Sorry I’m a day late on this one, but it was really quite good, wasn’t it? What with Doctor Who being all-round brilliant, (not long now!) I’m always a bit reluctant nowadays to use the phrase ‘good for a children’s programme’, as if all kids’ shows should have ridiculous budgets and all-star casts, but the fact is that not everything is Doctor Who, so sometimes we have to settle for just that, something being good for kids. And that’s exactly what this was.

You could tell it was intended for children, while we’re on the subject, in a couple of not-so-subtle ways. First, there’s the fact that the heroes themselves, the ‘Irregulars’, are children – kids love it when they see their peers out-smarting adults, and second there was the use of a different camera technique every thirty seconds. Lordy, the director must have had an absolute field day.

Under water one second, point-of-view the next, weird angles, weird perspectives – it was, to be fair, a little off-putting for anyone over the age of ten. And probably anyone under that age too… and it showed, perhaps, a lack of faith in the story, which was completely unnecessary because as I say, this was generally a great bit of family entertainment. Many reviews I’ve read have bemoaned the fact that Doctor Watson was under-used, and yes, he wasn’t massively involved (his longest speech was about Battenberg, as I remember) but the fact is that it’s the children who help him and Sherlock in their investigations which are the main focus of this production.

The concluding part is on next Sunday, BBC1, 4.25pm, so if you missed the first part, here’s a little catch-up. Jack, the leader of the crime-busting Irregulars (cheeky street urchins to you and me) has gone missing, leaving Finch in charge, and his sister Sadie vowing to get him back. Meanwhile, Sherlock is investigating a series of murders of policemen – for which he is eventually put in the frame (they think he’s jealous that the police service get all the credit for his work, you see). Can these two events be linked? Well of course, by a rather scary lady played by Anna Chancellor. Oh, and one of the young boys in the Irregulars gang is very probably a girl… but I *really* have no idea how that fits in… [annawaits]