MUST-SEE SHOWS
THE JONATHAN ROSS SHOW
Tonight, ITV, 9.40pm
THE host is joined by actor Martin Clunes, who stars as Sir Pitt Crawley in ITV’s lavish new period drama Vanity Fair. British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith, who won three gold medals at the recent European Athletics Championships in Berlin, also drops by, along with singersongwriter Josh Groban and comedian Leigh Francis, in character as the unpredictable Celebrity Juice presenter Keith Lemon. There is also music by Irish singer Hozier.
CELEBRITY ISLAND WITH BEAR GRYLLS
Tomorrow, Channel 4, 9pm WE’RE only into the second week of this latest survival challenge series, and the famous faces are already feeling the strain. Tonight, a fierce war of words erupts between Paris Lees and Pete Wicks as they struggle to keep the fire alight. Meanwhile, James Cracknell is unable to control his irritation that some members of the group are not pulling their weight. An old brain injury which can affect his ability to communicate sympathetically makes matters worse as he attempts to keep his escalating conflict with Paris from boiling over.
MONKMAN & SEAGULL’S GENIUS GUIDE TO BRITAIN
Monday, BBC2, 8pm
TWO of University Challenge’s most well-loved faces – and rivals – Eric Monkman and Bobby Seagull have been given their own show. The brainboxes are travelling around the country in search of remarkable scientific and technological achievements, including the science of the deep-fried Mars bar and the world’s smallest museum – which is located inside a phone booth. Their trip begins at Blackpool Pleasure Beach where they
experience Sir Hiram Maxim’s 1904 Captive Flying Machines, the oldest amusement ride in Europe.
THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF
Tuesday, Channel 4, 8pm
IT’S Dessert Week and the judges set three sticky challenges to test the remaining nine bakers. There is a meringue Signature, a wobbly Technical, and a complex chocolate Showstopper. Which bakers will impress Prue and Paul enough to keep their place in the tent?
BAD MOVE
Wednesday, ITV, 8pm
ESCAPING to the countryside is a dream many city-dwellers have had over the years. However, the reality sometimes doesn’t live up
to the bucolic image we have, which is something Steve and Nicky discovered to their cost during the first run of this sitcom, which is co-scripted by Jack Dee (who also stars as Steve) and Pete Sinclair. Part of the problem is their house – it’s a crumbling wreck that shows no signs of improving thanks to an infestation of moths and a troublesome septic tank. But in the first episode it’s a hole in the roof that gives the couple their biggest nightmare.
HYUNDAI MERCURY PRIZE 2018 LIVE: ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Thursday, BBC4, 9pm
THERE used to be a theory that the Mercury Music Prize was cursed – largely due to some of the early winners struggling to
maintain their success – but it’s doubtful that anyone on this year’s shortlist cares about that, especially as the line-up includes industry veteran Noel Gallagher and previous champions Arctic Monkeys. The other nominees, hosted by Annie Mac, are Lily Allen, Everything Everything, Everything Is Recorded, Florence and the
Machine, King Krule, Novelist, Nadine Shah, Jorja Smith, Sons of Kemet and Wolf Alice.
ANCIENT INVISIBLE CITIES
Friday, BBC2, 9pm
IN Turkey, Michael Scott uses 3D-scanning technology to examine the once enormous Hippodrome, which began as a stadium for chariot racing, though its foundations were later converted into a huge water cistern to supply the Emperor’s Great Palace. Michael unearths a holy well, hidden 30 feet under a carpet shop and, conversely, walks high above the city on the most sophisticated and longest aqueduct of the Roman world, finding that part of the Great Palace of Constantine is now a burnt-out shell.