Doctor Thorne, from Julian Fellowes, begins on UTV Ireland tomorrow at 9pm, starring Rebecca Front, Tom Hollander, Ian McShane and Stefanie Martini.

To historian Brenda Stevenson, a scholar on American slavery, 12 Years a Slave is a masterful cinematic work that achieves more than any other film on slavery, so worthy that she plans to screen it in classes at her university, UCLA.