Pick of the week
The Great British Bake Off
Tuesday, Channel 4, 8pm
Let’s face it, Britain is not so great any more. Its empire has collapsed like a badly made soufflé, Brexit has been a dog’s dinner, and prime ministers wilt faster than a head of lettuce. But there’s still one thing Britain can hold up to the world as a symbol of its enduring power, and that is of course The Great British Bake Off. It’s sugar-rush telly at its finest as amateur bakers compete to create the perfect pastry confection, and the new series promises more tasty treats on screen for our vicarious delectation and delight. Presenters Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond will welcome a brand new crew of confectioners into the Bake Off tent, while judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith will cast expert eyes – and taste buds – over the contestants’ creations. Hundreds and thousands of Bake Off fans breathed a sigh of relief as rumours of Leith leaving the show proved to be untrue – although she is planning to give the celebrity version of the show a miss: “Honestly, you get no time off.” Let the baking battle begin.
Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing
Sunday, BBC2, 9pm
Why are so many surrealist comedians now presenting genteel programmes with a pastoral twist? Avant garde a clue, but it’s good to see Noel Fielding fronting Bake Off, Vic Reeves painting birds on Sky TV and Bob Mortimer back by the water with his mate Paul Whitehouse for a seventh series of Gone Fishing. The piscatorial pair set off once again with their tackle to find the perfect fishing spot, where they can spend the day having a good old chinwag about life, the universe and fly tying. It’s simple, funny and life-affirming. In the first episode, Bob and Paul head to Norfolk to fish for tench in the hidden gem of Rocklands Mere.
Tom Jones
Sunday, UTV, 10.20pm
Solly McLeod stars as the titular hero of this new adaptation of the comic novel by Henry Fielding, with Sophie Wilde as Sophia Western and Hannah Waddingham as the scheming, seductive Lady Bellasto. Tom is a poor boy of uncertain parentage; Sophia is the rich girl in the stately home next door who he falls in love with. But the course of true love etc, and Tom soon finds himself in London, where temptations of the flesh abound. The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling caused a bit of a ruckus in polite society when it was first published in 1749, but the main criticism of this series is the lack of sexual chemistry between the two leads.
House of the Year
Monday, BBC1, 8pm
The search is on to find Northern Ireland’s finest home in this new six-part property series, and leading the hunt is TV star and design expert Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. What’s he looking for in a home? Not just your usual glass box on a cliff, he says, but a home where the owners have poured in their hearts and souls. Joining Llewelyn-Bowen in his quest are architect Jane Larmour, interior designer James Fairley and Belfast interiors boutique owner Patricia McGinnis. They’ll visit 15 houses around the North over the series, narrowing the list down to five finalists who will compete to be crowned House of the Year. First up is a bohemian bungalow in Lisburn, a family home in the Belfast Hills with a mix of upcycled and vintage decor, and a restored 19th-century villa in Holywood, Co Down.
Rebus
Tuesday, RTÉ2, 10.15pm
There’s a new John Rebus in town, and this one is younger but no less damaged than previous incarnations of Ian Rankin’s popular Edinburgh detective. Outlander star Richard Rankin (no relation) follows John Hannah and Ken Stott into the Rebus role, and this new series plays fast and loose with the original novels, reimagining themes, characters and storylines to create something darker and less predictable. Rebus is even more conflicted and volatile than ever, and as he and his new colleague, detective Siobhan Clarke (Lucie Shorthouse), investigate a street attack, and Rebus has to deal with his ex-wife’s stinking-rich new husband, it soon becomes clear to him that the widening wealth gap in the city is leaving a huge opening for serious crime.
Ludwig
Wednesday, BBC1, 9pm
Peep Show star David Mitchell is the super-smart but reclusive John Taylor, who is forced to come out of his comfort zone when his identical twin brother James mysteriously disappears. John is happily unmarried, living alone with no technology, and making a living from designing puzzles under the pseudonym Ludwig; James is a top detective heading up the major crimes unit in Cambridge, and a dedicated family man. When James suddenly goes missing, John is persuaded by his sister-in-law Lucy (Anna Maxwell Martin) to assume his brother’s identity and join the investigations team in order to unravel the mystery. He also has to move in with Lucy and her family to keep up the subterfuge – can Ludwig crack the code before his cover is inevitably blown?
