Joanna Lumley’s Silk Road Adventure, episode three review - an enlightening tour of Iran that's absolutely fabulous
It’s “axis of evil” week on television. While Michael Palin tours North Korea on Channel 5, the third leg of Joanna Lumley’s Silk Road Adventure (ITV) found her traversing Iran. The programme’s access to the country was in doubt until the 11th hour. “Suddenly our visas came through and I’m here now,” Lumley reported with breathy urgency. “And so are you.”
She is such a familiar figure that you can occasionally take her for granted, so it is good to be reminded why she deserves her place as a national treasure. She is exceedingly good company – witty, inclusive, curious, and a keen communicator. Plus she looked – it almost goes without saying – absolutely fabulous in a mandatory headscarf. She took her cue from Iranian women who seem to wear them less for modesty than display. “Today, I’m rocking the Florida golf widow look,” she said of one dazzling turquoise confection.
All this is not as easy as it looks, especially in 40 degree heat and filming to a doubtless super-tight schedule. Lumley is cleverer than some TV travellers, for one, at collapsing the distance between her and the invisible millions on the other side of the camera. “Come! Come!” she said, beckoning us to follow her into the Shah’s Golestan Palace in Tehran. Then at other times she seemed almost to talk to herself as, with unfaked awe, she communed with the spirit of an interior.
As for the country formerly known as Persia, it put on a spectacular display of ancient culture, artisanal craftsmanship and disarming friendliness. Lumley met all sorts – the Brad Pitt of Iran, a woman who’s been weaving carpets for 55 years – and extracted from each brief encounter a useful nugget of information.
Aside from the miracles of architecture of Isfahan, Yazd and Persepolis, beautifully filmed from a busy drone-cam, there were glimpses of modern Iran beyond the gaze of the more intrepid tourist. Instagram is not banned and Lumley met one young influencer called Reihane Taravati who is well worth following (@reihanet) for further insights beyond the purview of meddling authority. It’s really enlightening.