BEST OF THE REST
AUTUMNWATCH
BBC2, 8pm
THE clocks have gone back, we’ve cranked up the heating, and the ‘trickor-treaters’ will soon come knocking. But forget all that, the surest way most of us know it’s autumn is because Chris Packham and co have pulled on their wellies, warm coats and binoculars for a new series of the long-running nature show.
Joined by Michaela Strachan, Gillian Burke and Iolo Williams, animal-lover Chris returns to the beauty of Caingorms National Park, in the heart of the Scottish Highlands (locals will proudly inform you this rugged beauty spot is twice the size of the Lake District).
Throughout this week the gang will be showcasing wildlife around the UK, with tonight’s programme focusing on what autumn is. Astronaut Tim Peake explains how it first came to be, four and a half billion years ago.
“Autumn is such a dynamic time of year,” says Chris. “I love all the comings and goings.”
BEN FOGLE: NEW LIVES IN THE WILD
Channel 5, 9pm
SICK of the rat race? Drowning in debts and the daily grind? You’re not alone. But would you actually have the guts to give it all up and set up home in some of the remotest locations on Earth?
That’s exactly what the brave (crazy?) folk do who Ben Fogle meets in this new series of the popular travelogue show. In this first episode of four, the adventurer meets single mum Annalisa, 24, who ditched her native Italy for the coastal forests of Sweden, living off-grid in a hideaway with her toddler, Nico.
Being the nice chap Ben is, he gets busy chopping wood and making Annalisa’s home child-safe, while she goes busking. Whether the reality of this alternative way of life will match up to Annalisa’s fantasy, in the long run, remains to be seen – but her plans certainly provide us with some food for thought (hand-foraged, naturally.)