Wall Of Silence (ITV1)

Nazi Grand Prix (C4)

JAMIE Robe made the fatal mistake of being a little bit drunk and making casual insulting comments to youths in the street late at night. They beat him to death with fists, feet and sticks.

This horrifying story was made all the worse for family and police when witnesses, fearful of revenge attacks by the perpetrators' families, refused to come forward.

It took the determination and courage of Jamie's father and the detective leading the investigation to bring the guilty parties to justice, at great cost to their own lives and careers.

Wall Of Silence was a finely-made dramatisation of a true story that made often uncomfortable viewing but brought home the difficulties encountered by police in the face of an uncooperative public and the effect such a killing has on the victim's loved ones.

James Nesbitt gave a convincingly controlled performance as grieving father Stuart Robe, who agreed to go along with the police methods of persuading witnesses to testify rather than take vigilante action, which would have inevitably led to further violence. Phil Davis was equally persuasive as Detective Inspector Tony Cottis, who did everything in his power, and then some, to protect reluctant witnesses.

The ending could hardly be called a happy one, despite the locking up of three of the accused after a trial where, several times, it looked as if the whole case might crumble. As both TV drama and social comment, Neil McKay's script was powerful stuff.

Secrets and lies were also at the heart of Nazi Grand Prix, which told how a wealthy British racing driver came to drive for Hitler and the Germans. He was this country's most successful racing driver of the pre-war era, but his story is virtually unknown because of his connections with the Third Reich.

Richard Seaman was born into a wealthy family but all he wanted to do was be a racing driver. His elderly father disapproved, his mother indulged him - and signed cheques to fund his expensive ambition.

Over in Germany, Hitler was pumping money into the national racing programme, as part of his fascination with technology. Signing to drive for the German team and then winning the German Grand Prix in 1938 brought Seaman everything he dreamed of, including £3,000 a year and a share of the team's winnings. He also fell in love with and married a young German girl.

But the shadow of war loomed over his success, as did a sick father who threatened to cut him out of his will if he continued racing. He died following an accident during the Belgian Grand Prix in 1939, when his car burst into flames after crashing at 130mph. The largest wreath at his funeral came from Hitler and the German racing team.

Seaman has been largely forgotten. Unsurprisingly, a racing champion whose grand prix victory was celebrated with the Nazi salute wasn't considered the type of success story the British wanted to hear.