MUST-SEE SHOWS
LITTLE MIX: THE SEARCH
Tonight, BBC1, 7pm
IN 2011, Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jesy Nelson all separately auditioned for The X Factor. As solo acts, they didn’t make it past the bootcamp stage, but the judges put them together to make a girl band, Little Mix. They became the first group to win the competition and nine years on, they’ve sold 50 million records. Now, they are hoping to help a new wave of talent by creating bands from auditioning singers. Here, the quartet puts together a boy band.
BLACK CLASSICAL MUSIC: THE FORGOTTEN HISTORY
Tomorrow, BBC Four, 9pm
LENNY HENRY and Suzy Klein
celebrate the lives and works of black classical composers and musicians across the centuries.
The film includes special performances by Chineke! Orchestra, Europe’s first majority black, Asian and minority ethnic orchestra, at St John’s Smith Square, London.
Plus, Lenny learns to dance to one of Ignatius Sancho’s minuets, and Suzy meets star violinist Braimah Kanneh-Mason.
FREDDIE FLINTOFF: LIVING WITH BULIMIA
Monday, BBC1, 9pm THROUGHOUT his time in the limelight, cricketer-turned-TVpresenter Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff has been living with a secret – he’s suffered with bulimia, which is characterised by bingeing on food and then purging.
In this powerful documentary, Freddie is facing up to his eating disorder for the first time and asking whether he needs professional help to tackle it.
He also finds he’s not alone – an estimated 1.5m people in the UK have an eating disorder, of which 25% are male. So why does the belief persist that this is primarily something which teenage girls suffer from, and is that preventing more men from speaking out?
THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF
Tuesday, Channel 4, 8pm
MAKE sure you have a cuppa at hand – and preferably something to dunk in it – for the second episode, as it’s biscuit week. Not that judges Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood will be dipping any of the bakers’ creations in their tea, as they are likely to be looking for crunch, taste and in, the
showstopper, decoration.
Sadly, someone will be going home at the end of the episode, but that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. At least hosts Noel Fielding and Matt Lucas will be lightening the mood.
MARY BERRY’S SIMPLE COMFORTS
Wednesday, BBC2, 8pm
MARY explores how families can use food to create their own sense of home, meeting a father-and-daughter team who take their home cooking to the streets with a food van, and a family who have created a slice of Sicily in north London.
The chef also spends time with a family celebrating Diwali and makes some of her own favourites, including a bolognese bake and a wild bramble mousse.
FIRST DATES
Thursday, Channel 4, 10pm
MAITRE D Fred Sirieix and his team of Cupids return to the restaurant, ensuring romance is at the top of the menu.
Among tonight’s hopefuls is 24-year-old party animal Nikita, from Swansea, who’s looking for someone wild. Enter Rhys, an engineer from the Welsh valleys, also known for his controversial antics during a night out.
There’s also ex-RAF driver Aaron and his date Jessie who ‘touched base a little’ just a few years back, but is there still a spark between the pair?
THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW
Friday, BBC1, 10.45pm
THE host returns for his 28th series. Graham chats remotely to music icon Dolly Parton and Emmy-winning star of The Night Of, Riz Ahmed.
Then, actor Rupert Everett, comedian and actress Lolly Adefope and stand-up Sara Pascoe will be dropping by in person to discuss their latest projects. Music comes courtesy of Irish singer-songwriter Roisin Murphy.