The Incredible Mr Goodwin

Series one, episode one
‘Take care,’ says one man. ‘See you in a bit,’ says another. The first man is about to push a button to fire a car off a cliff. The second has to unpick a padlock in 30 seconds, or else be dragged after the car to his death. This deliciously British exchange explains part of the appeal of Jonathan Goodwin’s show: he’s an escapologist, stunt expert and ‘danger man’, but no ego-fuelled David Blaine-esque imbecile.

His relative normality ensures that his stunts look even more outlandish by comparison: setting off a bear trap, performing a William Tell-style target shot by sound alone, crossing from one side of the car to the other in a move described by his driver as having ‘a great chance for maximum danger’. ‘The Incredible Mr Goodwin’ is daft and over-familiar at times, but done with pizazz and enough back-story (his wife is no mute witness) to engage on a human as well as visceral level. But why perform so many stunts at mealtimes? BBQs, picnics, light lunches… Never accept a dinner invitation chez Goodwin.