Chloe
Sunday/Monday, BBC One, 9pm
Becky has a new best friend named Chloe. She's never met Chloe, but she spends an inordinate amount of time on Chloe's social media feed, looking in at her imaginary friend's seemingly perfect life. One day, Becky clicks in to find that Chloe has tragically died in mysterious circumstances, and she sets out to infiltrate Chloe's real-life social circle to find out the truth about what happened. Was Chloe really who she portrayed in social media? Becky will have to assume a false identity and win over Chloe's friends if she's going to get to the bottom of this mystery. But pretending to be someone else is not so easy in real life, and Becky soon finds herself in real-world peril. Erin Doherty, who starred as Princess Anne in The Crown, plays Becky in his six-part psychological thriller created by Sex Education writer Alice Seabright.
Dodger
Sunday, CBBC, 5.30pm
A fast and funny comedy-drama full of jeopardy, this 10-part series is set before the events of Charles Dickens’s iconic novel Oliver Twist. In the first episode, 12-year-old orphan Jack Dawkins escapes the clutches of evil mill owner. With the help of farm girl Charley, they make their way to London where they soon run into trouble. As Jack and Charley run through the streets, their way is blocked by a mysterious and terrifying figure, which then leads to their first encounter with Fagin’s infamous gang. Billy Jenkins plays Dodger, with Christopher Eccleston as Fagin, and David Threlfall as Chief of Police, Sir Charles Rowan.
Blinded: Those Who Kill
Sunday, RTÉ2, 11.30pm
Natalie Madueño returns as criminal profiler Louise Bergstein in this eight-part Danish thriller (original title: Den som dræber: Fanget af mørket), a follow-up to Darkness: Those Who Kill. Five years ago, Alice Ejbye’s 18-year-old son was murdered by a serial killer who was never found. Alice is now seriously ill, and therefore asks Bergstein, the daughter of her best friend, to help solve the case. At the same time elsewhere on Funen, a man named Peter Vinge receives a fatal message from his wife.
The Curse
Sunday, Channel 4, 10pm
Steve Stamp, Allan Mustafa and Hugo Chegwin were some of the brains behind the Bafta-winning sitcom People Just Do Nothing, while Tom Davis and James De Frond gave us Murder in Successville and King Gary. So expectations are high for this new comedy-crime caper, which sees them joining forces to tell a story set in London in the early 1980s. Mustafa and Emer Kenny star as Albert and Natasha, the down-on-their-luck owners of a greasy spoon cafe. Their lives change when Albert's old mates, would-be gangster Phil Pocket (Chegwin) and washed-up boxer Mick Neville (Davis), meet up with Natasha's brother (Stamp), who claims they can steal up to £50,000 from the warehouse where he works. However, when they turn up for job, these small-time crooks end up making off with more than £30 million in gold bullion.
RTÉ Investigates: Domestic Abuse, a Year in Crisis
Monday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
The pandemic has seen a huge spike in emergency calls from people experiencing domestic abuse, as lockdown has made many women prisoners in their own homes and forced many to continue living with their abuser due to the shortage of spaces in refuges. This RTÉ Investigates special looks at how domestic abuse has spun out of control, as women endure coercive control, physical assault and, in some cases, femicide. The programme has been given access to refuges, and many of the survivors there will take the brave step of speaking publicly about their experience of abuse and the devastating impact it has had on their lives and their children's lives. To protect some identities, stories will feature ink flow animations by Irish illustrator Ann Kiernan.
No Return
Monday, ITV, 9pm
It’s a holidaymaker’s worst nightmare – being locked up in a foreign prison charged with a crime you did not commit. Sheridan Smith heads an impressive cast in this four-part drama about a family whose sun holiday in Turkey takes a dark turn. The Powell family – parents Kathy (Smith) and Martin (Michael Jibson) and teenagers Noah (Louis Ashbourne Serkis) and Jessica (Lily Sutcliffe) – are looking forward to winding down and relaxing by the pool, but their peace is cruelly shattered when Turkish police arrive at their hotel in the middle of the night and drag Noah off in handcuffs. With Noah facing a long spell in prison and their fellow holidaymakers unwilling to help them, the Powells must battle to prove their son’s innocence and get him back home.
Imagine – Marian Keyes: My (Not So) Perfect Life
Monday, BBC One, 9.35pm
Her best-selling novels are often described by the somewhat dismissive term “chick lit”, yet as her readers know, Marian Keyes has never shied away from difficult subjects, ranging from grief to domestic abuse. Many of her books have also drawn on her own experiences of alcohol addiction and depression, as well as growing up in a rowdy Irish Catholic family. Now, as she publishes her latest novel Again, Rachel, a sequel to Rachel’s Holiday (arguably the book that showed her work should not be judged by the pastel covers), Keyes talks to Alan Yentob about her own story.
