Saturday 29 June
Glastonbury 2024
BBC One, Two & Four, from 5pm
The second day of the Glastonbury festival gets underway, with tonight’s headliners, Coldplay, gearing up to storm the Pyramid Stage for a record fifth time. Expect a triumphant victory lap through their two decades-plus of hits, from Yellow to Fix You to My Universe – though don’t expect the national outpouring of love we got last year for Macca’s headline set. Coverage of Chris Martin and co begins at 10pm on BBC One. Of course, there is more to Glastonbury than the headliners. Broader coverage begins on BBC Two from 5pm, where you can catch buzzy soul singer Michael Kiwanuka, US popstar Camila Cabello and, from 9pm onwards, Noughties indie-rap heroes The Streets. From 7pm, BBC Four will also be shouldering its share of performances. First up will be the soothing tones of Corinne Bailey Rae, followed by sets from indie darlings The Last Dinner Party and pop rockers Keane. Coverage of the festival continues tomorrow, with Sunday night headliner – R&B chart-topper SZA – making her Worthy Farm debut. Coupled with Friday night’s performance from Dua Lipa, this is the first year the festival has featured two female headliners. SK
The Chris McCausland Show
ITV1, 8.25am
Blind comedian Chris McCausland, hotly tipped to contend in this year’s Strictly, anchors this intriguing new morning chat show, which promises to immerse guests in his audio world. For today’s debut edition he is joined by comedians Paul Whitehouse and Donna Preston. Expect interactive games and many jokes about McCausland not being able to read an autocue.
Saturday Kitchen Live
BBC One, 10am
Ted Lasso star Nick Mohammed is Matt Tebbutt’s guest this morning. As always, the big question is what he considers his ultimate food heaven and hell. Chefs Cynthia Shanmugalingam and Owen Morgan join in.
Cycling: Tour de France
ITV4 & Eurosport 1, 10.45am
The world’s greatest bike race sets off from the Tuscan city of Florence as Italy hosts the Grand Départ for the first time. The heat is on from the start as Stage One features a series of difficult ascents over 206 km to Rimini. The battle for the yellow jersey once again looks like a two-horse race between Jonas Vingegaard, chasing his third consecutive title, and two-time champion Tadej Pogačar. Do not, however, rule out Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel. If those two have strong legs this summer, we could be in for a classic. Mark Cavendish is the heartbeat of Astana Qazaqstan, a team purpose-built to get the Manxman a record-breaking 35th stage victory. Stage Three looks like the best opportunity for the sprinters to stretch their legs. For the first time ever, the Tour will not finish in Paris, because of the Olympics. The riders will instead end with a time trial in Nice in three weeks’ time.
Ainsley’s National Trust Cook Off
ITV1, 11.40am
This week, Ainsley Harriott finds himself at the ornate Victorian Gothic Revival house
of Tyntesfield, Somerset. He is joined by chefs Yvonne Cobb and Rupy Aujla to see who can create the best dish from local ingredients. Harriott himself collects greengages and plums for his brioche French toast, chargrilled plums and cinnamon crème fraîche. Summer joie de vivre from the sunniest of British TV chefs.
T20 World Cup Final
Sky Cricket, 3pm
The Kensington Oval in Barbados hosts the final of the Men’s T20 World Cup, with first-time finalists South Africa – who annihilated Afghanistan in the semi-final – taking on either 2007 champions India or two-time winners and current holders England.
Live Uefa Euro 2024
BBC One, 4.30pm & ITV1, 7pm
The knockout games begin. First up in the Euro 2024 last 16 today is Switzerland v holders Italy (BBC One, 4.30pm). Then host nation Germany will be in action against Denmark later in the evening (ITV1, 7pm). And tomorrow, England...
A Royal Guide to Funerals
Channel 4, 8pm
The sporadic guide to all things monarchy continues with a morbid exploration of royal funerals. As we learn tonight, the occasions are planned well in advance. The late Prince Philip, for instance, designed a bespoke Land Rover hearse for his own departure.
Stax: Soulsville USA
Sky Documentaries, 10pm
Towards the end of the 1960s, soul institution Stax Records was reeling from the death of its superstar Otis Redding. This week’s edition of the elegiac documentary explores how the purring voice of Isaac Hayes rejuvenated Stax’s fortunes. There is a fascinating section detailing the lengths that Stax went to in order to make sure Hayes’s soundtrack for Shaft was nominated for an Oscar. It won, obviously.
