Review: Susan Calman's Grand Week by the Sea made me glad of England, Andy Murray and this amazing summer of sport

In among the amazing sporting action on TV this week – from ‘that match’ to Mark Cavendish’s Lazarus-like rebirth on the Tour de France to Sir Andy Murray putting us all through the wringer on centre court – it was difficult to find anything decent to watch for a brief respite from the blood, sweat and tears.
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And Susan Calman’s Grand Week by the Sea (Channel 5, Mon-Fri, 8pm) certainly didn’t offer enough to take the attention away from Wimbledon or the narrow lanes of Brittany.

The tourism industry needs a boost, with domestic tourism spending forecast to be just 56 per cent of the level of spending in 2019 (visitbritain.org), but I’m not sure this week-long tour around some of Britain’s most popular seaside resorts is the thing to provoke a wave of visitors to the coast.

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As bright and breezy as an afternoon on St Anne’s beach, Scottish comedian Calman started her tour of England at Great Yarmouth, in Norfolk.

Susan Calman unravels the mysteries of making rock in Grand Week by the Sea, a new series on Channel 5Susan Calman unravels the mysteries of making rock in Grand Week by the Sea, a new series on Channel 5
Susan Calman unravels the mysteries of making rock in Grand Week by the Sea, a new series on Channel 5

She took in the usual suspects, like rock and rollercoasters, and a couple of things that came as a surprise, like Great Yarmouth’s Hippodrome, one of just two circus buildings in Britain with a ring which can be lowered, revealing a large swimming pool – I think we can guess where the other one is.

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It’s a very undemanding hour, to say the least, and Calman is genuinely enthusiastic about oddities she finds along the way, but before it sends you off to sleep, make sure you book a break at the seaside – and then turn over to watch the sport.

I did think about reviewing Love Island (ITV2, daily, 9pm) this week, but after watching bits of the first three episodes I realised I was way too old. It knows its audience, and it’s certainly not me.

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I have been bingeing This Is Pop (Netflix, streaming now). It’s a lively look at the way some of the biggest phenomenons in pop music were created, and you'll find that even if you don't watch all eight episodes, there will be at least one that will grab your attention.

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