Seven Days

MIKE MULVIHILL’S guide to the week’s TV

SATURDAY Strictly Come Dancing

6.35PM, BBC1

The shocks have come thick and fast in this year’s series of Strictly, and it seems no one is safe. It’s week five, and the remaining couples will be desperate to impress judges Len, Darcey, Bruno and Craig – but more importantly, the voting public at home.

The School That Got Teens Reading

8PM, BBC2

Getting teenage children to read is a serious problem facing secondary schools and parents across the country, but one school is fighting back. Ripley Academy in Lancaster has invited comedian Javone Prince into the classroom to inspire reluctant readers and make books fun. But boy, has he got a job on his hands…

Britain’s Ancient Tracks With Tony Robinson

8PM, CH4

In the second part of his journey across Britain’s amazing network of ancient walkways,

Tony Robinson follows the Ridgeway from the Downs in Wiltshire to the banks of the Thames in Berkshire. Along the way, he finds the tracks of Celtic chariots, and explores a burial chamber that’s older than the pyramids.

Casualty

9.10PM, BBC1

Pregnant Robyn arrives at work in a state – she still hasn’t found Glen, and after she realises that Glen doesn’t want to be found, she makes a decision she could live to regret. Ethan, meanwhile, plucks up the courage to ask Alicia out on a date. But will she accept?

Artsnight: The Man Booker Prize 2016

10.45PM, BBC2

Before the announcement of the winner on Tuesday, the comedian David Baddiel introduces the six novels chosen by this year’s judges, meets the authors, and slips between the pages of the 2016 Booker Prize short list.

SUNDAY Countryfile Autumn Special

6.15PM, BBC1

Anita Rani and the team will be kicking through the leaves and harvesting walnuts in a special episode tonight; then, in Countryfile Autumn Diaries (Monday-Friday, 9.15am, BBC1), John Craven will be bringing you the best stories behind this extraordinary season.

Virginia McKenna’s Born Free

7PM, CH4

See TV feature, page 18.

Poldark

9PM, BBC1

Ross is having one of those days. First, our dashing Cornishman faces trial for his role in the ill-fated smuggling venture; then, disaster strikes as a new mine collapses. And just when things look as if they couldn’t get any worse, Elizabeth reveals her plans to marry George. You can forgive Ross if he feels like retiring to bed with a cold flannel on his forehead…

Wild West: America’s Great Frontier

9PM, BBC2

The final part of this series takes viewers on a journey to the Wild West’s rugged shoreline. In extraordinary and rarely captured scenes, cameras reveal the wonderful abundance of life that can be found in some of the richest seas on Earth.

Tutankhamun

9PM, ITV

It’s 1918, and the First World War is drawing to a close. Determined to renew his search for the boy king’s lost tomb, Carter resumes work at his dig site. Also returning to Egypt is Maggie – who seems rather more interested in our dashing young archaeologist than she is in some dusty old Pharaoh.

MONDAY Gino’s Italian Escape: Hidden Italy

8PM, ITV

Chef Gino D’Acampo is off to the playground of the stars when he visits Lombardy. One of Italy’s largest northern regions, it’s home to breathtaking mountains, picturesque towns and stunning Lake Como, a favourite haunt of the likes of George Clooney and Madonna.

Be Your Own Doctor

8.30PM, CH4

In this eye-opening new health programme, Kate Quilton and Dr Tamal Ray hunt down solutions to some of the biggest questions about our wellbeing. They begin by investigating whether a trip to Google can ever be as effective as a trip to the doctor.

The Victorian Slum

9PM, BBC2

The Victorian EastEnders are finding slum life soul-destroying. On the plus side, the lack of food has meant our 21st-century volunteers have lost a few unwanted pounds – but the ongoing battle to make ends meet is starting to take its toll. But the 1880s can’t be as bad as the 1870s, can they? No, surely not.

SAS: Who Dares Wins

9PM, CH4

The remaining 17 recruits are pushed to their limit as they are forced to endure a fearsome jungle challenge gruesomely described as the ‘sickener’: a nonstop series of exercises that will only finish when four recruits withdraw.

First Dates

10PM, CH4

Businessman Justin is 25, and has never had a girlfriend. Maisie, meanwhile, has lost her faith in men after a string of disappointing boyfriends. Can Fred and his team of Cupids help this luckless pair to find love?

