Scandimania (Channel 4), TV review

 

Ellen E. Jones
Monday 03 February 2014 01:00 GMT
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Scandimania, episode 1
Scandimania, episode 1 (Keo Films/Channel 4)

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The three-part series Scandimania sees TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall escape River Cottage and explore a different country per episode. This week it was Sweden’s turn to be broken down into its constituent parts by a man who once served human placenta pâté to friends. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, Hugh singing along to ABBA hits, Hugh cheerfully eviscerating an elk, Hugh naked in an outdoor sauna and Hugh exchanging nappy-changing anecdotes with Stockholm’s “latte pappas”.

An hour in Hugh’s company is an hour well spent, but it is a shame this show doesn’t seem to have worked out whether it’s an aspirational travel show or an in-depth cultural study. It’s not quite alluring enough for the former and not quite perceptive enough for the latter.

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