PICK OF THE WEEK

SATURDAY

Mary J Blige at the BBC (BBC2, 8.30pm)

BBC Two’s Saturday Night music line-up begins in style with a trawl through the Beeb’s archive for some terrific turns by hip hop, soul and R&B singer Mary J Blige. She rose to fame in the 1990s with hits including Real Love, Everything and As (with George Michael), before continuing into the 2000s with One (a U2 cover) and Family Affair - and last year released her 14th studio album Good Morning Gorgeous. She has been referred to variously as the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul and Queen of R&B - which leads us neatly on to the following programme, First Ladies of Hip Hop. Among the featured artists there is Estelle, whose 2008 Glastonbury performance follows Jools Holland at 11.15pm. Delightfully joined-up scheduling.

Julia Bradbury’s Irish Journey (C4, 8.30pm)

Documentary and consumer affairs presenter Julia, who has recently been leaning more into her passion for the great outdoors, returns to the country of her birth in this series. Tonight’s episode sees her exploring the ‘wild’ west of Ireland, specifically the Wild Atlantic Way - a 1,600mile coastal route full of twists and turns and interesting locations. There’s the famous tower in Ballylea that was once the summer home of WB Yeats, and Galway City, where Julia visits a sculpture garden.

Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel (BBC1, 8.30pm)

Three more contestants take on a colossal spinning wheel and answer questions in the hope of securing a cash prize on the comedian’s Saturday-night game show. The celebrities experts offering advice tonight are Big Narstie on Jamaica, Ellie Taylor on breakfast, Frankie Bridge on pop music, Harry Judd on drummers,

Jonathan Ross on movies, Richie Anderson on traffic and travel, and Vogue Williams on reality TV. But will the stars prove to be a help or a hindrance in the quizzers’ quest to scoop the cash?

Blankety Blank (BBC1, 9.30pm)

Bradley Walsh is the perfect choice to present this revival of the classic quiz show, encapsulating everything about the very best of the old-school entertainers of Saturday nights past - he’s sharp, personable, cheeky and risque - all updated for the modern era. This week he’s joined by a wonderfully broad mix of celebs in Phil Tufnell, Martine McCutcheon, Alex Brooker, Mel Giedroyc, the Rev Kate Bottley and Darren Harriott, who help contestants to fill in the blanks and win prizes.

Man About the House: 50 Years of Laughs (C5, 9.30pm)

Back in the 1970s, the sitcom on everyone’s lips was Man About the House. It was considered very shocking at the time, due to the fact it was about a single man sharing a flat with two young women. In spite (or perhaps because) of its controversy, it made stars of its cast and inspired two spin-offs (Robin’s Nest, and George and Mildred). This retrospective features interviews and backstage insight from its stars Paula Wilcox, Sally Thomsett and Brian Murphy, writer Brian Cooke and other famous faces

Later... with Jools Holland (BBC2, 10.30pm)

Kicking off the new series from Alexandra Place in North London, Jools once again welcomes a variety of artists to perform excerpts from their new work. First up is West Midlands-born Jorja Smith, who will be showcasing numbers from her second LP Falling or Flying, the highly anticipated follow-up to her 2018 Mercury Prize shortlisted debut album, Lost and Found. Following this, US stadium rockers The National are taking a break from their European tour to perform songs from their newly announced tenth album Laughing Track. Making up the bill are three debutants: Brooklyn-based three-piece girl group Say She She, Mancunian Antony Szmierek and punk legend Wreckless Eric - the latter will be performing a track from his latest album Leisureland.

SUNDAY

Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico (BBC2, 7.20pm)

After starting in the west, the former Desperate Housewives star hot-foots it to the opposite side of the country. She’s visiting Nuevo Leon in the north east, which shares a very narrow border with the US state of Texas. It’s an area that contains lots of arid desert where little grows, so the local diet is mostly made up of meat - it’s definitely not the place to be if you’re vegan or vegetarian. On the menu are aguja steak and cabrito, a goat-based dish whose origins lie within the Sephardic Jewish tradition.

Russell T Davies Remembers - A Midsummer Night’s Dream (BBC4, 8pm)

Russell T Davies is going to be in the public eye a lot shortly when his second tenure as Doctor Who’s showrunner begins. Before that, he’s back on the box to introduce his take on A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which originally aired in 2016, and can be seen again immediately afterwards at 8.15pm. The Beeb’s Shakespeare season then continues with Maggie Smith and Frank Finlay in The Merchant of Venice from 1972. After that, stay tuned for The Wars of the Roses: Richard III and Mark Lawson Talks to Antony Sher.

Handmade: Britain’s Best Woodworker (C4, 8pm)

We’ve already said goodbye to one of the class of 2023, but who will be the next to go? As ever, viewers no doubt already have a favourite to root for, so keep your fingers crossed that yours isn’t daunted by the next big challenge - making a freestanding handcrafted clock in only two days. Judges Tom Dyckhoff, a design expert, and Sophie Sellu, a woodworking entrepreneur, want the competitors to use an important time in their life (pun, one imagines, completely intended) as their inspiration. The skills task involves recreating a bunch of realistic roses out of wood pieces planed from a block of ash - whoever comes out on top will think it’s blooming marvellous because it will mean they’re immune from elimination.

Boiling Point (BBC1, 9pm)

As has been the case with many restaurants around the land, the financial crunch has hit Point North hard, and Carly is under pressure to save money by firing someone. Instead, she chooses to reduce the hours of the pot washing team, but this sends Jake, who has enough on his plate caring for his younger sister and is already deep in debt, into a panic. Meanwhile, Liam tries to pressure Carly into hosting a wedding to make ends meet, while new sous chef, Nick, could be the answer to everyone’s prayers. But he has his own baggage.