The Battle of the River Plate (1956) ★★★★
BBC Two, 12.40pm
Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s thrilling and poignant dramatisation of the Second World War’s first great naval battle is half fact, half fiction. Anthony Quayle commands the Allied fleet chasing Peter Finch’s better-equipped German warship. The battle scenes are truly impressive, with the use of real warships HMNZS Achilles and HMS Cumberland. Bernard Lee and Ian Hunter also star.
You’ve Got Mail (1998) ★★★
Channel 5, 3.15pm
Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan reprise their charming Sleepless in Seattle partnership, starring as rival bookshop owners who become unwitting allies thanks to the anonymity of a chat room. Directed by Nora Ephron (who wrote this with her sister, Delia), the film (inspired by 1937 Hungarian play Parfumerie, by Miklós László) now feels a little dated, but it remains a rewardingly soppy and romantic diversion led by two great actors.
A Hard Day’s Night (1964, b/w) ★★★★★
BBC Two, 3.35pm
Richard Lester’s joyous
rock ’n’ roll musical comes bouncing at you from every angle, untameable with the anarchic joys of youth; it’s a timeless teenage classic. The first, and best, of the five Beatles films, it follows the band on a brief trip from Liverpool to London, where they play at a televised concert, complete with screaming fans. The film’s visions of Britain and stardom are as peculiar and vivid as they were nearly 60 years ago.
Spencer (2021) ★★★★
Channel 4, 9pm
Far too often, art about the Royal family has veered into caricature: cheap, shoddy rehashing of history and heritage, or, in the case of Princess Diana, trauma. Since her death in 1997, the late Princess has become as part of popular culture as she once was tabloid newspapers; her private battles and public relationships turned into entertainment. Firmly eschewing The Crown-esque heightened plots, Chilean film-maker Pablo Larraín crafts a stunningly understated portrait of the Princess’s unravelling over her final Christmas weekend as a royal. It is 1991, and the Princess (played by Kristen Stewart) has dutifully gone off to Sandringham for a three-day break with her husband, Prince Charles (Jack Farthing) and their two sons, William and Harry (played by Jack Nielen and Freddie Spry). Enemies lurk in every corner, from the vulture-like paparazzi hiding in the ground’s bushes to the Queen Mother’s villainous equerry (played brilliantly by Timothy Spall). Somehow, the American Stewart nails an affected British upper-class drawl, with her veiled glances and personal battles – from eating disorders to motherly guilt – conveying the Princess’s innermost sadness.
Taxi Driver (1976) ★★★★★
Great! Movies, 10pm
This lugubrious tale of urban alienation is Martin Scorsese at his most sublime – until, perhaps, Killers of the Flower Moon (available to stream on Apple TV+). Scorsese’s right-hand man Robert De Niro plays Travis Bickle, an unstable Vietnam War veteran who works as a cab driver. He’s driven to a murderous rampage after observing the low-lifes who inhabit New York’s underbelly. Underpinned by Bernard Herrmann’s score, it’s terrifying.
Sunday 30 June
Uefa Euro 2024: England v Slovakia
ITV1, 3.30pm
With two draws, one win and one goal conceded to top their group, on one level England’s campaign in the Euros has been a simple case of job done. On every other level, however, it has been desperately inadequate, with Gareth Southgate’s team of superstars unable to seriously threaten sides ranked far below them. This afternoon, thanks to the vagaries of a draw which has opened up enticingly (Portugal, Spain, France, Germany and Belgium are all on the other side), they face another. Slovakia have stunned Belgium and matched the impressive Romanians – they cannot be underestimated. All is not lost – a hitherto sluggish England excelled against Germany at this same stage three years ago. The usual ITV suspects are present and correct – Pougatch, Matterface, Dixon, Woods – while the punditry trio of Ian Wright, Gary Neville and Roy Keane will be hoping to be able to praise an England performance for once. Ok, perhaps not Keane. Kick-off is at 5pm, if you can bear it. nIn the 8pm kick-off comes, for the purists, a considerably more enticing prospect as Spain take on everyone’s new favourite side, Georgia (ITV1, 7.15pm). GT
Jimmy & Shivi’s Farmhouse Breakfast
ITV1, 8.25am
The latest entrant into the crowded field of gastronomic early-morning weekend shows comes courtesy of food writer Shivi Ramoutar and farmer Jimmy Doherty, broadcast live from the latter’s homestead in the Suffolk countryside.
Formula 1Austrian Grand Prix
Sky Sports F1, 1pm; highlights, C4, 6.30pm
Max Verstappen stamped his authority on the Driver’s Championship with back-to-back wins at the Canadian and Spanish Grand Prix, although McLaren and Mercedes have closed the gap considerably. Lewis Hamilton scored his first podium of the season last weekend, and will be aiming to spoil the Red Bull party at their home Grand Prix in Austria.
