The Late Late Show London special
Friday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
Ryan Tubridy will address his biggest ever studio audience as he broadcasts live from Westminster in central London. Graham Norton, Brendan O'Carroll, Nigel Farage, Alastair Campbell, Laura Whitmore, Angela Scanlon, Mick McCarthy, Eamonn Holmes, Imelda May and Barry McGuigan are among those taking part in The Late Late's London special.
The show, billed as “a celebration of the Irish in Britain and their contribution to their adopted country” will be broadcast live from Central Hall, Westminster. A key focus of the programme will be Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage will represent the pro-Brexit point of view along with economist and Irish citizen Liam Halligan. Alastair Campbell, the former Labour Party spin doctor, and Baroness Dee Doocey, a Dublin-born Liberal Democrat, will put forward their reasons for wanting to remain in the EU.
The show will also talk to Irish emigrants to Britain, from ordinary citizens to Irish stars of British TV, music and sport. Graham Norton will discuss his new book and getting to the top of British TV. Brendan O’Carroll, Angela Scanlon, Eamonn Holmes, and Laura Whitmore will talk about their experiences in Britain’s entertainment industry. Former Irish footballer and manager Mick McCarthy will be on the show, along with one-time world champion boxer Barry McGuigan.
Musicians Imelda May and Finbar Furey will share their stories of crossing the water to make it in the British music scene, and the Late Late will also create "the Irish céilí supergroup to end all Irish céilí supergroups". It will feature Andrea and Caroline Corr, The Chieftains' Paddy Moloney, The Dubliners' John Sheahan, Clannad's Moya Brennan and John Spillane, in "a very special performance".
Would I Lie to You?
Friday, BBC1, 9.30pm
WILTY is back for a 12th run, with host Rob Brydon and captains Lee Mack and David Mitchell are present and correct. And fans are in for a treat as comedy legend Bob Mortimer graces the studio with his presence. For the first of the new series, Rob, Lee, David and Bob are joined by footballer-turned-property expert Dion Dublin, comedian/writer Lucy Porter, and Debbie McGee.
The Last Leg
Friday, Channel 4, 10pm
Is it okay for an irate hotelier to hit a Spanish waiter, thrash a car with a branch and send up religions? Well, John Cleese has done it all in his time, in Fawlty Towers, the Monty Python projects and countless other films and TV shows. Cleese joins Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker for the first of the new run. As ever, the regulars will poke fun at the world news, and no doubt assess what the most controversial US president in living memory has been up to, as well as wondering what state the UK will be in after Brexit.
Beats, Bass and Bars: The Story of Grime
Friday, BBC4, 10pm
The latest compelling doc from BBC4 examines grime (that’s a form of dance music influenced by UK garage, in case you’re wondering). Rapper Rodney P looks at its rise from east London’s council estates to its status as one of the most important British musical movements since punk. Its success stems from the original styles and contributions of previous generations of artists. Our host discovers that grime can only really be understood when seen as part of a broader social narrative and ever-evolving musical culture that goes back to the 1980s.
The Graham Norton Show
Friday, BBC1, 10.35pm
Graham's guests tonight are Oscar-nominated Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) and Fifty Shades actor Jamie Dornan, who star together in the new biopic A Private War, about the late combat journalist Marie Colvin. Also on the programme are veteran comedian, actor and writer Whoopi Goldberg and singer/actor Harry Connick Jr. And with music from South Korean boyband BTS, who perform Idol.
The Ray D'Arcy Show
Saturday, RTÉ2, 9.55pm
Samantha Markle (Meghan Markle's half-sister) tells Ray about growing up with the future Duchess of Sussex, how a rift grew between them, and why she went to Kensington Palace last week. In addition, author Louise O'Neill describes the excitiement of seeing the stage adaptation of her novel Asking for It at the Abbey next month, as well as why she has no immediate plans to leave her home town of Clonakilty. And it's been a great year for Dancing with the Stars winner Jake Carter, who talks about finding love with pro dancer Karen Byrne and his debut Dublin show in Vicar Street next month. He will also perform his new single, 2018.
Black Hollywood: “They’ve Gotta Have Us”
Saturday, BBC2, 9pm
When Moonlight was named Best Picture at the 2017 Oscars, it was a historic moment – the first film with an all-black cast to take the prize. It has since become a symbol for black cinema as well as the starting point for this new three-part series which looks at how black actors and film-makers have gone from being sidelined to wielding real power in Hollywood. In the opening episode, Harry Belafonte (91, who was recently seen in Spike Lee's BlacKkKlasman), Earl Cameron (101) and Diahann Carroll (83) talk about their experiences as pioneers in a white world.
Hostages of the SS
Saturday, RTÉ2, 8.25pm
This documentary portrays the dramatic liberation of "special prisoners" of the Nazi regime, who were forced to the Alps and saved as bargaining chips for the Allies. Among them were aristocrats, politicians, industrialists and their families. The last weeks of the war were unforgettable for everyone, but particularly for those who were involved in this traumatic story.
Who Do You Think You Are?
Sunday, RTÉ One, 9.30pm
In the last show in the current series, Line of Duty star Adrian Dunbar traces his roots, including a Singapore-born grandfather who was a ceremonial drummer boy for Queen Victoria and an uncle who fought with Franco's forces in the Spanish Civil War. Dunbar's family history reveals a long line of Catholic tradespeople who found themselves ghettoised in the predominantly Protestant town of Portadown when partition was introduced in 1921. Adrian himself moved from Enniskillen to Portadown when he was 10 as the Troubles broke out. He visits the town and reflects on the parallels between his own life and that of his ancestors.
Butterfly
Sunday, UTV, 9pm
Anna Friel, Amy Huberman, Alison Steadman and Sean McGinley star in this three-part drama about the challenges of separated parenthood. Vicky and Stephen are no longer together – it's complicated. Their youngest child, Max, is approaching puberty – and it's even more complicated. Max identifies as a girl and is ready to make the transition to Maxine, but are Vicky and Stephen ready for this? Neither can agree on the best way to deal with Maxine's feelings or their own, and when Stephen moves back into the family home in the hope of bringing a male influence to bear, he faces a serious challenge to his fundamental family values, while Vicky struggles to protect Maxine's mental wellbeing.
Additional reporting: PA
