Betty Boothroyd: Call Me Madam, Wednesday, 23.15, BBC2

Sad to hear of the recent death of Betty Boothroyd, one of those figures who transcended politics and was famous even among those who barely knew who was in the cabinet. It helped that she became speaker in the early days of the televising of Parliament, so she was the first to become a really familiar face and voice, helped by her regular bits of business and “time’s up” catchphrase which owed a little bit to her background in showbiz, famously once being a member of the Tiller Girls. She was fiercely proud of the traditions of Parliament and was uneasy with some of the efforts made to modernise it, but she was seemingly always kind to new MPs and was aware of the need to connect with the public, hence even appearing in the Hot Seat on Live and Kicking. When she stood down in 2000 she reflected on her life, as many of her colleagues have, with Michael Cockerell.