Happy Valley
Tuesday, BBC One, 9pm
It starts with a seemingly straightforward case of sheep rustling, but soon escalates into a full-blown murder investigation, with a suspected serial killer on the loose. Sarah Lancaster returns as police sergeant Catherine Cawood in the second series of Happy Valley, set in the badlands of west Yorkshire. The first series garnered huge acclaim, particularly for Lancashire's central performance as the cop coming to terms with her daughter's suicide. Aye, we've come a long way from Coronation Street, lass.
Professor Green: Hidden And Homeless
Tuesday, BBC Three, 9pm
Following on from his excellent documentary last year about suicide, rapper and songwriter Professor Green - aka Stephen Manderson - returns for this one-off documentary looking at youth homelessness in the UK. On the streets of Manchester, where rough sleeping doubled in the last year, Green meets a 21-year-old man who has already fallen through the cracks in the system.
Gineadóir an Stáit
Tuesday, TG4, 9.30pm
In 1925, shortly after the formation of the Irish Free State, Ireland's first taoiseach initiated an ambitious project to bring electricity to the masses. Like Pharaoh sending his army to build the pyramids, WT Cosgrave dispatched 5,000 workers to Ardnacrusha, Co Clare, to begin the massive Shannon Hydroelectric Scheme. It cost the government 20 per cent of its annual budget to build but, four years later, the Ardnacrusha Power Station was opened, and it still supplies electricity to the region.
Gineadóir an Stáit tells the story of Ireland’s electricity revolution, with appearances from historian Mick McCarthy, art historian Dr Éimear O’Connor and former Green Party leader Trevor Sargent.
The Restaurant
Wednesday, TV3, 9pm
You're booked in for a meal in Marco Pierre White's Courtyard restaurant in Donnybrook. But when you arrive at your table, you are informed that Marco is not your chef. Instead, your dinner will be cooked by a mystery celebrity, so you have to either like it or lump it. Yes, it's the new series of The Restaurant in a new venue, but the idea is still the same. Each week a different celeb goes into the kitchen and cooks up a menu for Marco's customers and a panel of judges. The celeb's identity is revealed (this week it's Mrs Brown's Boys star Rory Cowan) only after dessert is served, by which time it's too late to ask for your money back.
1916
Wednesday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
So, Rebellion has ended, and gone out with less of a bang than RTÉ would have liked, though some of us will miss its big patriotic heart. Never mind: RTÉ has plenty more 1916-related programming in store for us.
In fact, it seems Rebellion was merely a little light drama, a warm-up for the big, heavyweight headliner, 1916. This three-part documentary probably won't face accusations of historical inaccuracy. It is written and produced by Briona Nic Dhiarmada, a professor of Irish studies at the University of Notre Dame, and features contributions from such respected names as Declan Kiberd, Joe Lee, Catriona Crowe, Ronan Fanning and Margaret O'Callaghan. I can feel my inner swot just dying to break out.
1916 looks at how the Rising not only changed Ireland utterly, but how its ideological force was felt around the world, and how its ripple effect led to the eventual dissolution of the British Empire. It also looks at the part played by the US in the lead-up to the Easter Rising.
The producers are going all out with this one, recruiting Liam Neeson to handle the narration, composer Patrick Cassidy to create an original score (performed by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra), and Sibéal Ní Chasaide to sing the haunting theme Mise Éire (penned by Patrick Pearse).
1916 will also air in the US on PBS, and in Britain on BBC4, and will be edited into a feature film to be screened at embassies around the world on St Patrick's Day. There will also be an accompanying book, with foreword by Mary McAleese. I think they're stopping short of action figures.