Songs of Praise
BBC One, 1.15pm
A second outing in a fortnight for All Things Bright and Beautiful, although this time the focus of this afternoon’s praise is the flora rather than the fauna: Katherine Jenkins visits a garden designed for the bereaved and an ecclesiastical exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, accompanied by half-a-dozen moving, green-fingered hymns.
Glastonbury
BBC One, Two & Four, from 3.45pm
Proceedings at Worthy Farm come to a climax with a headline set from Grammy-winning US R&B singer SZA (9pm), while indie rockers The National take the helm over on the Other Stage (9.45pm). Earlier, in this year’s “legend” slot (3.45pm) is country-pop star Shania Twain, who, in the 1990s, effectively created a blueprint for the rise of Taylor Swift. Elsewhere, catch London Grammar, Avril Lavigne and Seasick Steve.
Countryfile
BBC One, 5.15pm
Charlotte Smith travels to the East Riding of Yorkshire, England’s most northerly chalk outcrop, to join the annual gannet count in the wake of avian flu, meet a farmer leading the campaign for cleaner rivers and go puffin spotting with some amateur photographers.
Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted
National Geographic, 6pm
Small wonder Tilly Ramsay tags along for this jolly, accompanying her dad to the Galician coast in northern Spain where they harvest mussels, make cheese and take on Pepe Vieira and his son in a cook-off.
Suranne Jones: Investigating Witch Trials
Channel 4, 9pm
The conclusion of Suranne Jones’s excellent two-parter builds its case like a diligent lawyer, honing the narrative before reaching some devastating conclusions that are tough to rebut. Her focus here is Salem, where 156 people were charged with witchcraft and 19 executed. It moves onto Arthur Miller, QAnon, incels and the repeal of Roe vs Wade (which cited one Matthew Hale, a Stuart-era pioneer of judicial misogyny) before a nut-smashing catharsis offering a jot of hope.
On the Waterfront (1954, b/w) ★★★★★
BBC Two, 1.15pm
A mesmeric Marlon Brando plays failed boxer and have-a-go hero Terry Malloy, who takes a stand against the Mob on the docks of New York and finds nobility in the process. This is a flawless, troubling vision by Elia Kazan of working-class people jaded and degraded by the Mafia’s insidious presence. It, of course, includes the timeless line from Brando, “I coulda been a contender.” Also showing on Thursday (BBC Four, 9.40pm).
Trolls World Tour (2020) ★★★★
BBC One, 2.20pm
Little wonder Pitch Perfect’s Anna Kendrick was cast as neon-pink cartoon troll Poppy – this franchise is fast becoming a musical delight for children everywhere. This sequel styles itself as a jukebox extravaganza where different Troll-lands are divided by musical taste: Poppy’s being obsessed with bubblegum-pop, others into rock, funk or country. Mary J Blige, Justin Timberlake, Chris Stapleton and Kelly Clarkson provide voices.
North By Northwest (1959) ★★★★★
BBC Two, 3pm
Any Alfred Hitchcock thriller is bound to be crisp and shiveringly tense, but what makes this one special is that it’s also, in places, rather funny. Roger O Thornhill (Cary Grant), a New York advertising executive, is awoken from his smug routine when foreign spies mistake him for a CIA agent and abduct him. The suspense in this film is still utterly electric. Also on Thursday (BBC Four, 7.30pm).
Yield to the Night (1956, b/w) ★★★
Talking Pictures TV, 10.05pm
Based on Joan Henry’s 1954 novel of the same name, J Lee Thompson’s crime noir alluded to the case of Ruth Ellis, who became the last woman to be executed in Britain after she shot her lover in 1955. Diana Dors plays death row inmate Mary Hilton, spending her final days remembering the happier times of her life. Dors, who was originally cast solely because of her “blonde bombshell” look, is surprisingly nuanced.