MONDAY

Help! We Bought a Village (C4, 5pm)

The property programme that follows intrepid Brits breathing new life into abandoned and remote villages, hamlets, borgos and cortijos in Europe returns for a second series. Today, we meet a Scottish lawyer of Italian origin who falls in love with the abandoned village his forefathers left behind, and the owners of a quirky traditional settlement in Puglia in southern Italy. Cameras also return to visit Paul and Yip, as they continue to breathe life back

into their French ghost village.

Jamie’s Five Ingredient Meals (C4, 8pm)

Back in 2017, Jamie Oliver released his 20th book, 5 Ingredients - Quick & Easy Food, which contained a collection of 130 great, simple-to-knock-out recipes made from only five elements. As is usually the case, a TV series inevitably followed, and Jamie’s Quick & Easy Food ran on

Channel 4 for four series between 20172020. The 48-year-old chef is back with a new slightly different programme tonight, as he demonstrates two delicious dishes that are ideal for when you need to get food and flavour on the table - fast. After showing us a genius way to cook chicken for the crispiest skin ever, he bakes a deliciously simple pie with easy dough. In addition, there’s also a treat from the ‘Godfather of Spanish Cuisine’, Jose Pizarro, who shares some gorgeous Mediterranean flavours, again using just five ingredients

Union with David Olusoga (BBC2, 9pm)

The historian moves onto the years after the Battle of Waterloo when the relationship between rich and poor, between parliament and the people, landlords and the landless, was fracturing. After examining the nation in 1815 through the eyes of the servicemen demobilised after the Napoleonic Wars, David follows in the footsteps of one of these soldiers to East Lothian, where he reveals a divided community. He then travels to South Wales where, in 1839, a group of armed Chartists turned from peaceful protest to violent insurrection. Finally, in County Cavan in Ireland, he looks at the worst years of the Great

Famine - which resulted in the deaths of over a million Irish people and the emigration of around a million others.

The Reckoning (BBC1, 9pm)

The penultimate part of the controversial drama starring Steve Coogan sees Jimmy Savile at the peak of his fame and influence, having hosted BBC1’s Jim’ll Fix It for nearly 20 years and a regular feature on British TV. His gold-plated status as a celebrity fundraiser and position of power also presented him with the opportunity to spearhead a fundraising campaign for Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire. And that in turn provided him unprecedented political access to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, among others. Concludes tomorrow.

The Long Shadow (STV, 9pm)

After Maureen Long is attacked in Bradford and left with horrific injuries, the focus of senior police detectives’ investigation shifts onto taxi drivers, with one, Terence Hawkshaw, under near constant surveillance. After the case expands with the murder of Jean Jordan in Manchester, the killing of Helen Rytka in Huddersfield provides Terence with an alibi, and he is released. Meanwhile, PS Meg Winterburn is tasked with going undercover in the pubs of Bradford, alongside Maureen, in the hope that she sees her attacker again.

TUESDAY

Fake or Fortune? (BBC1, 8pm)

Presenters Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould investigate a canvas that might be by the Abstract Expressionist artist Arshile Gorky. Previous works by this Armenian-American artist have fetched millions at auctions, but there’s a significant challenge for owner Liza Dunluce - the canvas is covered in white paint. To kick things off Philip starts by analysing the dates on the back of the canvas, suggesting that the painting was created at some point between 1928 and 1931. However, what’s visible on the surface doesn’t resemble Gorky’s work from that period, so he’s hoping an X-ray will provide the answers. Meanwhile, Fiona delves into research and uncovers information that hints at a lost Gorky piece from the 1930s. Could this hidden gem lie beneath the layers of white paint?

The Hotel Inspector (C5, 9pm)

Alex Polizzi arrives at The Kings Arms, the now last-remaining pub in Scalford, a village of around 600 residents, in Leicestershire. Owners Mark and Michael bought the pub after marrying 17 years ago, but despite some hard graft, they have little to show for their time in the trade. Alex is pleased by the cleanliness and good food on offer, but wants the pair to open up to a wider clientele and step out of their comfort zones. The Hotel Inspector needs to help them open their eyes quickly, if they’re to keep the village pub alive.

Britain’s Housing Crisis: What Went Wrong? (BBC2, 9pm)

The first of two programmes about housing in Britain, featuring insight from people at the heart of the issue: from politicians to finance experts and campaigners. For decades the dream sold by politicians has been that of home ownership, and yet for millions of people the actual reality is that owning one’s home is simply unachievable. Renters can be considered unable to afford mortgage payments lower than their rent, while huge deposits often prove prohibitive. Here we learn about the decisions that have priced out a generation.

Bangers: Mad For Cars (C4, 10.15pm)

The void left by a certain long-running car show is starting to be filled by quality offerings like this four-part series, hosted by Tinie and Naomi Schiff. Each week, they go head-to-head to determine the best in class from cars of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. The pair will examine family cars, sports cars, 4x4s and, in this opener, hatchbacks: Ford Sierra Cosworth,

Peugeot 205 GTI and the Citroen Saxo, delving into the performance, history, culture and iconography of each vehicle. During the series, Tinie and Naomi will also be joined by car lovers all over the UK, while Ian Wright, Guz Khan, Patrice Evra and Tom Kerridge will talk about their car experiences, ranging from the joyous to the terrifying.