60 Days with the Gypsies
Monday, Channel 4, 9pm
With proposed new British legislation giving police increased powers to move encampments on, explorer Ed Stafford spends two months living with Gypsies and Travellers to find out more about their way of life. In the resulting two-part documentary, he hopes to look beyond the stereotypes and offer a new insight into one of the UK's most private groups and the challenges they face. In the first instalment, Stafford heads to Chichester to spend time with a group of families who have set up camp on the side of a busy A-road next to a housing estate – and who are then evicted after just three days. In Cornwall, he learns why it's not unusual for children within the community to leave school at just 11, and has another experience of the cycle of eviction.
This Is Going to Hurt
Tuesday, BBC One, 9pm
You might want to cancel that next hospital appointment after watching the “tsunami of bodily fluids” in this series based on the bestselling memoir by former NHS doctor Adam Kay. Ben Whishaw stars as Adam, a harried junior doctor whose crippling workload is matched by his rather complicated personal life. Working 90-plus hours a week at the labour ward doesn’t leave Adam much time to spend with either his boyfriend Harry or his best friend Greg, and when he does get to hang out with his pals, it’s invariably rudely interrupted by a crisis at work. Kay’s 2017 book lifted the lid on the reality of working at the NHS. Whishaw describes the series as “an honest, hilarious, heartbreaking look at the great institution and the army of unsung heroes who work there under the most stressful conditions”. The series will have added resonance in the age of Covid as it highlights the huge sacrifices made by frontline health workers. Kay, is “beyond delighted to now be able to share my story with a far wider audience and make the viewers laugh, cry and vomit”.
Brit Awards 2022
Tuesday, ITV, 8pm
He first came to fame via his online videos, but now, Mo Gilligan is a mainstream star thanks to his appearances on The Big Narstie Show, Celebrity Gogglebox, The Masked Singer and Dancer and, of course, his own series, The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan. Always amusing with a quick wit, he's probably the ideal person to present this year's ceremony, which will be broadcast live from London's O2. For the first time, gendered categories will no longer be used, but categories for Alternative/Rock, Dance, Hip Hop/Rap/Grime and Pop/R&B return to the line-up. Adele, Dave, Ed Sheeran and Wolf Alice are among the nominees. Sheeran is also set to play live on the night, as are Liam Gallagher, Little Simz, Holly Humberstone and Doja Cat.
AstraZeneca: A Vaccine for the World
Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm
Last year AstraZeneca announced it planned to deliver up to three billion doses of its Covid-19 vaccine around the world by December 31st. That's an incredible achievement, particularly when you consider the date was just 18 months after it first partnered with the University of Oxford to develop and manufacture the vaccine. Fergus Walsh, who has been reporting on the vaccine from its earliest days, here examines whether or not AstraZeneca has fulfilled the hopes of the scientists who worked tirelessly to create it.
Cheaters
Tuesday, BBC One, 9.50pm
It's often been claimed that our attention spans are shortening, perhaps due to our devotion to flicking through stories on the internet. That idea has been reflected through some TV shows – we've had 15-minute episodes of Mandy and The Mind of Herbert Clunkerdunk to enjoy lately. Here's a new comedy-drama that has been made in so-called bitesize chunks lasting just 10 minutes each. It's a morality tale about two people whose brief affair looks set to haunt them forever. Joshua McGuire and Susan Wokoma star.
The Secret
Tuesday, TG4, 10.30pm
Welcome repeat of a 2016 ITV true-crime drama, set in Derry in 1991. The four episodes are based on the book Let This Be Our Secret, Belfast journalist Deric Henderson’s account of the double murder of Lesley Howell and Constable Trevor Buchanan, whose bodies were discovered in a fume-filled car in the garage of a property in Castlerock. James Nesbitt stars. The show was Bafta-nominated as Best Drama Miniseries.
Generation Dating
Wednesday, Virgin Media One, 9pm
It's not easy out there in the reality TV dating world. You've got to come up with new angles on the traditional dating show format. And even when you do, how can you be sure it won't be a turn-off for the viewers? Virgin ran a pilot episode of Generation Dating in 2020; the reaction from viewers and critics was so positive it commissioned an entire series. So, what's the lowdown? A young singleton is paired up with a lovelorn older person – but it's not what you think. Their job is to help each other navigate the dating scene, the younger one coming up with fresh insights, and the older one sharing their wisdom and experience. One has knowledge of traditional dating rituals; the other knows all the complexities of social media interaction. Can they pool their resources and land a double date?
