What to watch
Secrets of the National Trust with Alan Titchmarsh
CHANNEL 5, 8.00PM
A tale of “female empowerment, politics and a fight for the throne of England itself ” is how Alan Titchmarsh, opening a second series showcasing the National Trust’s finest properties, describes the history of Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire.
Certainly, the story of Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury (aka Bess of Hardwick), and how four strategic marriages helped her to become one of the most powerful women in Elizabethan England, is a fascinating one. And the glorious house she built in the 1590s, with vast facades of glass and sumptuous decor, was doubtless a marvel of the age.
Whether you think Titchmarsh does either of them justice will depend on how much detail you like in a documentary, and how much repetition (you won’t possess enough fingers to count how often he mentions that Bess’s initials and coat of arms decorate the high parapet of the house) and “coming up next” you can bear. Either way, there are plenty of glories to gaze upon, so if you’re unlikely to get a chance to visit Hardwick Hall in person, the fine filming shows off the house and its grounds in considerable splendour. Gerard O’donovan to deliver the show’s most outrageous season yet. GO
Divorce SKY ATLANTIC, 10.10PM
Sarah Jessica Parker returns with a second season of the bleak yet bitingly funny comedy about the painful break down of an American middle-class couple’s marriage. At least that’s what series one, created and partly written by Sharon Horgan, was about. Season two, minus Horgan’s input, takes on a distinctly lighter tone as both Frances (Parker) and her now ex-husband Robert (Thomas Haden Church) begin tentatively to negotiate the possibilities of life post divorce. GO
Factual
How to Get Fit Fast CHANNEL 4, 8.00PM
Anna Richardson and Amar Latif put the emphasis on fitness rather than weight loss in this new series exploring the off-the-shelf plans available, hoping to point viewers towards the exercise regime that suits them best. GO
100 Years Younger in 21 Days
ITV, 9.00PM
Eight well-worn famous faces attempt to turn the clock back at a “rejuvenation” clinic in Sardinia. June Brown, Sherrie Hewson, Claire King, Sid Owen, Roy Walker, Russell Grant,
Googlebox’s Sandra Martin and Shaun Ryder are among those hoping to knock off years without going under the knife. GO