Invitation to a Royal Wedding
Monday, TV3, 9pm
It's getting close to the big day when Harry and Meghan walk the aisle at Windsor Castle, and the countdown to the May 19th ceremony begins with Invitation to a Royal Wedding, a behind-the-scenes look at all the preparation that goes into putting together the year's biggest event.
Presenters Trevor McDonald and Julie Etchingham look back at past royal weddings, and meet up with the florists, embroiderers, cake-makers whose creations are central to the occasion. These craftspeople must not only keep their work secret right up to the big day, they also have to deal with problems such as keeping Prince Harry's grubby paws off William and Kate's Rich Tea biscuit cake. The programme also takes a sneak peek inside St George's Chapel, where the ceremony will take place.
Can't Cope, Won't Cope
Monday, RTÉ Two, 9.30pm
It's episode two in the second series of Can't Cope, Won't Cope and Aisling (Seána Kerslake) and Danielle (Nika McGuigan) are not happy bunnies. Sure, they're getting their lives together, but they're also feeling the pinch of being apart, with Danielle living in Vancouver to pursue her arty dreams and Aisling settling into her new Dublin digs with her very odd landlord Lorraine (Sheila Moylette) and her new housemate – and mentor of sorts – Joe (Peter Campion). With Joe's help, Aisling starts to get her life back on track, but Danielle is feeling lost in Vancouver, and smothered by the PC atmosphere in the college. Is it time to say "feck it" and head home?
Elton John: I'm Still Standing, A Grammy Salute
Monday, ITV, 10.45pm
In January, Elton John announced he was planning an epic farewell tour before quitting the road. After spending the past 50 years either in bands or as a solo artist, you can forgive him for feeling it's time to put his feet up. However, he looks full of energy in this tribute to his long and hugely successful career, held at Madison Square Garden in New York shortly after the 2018 Grammys took place. Ed Sheeran, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Kesha, Sam Smith and Shawn Mendes are among those who performed on the night, offering their versions of some of Elton's best-loved songs. The man himself was in attendance, watching from the front row with his husband David Furnish, before taking to the stage to show the youngsters how it's done.
My F-ing Tourette's Family
Tuesday, C4, 9pm
One in 100 children have some form of Tourette's Syndrome – that is the same amount as children with autism. But despite it being relatively common condition, the general public know very little about it. For example, less than 10 per cent of people with Tourette's swear (that is known as coprolalia), and no two people with TS will have the same tics – each person is as different as every snowflake. This documentary should hopefully raise awareness and educate the public more about Tourette's, which was named after French physician Gilles De La Tourette and is an inherited neurological disorder five times more likely to affect males than females. Cameras follow Hayley and Richard Davies-Monk, and their sons Spencer, 13, and Lewis, nine. They're an Oxfordshire family who confront the daily challenges of living with the boys' uncontrollable physical and verbal "tics"' that can include inappropriate or taboo phrases.
The Hardest Harvest
Wednesday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
Next time you hear a farmer bellyaching about the lack of government grants or EU subsidies, pass their number on to the producers of The Hardest Harvest. A couple of weeks in the hardscrabble environment of southern Kenya will make them realise how good they have it, and appreciate how difficult life is for those working the arid land in sub-Saharan Africa.
The first of this three-part series sees Cork dairy farmer Paula Hynes leaving the comfort of her modern milking parlour to live with a remote Masai tribe who are trying to survive under the harshest conditions. Hynes has never ventured far from home, so being dropped into this harsh desert region is quite a culture shock, but she needs to get used to it quickly if she wants to help her hosts weather the drought which has struck the region. It sounds like a not-too-distant cousin of last year's Toughest Place to Be… series, and parts two and three will feature Jamie, a forester from Waterford, and "Big" John, a fisherman from Dublin, both of whom will have their skills and wits put to the test over two- and-a-half weeks living hand-to-mouth in one of the world's poorest regions.
Britain's Best Home Cook
Thursday, BBC One, 8pm
Bake Off may have absconded to Channel 4, but the queen of home cooking, Mary Berry, is back on the Beeb for this new cookery contest in which 10 home chefs go head-to-head, utilising everything but the kitchen sink in their bid to be crowned Britain's best home cook. The ingredients they'll need are: flair, skill, creativity, inventiveness, personality – and nerves of tempered steel. Claudia Winkleman is the presenter, and Berry heads a judging panel that features produce expert Chris Bavin and chef Dan Doherty. For the first challenge, the cooks will have to use their imaginations to come up with the ultimate burger – failure to impress the judging panel could result in them getting flipped out of the contest.
Turf Life
Friday, RTÉ One, 8.30pm
Ireland's boglands are a vital resource, a haven for a variety of flora and fauna, and a natural habitat that helps prevent flooding and can even counteract the adverse effects of climate change. But Ireland's bogs are under threat from millennia of exploitation, and Turf Life, made in conjunction with Bord na Móna, looks at efforts to restore them to their former glory. This is no bog-standard documentary – presenters Derek Mooney and Sinead Kennedy head to Lough Borra Bog in Co Offaly to see the efforts being made to bring our boglands back from the brink. – Additional reporting: PA
