Hottest shows on TV this summer.. ESSENTIAL GUIDE
Cheeky Ann Summers drama to start a summer of sizzling television
WE’RE heading for the wettest June on record but temperatures are about to soar with a comedy drama aboutut women selling sex toys at raunchy house parties.
Saucy six-parter Brief Encounters, set in Sheffield and based on the lifee of Ann Summers boss Jacqueline Gold, is likely to be a summer highlight for viewers not into tennis, the Olympics or football and more football.
But there is also plenty of clothes-on action with heartwarming and gripping dramas, promising new comedy plus remakes of classics, glossy US shows and Alan Titchmarsh back in a garden show. Summer is soggy but at least the outlook is good on the box. Here’s our guide...
Brief Encounters – ITV, July
MUST SEE BECAUSE... Four women in the Eighties throw Tupperware parties with a twist – selling sex toys and naughty lingerie from Ann Summers to their friends, instead of plastic sandwich boxes. WHAT WE CAN EXPECT... Overlapping stories involving four very different women with plenty of saucy dialogue and dirty laughter. WHO’S IN IT... Downton Abbey actress Penelope Wilton, ex-Corrie favourite Angela Griffin, Peaky Blinders’ Sophie Rundle and My Mad Fat Diary’s Sharon Rooney.
Robot Wars – BBC2, July
MUST SEE BECAUSE... After 12 years off air this all-action show, popular with kids of all ages, is back with a bang. WHAT WE CAN EXPECT... Zany collection of lethal robots built by geeky types with the sole aim of pummelling rivals. WHO’S IN IT... Hosts Dara Ó Briain and Angela Scanlon plus house robots Sir Killalot, Shunt and Dead Metal.
Stranger Things s – Netflix, July 15
MUST SEE BECAUSE... . It’s a weird cross between Twin win Peaks and The X-Files. WHAT WE CAN EXPECT... CT... A mum hunts for her missing ing boy whose disappearance is s put down to “dark forces”.orces”. WHO’S IN IT... T... Hollywood d stars Winona Ryder and Matthew w Modine.
Centenary of the Battle of the Somme – BBC1 and BBC2,, June 30-July 1
MUST SEE BECAUSE ... It is a fitting tribute to more re than a million soldiers killed or wounded during the First World War battle that lasted nearly y five months. Britain suffered 57,000 casualties ies on the first day alone. WHAT WE CAN EXPECT... CT... A series of live programmes featuring overnight vigils and the Queen leading the nation’son’s remembrance at the grave of the Unknownwn Warrior at
The Secret Agentg – BBC1, mid July
MUST SEE BECAUSE... Though written over a century ago, Joseph Conrad’s novel set in London in the grip of anarchy and terrorism is still relevant today. WHAT WE CAN EXPECT... Brilliant acting, scripts and plenty of spies, anarchists and dangerous villains. WHO’S IN IT... This Is England and Line of Duty’s Vicky McClure and Toby Jones, who played Captain Mainwaring in this year’s Dad’s Army film.
Westminster Abbey. WHO’S IN IT... Huw Edwards and Kirsty Young host the coverage of the poignant events from France, London and around the UK, attended by senior royals, including Prince Charles, William and Kate, plus Prince Harry.
Landmark Sitcom Season – BBC, July
MUST SEE BECAUSE... Remakes of classics Are You Being Served?, Porridge, Up Pompeii! plus a live episode of Mrs Brown’s Boys. WHAT WE CAN EXPECT... Classic Marmite TV – those old enough to remember the originals will probably hate the new shows, youngsters will laugh their heads off. WHO’S IN IT... A host of favourite comedy characters, from Mrs Slocombe to Norman Stanley Fletcher.
Boy Meets Girl – BBC2, July
MUST SEE BECAUSE... Groundbreaking sitcom is the first mainstream comedies to feature a transgender actor in a transgender storyline. WHAT WE CAN EXPECT... Judy and Leo are in love, despite their age diff difference, and planning for their future. But their me meddling families cause chaos. WHO’SWH IN IT... Transgender actress Rebecca Root and Harry Hepple.
TheTh Marvellous World Of Roald DahlDa – BBC2, July
MUSTMU SEE BECAUSE... Fighter pilot, inventor, spy – th the life of Roald Dahl, who created such wo wonderful characters as the BFG, Matilda and Willy Wo Wonka was stranger than fiction WHATWH WE CAN EXPECT... His extraordinary life story is told, largely in his own words, through a vast collection of his letters and writings plus some new drawings by Quentin Blake. WHO’S IN IT... Voiced by Robert rt Lin Lindsay, with contributions fromm Da Dahl’s widow Felicity – known as Licc Liccy – and daughter Lucy.
GogglesprogsGo – CC4, Fridays, 8pm
MUSTMU SEE BECAUSE... These cheekyche kids proved more entertainingent than some of the adultadu Goggleboxers on their firstst outingout in a Christmas special. WHATWH WE CAN EXPECT... A differentdiff perspective on telly fromfro kids who are just as funny and witty as grown-ups. WHO’SWH IN IT... A range of you youngsters veering from the cut cute to the irritating.
LoveLo Your Garden – ITV, June 28, 8pm
MUSTMU SEE BECAUSE... There’sThe nothing more relaxing thantha watching other people workingwo hard in the garden. WHATWH WE CAN EXPECT... Lots s of
The Living and the Dead – BBC1, June 28
MUST SEE BECAUSE... Spooky occult thriller is the first BBC series to be made available on iPlayer for those who like binge-viewing sets. box It is available now. WHAT WE CAN EXPECT... A middle-class couple in the late 1800s are drawn into weird and chilling events after moving from London to a Somerset village. WHO’S IN IT... Merlin star Colin Morgan plays pioneering shrink Nathan Appleby, with Les Miserables actress Charlotte Spencer as his wife caught up in a dark, scary world. heart-tugging stories as the team head to tend the plots of people in need of some help. WHO’S IN IT... TV’s favourite gardener Alan Titchmarsh plus Katie Rushworth.
Nashville – Sky Living
MUST SEE BECAUSE... It’s the glossiest and best trashy US saga since Dallas and series four of this drama set in the country music capital could be the last seen in the UK. WHAT WE CAN EXPECT... Tears, tantrums, backstabbing, lov loving and lots of great music. WHO’S IN IT... Connie Britton, Hayden Panettiere and Charles Esten.
Shades Of Blue – Sky Living, July
MUST SEE BECAUSE... It’s a classy New York cop procedural saga with a dif difference. WHATW WE CAN EXPECT... A single mu mum NYPD cop gets enlisted by the FB FBI’s anti-corruption task force led by a dodgy lead detective who does m more than cut corners to get results. WHO’S IN IT... Jennifer Lopez and Goodfellas star Ray Liotta.
HimH – ITV, August
MUSTM SEE BECAUSE... It’s a nailbiting chiller about a heartbroken bo boy called “HIM” by his divorcing pa parents. He becomes possessed by a su supernatural power. WHAT WE CAN EXPECT... A divorce saga with a difference. Lots of s spooky scenes, scary music and cre creepy events. WHO’SWH IN IT... Corrie favourites Kath Katherine Kelly and James Murray, and Fionn Whitehead as Him.