PICK OF THE WEEK

SATURDAY

Great American Railroad Journeys (BBC2, 8pm)

Michael Portillo returns to explore more of the US rail network, embarking on the first leg of a journey across Alaska. He begins his journey amid the snow-capped mountains of the Kenal Peninsula, where he discovers that, 150 years ago, Alaska was a Russian colony. Moving on, in Seward he feeds a rescued sea otter with a fearsome bite and in Anchorage he joins the US Arctic Warriors for parachute training.

Bone Detectives: Britain’s Buried Secrets (C4, 8pm)

Tori Herridge and a team of scientists attempt to piece together the lives behind discovered bones, and find out what happened to these people and how they died. This episode comes from Andover, Hampshire, where the construction of a car park outside the city has been held up by the discovery of remains from over 100 young men. The bones are discovered to date back to Anglo-Saxon times, but appear to have been left in a mass grave rather than granted the Christian burial that was normal for their era.

First and Last (BBC1, 8.30pm)

The ratings for Jason Manford’s comedy game show, which celebrates being distinctly average, have been... well, distinctly average. But don’t let that put you off giving it a try. For those who haven’t seen it yet, the rules are quite simple: don’t come first and don’t come last. With £10,000 up for grabs each week, 11 members of the public compete in a range of play-along-at-home challenges. There is one game where the contestants are all put inside giant cardboard boxes and have to jump out – but whoever emerges first and last is eliminated. And there’s also a hashtag game where the players pick a person, a song or a film and see which has got the most and least hashtags online.

The Voice UK (STV, 8.30pm)

We’ve already had plenty of excitement during this new series of the spinning-chair singing contest. And with the battle phase, knockouts and live shows all still to come, this run promises to be one of the best yet. Tonight Emma Willis hosts the fourth round of what is, admittedly, the The Voice’s best bit, the blind auditions. Celebrity coaches and musical superstars Olly Murs (who triumphed last year with Molly Hocking), Tom Jones, Will.i.am and Meghan Trainor will once again be taking their seats to seek out the nation’s best vocal talent. But as usual there is a simple twist: looks play no part in the selection process and each singer is chosen by the coaches on vocal ability alone.

Wisting (BBC Four, 9pm and 9.45pm)

The Norwegian thriller reaches a gripping conclusion with a double bill. As Wisting takes desperate methods to prove his innocence, the internal investigation looks more closely at his

entire department. Plus, Benjamin examines who can lie behind Linnea’s disappearance. Then, in the final episode, Wisting accepts the help of a former colleague to solve Cecilia’s murder, as well as to figure out who fiddled with the evidence. But everything changes when Line finds a video that links the charges against Wisting to the kidnapping.

SUNDAY

Top Gear (BBC2, 8pm)

The intrepid trio of Freddie Flintoff, Chris Harris and Paddy McGuinness has well and truly got its feet behind the wheel of the long-running motoring show. After a few dodgy runs following the departure of Jeremy Clarkson,

James May and Richard Hammond, it’s no longer stuttering like a clapped-out old banger, but purring like a brand new sports car. The 28th series will once again feature a mix of test drives and out-of-this-world adventures, beginning with a road trip in a trio of affordable second-hand convertibles. Also featured in the first edition are Harris’s views on the new Ariel Atom and the sight of daredevil Flintoff bungee jumping off a dam in an old Rover.

Vera (STV, 8pm)

Luke Sumner’s body is discovered close to his flat in Newcastle but pathology concludes that the killing blow could have occurred several hours before he succumbed to his injuries,

prompting Vera to piece together Luke’s final hours. His life is perplexingly spartan; working a punishing number of shifts for commercial cleaning company ECS and severing all ties to the quaint rural village where he grew up, including to his mother Carmel. When Vera finds out Luke left work in a rage, mid-shift, she turns her attention to Luke’s employers, Sonia and Clive Brock. But behind their helpful veneer Vera uncovers disturbing claims of workplace harassment.

The Trial of Christine Keeler (BBC1, 9pm)

Stephen’s life hangs in the balance as his sentence is decided at the Old Bailey, while Christine’s lie about Lucky Gordon haunts her

and she faces trial for perjury. As Profumo rebuilds his reputation by working for an east London charity and Mandy tries to make a career as a singer, Christine deals with the consequence of being labelled a liar and a prostitute, and reflects on happier days with Stephen and Mandy. Fact-based drama, starring Sophie Cookson, Ben Miles, James Norton and Ellie Bamber.

Win the Wilderness: Alaska (BBC2, 9pm)

Six couples are challenged to prove their survival skills in Alaska’s harsh wilderness, with the most successful pair winning a remarkable home miles from the nearest road, which was built from scratch by its original owners. In the first episode, they receive a crash course in what to do when encountering a bear before being sent into the woods to gather material and build shelters. They must then fell trees, make a fire and brave the freezing waters of Lost Lake.

