KOOL TV BABE OF THE WEEK: 'BORGEN's SIDSE BABETT KNUDSEN

Diplomatic responsibilities for the lovely Sidse Babett Knudsen in BORGEN. Image: DR.

Doing a difficult but better job of running her fictional Coalition Government than anything British Prime Minister David Cameron could ever do in reality, the talented Danish actress Sidse Babett Knudsen gives a marvellous and subtly compelling heart and soul performance as double life juggling, devoted mother and career woman for the people, Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg, in the addictive European political/personal serialised drama BORGEN, currently taking UK audiences by storm on the BBC 4 and BBC HD channels with its excellent, high quality second year of ten episodes.

Title sequence: Borgen / Government - title sequence on Vimeo

Tough decisions are made, with support from Spin Doctor Kasper Juul (Johan Philip Asbæk). Episodic images by Mike Kollöffel, Courtesy of DR TV. 

Recently divorced from her husband, with a young daughter caught in the middle of the family conflicts and suffering from anxiety attacks, the emotional pressure is on for an often isolated Birgitte, who also has vying outside worries to contend with from her ambitious political foes and rivals looking for weakness in her leadership decisions, moving in for the kill as her once trio coalition loses key support from the Green Party. So, lots of upheaval and great drama here for the actress to mine (backed up with high-calibre scripts from creator Adam Price and his team), as the Prime Minister equally tries to keep her country from sinking into economic debt whilst also wanting to usher in a tide of positive change and growth for her country and its citizens. Despite such good intentions, the last part of Season One and the early part of this new season intriguingly saw a darker side emerging from her character, too, as Birgitte's need to do the right thing sometimes challenged her personal convictions and nurturing instincts as both a woman and a mother, and saw her run afoul of her loyal friends and loved ones, whose affections and allegiance she only just wins back. As we head towards the final episodes (and the eventual third and final season), political and personal change is surely in the air once again for the character and her life and career, giving Knudsen further character building blocks on top of an already accomplished, multi-layered and compelling performance.

A fractured family life with ex-husband Philip (Mikael Birkkjær) and daughter Laura (Freja Riemann).

In her life and career before and since BORGEN (whose series international success proved surprising to her), Miss Knudsen's body of dedicated, critically acclaimed film and TV work in her native land has been diverse, from heavy personal drama (the noteworthy AFTER THE WEDDING with Mads Mikkelsen) to light comedy (SOVER DOLLY PA RYGGEN?). With her excellent spoken English, backed up with a radiating intelligence and personal style, a mature sex appeal, plus one of the most charming and giddy smiles I've yet seen, it surely won't be long before her career branches off further with exciting work offers from both the UK and US.

Interview: BBC News - Borgen actor Sidse Babett Knudsen on Scandinavian drama

A winning smile for the people in Season Two's final episode.

Seasons One and Two of BORGEN are available on Blu-ray here: Borgen - Series 1 [Blu-ray]: Amazon.co.uk: Sidse Babett Knudsen, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Johan Philip Asbæk, Mikael Birkkjær, Søren Malling, Adam Price: Film & TV and Borgen - Series 2 [Blu-ray]: Amazon.co.uk: Sidse Babett Knudsen, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Johan Philip Asbæk, Jannik johansen, Jesper W. Nielsen, Louise Friedberg, Miikel Nørgaard: Film & TV

KEEPING IT UNREAL! THE RETURN OF 'HARRY & PAUL'

Doctors in the house! Charles and Sheridan return in the new series of HARRY & PAUL. Images: BBC 

Deborah Meaden's worst TV nightmare-Harry Enfield's brilliant mocking incarnation of her entrepreneurial skills from DRAGON's DEN, as "The Grumpy Woman"- makes a well-deserved comeback, as the comedian and his equally lethal acting/writing partner Paul Whitehouse unleash new heights of humorous stupidity for a seven episode fourth series of HARRY AND PAUL sketch shows-possibly their final run on the BBC. (Thankfully, the earlier in the year rumours of the series cancellation proving greatly inaccurate.)

As well as the always funny and painfully accurate piss-take of DRAGON'S DEN, fans can also expect other old character favourites returning including the I Saw You Coming... antiques dealer, the frighteningly real The Benefits Family and those brilliant Harley Street Consultant surgeons, Charles and Sheridan. But what's happened to the luckless, loveless fool who used to visit the Polish cafe? Plus, Enfield plays a machine gun toting version of the Queen, there's a new duo in oily American used-car dealers Bob and Bob, and spoofs on THE KILLING (if only Sophie Grabol had made an appearance in this as well as AB FAB!), CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, THE KING'S SPEECH and TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER, SPY, with special guest appearances from other comedy talents including Whitehouse's FAST SHOW buddy Simon Day, Victoria Wood (as one of the new Jolly Minor Royals), Simon Greenall, and Kevin Eldon as a gossipping 50's typist in what will surely be a MAD MEN-esque humour slaughter.

No clips available yet for the new series, and the Beeb's promotion of it in general has been somewhat lacking both online and on TV, but here's a few classics to get you in the mood:

"Harry & Paul" (BBC) insults Filipino domestic helpers! - YouTube
Ruddy Hell It's Harry and Paul - YouTube
Harry And Paul Dragons Den Spoof: Alan Sugar - YouTube
I Saw You Coming - YouTube

After an uneven third year run a few years back, we're hoping that this new series will see the pair back at the top of their game (interestingly, Enfield is also directing some episodes himself). The late slot given to the show by BBC 2 and BBC HD from this Sunday 10pm is annoying but at least we'll all have smiles on our faces before we go back to work on misery Mondays!