Monday 1 July
Wimbledon 2024
BBC One & Two, from 10.30am
Summer arrives on the BBC as the All-England Club opens its doors for the next fortnight to the world’s greatest grass-court tennis tournament. This year marks the 137th Wimbledon Championships, and the now familiar slogan –“Always like never before” – neatly sums up the sense of anticipation that the tournament generates. Last year was one of upsets as 20-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz secured his first Wimbledon title, and the Czech Republic’s 24-year-old Markéta Vondroušová became the first unseeded player to clinch the women’s final. Now, 2024 promises to be just as wide-open, as the old guard in both the men’s and women’s game fall still further away. Alcaraz begins the defence of his title on Centre Court today. Coverage is extensive across BBC One, Two, iPlayer and the Red Button (as well as radio and online), with Clare Balding being joined by co-anchor Isa Guha, who will cover the morning sessions. John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King are in the pundit seats, with Tim Henman, Johanna Konta and Annabel Croft on hand. Australian stars Nick Kyrgios and Ash Barty also join the team. Qasa Alom hosts Today at Wimbledon on BBC Two. GO
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder
BBC iPlayer
Based on Holly Jackson’s hit YA novel (it won the British Book Awards’ Children’s Fiction Book of the Year 2020) this nail-biting mystery stars Emma Myers as Pip, whose life takes a very dark turn when she decides to devote her final-year project to investigating the killing of a local schoolgirl.
House of the Dragon
Sky Atlantic, 2am & 9pm
“It will be savage beyond compare.” So predicts Rhaenys (Eve Best) as the mood shifts towards all-out war when the grieving, vengeful Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) orders his armies to be deployed. The question now is which side will reach for the nuclear option first and bring their dragons into play on the battlefield.
Tennis: Wimbledon
BBC One/Two, from 10.30am
Carlos Alcaraz and Markéta Vondroušová return to SW19 to defend their singles titles, though neither are top seed – that honour goes to Jannik Sinner and Iga Świątek. At time of writing Andy Murray had yet to decide whether he will take part in what is presumed will be his farewell to British tennis. Emma Raducanu leads the British women’s hopes, while Jack Draper could be Britain’s best chance of success in the men’s.
Bake Off: The Professionals
Channel 4, 8pm
It’s down to the final six bakers as the winners from the heats gather for a chocolate-fuelled face-off. The challenges include batch-baking gourmet chocolate bars and engineering an elaborately decorated, large chocolate mobile that can survive being hung from a ceiling. Continues tomorrow.
Skint: The Truth About Britain’s Broken Economy with Tim Harford
Channel 4, 9pm
A hero to many for his efforts on Radio 4’s More or Less – which brings errant politicians and journalists to book for their too-often casual use of statistics – Tim Harford turns to television to outline how he thinks Britain’s economy has gone off the rails and the main things needed to fix its growth.
Paddy & Molly: Show No Mersey
BBC Three, 9pm
A new reality series for fans of mixed martial
arts follows “proud Scousers and best mates” Paddy “the Baddy” Pimblett and “Meatball” Molly McCann as they pursue careers in the tough arena of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). Tonight’s double opener (boxsetted on iPlayer) takes them to Las Vegas for the biggest fights of their lives, with Pimblett preparing to take on an American MMA superstar.
The Sympathizer
Sky Atlantic, 10.20pm
It’s the penultimate episode of the Vietnam War-era spy drama and the Captain (Hoa Xuande) is beginning to buckle under the burden of his secret. Convinced the General’s (Toan Le) plan for a refugee army is doomed to fail, he begins the search for a way out. Robert Downey Jr co-stars – repeatedly.
Match Point (2005) ★★★
Great! Movies, 9pm
Few Woody Allen films have proved as divisive as this London-set melodrama. Tennis coach Jonathan Rhys Meyers gets engaged to an upper-crust Brit, but he falls for her brother’s American girlfriend (Scarlett Johansson), which leads to murder… and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Allen’s grasp of how the English speak and behave is tenuous, to say the least, but you’ll have fun spotting all the British comedians cast in small supporting roles.
LaRoy, Texas (2023) ★★★★
Sky Cinema Premiere, 10pm
Shane Atkinson’s blackly comic crime-drama is terrific fun, full of twists and Coen brothers-esque Western references. Dylan Baker plays hit man Harry, sent to the tiny rural town of LaRoy, Texas, for a job; a quietly commanding John Magaro is Ray, a local hardware store owner who is devastated by the news his beauty-queen wife (Megan Stevenson) is cheating on him, and is accidentally lured into Harry’s murky world.
My Week with Marilyn (2011) ★★★★
BBC One, 11.50pm
An all-star cast features in this movie about the time that film-maker Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) assisted Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) on The Prince and the Showgirl. Like many others, Clark ends up falling for the star. Williams’s admirable performance explores the balance between Monroe’s fragile vulnerability and public glamour; it’s wholly more nuanced than Ana de Armas’s attempt in Blonde.
