The Den
Sunday, RTÉ One, 6:30pm
No, it's not a hoax dreamed up by Dustin the Turkey – the Den really is returning to our screens 33 years after it started, reuniting the old gang (Zig and Zag, Socky, Dustin and Ray D'Arcy) and reuniting mums and dads with their younger selves. "We're there for the boys and girls and parents and inviting them to do all the things they used to, and more," says Mr D'Arcy. "People out there need a bit of mayhem, madness and boldness, and that's what we hope to deliver." The show was a staple of afterschool TV from 1986 right through to 2005. It also had a strange attraction for students, who would gather round the beer bong and enjoy the madcap antics. Ray, of course, hasn't aged a day since he first presented the show 30 years ago, but we fear the turkey and the brothers from planet Zog might be a little musty-looking after all those years in a box in the Montrose attic. Never mind: a quick squirt of Febreze, and these little puppetty rascals will be as good as new and making with fart jokes to beat the band.
His Dark Materials
Sunday, BBC1, 8.10pm
Is it really only a year ago that we first met Lyra in the debut series of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy? Lord Asriel has now opened a bridge to the new world. Lyra, still reeling from the death of her best friend Roger, follows him into the unknown. While exploring a strange and mysterious city, she meets Will, a boy from our universe who is desperately trying to escape from a troubled past. It soon becomes clear that Will and Lyra’s destinies are entwined, but their efforts to find Will’s father may be thwarted by an impending war. Meanwhile, Mrs Coulter becomes increasingly determined to bring Lyra home by fair means or foul. Dafne Keen, James McAvoy and Ruth Wilson reprise their roles, while Terence Stamp joins the cast.
I'm a Celebrity – A Jungle Story
Sunday, Virgin One, 8.10pm
It's 18 years since the first series of celebrity jungle adventures aired. Ant and Dec were, of course, in charge of proceedings, looking on as the likes of eventual winner Tony Blackburn faced numerous challenges. Since then the likes of Christopher Biggins, Stacey Solomon, Scarlett Moffatt, Harry Redknapp and reigning Queen of the Jungle Jacqueline Jossa have all made their mark. The 20th series is due to get under way next week; ahead of that here's a chance to see past memorable moments. If Wayne Sleep traversing a "rat run" while wearing a hat made of waffles doesn't make the cut, we'll be very disappointed indeed.
Réalta agus Gaolta
Sunday, TG4, 8.30pm
The search for Ireland's most talented family begins. TG4 has put out the call for singing, dancing and musical families to offer will compete against each other, all vying to be crowned Ireland's top performing family. Judging are Irial Ó Ceallaigh, champion sean-nós singer, and Sinéad Ní Uallacháin, broadcaster and producer. Each week they'll be joined by a guest judge from the world of showbiz. This week it's Queen of Connemara and sean nós singer extraordinaire Caitríona Ní Cheannabháin. Hosted by Eoghan McDermott.
Cornwall with Simon Reeve
Sunday, BBC2, 8.10pm
The always-chirpy TV presenter made his name exploring far-flung places, including the Caribbean, Colombia, Russia and Myanmar. But now, as a global pandemic continues to wreak havoc, he's staying rather closer to home. Reeve lives in Devon, so it was easy for him to nip over the border into Cornwall to take in some of the county's sights and sounds. And it is not the only series he's fronting in the coming months. He recently appeared in Michael Palin's Travels of a Lifetime, discussing the former Monty Python member's epic journeys; Reeve has been granted a similar show of his own, in which he remembers his own televised trips.
The Trials of Oscar Pistorius
Sunday, BBC2, 9.10pm
Oscar Pistorius was once the most famous amputee on the planet; nicknamed the blade runner for his exploits on the track, he broke new ground for disabled athletes by becoming the first amputee to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships before taking part in the 2012 Olympics. But on Valentine’s Day 2013, Pistorius’s life imploded when he shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in his Pretoria home. He claimed he’d mistaken her for an intruder, but was eventually convicted of murder. This fascinating four-part documentary examines the case in detail.