Surviving October 7th: We Will Dance Again
Thursday, BBC2, 9pm
Nearly a year into the devastating war in Gaza, this Storyville documentary film brings us back to the terrible events of October 7th, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, sparking this latest cycle of devastating violence. The 90-minute film, directed by Yariv Mozer, documents the massacre of young partygoers at the Nova music festival in the Negev desert, with testimony from survivors of the atrocity, recordings of emergency calls during the attack, and harrowing footage from mobile phones, CCTV, dashcams and even Hamas’s own live-streamed footage on GoPro.
Brassic
Thursday 26, Sky Max & Now, 10pm
The gang’s (almost) all back for a sixth series of wild misadventures, but things have changed drastically for Vinnie, Erin and the crew since their dealings with drug lord Manolito. Now these offenders are realising they’re not so young any more, and they may have to do the one thing they fear more than any ruthless gangland boss: they may have to grow up. Joe Gilgun returns as leader of the pack Vinnie O’Neill, with Michelle Keegan as Erin Croft, who’s looking for a better life for her and her son Tyler – not easy to do when you’re still completely brassic (broke).
The Graham Norton Show
Friday, BBC1, 10.40pm
Fresh from the publication of his latest novel, Frankie, Graham Norton is back on our screens, interviewing a new batch of A-listers on the red sofa, and hearing tall tales from regular folk on the big red chair. There’s a definite Gotham City theme to his first show of the new season: among the guests is Irish actor Colin Farrell, star of the new HBO series The Penguin, and Lady Gaga, who plays Harley Quinn opposite Joaquin Phoenix in Joker: Folie à Deux. Demi Moore will be making her first-ever appearance on the red sofa, plugging her audacious new body horror movie The Substance, and Richard Ayoade will discuss his latest book, The Unfinished Harauld Hughes.
Streaming
Evolution of the Black Quarterback
From September 24th, Prime Video
Retired NFL quarterback Michael Vick takes a trip across the US to learn about the black quarterbacks who have influenced the game throughout its history. It’s a celebration of how far black sportspeople have come over the years, from having to fight to get a place on the football team to playing a central role in their team’s league success. Vick meets such American football legends as Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Cam Newton, Dak Prescott, Russell Wilson and Warren Moon, and stars such as Common, Larry Wilmore, Steve Young and Jamie Foxx add their five cents’ worth.
Midnight Family
From September 25th, Apple TV+
Meet the Tamayos, a superhero family with a difference. Each night Marigaby Tamayo heads out into Mexico City with her father, Ramon; and her siblings, Marcus and Julito, on a mission to save lives in a city where emergency services are woefully inadequate for a population of 10 million. Marigaby is a medical student by day, but at night she works as a paramedic, traversing the sprawling metropolis in the family-owned private ambulance and responding to extreme emergencies – but will her gruelling schedule lead to burnout or – worse – endangering lives? This Spanish-language drama series is based on the true-life documentary about an extraordinary family of nocturnal medics.
Nobody Wants This
From September 26th, Netflix
Sounds like something a TV exec might have said when pitched yet another warm-hearted comedy series about a well-meaning but mismatched couple. Nobody Wants This stars Kristen Bell and Adam Brody as Joanne and Noah, who find romance despite being from very different backgrounds. She’s outspoken, provocative and nonreligious; he’s a nice Jewish boy with an aversion to risk-taking – or doing anything out of the ordinary. Can this unlikely pairing find true happiness? We’ll probably never find out, as sitcoms depend on unresolved issues for their very existence. The series co-stars Justine Lupe as Joanne’s charming, quick-witted and sharp-tongued sister Morgan, and Timothy Simons as Noah’s eccentric and super-confident older brother Sasha.
