MUST-SEE SHOWS
JANE AUSTEN: BEHIND CLOSED DOORS Tonight, BBC2, 9pm
IF Jane Austen were alive today, what would she watch on TV?
Although you might think she’d be drawn to romantic comedies or period dramas, after watching this documentary, you might decide she’d actually be glued to Location, Location, Location or Homes Under the Hammer. That’s because the writer of some of the best-loved novels in the English language was well known for her use of houses and property as central themes.
Historian Lucy Worsley traces the house the writer lived in to show just how they influenced her. Some are still standing, but others are brought back to life using a little detective work.
THE HANDMAID’S TALE Tomorrow, Channel 4, 9pm
SOMETIMES novels about the future can end up seeming a little bit old-fashioned but that clearly isn’t the case with Margaret Atwood’s best-selling, The Handmaid’s Tale, which was first published in 1985.
Mad Men star Elisabeth Moss, plays the main character of Offred living in an alternate world where the birth rate has plummeted, and a fundamentalist regime has taken over. Women who are fertile are captured and enslaved and given to a couple who cannot have a baby.
In the first episode, we are introduced to Offred as she struggles to survive as a reproductive surrogate for a powerful Commander (Joseph Fiennes) and his resentful wife (Yvonne Strahovski), knowing that one wrong word could end her life.
MAY V CORBYN LIVE: THE BATTLE FOR NUMBER 10 Monday, Channel 4, 8.30pm
THE Prime Minister is not in for an easy ride tonight. In this show, broadcast simultaneously on Channel 4 and Sky News, May and Corbyn will both face questions from the audience via Sky News Political Editor Faisal Islam. Then, in between each Q&A segment, both of the leaders will be interviewed by former Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman.
THE CHILLENDEN MURDERS Tuesday, BBC2, regions vary
ON July 9, 1996, Lin Russell took her two young daughters and their dog for a walk along a quiet country lane. It was there that they are said to have crossed the path of Michael Stone. He attacked the group, killing Lin, youngest daughter Megan, who was six, and their pet; nine-yearold Josie suffered appalling head
injuries but made an excellent recovery.
After a year-long investigation, police arrested Stone who was eventually convicted. He has maintained his innocence and independent experts doubt the safety of his conviction.
This documentary aims to shed new light on the case.
THE BBC ELECTION DEBATE Wednesday, BBC1, 7.30pm
REPRESENTATIVES from Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, SNP, Plaid Cymru, Green Party and UKIP take centre stage, with each desperate to prove that their party is the one most capable of leading Britain in a post-Brexit world during an event in Cambridge moderated by Mishal Husain.
FRANK SKINNER ON MUHAMMAD ALI Thursday, BBC1, 9pm
FRANK Skinner travels across the UK and the US to visit some of the key locations and people in Ali’s life, from the next-door neighbour from Louisville, Kentucky, who witnessed the teenager boxer’s dedication to his craft, to a bare-knuckle fighter on an Oxfordshire council estate who became one of his dearest friends. Along the way, Skinner finds out just why he became an icon of the civil rights movement and arguably the greatest sporting hero of the 20th-century.
BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT Friday, ITV, 7.30pm
THEY’VE had all week to size up the opposition and now the latest batch of eight hopefuls will be taking to the stage to compete for the next two slots in the grand final. But will seeing who’s gone before boost their confidence, or make them more nervous?
At least if they can avoid being buzzed off by the judges they won’t have too long to wait to learn their fate.