This man is the real Wallender

BAFTA may have got it right with best actress for Julie Walters as Mo and recognition for Mad Men and The Thick of It. But what could have possessed them to award Kenneth Branagh Best Actor for his simpering, unreal portrayal of Kurt Wallender? (There are many other series in which Branagh has been superb, just not this one). Don't the Academy know that there is only one actor who captures Mankel's brilliant Swedish detective perfectly - and that is Krister Henriksson (left), who has played the part in the Swedish series that is infinitely better than the BBC version. Thanks to BBC 4, we know this. Why doesn't BAFTA?

Melly's last days

Katie Buchanan's elegant, witty and moving tribute to George Melly, following him and his long-suffering wife Diana through the great entertainer's last days, was a model of good television. Broadcast on BBC 4 - and therefore around again soon - it was particularly moving to see him taken by ambulance to have a last moment with his fans at London's 100 Club where he began his singing career. I first saw Melly, who died in July, on stage at a post-midnight gig in the 1982 Cork Jazz Festival, and saw him perhaps a dozen times since, including at the 100 Club and at his celebrated New Year gigs at Ronnie Scott's. It was sobering to see the great man laid so low as he battled a form of dementia and lung cancer, refusing treatment and trying to live it up in his last months, but there was a life-affirming spirit at work too as he sought to keep singing the blues - albeit with increasing difficulty - to the end. Don't miss this programme when it is repeated.

Folkie heaven

For us folkies, there is a small treat every Friday evening at 8.30pm on BBC 4 (produced with RTE). The third series of Transatlantic Sessions brings together the best of Scottish and Irish folk with Nashville musicians. Among those appearing are Paul Brady (pictured, left), Cara Dillon, Mary Black, Karen Matheson, the incomparable Scots Gaelic singer Julie Fowlis, Sharon Shannon and Eddi Reader. Grumpy breakfast show hosts who think the best thing about the BBC today should be scrapped should stick to interrupting politicians.