Keeler, Profumo, Ward and Me (BBC2, 10pm)

If you’ve enjoyed BBC One’s excellent drama The Trial of Christine Keeler, switch over immediately after the final episode ends to watch this documentary, which offers a personal insight into the scandal that brought down Harold Macmillan’s government in 1963. Journalist Tom Mangold reported on the story while working as a reporter on Fleet Street, and describes the atmosphere around the country at the time. There’s also a chance to hear secret audio recordings made by the producers of the film Scandal in 1984, in which both Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies discuss their weekends at Cliveden and their claims that they were pressured into giving evidence against their friend, society osteopath Stephen Ward.

MONDAY

Great Asian Railway Journeys (BBC2, 6.30pm)

Michael Portillo sets off on the first leg of a new quest as he travels around south-east Asia, guided by his 1913 Bradshaw’s Handbook on a 2,500-mile railway adventure across six countries. Beginning in Hong Kong, the former politician investigates how Britain won the island and Kowloon from China after two mid-19th century wars over the trade in opium, before boarding the island’s most famous funicular to the Peak, and straddling a bamboo pole to learn the traditional Cantonese art of noodle-making.

Holocaust Memorial Day (BBC2, 7pm)

Seventy-five years after the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp, more than 150 survivors attend a commemoration to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. Through music, poetry and powerful personal testimony, all those who were persecuted by the Nazis, as well as those who were victims of later genocides are remembered. Among those taking part are cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason accompanied by his brother Braimah, actors Simon Russell Beale and Warwick Davis, and the Fourth Choir. Huw Edwards presents.

Cold Feet (STV, 9pm)

John Thomson, James Nesbitt, Fay Ripley, Hermione Norris and Robert Bathurst return for another helping of Mike Bullen’s long-running comedy drama. This week, Adam reaches out to Laura but risks upsetting his family as a result, while Karen and Jenny’s weekend away is hijacked by their mothers. And Pete’s attempts to reunite the Three Amigos ends in disaster. Good support comes from

Coronation Street’s Sacha Parkinson,

Bridget Jones star Gemma Jones, The Trip’s Clare Keelan and Ackley Bridge’s Sunetra Sarker.

The Windermere Children (BBC2, 9pm)

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day and the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. To mark it, the BBC is bringing us several programmes, including this moving drama which explores a remarkable true story. Written by Simon Block and drawing on first-person testimony, The Windermere Children looks at the events of August 1945, when a coachload of young survivors of the Nazi Holocaust arrived at the Calgarth Estate in the Lake District. Thomas Kretschmann, Romola Garai, Tim McInnerny and Iain Glen star as some of the counsellors charged with helping the children as they try to deal with their trauma, wait for news of their loved ones and make friendships which will sustain them as they build new lives in Britain.

TV Extra: Page 95 Bring Back the Bush: Where Did Our Pubic Hair Go? (C4, 10pm)

There have been a lot of new trends in personal grooming over the past few decades, but there’s one very big (and personal) one that doesn’t get talked about much, at least not on TV. In this documentary, Chidera Eggerue is finding out why so many women are removing their pubic hair. As she discovers, you only have to go back a few decades to find a time when this wasn’t seen as necessary, so what caused the change in our attitudes to our bikini lines and is it time for the bush to make a comeback? To find out, Chidera challenges herself and her peers to grow theirs back as part of an exhibition where they will reveal their bodies to the world in their natural, naked state.

TUESDAY

The National Television Awards 2020

(STV, 7.30pm)

It’s 25 years since the awards ceremony first took place and STV recently celebrated that fact with a special programme looking back at some of the event’s most memorable events. Now it’s time for this year’s awards to be given out, with David Walliams, who presents the show for the first time, overseeing proceedings as they happen live on the night. 2019 was a great year for British TV and the drama category reflects that with nominations for such favourites as Line of Duty, Peaky Blinders, Call the Midwife, Victoria, Poldark and Vera. Ant and Dec hope to continue their 18-year dominance of the TV presenter category, while the rise and rise of on demand services means more nominations than ever before for Amazon Prime and Netflix programmes.

Winterwatch (BBC2, 8pm)

We’re going walking in a winter wonderland for the final time in the Dell of Abernathy in the Cairngorms; Springwatch will move to a new home later in the year. Chris Packham (who barely seems to have been off our screens of late), Michaela Strachan and Gillian Burke will have packed their thermal underwear and be donning their down-filled coats and hardiest walking boots in preparation for sub-zero temperatures. Perhaps they’ll be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Britain’s only herd of reindeer, which have been residents in the park since 1952. Other creatures popping up include badgers, squirrels and pine martens, whose habits will be viewed via secret cameras.