TUESDAY Your Face Says It All

8PM, CH4

The second part of the fascinating series that reveals the hidden secrets of the human face explores why we find some people attractive and others not. On hand to offer her thoughts is Hollywood actress Lindsay Lohan, who discusses the pressure on all of us to look good 24/ 7 in the digital age.

Ordinary Lies

9PM, BBC1

The second part of this compelling drama concerns company secretary Holly (Kimberley Nixon), whose insecurities and addiction to social media make her constantly feel that everyone around her is living a more exciting life. And so, she starts to spin a web of lies that start small, but soon spiral out of control.

Great Continental Railway Journeys

9PM, BBC2

Michael Portillo heads for the Netherlands, where he visits a flower market in Haarlem and investigates Amsterdam’s famous redlight district. Purely business, of course.

Ben Fogle: New Lives In The Wild

9PM, CH5

The adventurer meets more people who have turned their backs on the rat race. His first stop is America’s frozen Pacific northwest to live with a modern-day Stone-Age woman.

WEDNESDAY The Great British Bake Off: The Final

8PM, BBC1

See Don’t Miss This, page 17.

Puppy Secrets

8PM, ITV

The adorable puppies are now eight weeks

old, and preparing to leave their mums and begin their lives with their new owners. It’s a crucial period, and the experiences of these next four months will define the pups for life.

Little British Isles

8PM, CH4

Alison Steadman lands on the Channel Islands, where she learns how the Nazi occupation affected the people of Alderney, and goes in search of an ancient way of life on Sark.

The Missing

9PM, BBC1

As Jack and Harry Williams’s story flicks through different time zones, it can be difficult to keep up with what’s going on. But things start to become clearer in episode three, as Gemma (Keeley Hawes) uncovers a vital clue in the search for the truth about her daughter, Alice.

HIM

9PM, ITV

In the second part of this thriller, the emotional state of our troubled teen is pushed to the limit, which threatens to have devastating consequences for everybody around him.

Grand Designs

9PM, CH4

Simon and Jasmine Dale had just £500 in the bank when they started to build their unique family house in rural Pembrokeshire. Kevin McCloud finds out if their risky project paid off.

THURSDAY The Great British Bake Off: Class Of 2015

8PM, BBC1

Last year’s contestants take part in a reunion special, as they return to the tent to recall the highs and lows of their time on the show.

The Apprentice

9PM, BBC1

For their fourth task, the remaining candidates will be taking over a department of the world-famous store Liberty of London.

But before the task even gets going, one candidate drops a rather large bombshell.

The Fall

9PM, BBC2

This brooding drama concludes over two consecutive nights, with the finale at 9pm tomorrow. Gibson is determined to see that Spector spends the rest of his life behind bars, but Anderson and Ferrington uncover someone with a link to the serial killer, who could turn the case on its head.

Hunted

9PM, CH4

In a nail-biting series finale, the clock is ticking for the hunters, who have just days to track down the four remaining fugitives. Will anyone evade capture and claim a share of the prize?

Britain’s Benefit Tenants

10PM, CH4

There are two million private landlords in Britain, and more than half of their tenants are on benefits. The series that meets the letting agents who cater for such renters returns.

FRIDAY Unreported World

7.30PM, CH4 Reporter Ade Adepitan investigates the devastating legacy of Agent Orange, the toxic herbicide dropped by US forces in Vietnam. The war may have ended more than 40 years ago, but the effects are still being felt today.

Would I Lie To You?

8.30PM, BBC1 Rob Brydon, Lee Mack and David Mitchell return for an episode of previously unseen material from series ten of the hit comedy panel show, featuring an all-star line-up.

Still Game

9.30PM, BBC1

Jack and Victor become unlikely marriage guidance counsellors when Fergie’s head is turned by a beautiful redhead. But are our badly behaved pensioners the men to turn to for advice on the needs of the modern woman?

QI

10PM, BBC2

New host Sandi Toksvig looks at the north and the Norse with Lucy Beaumont, Jason Manford, Rhod Gilbert and Alan Davies.

The Graham Norton Show

10.35PM, BBC1

Joining Graham on the sofa this week are actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Eddie Redmayne and Bryan Cranston – who talks about his autobiography – with chat and music from LeAnn Rimes.