An Teach Seo Againne
Monday, RTÉ One, 7pm
Four single parents and co-parents navigate family life and face the tough realities of bringing up their children in this documentary. Audiences will relate to the relentless mini-battles as they deal with manic weekly schedules, school runs, endless baskets of laundry, dancing classes, juggling finances, holding down careers and home-schooling – all in the middle of a global pandemic. Across the four episodes we will meet four diverse families linked by the common thread of raising children outside the nuclear family. The rapport that the parents have with their children shines through, alongside the support network of grandparents and friends who enrich the lives of the children. Filmed over the course of a year, the families in An Teach Seo Againne display the shared traits of strength, determination, grit and ultimately an unwavering devotion to each other.
Nigella: Cook, Eat, Repeat
Monday, BBC2, 8pm
It’s getting colder, the nights are getting darker and a lot of us are facing the prospect of more hours indoors for reasons unrelated to the season. So it seems like the perfect time for comfort food. And few celebrity chefs make food seem as comforting as Nigella Lawson. In this new series she will explore how food is woven into our everyday lives and the sense of connection it can provide – while whipping up some delicious dishes. Lawson begins by sharing a recipe she heard about on Twitter, which mixes familiar ingredients in an unexpected way. She also offers her take on the Indian dish of bhorta and raids her larder for spicy fermented gochujang chilli paste to add to slow-cooked lamb shanks.
My Family, the Holocaust & Me
Monday, BBC1, 9pm
2020 marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. There are fewer and fewer survivors left to tell their stories of the Holocaust, but as Robert Rinder points out in his two-part documentary, the trauma continues to affect subsequent generations. Rinder explores what it means to be the children and grandchildren of Shoah victims and survivors, and explores his own family's history. In the opening episode, he meets Bernie Graham, who remembers his grandfather blaming his missing eye on the Nazis but never knew exactly what happened. Now though, he's travelling to Germany to learn the full story. Meanwhile, sisters Natalie and Louisa Clein know their Dutch-Jewish grandparents survived, but want to find out more about their great-aunt Els, who didn't.
Berlin 1945
Monday-Wednesday, BBC4, 10pm
On May 2nd, 1945, after one of the most intense battles in human history, the guns stopped firing among the ruins of Berlin. According to veterans, the silence that followed was deafening. Less than four years after his attack on the Soviet Union, Hitler's self-proclaimed thousand-year Reich had ceased to exist and the Führer was dead. However, the human cost of the battle for Berlin had been enormous. This three-part documentary chronicles the city's most fateful year, through the eyes who lived it. We start at the beginning of 1945, with Berlin under the spell of the Nazi promise of salvation, an illusion at odds with bombing raids, fires and corpses.
Future Island
Tuesday-Thursday, RTE One, 7pm
Liz Bonnin explores the scientific innovations that will shape Ireland over the next several years, and looks at how Irish people can actively take part in steering the country towards a brighter, healthier, more sustainable future. This is a homecoming of sorts for Bonnin, who has been presenting science-based shows for the BBC over the past number of years. Here, she’ll be joined by Prof Luke O’Neill from the School of Biochemistry and Immunology at Trinity College – something of a celebrity himself in recent months with his sound advice on living with coronavirus – and scientist Phil Smyth, best known from Weather Live and Home School Hub. Broadcasting live from Explorium, the National Sport and Science Centre in south Dublin across three consecutive nights, and featuring such guests as astronaut Chris Hadfield, comedian and science writer Dara Ó Briain, and scientist Cara Augustenborg, Bonnin and the team will look into the crystal ball to see how science can spark a better future for us all in tomorrow’s world.