Belsen: Our Story (BBC2, 9pm)

Documentary exploring the concentration camp, featuring personal accounts from the few remaining survivors and archive footage shot by the British forces that liberated them. Bergen-Belsen was used to hold prisoners evacuated from camps that had fallen to the

Allied advance, leading its population to increase to nearly 60,000 by the winter of 1944. Thousands died at the camp from starvation and disease, their bodies left unburied. The British and Canadian forces who discovered the camp were left with no choice but to burn it to the ground.

Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild (Channel 5, 9pm)

As one of the most in-demand sporting coaches, 43-year-old Nikola Boric travelled the world, welcomed everywhere he went and enjoying the best of everything. Today he lives in a wooden cabin in Croatia without electricity, water or heating, and with just a few pigs and goats for company. Experiencing Nikola’s new life in the woods above the village of Kokocak on the edge of Papuk Nature Park, Ben tries to get to the heart of what drove him to make a sudden decision to quit everything.

Losing It: Our Mental Health Emergency (C4, 10pm)

A teenager with a history of bullying is admitted to a psychiatric ward after a pattern of self-harm and suicide attempts that has left her mother forced to remove all sharp objects from the house and keep medicines locked up. A doctor discusses how she has been forced to seek outside help in dealing with her daughter’s eating disorder when it began to seriously impact on her health, and child and adolescent mental health nurse Steph Langley discusses why modern teenagers are now more likely to harm themselves in response to low mood.

WEDNESDAY

Bradley Walsh and Son: Breaking Dad (STV, 8pm)

The Chase presenter Bradley Walsh and his son Barney return for a second series as they embark on another road trip across America together. This time, the actor and his son arrive in Ohio, where they head for Dayton, the birthplace of aviation, before the pair attend a rodeo that evening. Brad soon realises that they are not just there to spectate, they are also expected to take part.

Farage: The Man Who Made Brexit (C4, 9pm)

With Brexit looming (for real this time, after a couple of false starts), director Christian Trumble brings us a profile of the man many people believe is responsible for the UK leaving the EU, Nigel Farage. He’s one of Britain’s most divisive politicians but this documentary, which was filmed over five months, initially finds him riding high after his Brexit Party’s historic success in May 2019’s European elections. However, as Britain heads into December’s general election, the poll ratings start to plummet.

White House Farm (STV, 9pm)

Whether viewers remember the shocking murder case at the heart of this drama, have turned to the internet to research it following the opening episode or are learning about it as

White House Farm unfolds, this series is making for gripping viewing. That’s due not just to the horrifying true story but also the script and strong performances from Freddie Fox, Mark Addy and Stephen Graham (even if the latter’s Welsh accent has got a mixed reception from viewers). This week, the funerals are drawing near and copper Stan still feels like he isn’t making much progress with the investigation. All looks lost for him and colleague Mick – but then a vital new witness emerges who could finally provide them with some answers.

Spy in the Wild (BBC1, 9pm)

Natural history documentary in which spy

ameras camouflaged as various creatures go undercover in the animal world, getting up close and personal to film their behaviour. This time, cameras follow snow monkeys in the mountains of Japan, as they gather at steaming hot thermal pools to bathe and socialise. Elsewhere in the cool mountains of Mexico, cameras capture a spectacular gathering of billions of monarch butterflies, and in Bavaria, Germany, Spy Beaver gains unique access to the secretive world of the beaver.

Easy Ways to Live Well (BBC1, 12.20am)

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Steph McGovern challenge staff at a garden centre in

the Wirral to test remedies for their aches and pains. The pair also tackle their own health concerns, including Steph’s apprehension at exercising while pregnant and Hugh’s worry that he’s starting to lose his mental sharpness. He then meets a family in Devon struggling with a common ailment – fussy eating. With mealtimes a battlefield, he wants to discover if a counterintuitive idea may bring peace to the dinner table.

THURSDAY

The Supervet: Noel Fitzpatrick (C4, 8pm)

Ten-year-old Beagle Lola is brought to Fitzpatricks Referrals by Sarah, who is worried that her pet may have a spinal problem. An

MRI scan reveals that Lola has two diseased discs between her neck vertebrae which are compressing her spinal cord and nerves. Noel operates to remove the disc material and fuses three vertebrae. Meanwhile, Jon and Helen arrive with their chocolate labrador Brandi, who has bone cancer in the femur of one of her back legs. Despite knowing that limb amputation may be an eventual outcome, they are concerned as she is refusing to walk. Noel gives her a never-performed-before bionic total knee replacement, which involves cutting out part of the femur, attaching a bespoke metal implant with screws and inserting a second custom implant into the tibia.

