Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This

Whenever I have watched old TV shows or clips, featuring the much loved and now iconic Tommy Cooper, I never fail to laugh out loud. Like many others, I do believe that Tommy Cooper was one of the greatest performers of his age, and probably of all time. Consequently, I sat down with a little trepidation to watch ITV's recent drama, telling not only of the man on stage, but also the man off stage. The one-off  programme very much depicts the Tommy Cooper we are all familiar with, but also takes quite a deep look into his private life, depicting aspects of it that some may not be familiar with, I know I wasn't. 

I did worry, I thought this might be a case of ITV messing too much with a legend, and that if nothing else the programme would suffer for it. However I am again happy to say that my early misgivings and preconceptions were wrong. Tommy Cooper: Not Like That, Like This was a pleasant triumph in my humble opinion.

I confess I did not easily recognize David Threlfall as Tommy Cooper. Despite him being a respected and talented actor, he was a relative unknown to me as I have never watched Shameless, which is what he is perhaps most famous for. I also struggled to recognize him because the character transformation was so profound. Not blanketing and all-encompassing, but a lot of subtle details seemed to contribute to him becoming Cooper, and broadly speaking they all worked to great effect.

Also crucially, David Threlfall's performance throughout was by and large an excellent one. His Tommy Cooper came off to viewers as an almost perfect blend of larger than life presence and fragile and vulnerable heart. In essence, he managed to present an incredibly flawed character; not only that but an incredibly flawed representation of a legendary man so many held, and still hold dear. Yes I did find there were one or two moments that strayed into the one-dimensional (I don't think Cooper's threatening/violent side was presented as well as it could have been) but all in all a wonderfully watchable and unique performance I found. What's more, David Threlfall gave life to Tommy Cooper in a very important, and I feel integral way: his comedy. When he portrayed Tommy Cooper doing what he does best (which was quite often) he was incredibly funny, and I was laughing out loud again as if I was watching the great man himself.

Threlfall was not the only shining jewel in this ITV drama however, as he was accompanied by various other very encapsulating performances. Amanda Redman and Helen McCrory are both well established and supremely talented actresses in their own right, and their performances here are quite superb. Redman playing the staunch and matronly wife of Cooper with wonderful zeal and zest, and McCroy playing the fragile, demure yet cheeky mistress Cooper shared a relationship with for nearly twenty years. Each actress and character remarkably different, and each one remarkably brought to life before us. Other brilliant casting gems feature Gregor Fisher as Cooper's long-suffering and cantankerous Scottish agent, and a surprising but very pleasing appearance from Jason Manford as Ken Brooke.

Not Like That, Like This really does hit the nail on the head in many places for me when it comes to Tommy Cooper. Poignant, authentic, sorrowful, comedic, dramatic; it really is a great watch, whether you're a fan of the great performer or not.