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BOX SETS AND ON DEMAND
of the challenge of what we could accomplish. It was exciting to go to work and see how high he was going to make the diving board today.”
All in all, it was a new kind of work for Roberts.
“It’s called cardio acting,” she quips. “I had to carry a tonne of stuff, talking on the phone, be in heels and go up and down stairs all day. I went down a pant size.”
Does having children (twins Hazel and Phinnaeus are 13, while Henry is 11) make switching off after a day of filming easier?
She answers: “You know, it does, but at the same time, for this, the workload did expand every day, so instead of making dinner while my kids were doing homework, I was probably doing my homework!”
In a time when downloading from streaming services seems to be taking over our viewing habits, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Roberts has become the latest Hollywood icon to take on a TV role.
“I’ve never called myself a film actor – I’m just an actor,” she declares.
“I go where the parts compel me and I don’t know a lot of creative people who would compartmentalise their places to be creative in that way. We are all just looking for the thing we can bring something of value to.
“When I was a young person, my dad took me to the theatre all the time and I thought it was so special.
“How many people came up to me after the play and said, ‘I’ve never seen a play on Broadway before and I never would have come if it weren’t for you’ – that was when I felt the happiest – that I had brought people to something that I thought was so special.”
Homecoming is available on Prime Video from Friday
The First (C4, 9pm)
Fans of intelligent space drama are being spoiled at the moment with Neil Armstrong biopic First Man packing them in at cinemas. On the small screen we now have this new saga from House of Cards veteran Beau Willimon. Set in the near future, it explores the challenges of taking the first steps towards interplanetary colonisation. The series focuses not only on the astronauts but also on their families and loved ones, as well as the ground team on Earth. In episode one it’s launch day, and Vista CEO Laz Ingram (McElhone) and the Providence crew count down for the first manned journey to Mars. While ex-mission commander Tom Hagerty (Sean Penn) watches from home, he is confronted by an unexpected visitor.
Diagnosis on Demand? The Computer Will See You Now (BBC2, 9pm)
Dr Hannah Fry explores how artificial intelligence is starting to transform healthcare beyond recognition, asking whether machines could ever replace doctors. She goes behind the scenes of British technology company Babylon Health, which has already persuaded 30,000 Londoners to quit their GPs and register instead for a digital service where patients use their phones to discuss their symptoms with an AI chatbot. To prove the accuracy of its online medics, Babylon prepares for a man-versus-machine showdown at triage and diagnosis.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy heads to the northern coast of South America to report on the plight of some of the one million children in Venezuela caught up in what is believed to be the world’s biggest migration as they flee poverty, hunger and medical shortages. With director-cameraman Nick Blakemore the journalist joins the youngsters as they make the dangerous crossing into neighbouring Colombia, where even then they have to fend for themselves, with no money and nowhere to stay.
The Great Model Railway Challenge (C5, 8pm)
The Wakefield RMS, Aberdeen Model Railway Club and pan-European entertainers Shunter Guys compete for a place in the final by creating railway layouts based on the fiendishly difficult theme “waterworld”. Standing between the teams and the final are judges Steve Flint, editor of the UK’s leading railway magazine Railway Modeller, and renowned master modeller and modelling vlogger Kathy Millat. Presenters James Richardson and Tim Shaw oversee proceedings.
Made in Great Britain (BBC2, 9pm)
For years chocoholics have flocked to York’s Chocolate Story, a museum which illustrates how one of Blighty’s most visited regions was responsible for transforming a luxury drink for the rich into the nation’s favourite treat. For those who haven’t had the pleasure a) a shame as the DIY choc lollies are phenomenal and b) fear not as presenter Steph McGovern and Yorkshire chocolatier Paul Young present their version of that story. We see how cocoa beans are roasted, shelled and ground as they would have been done in the Georgian era. Witness how chocolate with a long shelf life was made possible by Victorian ingenuity. And how, in the 1930s, choc became available for all.
Unbelievable Moments Caught on Camera (STV, 9pm)
Alastair Stewart presents extraordinary eyewitness footage filmed by members of the public, including how a pod of hungry killer whales had its hopes dashed when a plucky young seal seized a life-saving opportunity when a tourist boat of whale watchers sailed close by. Plus, the gripping journey a group of sightseeing friends from Boise, Idaho, made when a miscalculation in the air density caused its small aircraft to crash into woodlands shortly after take-off. And the inspirational story of an adventurous Isle of Wight resident who took to the skies in a sponsored tandem skydive for charity – at the grand old age of 91.
spotlight is going to be short and probably not all that sweet. Robin Wright is the new leader of this hugely successful drama, which is back for its final season without previous star Kevin Spacey, who portrayed Frank Underwood, a politician who would stop at nothing in his rise to the top. When this run of eight episodes begins, his wife Claire is marking Frank’s passing in a less than friendly manner while preparing to prove that she was the power behind the throne, and is even more devious than her husband. Joining the cast are Diane Lane and Greg Kinnear as wealthy siblings with plenty of clout of their own.
In 1970, Orson Welles started filming on a highly personal project he had co-written, co-produced and planned to direct. He finally finished shooting six years later, when it disappeared from view due to financial constraints. Now, more than 40 years later, fans finally have a chance to see it. The Other Side of the Wind is an offbeat mockumentary about the demise of the golden age of Hollywood and the rise of the so-called movie brats in the 1970s. John Huston takes the lead role of a director who, ironically enough, was also struggling to complete what he hoped to be his comeback movie before his death. It’s a fascinating project that misfires at times but still showcases some of Welles’ undoubted talents. Peter Bogdanovich and Susan Strasberg also appear.