Meet Robert Lessing, a Victorian surgeon who is lustrous of hair, vast of ego and handy with a hacksaw. Robert, played with virtuoso dickishness by Rory Kinnear, is one of the gaggle of medics strutting their surgical stuff in Quacks (15 August, 10pm, BBC2), a deliciously gruesome comedy-drama set in 1840s London. Quacks is based on a period in the mid-19th century when huge strides were made in medicine and its pioneering young doctors were treated like rock stars. There is a hint of Horrible Histories in this series, rooted in historical accuracy and brilliantly milking it for lols. Rather than examine his female patients, he hands them a ceramic figurine in order that they may point to where it hurts.

Source: The Guardian August 12, 2017 09:00 UTC