Tuesday 2 July
Inheriting the Castle: Storyville
BBC Four, 10pm
The “castle” is a huge folly set in the middle of the Argentine pampas, where indigenous woman Justina Olivio, 60, lives with her 20-year-old daughter Alexia. “I got this house out of hard work,” says Justina, before describing their unusual situation. Sent to work for the house’s owner, a wealthy and glamorous European socialite, when she was just five years old, Justina eventually became her carer – then, when she died, she inherited the castle. But now – with a leaking roof, plaster falling off and a fitful water supply – what was originally considered a generous gift has become a burden. This atmospheric documentary exposes Argentina’s class and racial hierarchy with a subtle touch – as when the socialite’s family descend on the castle for a birthday party and treat the place like their own. Justina mutely accepts their presence while the blunt Alexia helps herself to the food they have brought, which she then eats in her bedroom. Martin Benchimol’s sensitive – and ultimately hopeful – film is part documentary, part dramatised reconstruction shaped by him after he spent six years getting to know mother and daughter. VL
Sprint
Netflix
Following the streamer’s revealing documentaries on Formula 1 and tennis, this six-part series charts the pinnacle of athletic achievement, the 100-metre sprint. It follows those competing at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, where the athletes – including Usain Bolt – talk of the hard work and rivalry required.
Our Great Yorkshire Life
Channel 5, 7pm
This week, we meet local journalist Christa Ackroyd, who is in Halifax to learn about Anne Lister, the 19th-century landowner, diarist and heroine of Sally Wainwright’s much-missed drama Gentleman Jack. In Ilkley, Ian Jowett has restored a 1930 Jowett Deluxe Short 2 built by his grandfather and takes it for a spin for the first time in 80 years.
The Yorkshire Vet
Channel 5, 8pm
More from the white rose county as Peter Wright has to deal with an equipment failure on a farm call-out, while Julian Norton performs emergency surgery on a spaniel suspected of eating chocolate.
Secrets of the London Underground
Yesterday, 8pm
Tim Dunn and Siddy Holloway explore the busy hub of Earl’s Court station, where Dunn gleefully visits its “Thunderbirds-like control room”, while Holloway also travels to Alperton, where she is equally excited by a historic escalator.
Super Surgeons: A Chance at Life
Channel 4, 9pm
Further insight to life at the frontline of emergency care from the Royal Marsden, famed for taking on what some regard as “untreatable” cases but where surgeons try to give patients a fighting chance. Tonight, Asif Chaudry attempts to remove 74-year-old Matthew’s tumour, caught between his oesophagus and stomach.
The Baby Scandal That Shocked The World
Channel 5, 9pm
This compelling documentary revisits an early internet scandal – which eventually led to a change in UK law. A British couple “bought” American twin girls over the internet in 2001, but they became involved in a transatlantic custody battle when a California couple said they had also paid for the babies. The three women involved – birth mother Tranda and Vickie and Judith, the US and UK adoptive mothers respectively – recount their versions two decades on. It still shocks. VL
Beverly Hills Cop (1984) ★★★★
Sky Showcase, 10pm
Eddie Murphy’s wise-crackin’, rule-breakin’ cop Axel Foley is still a hoot. In this, the first (and best) film in the popular franchise, Axel pursues a murder investigation from Detroit to Beverly Hills. It’s all very shouty and silly, but there are some amusing fish-out-of-water sequences that make it a classic example of 1980s bombast. The fourth, new instalment, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, is on Netflix from tomorrow.
An American Werewolf in Paris (1997) ★★
Legend Xtra, 10.50pm
This belated sequel fails to live up to John Landis’s 1981 horror classic An American Werewolf in London, but it’s still tolerable in a schlocky way. Julie Delpy plays Serafine, the daughter of the original film’s lupine hero, who runs around Paris attempting to foil the plans of a villainous bunch of Gallic werewolves. Tom Everett Scott, Vince Vieluf and Julie Bowen provide support.
The Sisters Brothers (2018) ★★★
BBC One, 11.20pm
“Have you noticed how long it’s been since anyone tried to kill us?” Eli Sisters (John C Reilly) observes as he and his brother, Charlie (Joaquin Phoenix), clop across the sunbaked Oregon bush. Based on Patrick deWitt’s novel, Jacques Audiard’s tale of two scrabbling assassins is a lively picaresque. Riz Ahmed plays their target.
