TV Review: Taboo

Starring Tom Hardy, Oona Chaplin, Jonathan Pryce

Drama, 9:15pm, Saturday, BBC1

Taking the prize of the most unusual programme ever to be put on a BBC1 Saturday night schedule is Taboo. Unlike other costume dramas for example Poldark it goes for a much a grounded approach. The only thing it has in common with Poldark is that both feature characters coming back from the dead and causing much commotion. Taboo is a much more darker brew, featuring the use of words that you would not normally find in a programme of this type, Tom Hardy's character going through what could only be called a mental breakdown in a mortuary and being shot in a sepia tone. Tom Hardy brings his intense A-game, Jonathan Pryce does his snake oil salesman act very well and the actors who make his band of conspirators are all despicable to the core. Taboo may not be for everyone taste but the next 7 episodes should be worth it for those who stick with it.