Our Changing Planet
Sunday, BBC One, 7pm
Liz Bonnin is one of a crack scientific team travelling the world on a fact-finding mission to see just what’s going on with our environment, and to find out how climate change is causing havoc and threatening our existence. This is year two of the project and in this first episode Bonnin will be making a return visit to California to find out how local authorities are coming up with radical solutions for the wildfires which have become an annual catastrophe, costing the state government billions over the past five years.
The Hunt for Raoul Moat
Sunday, Monday & Tuesday, UTV, 9pm
In 2010 one of Britain’s biggest manhunts took place after former bouncer Raoul Moat, recently released from prison, shot his ex-girlfriend Samantha Stobbart and her new boyfriend Christopher Brown, killing Brown and leaving Stobbart with life-changing injuries. This three-part series, running over three consecutive nights, follows the weeklong hunt for Moat, as police deployed sniper teams, dogs, helicopters and armoured vehicles to neutralise this public threat. Lee Ingleby stars as the cop in charge of the hunt, with Matt Stokoe as Moat.
Am I Here?
Monday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
In this hard-hitting documentary, a diverse group of homeless people tell their own harrowing tale, reflecting on the realities of homelessness, and sharing the same fervent wish to escape the streets and find a better life for themselves. The programme follows a year on the streets of Dublin, at a time when homelessness has reached unprecedented levels, and among the people featured are John Costello from Listowel, Co Kerry, who says: “I’m unhappy, I’m miserable, I want my life back.”
Barry
Monday, Sky Comedy & Now, 9.40pm
Bill Hader returns for one last season as depressed hitman Barry Berkman, whose ambitions to become an actor are somewhat hampered by his main job of being a mentally unstable killer for hire. Hader co-created this dark comedy, which has already won nine Emmy awards, and his co-stars include Henry Winkler as acting coach Gene Cousineau, and Sarah Goldberg as aspiring actor Sally Reed. The final season opens with Barry in custody after being arrested by a Swat team, but we’re in no doubt that Barry will be out again and pursuing his thespian dreams right to the violent climax.
Beauty & the Beast review: On the way home, younger audience members re-enact scenes. There’s no higher recommendation
Matt Cooper: I’m an only child. I’ve always been conscious of not having brothers or sisters
A Dublin scam: After more than 10 years in New York, nothing like this had ever happened to me
Patrick Freyne: I am becoming a demotivational speaker – let’s all have an averagely productive December
Strike – Lethal White
Tuesday, RTÉ One, 10.15pm
Here’s another chance to catch this four-parter featuring JK Rowling’s detective creation with the requisite quirky name. Tom Burke stars as Strike, with Holliday Grainger as Robin Ellacott, in a story that brings Strike and Robin into some dark history involving a strangled child. The duo are back at work following Robin’s wedding to Matthew (Kerr Logan), but the honeymoon is soon forgotten as a disturbed young man shows up claiming to have witnessed a murder back in his childhood. Meanwhile, Robin has to go undercover in the House of Commons to find out who’s blackmailing a government minister.
Rillington Place
Tuesday, RTÉ One, 11.15pm
Tim Roth stars as notorious serial killer John Christie in this three-part true crime series first aired on BBC in 2016. Roth is chilling as Christie, who murdered several people in the 1940s and 1950s and hid some of the bodies behind the walls of the flat in Rillington Place he shared with his wife, Ethel (Samantha Morton). Eventually, Christie murdered Ethel, hiding her body under the floorboards of the flat. Jodie Comer – soon to shoot to superstardom in Killing Eve – co-stars.
Food Matters
Wednesday, RTÉ One, 8.30pm
Michael Kelly, founder of Grow It Yourself, presents this series exploring Ireland’s sustainable food industry, travelling around the country meeting farmers and food producers on a mission to steer Irish people towards more environmentally friendly food choices. In episode four, Kelly meets Meath cabbage grower Cathal Lenehan and Kildare broccoli producer Paul Brophy, both of whom are facing rising costs, and the founders of Wicklow Wolf Brewery, who are putting sustainability at the heart of their business.
Davy’s Toughest Team
Wednesday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
It’s the final episode in this Icelandic adventure, with coach Davy Fitzgerald leading a team of troubled young men through icy terrain, as they near the end of their resilience-building journey. But as they reach the final furlong a blizzard hits, putting the entire trip in jeopardy. This will be the ultimate test for these young men after weeks of training and mentoring, and Davy will have to rally the troops to overcome this latest setback. Will they have the mental and physical strength to make this last push to the end?
The Diplomat
From Thursday, Netflix
Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) is a career diplomat who’s not afraid to take on the challenges of international politics. She’s hoping to get posted somewhere like Afghanistan, or some other crisis zone she can get her teeth into, but instead she’s given an even more perilous assignment: the new US ambassador to Britain. She’ll have to deal with tricksy British politicians while also navigating her marriage to fellow diplomat Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell), who likes to hog the limelight.
Gordon Ramsay’s Future Food Stars
Thursday, BBC One, 9pm
Britain’s sweariest chef is on the hunt for a worthy successor to his cheffing crown, and he’s ready to invest £150,000 in the right person who can do the business in the kitchen, whatever the circumstances. This week Ramsay is sending his handpicked group of entrepreneurs to Oxford to create the ultimate sushi platter worthy of a sushi master. Then it’s off to the Henley regatta, where the contenders will have to launch their brand of cocktails for the thirsty rowing fans.
Dead Ringers
From Friday, Prime Video
It’s been 35 years since we squirmed at David Cronenberg’s horror film about identical twin gynaecologists played by Jeremy Irons. Now it’s getting an update, and this time it’s Rachel Weisz playing the dual roles in a six-part thriller that promises to be even more disturbing than the original film. Weisz plays Elliot and Beverly Mantle, twin medics who like to share everything – including lovers. Both share a passion for improving healthcare for women, but how far are they willing to go, and when does pushing the boundaries of medical ethics tip over into malpractice – and madness? Prepare to be grossed out all over again.
The Cleaner
Friday, BBC One, 9.30pm
No one ever had to do this on Taskmaster. Greg Davies stars as crime scene cleaner Wicky, whose job is to wipe up the mess following a murder. No one is better than Wicky at wielding the Flash but in this episode he’s faced with a different crime scene. Protesters have tossed a bucket of goose blood over a new statue, and Wicky is sent to clean it up, but finds himself in the centre of a huge row over the statue that could well end up with Wicky himself needing a cleaner.