Wednesday 3 July
Battle of the Bagpipes
Sky Arts, 9pm
Narrated by Bill Paterson, this three-part series takes a classic documentary structure – following three different outfits as they prepare for a big competition – and, while offering little in the way of pace, gains considerably from its respectful approach and the novelty of the subject matter. With Glasgow’s World Pipe Band Championships looming, three bands have their eyes on the prize: Lisburn’s Field Marshal Montgomery, led by the most successful pipe major, Richard Parks; Inverurie and District, looking to add a third title to their tally; and Boghall and Bathgate, whose leader Ross Harvey can inflate his neck to Dizzy Gillespie proportions when he gets going. While the rehearsal rooms are not for the faint-hearted (tuning, we are told, is essential for a pure sound), the soundtrack is stirring; despite the adherence to tradition, the focus on community outreach makes it surprisingly easy to imagine why the pipes and drums remain appealing even among the young. Diversions to Redford Barracks, the home of military pipes, introduces us to the history and two piping prodigies – the garnish on an otherwise absorbing hour. GT
The Man with 1,000 Kids
Netflix
Another true-crime extravaganza from Netflix, this time a three-part profile of Jonathan Meijer, the Dutch con artist whose obsessive sperm donation attracted the attention of the authorities and the ire of many couples whom he defrauded.
The Football Fraudster
ITV1, 9pm
First shown on ITVX, this is the startling story of failed footballer-turned-con man Medi Abalimba. Nothing about him was what it seemed, from his wealth and age to his identity – he spent months pretending to be former Chelsea winger Gaël Kakuta, enjoying all the associated perks and even swindled Love Island’s Georgia Steel, with whom he had a brief relationship, out of thousands of pounds.
George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces
Channel 4, 9pm
The indefatigable Mackem crams in six more startling builds and renovations, including a return trip to a teenager looking to follow up his extraordinary shepherd’s hut transformation, a garden folly inspired by a wedding cake and a circular house inspired by a collection of classic cars in Denmark.
A Killer Makes a Call: Black Widow
Channel 5, 9pm
A sad story is given the tabloid TV treatment in this retelling of the killing of David Jackson by his wife of 24 years, Penelope, in February 2021. It attempts to answer the difficult question of whether she was the real victim, who snapped after years trapped in a relationship of coercive control, or simply a cold-blooded killer?
Outrageous Homes
Channel 4, 10pm
A vampiric fantasy in bricks and mortar. A 1900s house with a built-in corner shop. A miniscule Welsh cottage full of surprises. Tonight’s structures are eccentric, perhaps, but all pale in comparison to our host, the reliably absurd Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen.
Trevor Eve Remembers Waking the Dead
BBC Four, 10pm
Not a man known for indulging his lighter side on screen, Trevor Eve found perhaps his archetypal role in DS Peter Boyd, a cold-case expert haunted by the absence of an estranged son and, later, the death of a colleague. Here, he recounts the genesis of the crime series which ran for nine series and whose first two proper episodes air back-to-back this evening.
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) ★★★★
Film4, 6.35pm
In the halcyon days before romcoms fell out of favour with studio execs (until Anyone But You, that is – see Friday), Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey shone as an unlikely couple brought together by an unlikely scheme (and their devilish good looks) – respective bets that they could convince the other to fall in love. McConaughey, Hollywood’s golden Texan, is just as spellbinding as he is in serious dramas.
For Your Eyes Only (1981) ★★★
ITV4, 8pm
In Roger Moore’s fifth Bond film, 007 is sent to recover a device that was lost in the depths when a British spy ship sank in the Ionian Sea. It can order attacks from Britain’s submarine missiles, so Bond must reach it before the Soviets do, but of course he gets distracted by mysterious beauty Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet), whose parents were murdered by the KGB. The vastly superior Octopussy is on Thursday at 8pm.
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) ★★★★
Sky Showcase, 9pm
Matt Damon returns for another crunchingly violent instalment of the pulsating spy series (directed for the second time by Paul Greengrass). Jason Bourne (Damon), the amnesiac CIA agent, is trying to find out his true identity before double-crossing CIA bods assassinate him. Why? Once he recovers his memory, Bourne has access to secrets that would be their undoing. Julia Stiles co-stars.
