THE TRUTH ABOUT, BBC1, 9pm
PEOPLE overuse the word “stress”. Just as thoughtless folk use “depression” to describe a bit of passing sadness, so the word “stress” is often deployed when the person simply means they’re busy.
The World Health Organisation says stress is the “health epidemic of the 21st century” and has been linked to physical illnesses like cancer and diabetes as well as taking an awful mental toll.
This programme asks what techniques can be used to relieve stress if the primary provoking factor, such as a terrible job, poverty or a divorce, can’t be immediately avoided. But might there also be some benefits to a certain level of stress? If you’re able to control stress, can it be turned to your advantage?
THE TRIP, SKY ATLANTIC, 10pm
I LOVE The Trip so much. It’s clever and funny, and the only criticism you might throw at it – that it’s sometimes repetitive – always falls flat because who cares if each episode wanders aimlessly and never gets anywhere when we’re laughing all the time?
So tonight you could be a bit miffed as the repetitiveness of the show is slightly upset. Steve and Rob have company for dinner and, to make matters worse, it’s young, attractive, female company, so their subtle nagging and bitching at one another gets dragged out into the light as they openly compete, via their impressions, to win the laughter of the ladies. The chemistry is upset by these two newcomers, with Steve especially becoming shrill and insecure.
Having to entertain the women also means the gentle impressions of people like Alan Bennett and Henry Kelly get ignored in favour of brash Mick Jaggers and singing David Bowies.
Perhaps as a punishment for flirting and having fun, Steve gets some troubling news at the end, and this takes the show back into its always lurking shadows.
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