TV PICKS OF THE WEEK
gordon ramsay’s bank BALANCE for red nose day Saturday, BBC1, 6pm
The Beeb clearly has faith in Gordon Ramsay’s Bank Balance, so much so they even commissioned a Comic Relief celebrity special. It finds Gordon’s old mate and fellow chef Gino D’acampo teaming up with his son Luci in the hope of winning up to £100,000 for charity. Can they keep their cool under pressure?
bloodlands Sunday, BBC1, 9pm
It’s the final episode of the gripping mystery thriller’s run.
Susan Lynch pops up as Heather
Pentland, who may have valuable information about Jack Twomey. Tom Brannick (James Nesbitt) remains convinced his superior officer knows more about Goliath than he’s letting on.
Tom is also under pressure from daughter Izzy (Lola Petticrew) and Tori Matthews (Lisa Dwan) to reveal the truth.
With more lives on the line, he knows time is running out too.
The Truth About Long Covid: dispatches Monday, Channel 4, 8pm
How long it takes to recover from coronavirus is different for everybody. Most will make a full recovery within three months, but for some, symptoms can last longer. It’s predicted that up to half a million people in the UK are now living with so-called ‘long Covid’. Dispatches reports from Bradford, one of the UK’S worst hit communities during the pandemic. The programme hears from sufferers and asks if the NHS will be able to cope with the lasting legacy of the virus.
The great Celebrity bake off for stand up To Cancer Tuesday, Channel 4, 8pm
Matt Lucas welcomes award-winning actor James Mcavoy, popstar and The Voice UK judge Annemarie, comedian and writer David Baddiel and double Olympic gold medal-winning athlete Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes into the tent. Judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith ask the bakers to make Signature decorative tarts and create a savoury Technical, before rendering their spirit animals in cake form for the Showstopper. But who will claim the winner’s apron?
The surrogates Wednesday, BBC1, regions vary
Three-part documentary charting the progress of five women who are having babies for other people. Among those featured in tonight’s opening episode is single mum Caitlin, 26, and her boss Kate, who has lost three pregnancies, including one at 32 weeks. Moved by Kate and her partner Matt’s story, Caitlin has offered to have a baby for them.
Billy Monger’s Big red nose day Challenge Thursday, BBC1, 9pm
It’s Red Nose Day on Friday and racing driver Billy Monger has set out to walk, kayak and cycle 140 miles across England. Billy became a double amputee four years ago, after a horrendous racing accident, and the challenge will see him walking further than he’s ever had to before, while also kayaking for the first time and re-learning how to cycle. Luckily, there are celebrity supporters on hand to cheer him on, including comedian Chris Ramsey, who greets him under the Angel of the North.
COMIC relief 2021 Friday, BBC1, 7pm
Like most things, Red Nose Day has been affected by Covid, and a lot of Comic Relief’s fundraising activities will have to be done at home this year. With that in mind, the aim of this year’s show – hosted by Sir Lenny Henry, Davina Mccall, Paddy Mcguinness, Alesha Dixon and David Tennant – is to ‘get us laughing at home’. Among the highlights are David and Michael Sheen teaming up for a special instalment of Staged. Plus, Anna Friel and Keira Knightley co-star in the greatest disaster movie never made, and Paddy and his fellow Top Gear hosts face interrogation by some savage critics. There are also appearances by Dawn French, Alex Scott, Jack Whitehall, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dame Judi Dench, Karim Zeroual, Joe Lycett, Mo Gilligan and many more.