MasterChef: The Professionals
Tuesday, BBC1, 9pm
Over the next six weeks 32 professional chefs will battle it out to wow judges Marcus Wareing, Monica Galetti, and Gregg Wallace, and in the opening episode we meet the first four challengers. They will be facing the infamous skills test, as they are asked to produce mushroom tortellini with a mushroom duxelles and a sauce of choice in just 25 minutes, before demonstrating their fish-filleting abilities with a devilled butterflied mackerel with herb-flavoured mayo and a cucumber and fennel salad. If they do make any mistakes, they get a chance to redeem themselves when they deliver their Signature Dish.
Industry
Tuesday, BBC2, 9.15pm
According to Lena Dunham, the writer-director behind the acclaimed (if hugely divisive) US series Girls, this new eight-part drama is a cross between Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street and the American soap Melrose Place. Dunham clearly meant it as a compliment – she’s one of the executive producers and directed the opening episode. It’s also easy to see what she means. The series follows a group of young graduates competing against each other for a limited set of permanent positions at a top London investment bank. In the opening episode, the five grads get ready to make their mark on Pierpoint. Sadly, it quickly becomes clear that for one of them it’s all going to be a bit too much.
Naked Attraction
Tuesday, Channel 4, 10.20pm
The dating show that dares to bare is back for a new series, as Anna Richardson meets a man who is truly throwing himself in at the deep end, 23-year-old Brian from Kent. Although he's experienced when it comes to wine, classical music and culture, he's still a virgin. Will being faced with six naked women prove a little overwhelming? Then, 27-year-old Shaida is under pressure from her family to settle down, so she's hoping to find a man who looks well equipped to provide her with a baby by the time she's 30.
Great Art
Tuesday, ITV, 10.45pm
Vincent Van Gogh never visited Japan, yet the country had a profound influence on the man and his art – he would even write to his brother Theo that he envied the Japanese. Inspired by the exhibition Van Gogh & Japan at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, this documentary explores how Japanese art arrived in Paris in the 19th-century and the profound impact it had on artists including Monet and Degas. For Van Gogh, the artworks would lead to a whole new direction for his work, as he began to define himself as a modern artist with clear Asian precursors.
De Gaulle in Éirinn
Wednesday, TG4, 9.30pm
In April 1969, just after he resigned as France’s president, Gen Charles de Gaulle visited Ireland on holiday, hoping to get some peace and quiet away from the cut and thrust of French politics. He headed for Sneem, Co Kerry, but was followed there by the world’s paparazzi, ensuring that the visit became international news. This documentary, narrated by Doireann Ní Bhriain and broadcast on the 50th anniversary of de Gaulle’s death, revisits this remarkable Irish visit, digging up some incredible archive footage, including a meeting between de Gaulle and Irish president Éamon de Valera at Áras an Uachtaráin. The French leader wasn’t merely seeking solitude – he was fascinated by Daniel O’Connell, whose ancestral home of Derrynane is close to Sneem. But there was still another, even more personal motivation for de Gaulle’s Irish trip, which is revealed in the documentary.
Scannal: Irish Hospital Sweepstakes
Wednesday, TG4, 8.30pm
Scannal looks back at the Irish Hospital Sweepstakes, the most famous horseracing-based lottery in the world. The lottery, set up in 1930 to fund and refurbish Irish hospitals, was legal in Ireland at the time but illegal in most other jurisdictions. In the Sweeps' heyday, tickets were illegally sold in more than 170 countries, raking in millions upon millions of pounds. The founders made millions while a paltry 10 per cent of the takings was given over to fund Irish hospitals
The Repair Shop
Wednesday, BBC1, 8pm
It's gentle, moving and never fails to generate a smile. Yes, The Repair Shop is back. Fans of the show gather on social media to discuss each episode in detail, reveal their own restoration projects, and chat about the craftspeople who breathe new life into much-cherished but dilapidated items. They'll be thrilled to see that, after repeats and a daytime run, it's back for a new primetime series. It gets underway as all-round genius Steve Fletcher sets to work on an army-issued box kite, while silversmith Brenton West learns of a crucifix's unusual past, a Victorian curiosity comes to the attention of toy enthusiast David Burville, and Dominic Chinea deals with a miniature bicycle.