Save Money: Lose Weight (STV, 10.45pm)

Sian Williams and Dr Ranj Singh put two fresh diets – the Eat What You Like and Lose Weight For Life cookbook, and Noom, an app that has been trending worldwide – through their paces in a 28-day value-for-money road test. The programme also looks at the latest diet products to hit the supermarket shelves and finds out which are fleeting fancies and which are future foods worth splashing out on. Sian tests a new super grain, pea milk and a vegetable sheeter, while Ranj investigates technology and gadgets that are designed to boost willpower when it comes to dieting. These include a state-of-the-art headset to fight food cravings and a low-tech fridge piggy gadget which oinks when you open the fridge.

Death in Paradise (BBC1, 9pm)

Christopher Williams’ body is found on a boat out at sea. All evidence points towards a deadly fall but Jack is bothered by the victim’s strange appearance and the fact that his car was abandoned miles out into the woods. Suspicion falls on his wife and friends but, with everyone having an alibi, the police drift further away from the truth. Meanwhile Jack’s daughter Siobhan visits and encourages him to accept Anna’s offer of joining her on her travels, leaving the DI with a big decision to make.

Steven Gerrard: Make us Dream (ITV4, 9pm)

This intimate profile of the Liverpool legend and Rangers manager shows how Reds fans placed all their hopes of ending the long wait for a Premier League title on their inspirational captain. But by doing so they imposed a physical and psychological burden on the midfielder that almost broke his body and spirit. Starting with home-movie footage revealing what a phenomenon Gerrard was when he was young, the film shows how the 2005 Champions League miracle in Istanbul cemented Stevie G’s heroic status with the Kop, and what effect the infamous slip against Chelsea nine years later had on the player.

Inside the Crown: Secrets of the Royals (STV, 9pm)

The documentary focuses on the royals’ rollercoaster relationship with the press, beginning with the Queen’s 1953-54 Commonwealth tour, when cameramen worked hand-in-hand with the palace. A few years later, newspaper owner Lord Altrincham was attacked for daring to publish criticisms of the Queen but by the mid-1970s Princess Margaret’s hedonistic lifestyle was the subject of increasing press attention. But that was only the beginning. In the 1990s the press had a field day over the breakdown of Charles and Diana’s marriage, feeding on royal scandals.

FRIDAY

Grantchester (STV, 9pm)

When a young man is found dead and naked out on the Fens, Will and Geordie discover ties to a Cambridge research project experimenting with mind-altering drugs. Its arrogant professor is a proponent of the drug LSD in his psychotherapy sessions but Will and Geordie start wondering whether there is more going on. As the case proceeds, Will’s feelings of guilt about his father’s death and his conflicted feelings about Ellie start to take their toll. Elsewhere the Keatings suffer an awkward dinner party and the Chapman feud shows no sign of relenting. Robson Green and Tom Brittney star.

Deadwater Fell (C4, 9pm)

You can run but you can’t hide from David Tennant this week. Apart from starring in the conversion of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s novel Good Omens on BBC Two, he’s on top form in this gripping thriller. This week, as the villagers try to rebuild their lives, they have to learn to be honest with themselves and each other. However, whether they ever get to the truth remains to be seen. Cush Jumbo,

Matthew McNulty and Anna Madeley star in the concluding part of Daisy Coulam’s dark drama.

Stewart Copeland: Adventures in Music (BBC Four, 9.30pm)

To conclude his three-part series, the Police drummer explores the transcendental powers of music and asks: why do certain sounds have the ability to move people, transport the mind and help us escape this world, if only briefly? He travels to Morocco to discover the polyrhythms of Gnawa and to Wells Cathedral, where he spent time as a child, to understand the mechanics of choral polyphony. He also meets Kanye West collaborator Caroline Shaw to examine the powers of melody and CeCe Winans to discuss the roots of gospel. Finally Stewart takes a gong bath in New York and visits minimalist master Steve Reich.

Leaving the EU: BBC News Special (BBC1, 10pm)

It’s a day some people were hoping would never come and others were getting impatient waiting for. After all, the referendum was over three years ago and there have been extensions since. But if all goes to plan, today Britain will leave the EU, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal was backed by MPs in the wake of the general election. However, not everything is cut and dried, as Britain is now due to enter an 11-month transition period. Huw Edwards hosts a special edition of BBC News covering this momentous day and asking what Britain’s new relationship with the EU will look like. There’s also coverage on STV, which is bringing viewers its own countdown to the big moment.

The Last Leg: Brexit Special (C4, 10pm)

STV and BBC are bringing us news coverage of Brexit but, for a more comical – and opinionated – take on the day’s events, there’s The Last Leg team of Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker, who are conducting their own countdown. They’re joined by a man who knows a thing or two about satire, writer and director Armando Iannucci. Admittedly his most recent projects include an acclaimed movie adaptation of David Copperfield and the sci-fi sitcom Avenue 5 but he’s also behind the influential news spoof The Day Today and the savage sitcom The Thick of It. He has also tackled US politics on TV in Veep and communist Russia in the blackly funny movie The Death of

Stalin.