Ian Hart (I)

Imagine John Lennon never existed - at least, not the John Lennon we know. Snodgrass, a one-off drama adapted from Ian R MacLeod's novella by David Quantick, envisions a parallel world in which Lennon walked out of The Beatles in 1962 over "musical differences". Consequently, the Fab Four only ever achieved moderate success and Lennon - who never moved to New York - survived into middle age.
Taking place in 1991, 11 years after Lennon was murdered, this is a tale of missed opportunities and regret; the Lennon presented here is 50 years old, unemployed and embittered. Someone who could have had it all but wound up on the dole, a real nowhere man. It's a fascinating drama: playful, sharp and bristling with mordant one-liners.
Anchoring it all is the excellent Ian Hart, who's playing Lennon for the third time on film.

There's a winning blend of humour and pathos in his performance - especially when his character is on a bus, reeling off a stream of puns, jokes and diatribes. The message is clear: if this was John Lennon the rock legend, everyone on that bus would be hanging on his every word; here, though, he's just a misanthrope, ignored by the fellow passengers. This is part of the skill of Quantick's script - it makes you wonder whether dying at 40, a global icon, is better than still being alive but trapped in a humdrum existence, all too aware of what you might have been. The result is a heart-rending half-hour.

Snodgrass was a beautiful vignette in Sky Arts 1's impressive Playhouse Presents series of 30-minutes dramas that asked the question: what would have happened to John Lennon if he hadn't become famous?

It might not be a question you have asked yourself, but if you watched Ian Hart's portrayal of the 50-year-old John Lennon sitting in a dingy flat and chatting to himself on the top deck of a bus, the answer will now be burned into your brain.

In a bittersweet script, by David Quantick based on a story by Ian R MacLeod, Lennon was on his way for his first day in a boring civil service job. He gave us a running commentary as he went, brilliantly capturing Lennon's voice (figuratively and metaphorically).

"Semi-detached houses, semi-detached people leading semi-detached lives," he muttered. "Me auntie used to say 'Oh guitar's all right, John, but you'll never earn a living at it.' F---ing hell, Mimi, you weren't wrong... [I'm] nifty 50, with me whole death to look forward to..."

This was an alternative reality in which Lennon had had an argument with Paul McCartney over a song in 1962 and walked out of The Beatles. The band carried on, performing McCartney songs like Mary Had a Little Lamb and Mull of Kintyre, but never breaking through. "We could have been bigger than The Hollies," reflected Lennon.

Snodgrass was his word for a boring, suburban person. Looking out of the bus window, he saw a man in a suit with a mobile phone. "You can do the yuppie walkie-talkie all you want, pal. You're still f---ing Snodgrass to me."

The drama was a gentle, admiring portrait of how the Lennon wit and surrealism might have survived in an average life. It also highlighted the fine line between becoming a legend and becoming a claimant.

As if being 16 years old, 16-and-a-half stone and a resident of smalltown Lincolnshire wasn't bad enough, Rae (Sharon Rooney) has just spent four months in a psychiatric ward. So it's understandable that she might fancy a new start, under the watchful eyes of her clued-up doctor (Ian Hart) and erratic mother (Claire Rushbrook). But can she hide her past from her new friends and overcome her issues to make the most of teenage life in the Britpop era? Based on writer Rae Earl's real-life diaries, E4's latest series is shaping up to be a triumph to file alongside Skins and Misfits, while being entirely different to both and a tougher sell (neither as on-trend as the former nor as high concept as the latter) than either.

Key to its success is Rooney's empathetic, guileless lead performance, while the comedy and tragedy inherent in the premise is deftly handled. An appealing, confident opener.

My Mad Fat Diary: review

There are some nice performances notably Claire Rushbrook and Ian Hart as the token adults and new comer Sharon Rooney leads the production with humour and personal charm. However, like much 'comedy drama', I feel that My Mad Fat Diary lacks that the emotional punch to be a drama or the gags or wit to be a comedy; and we will end up with little more than another soap opera for adolescents.

Based on Rae Earl's real-life book about an overweight, funny, boy-mad teenager - with mental health issues - growing up in Lincolnshire in the mid-Nineties, this comedy drama has a lot going for it. Rae is nicely played by Sharon Rooney. Claire Rushbrook plays her unreliable mum and Ian Hart her therapist. The opener sees Rae discharged from a psychiatric hospital and hooking up with childhood friend Chloe (Jodie Comer).