12 Puppies and Us
Wednesday, BBC2, 8pm
A couple of years ago, the Beeb broadcast 10 Puppies and Us, in which proud owners discussed the trials, tribulations and, of course, the pleasures of owning a cute-as-a-button pup. Now the show is back, this time with a new batch of baby dog parents. The programme's makers shouldn't have had any difficulty in finding volunteers, as more people than ever before have adopted or bought dogs responsibly during lockdown. As well as learning about the pooches' bad habits and training regimes, there'll also be a chance to catch up with those who appeared in the previous series.
The Booker Prize 2020
Thursday, BBC2, 7.30pm
Throughout this year, author Hilary Mantel had been tipped for a record third Booker Prize win for her historical novel The Mirror and the Light, after the first two titles in her Thomas Cromwell trilogy (Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies) both won. But Mantel was overlooked when the shortlist was announced in September, leaving four debut novels in the running for the UK’s most prestigious literary award. In this programme, novelist and activist Kit de Waal looks at the nominated writers – Diane Cook, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Avni Doshi, Maaza Mengiste, Douglas Stuart and Brandon Taylor – ahead of the announcement of the winner next Tuesday. She also talks to last year’s joint-winner Bernadine Evaristo.
The Live Lounge Show with Miley Cyrus, Little Mix and Jorja Smith
Friday, BBC4, 7pm
Clara Amfo peeks behind the scenes of Radio 1's Live Lounge, the twice-weekly feature attracting an array of some of the biggest and best pop artists on the planet. Tonight's show features a performance from American singer-songwriter Miley Cyrus who, having sold 100 million records worldwide, is already one of the best-selling artists of all time. Plus there is also footage of girl band Little Mix, aka Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson; and Jorja Smith, the Walsall-born singer-songwriter who was named Best British Female Artist at the 2019 Brit Awards.
ON DEMAND
The Life Ahead
From Friday, Netflix
It’s six years since film icon Sophia Loren acted on screen in the short La Voce Umana. But now she’s back at the age of 86, playing a Holocaust survivor in a drama co-written and directed by her youngest son, Edoardo Ponti, and based on Romain Gary’s novel The Life Before Us. Loren’s Madame Rosa runs a daycare business and decides to take 12-year-old street kid Momo under her wing, despite the fact he recently robbed her. The mismatched pair find solace in each other’s company, becoming an unconventional family unit in the process. Loren sparkles here; let’s hope she’s back on screen sooner rather than later.
Marvel's Agents Of SHIELD
From Friday, Disney +
It’s the seventh and final season of this action series set in the Marvel universe. So presumably we’ll learn if the world as we know it is going to end – or will the dream team from the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistic Division (SHIELD) save the day? The series follows the agents as they attempt to keep the peace in a world disrupted by superheroes and super-villians and – even trickier – maintain plot continuity with the MCU movies. Season seven sees the team thrust back into New York City in 1931, where they’ll have to fix all sorts of rifts in time to prevent armageddon. But the team is tortured by existential questions, including: is the world even worth saving?
Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds
From Friday, Apple TV+
Werner Herzog takes viewers on a magical meteor mystery tour. The German director, writer and actor has never shied away from a subject, resulting in an eclectic and intriguing CV. Among his career highlights are Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Fitzcarraldo, Grizzly Man and the Oscar-nominated Encounters at the End of the World. Most recently he's popped up in Disney+'s The Mandolorian, but returns to directing for his latest project. Here he discusses meteorites, a topic he clearly loves. Early on he's seen visiting Australia's Wolf Creek Crater, the site of a massive meteor impact before discussing the Black Stone in Mecca and showing some extraordinary real-life footage that looks like something out of a sci-fi movie.
Contributing: PA