Thursday 4 July
Election Night
BBC One, BBC Two, ITV1, Channel 4 & Sky News, from 9pm
If the pollsters are to be believed, the 2024 General Election promises to be one of the most extraordinary nights in recent political history. But which channel will you watch the results on? The BBC’s coverage will begin on BBC One at 9.55pm, with anchors Clive Myrie and Laura Kuenssberg analysing the night’s results with the help of an array of familiar faces, including Jeremy Vine. Meanwhile, on ITV1 (9.50pm), Tom Bradby welcomes former Chancellor George Osborne and former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to dissect the result. Sky’s Kay Burley will be joined by Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Ruth Davidson, the former Leader of the Scottish Conservatives, from 9pm. Channel 4, unsurprisingly, have gone for something slightly different. Airing from 9.45pm, Britain Decides… will be led by Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Emily Maitlis, alongside The Rest is Politics podcast hosts Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart. There will be big name political guests (former culture secretary Nadine Dorries, for instance) but also contributions from the cast of Gogglebox. How late will you stay up? SK
Gardeners’ World
BBC Two, 8pm
Tonight’s special edition comes from the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival. Nick Bailey and Rachel de Thame will share highlights of the best gardens, gold medal winner Tom Massey provides tips on designing your own and Arit Anderson talks sustainable planting.
Supermarket Own-Brands: The Big Taste Test
Channel 5, 8pm
This fizzy one-off special investigates the relationship between well-known food and drink brands and their cheap supermarket knock-offs. Can a panel of taste testers tell them apart? In the case of Coca-Cola, you might be surprised. Other brands tested include Cheerios and Jaffa Cakes.
Tom Kerridge Cooks Britain
ITV1, 8.30pm
Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge takes to the road in this tasty new series, which is themed around what it takes to produce the food on our plates. Tonight he drives his food truck to Kent and Cambridgeshire. While travelling around the latter he visits one of the country’s biggest farms to trace the origins of a delicious beetroot and pearl barley salad.
Douglas is Cancelled
ITV1, 9pm
Steven Moffat’s cancel culture satire continues. Tonight sees Douglas (Hugh Bonneville) being prepared for a potentially gruelling interview. The main theme, though, is the tug-of-war between his formidable wife Sheila (Alex Kingston) and his manipulative co-anchor Madeline (Karen Gillan). Stay tuned until the end for a superb cliffhanger.
Susan Calman’s Grand Day Out
Channel 5, 9pm
Susan Calman hops between the Channel Islands, beginning with Jersey, where she samples their famed potatoes and explores the third largest tidal range in the world. And on petite neighbour Guernsey, she receives the honour of firing the island’s traditional noon day cannon.
Paul Whitehouse’s Sketch Show Years
Gold, 10pm
The second week of Paul Whitehouse’s sketch comedy retrospective takes a stroll through the 1980s. There are obvious picks – Not the Nine O’Clock News and the significance of Lenny Henry – alongside a welcome spotlight on the quietly bold ITV comedians Hale and Pace, who inspired a flood of complaints with their microwave cat sketch.
SpaceCadet (2024)
Amazon Prime Video
Emma Roberts returns to the kind of flitty, flirty comedy that made her name (Easy A, Scream Queens). In Liz W Garcia’s film, Roberts is Rex, a fun-loving Florida party girl who somehow winds up as Nasa’s number one space cadet. Up against other candidates with stronger CVs and, let’s be honest, bigger brains, it’s down to Rex’s sparky personality to see her through; think of it as a modern, space-centred update on Legally Blonde.
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Film4, 9pm
★★★★ ★
Quentin Tarantino’s homage to war films is audaciously bloody, darkly comic and anchored by actors playing thrillingly against type. Christoph Waltz won an Oscar for his incendiary turn as the “Jew Hunter”; Brad Pitt is almost as memorable as the chief Nazi-killer, Aldo “the Apache” Raine. Django Unchained, Tarantino’s brilliant Western pastiche, set on a slave plantation, is on Film4 on Friday at 9pm.
Moulin Rouge! (2001) ★★★★
BBC Two, 10.25pm
Baz Luhrmann’s intoxicating spectacle was the first musical to be nominated for Best Picture in 22 years. Set in 1899 Montmartre, it follows a poet (Ewan McGregor) who becomes love-struck with a courtesan (Nicole Kidman). The mix of modern pop and a period setting, now the familiar tools of Luhrmann’s oeuvre, ensure that this is a thrilling assault on the senses. The dazzling stage show is currently in the West End.
