Friday television & radio
Travel Man: 48 Hours in Rovaniemi
8.30pm, Channel 4
Where, you might be asking? The city of Rovaniemi is in Finnish Lapland on the edge of the Arctic Circle and apparently the official home of Santa Claus. It is the latest destination for Joe Lycett, who is accompanied by comedian and actress Desiree Burch. They try ice floating, a five-course tasting menu, a spot of ice-fishing and a ride in a Sámi reindeer caravan, and search for the Northern Lights.
Beyond Paradise
9pm, BBC One
The detective drama continues as a clairvoyant predicts unusual events that begin occurring in the life of a recently bereaved friend of Martha (Sally Bretton). The team starts to suspect that the psychic’s powers might be too good to be true, as Martha’s friend ends up in more and more dangerous situations. On the home front, Humphrey and Martha attend their fostering interviews, while Peter Davison guests as a potential love interest for Martha’s mother Ann (Barbara Flynn).
Pilgrimage: The Road Through North Wales
9pm, BBC Two
This year’s pilgrimage takes seven enlightenment-seeking hikers along the North Wales Pilgrim’s Way, 220km from the Dee Estuary to Bardsey Island. They include
Michaela Strachan (whose faith is in the natural world), comedian and lapsed Muslim Eshaan
Akbar, Amanda Lovett from the first series of The Traitors (a practicising Catholic), reality star Spencer Matthews (“Is Jesus a real person?”), actor Tom Rosenthal, autism ambassador Christine McGuinness and Sonali Shah, who grew up in a Jain family.
The Life and Death of Lily Savage
9pm, ITV1
By the time Paul O’Grady died last year, he was a much-loved fixture of TV and radio, and probably most famous for his ITV show
For the Love of Dogs. However, for more than 20 years he was a razor-tongued drag queen. Set against the backdrop of Margaret Thatcher’s Britain, Clause 28 and the Aids crisis, this is the story of the star through the prism of his famous creation, Lily Savage. The documentary features his daughter Sharyn Mousley and sister Sheila Rudd, and interviews with celebrities including Ian McKellen, Julian Clary, Jo Brand, Alan Carr and Graham Norton.
Susan Calman’s
Great British Cities
9pm, Channel 5
Leeds is the latest destination for the itinerant comedian. Calman starts by delving into the city’s industrial past, visiting Armley Mills, which is now a
museum providing insights into the working conditions of the Industrial Revolution. She then visits Hyde Park Picture House, a surviving First World War cinema, and meets the man responsible for the Leeds West Indian Carnival.
RuPaul’s Drag Race:
The UK versus the World
9pm, BBC Three
The final of the contest sees the remaining candidates lip sync for the crown, with regulars RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Alan Carr and Graham Norton on the judging panel. Michelle also hosts a reunion, inviting the eliminated queens to reflect on the highs and lows of the competition. Gerard Gilbert
Ghostbusters: Afterlife 7.05pm, BBC One
(Jason Reitman, 2021)
The grandkids of one of the original Ghostbusters continue his legacy in this reboot for tweens. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd et al briefly show their faces, and all the iconography is reverently referenced and recreated. But in fact this is closer to wholesome Spielbergian 80s fare such as The Goonies, and lacks the comedy or strangeness of the original.
La La Land
11pm, BBC Two
(Damien Chazelle, 2016)
There are two heart-gladdening, spirit-soaring romances in this musical. One is between the aspiring actor and the jazz pianist played by Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. The other is between writer-director Damien Chazelle and old-fashioned Hollywood.
La La Land is a swoony, dizzying, Technicolor spectacle that wears its heart on its sleeve.
Atomic Blonde
11.15pm, 5Star
(David Leitch, 2017)
Charlize Theron plays an ice-cool British spy sent to East Berlin to retrieve some microfilm and help a Stasi agent (Eddie Marsan) defect. Adapted from a graphic novel and directed by an ex-stuntman, this high-gloss retro action film is only two-dimensional but looks cool. Laurence Phelan