Storyville: President
Wednesday, BBC Four, 10pm
When Robert Mugabe was ousted by his own party in 2017, Zimbabwe’s new leaders promised a democratic presidential election. Working to defeat the ruling party that has controlled Zimbabwe since independence is the young and charismatic Nelson Chamisa, who draws comparisons to a young Nelson Mandela. Against a backdrop of economic crisis, food shortages and political violence, the stakes could not be higher. And after decades of corrupt elites using any means necessary to retain power, can a free, fair, and transparent election be truly possible? Camilla Nielsson’s film brings viewers into the heart of Zimbabwe’s epic struggle for power.
First Dates: Valentine's
Thursday, Channel 4, 10pm
We're a few days away from Valentine's, but romance is already in the air – cue this special edition of the dating show. Fred Sirieix and the staff hope that Cupid's arrows hit their mark when Chris (35), who's had a run of bad luck including redundancy, divorce and a heart attack, is paired with veterinary nurse Kaz. Also appearing are 75-year-old twins Hazel and Brenda, retired nightclub singers who are keen to find blokes capable of keeping up with them. One strikes it lucky, but the other may be disappointed.
The Graham Norton Show
Friday, BBC One, 10.35pm
Oscar winners (and national treasures) Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent are on the show tonight. The pair will soon be seen on the big screen together in 1960s-set comedy crime drama The Duke, about a cabbie who is driven to art theft, and they'll be telling the presenter all about it. There's also chat from Golda Rosheuvel, who plays Queen Charlotte in hit Netflix romp Bridgerton (a role that Mirren also played in The Madness of King George), plus music from George Ezra.
ON DEMAND
The Pennines: Backbone of Britain
From Monday, More4
Stretching from Derbyshire to within touching distance of the Scottish borders, the Pennine range is as beautifully varied as it is long. This new series explores this magnificent upland range and meets the people who call it home. We begin in the Peak District National Park, as climber Andi Turner takes his friends Jesse and Molly Dufton up a route called Encouragement. At Ladybower reservoir, it's up to Richard Grainger to ensure the neighbouring rivers are well stocked with fish, and in Castleton's Blue John's Cavern, miner John Turner digs out the beautiful semi-precious gem.
Inventing Anna
From Friday, Netflix
When German heiress Anna Delvey arrived on the New York arty party scene, she was immediately embraced by the glitterati and accepted as one of their own. But in a world where you’ve got to fake it to make it, Delvey turned out not to be who she claimed to be. By the time she was exposed as a Russian-born con artist, she had already defrauded several hotels, banks and other institutions, and conned many of her new friends into giving her money. Julia Garner (Ozark) stars as Delvey in this series produced by Shondaland, based on a New York magazine article.
Cumasc: Seisiúin sa Black Gate
From Friday, TG4 Player
This music series blends gorgeous concert footage with intimate observational documentaries and interviews. A mix of emerging and established artists – both Irish and international – come together over 12 episodes to celebrate collaboration and creativity. Traditions and imaginations merge seamlessly, resulting in utterly captivating performances and stunning new music. Artist include Rhiannon Giddens, Liam Ó Maonlaí, Colm Mac Con Iomaire, David Kitt, Síomha, Peter Broderick, Junior Brother, Seamie O’Dowd, Daoirí Farrell, Anna Mullarkey, Arborist, John Blek, Inni-K, Jinx Lennon and The Mary Wallopers.
Bigbug
From Friday, Netflix
French director, producer and screenwriter Jean-Pierre Jeunet first became known in the 1990s thanks to Delicatessen and The City of Lost Children, and later Amelie and A Very Long Engagement. He's also the brains behind this sci-fi comedy set around 30 years in the future, a period by which artificial intelligence is everywhere. The story takes place in a quiet residential area where four domestic robots decide to take their owners hostage, forcing them into a kind of lockdown. Sadly, they find it difficult to get along...
Rooney
From Friday, Amazon Prime
Just a few weeks after the streaming giant offered up a profile of Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone comes this insight into the life and career of Wayne Rooney. At the moment, England's greatest goalscorer is working wonders in his first job as a manager at crisis club Derby County, despite operating on a limited budget. This documentary goes back to his early years while examining key moments in his development as a player and now coach. It charts his childhood in Croxteth, through his teenage years – much of which were spent in the spotlight after his meteoric rise to fame with Everton – through his spell with Manchester United and beyond. Among those interviewed are Rooney's wife, Coleen, as well as David Beckham, Gary Neville, David Moyes and Sven-Goran Eriksson.
Ice Cold Murders: Rocco Schiavone
From Friday, More4
Marco Giallini returns as foul-mouthed detective in the second series of the Italian crime drama. After Adele’s murder, Costa and Baldi interrogate Rocco to find out why Enzo Baiocchi tried to kill him, and Rocco narrates what led to the wreckage of his life. The year is 2007 and Rocco is living alone in Rome – his beloved partner, Marina, having moved out after learning the extent of his “shady deals”. He is tasked to investigate the murders of two middle-class boys who were entangled with a dangerous bunch of drug dealers.
Contributing: PA