Friday 5 July
Brats
Disney+
Sometimes only an insider – someone who’s actually lived it – can get under the skin of a story. That’s certainly how it is with this fascinating – if at times self-indulgent – documentary from Andrew McCarthy, about the 1980s phenomenon in which he played a part: the Brat Pack. A flash in the pan that encompassed a hyper- glamorous group of party-loving young film stars (Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and McCarthy) and the movies they broke through in, from Pretty in Pink to St Elmo’s Fire and The Breakfast Club. Films that tapped into the burgeoning materialism of the era and the angst that came with it, epitomising all that was youthful, beautiful and exciting about the 1980s to some, and everything that was shallow and commodified to others. What no one stopped
to wonder was whether the Brat Pack label might be a curse rather than a blessing for those stuck with it. It’s a theme McCarthy explored in his 2021 memoir Brat: An 80s Story. Here he reaches out to his fellow Brat Packers (most of whom he hasn’t seen for decades) to see if their experiences were, in retrospect, as mixed as his own. GO
Election 2024: The Results
BBC One, ITV1, Channel 4 & Sky News, from 6am
It’s the morning after polling day and the TV schedules are packed with news and analysis of the results. BBC One and ITV1’s coverage rolls on deep into the afternoon, as does Sky News’ led by Sophy Ridge from 7am. There are also plans for another Question Time special (9pm/11.10pm depending on the football) while Channel 4 offers light relief with The Last Leg: Election Special (10pm).
Motorway: Hell on the Highway
Channel 5, 8pm
This week’s focus is on driving disasters caused by bad weather, such as torrential rain. As ever, though, there’s plenty of non climate-based chaos on display, too, such as a driver pulling over in the M1’s outside lane to answer a call of nature.
Celebrity Gogglebox
Channel 4, 9pm
The celebrities (including Rylan Clark and mum Linda, Shaun Ryder and Bez, Fearne Cotton and Gok Wan) zoom in on the most talked-about TV in the run up to the election. There could even be overlap with last night’s C4 coverage, which featured some Gogglebox stars. But if you were up all night watching that, the likelihood is you won’t still be up for this.
Kylie at the BBC
BBC Four, 9pm
If your mood demands pop not politics, here’s 90 minutes of Kylie from the archive, followed by her performance at last year’s Radio 2 in the Park in Leicester, at 10.30pm. Plus, a selection of hits from other Stock Aitken Waterman acts such as Rick Astley, Bananarama and Jason Donovan, at 11.35pm.
The Sommerdahl Murders
More4, 9pm
The Scandi-agony continues as Danish police inspector Dan (Peter Mygind) and his forensics officer wife Marianne (Laura Drasbæk) embark on another double-episode investigation, despite their collapsing marriage. Tonight, when a woman falls to her death from a height, news that she recently won the lottery raises suspicions.
Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die
Sky Comedy, 10.15pm
In this hilarious stand-up special, the popular American comedian and reality star dives into why she hasn’t decided to have children, the harsh realities of ageing, her remaining sexual fantasies, and her carefully laid plans for death – or, at least, what happens after it.
The Imaginary (2023) ★★★
Netflix
Studio Ghibli might be the most famous Japanese animation house, but new-kids-on-the-block Studio Ponoc are offering their own array of delights. The Imaginary follows Rudger, who belongs to the invisible species known as Imaginaries created by a grieving girl, Amanda. The story has echoes of Pixar’s Inside Out franchise, but with a sweeter, more dreamlike spin. The voice cast includes Kokoro Terada and Rio Suzuki.
Anyone But You (2023) ★★★★
Sky Cinema Premiere, 8pm
Another Shakespeare play gets the modern romcom treatment, this time Much Ado About Nothing. Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney takes the lead as law student Bea; Glen Powell (Hit Man) is the charming finance bro she has an “enemies to lovers” fling with. Filmed mostly in Australia, it’s cheesy, yes, but the two leads have sizzling chemistry – little wonder it was the highest-grossing romcom of the past decade.
Shirley Valentine (1989) ★★★★
5STAR, 9pm
Willy Russell adapts his witty one-character play for this delightful kitchen-sink drama. Shirley Valentine (Pauline Collins) is a middle-aged Liverpool housewife who travels to Greece to escape midlife malaise, and to learn if there’s more to life than the kitchen. Swept off her feet by Greek bar owner Costas (Tom Conti), she sees herself in a new light. Joanna Lumley, Alison Steadman and Julia McKenzie co-star.
The Woman in Black (2012) ★★★★
BBC One, 12.10am
Thanks to its hyper-Edwardian setting and some canny alterations, this feels less like a remake of Susan Hill’s acclaimed ghost story (that’s terrified West End audiences for years) than a new reading of an old tale with spooky new resonances. Daniel Radcliffe gives a chilling, memorable performance in his first film post-Harry Potter, while director James Watkins
uses shadows and empty spaces to create a percolating sense of dread.
Television previewers
Stephen Kelly (SK), Veronica Lee (VL), Gerard O’Donovan (GO), Poppie Platt (PP) and Gabriel Tate (GT)