Harry Redknapp’s Sandbanks Summer, review

Medieval archery with Razor Ruddock. A day at Bournemouth air show with Joe Pasquale. Not the prizes in a golf club charity auction, but highlights from Harry Redknapp’s Sandbanks Summer (ITV), a programme which felt gloriously random but also made perfect sense.

The public loves Redknapp, the former football manager who won the 2018 series of I’m a Celebrity… Viewers also love a bit of property porn. So you can see the cogs whirring inside the brains of ITV executives: why not combine the two and let the guileless Redknapp show us around Sandbanks, the ludicrously expensive stretch of Dorset coastline that he and his lovely wife Sandra call home?

What we got was the least demanding half-hour of television it is possible to imagine: a sunny travelogue showcasing the delights to be found on Redknapp’s doorstep, in the company of his celebrity pals. The affable Redknapp acted as guide, estate agent and tourist board ambassador. “The fanciest address in the UK… Blue Flag beach for the past 32 years!”

We were invited to gawp at the property prices, which apparently are higher per square foot than in Manhattan – one row of 13 houses is worth more than £90  million. This doesn’t seem to be the place for people who are shy about flaunting their wealth. “The prices here are mental,” mused Ruddock, who for some reason was driving around in a car with his face painted on it.

There was banter aplenty, mostly at Ruddock’s expense. The trio mucked about with an archery display at Corfe Castle (“Razor’s failed to hit any of the targets – he never did have much of a shot”), went for a dip in the sea (“Razor, pull your pants up! This ain’t Southend”), and visited the local air show where Pasquale revealed himself to have a pilot’s licence and took Redknapp up for a quick spin.

It was all utterly inconsequential, yet the lack of cynicism won me over. “I know I’m lucky to live here,” said Redknapp. Next week: power boating with Chris Kamara and John Barnes (no, really).

Source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv...