin’ show, and the first episode features a double date with bubbly best friends Aisling and Naomi – their dates won’t know what hit them (although actual hitting is of course not allowed). Also hoping to get a taste of romance is 73-year-old Paddy, who plans to use his skills as a musician to woo his date Mary…
