Finally, a prison drama that captures the truth about life on the inside

BBC One’s new jailhouse drama is surprisingly watchable. ‘Time’ had me itching in my seat. And not in a good way. As a former prison officer, I remember the ‘NATO standard’ woolly pulley worn by Stephen Graham’s character with no affection but at least his seems to fit, which is bad continuity. All chafing aside, Sunday’s opener was a harrowing masterpiece.

Having advised TV production companies on prison dramas in the past, I am used to producers saying, ‘Yes, we understand that’s not what happens in the real world, Ian, but we are trying to tell a story.’ It is a mark of the genius of director Jimmy McGovern that he’s created more authenticity about prison life in those first sixty visceral minutes than all the previous iterations of two-dimensional Porridge. Graham plays prison officer Eric McNally with absolute conviction if you’ll pardon the pun. It’s the first time in my memory we’ve seen a jailer as fully realised as their charges.