PICK OF THE WEEK

SATURDAY

Strictly Come Dancing (BBC1, 6.45pm) They’ve had a couple of weeks to get used to being ‘Strictlyfied’, but tonight the celebrities might be getting a makeover that involves something more extreme than sequins and fake tans. That’s because it’s Movie Week, which, along with Halloween week, is often an excuse for the make-up, hair and wardrobe departments to let their imagination run wild. Hopefully, the stars will also throw themselves into their new roles as they pay homage to some classic film characters. Let’s just hope that judges Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke don’t find themselves cast as the villains, although the public will also get a chance to decide who is a box-office bonanza, and who is going flop into tomorrow’s night dance-off.

Britain’s Forgotten Wars with Tony Robinson (C4, 8pm)

For decades, Britain and France had run the lucrative Suez Canal and were outraged in 1956, after the new Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalised the waterway. The two states secretly plotted to invade and take back the canal, but after a severe rebuking from the United Nations they left empty-handed. Presenter Tony Robinson recounts the extraordinary story of this forgotten conflict through the eyes of the fighters who had their victory snatched away by politicians, in the heat of the Egyptian deserts.

Simon & Garfunkel: The Harmony Game (BBC2, 8.55pm)

Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, their manager Mort Lewis and drummer Hal Blaine offer their thoughts on the creation of the 1970 album Bridge Over Troubled Water. It was the duo’s final studio album and this programme examines everything from technical breakthroughs to the emotional feelings the artists had for each other while making it.

Stay tuned for Simon & Garfunkel: Concert in New York, the 1981 gig featuring favourites including The Sound of Silence, The Boxer, Homeward Bound and Bridge Over Troubled Water.

Paris Police 1900 (BBC4, 9pm)

BBC4 continues its commitment to bringing us the best in European crime drama with this new series, which, as the title suggests, is set in the French capital at the turn of the 20th-century. In the opening episode, Paris is in turmoil due to rumours about the release of a notorious spy, and Police Chief Louis Lepine is recalled to office from retirement. Meanwhile, ambitious, young inspector Antoine Jouin lands his first murder case after a woman’s torso is discovered in a suitcase that was floating in the Seine.

Later - with Jools Holland: Dave Grohl (BBC2, 10.10pm)

The BBC recently set out to make 1990s music fans feel old by marking the 30th anniversary of the release of Nirvana’s seminal album Nevermind across TV and radio. It was a reminder of just how influential Nirvana were, yet for their former drummer Dave Grohl that was just the opening chapter of a remarkable career. The Foo Fighters frontman has recently published a memoir, Storyteller, looking back over his life in rock, and tonight he joins Jools to share more anecdotes and pick a few favourite moments from the Later archives. LA-based singer Marley Munroe, aka Lady Blackbird, is in the studio to perform the torch song It’s Not That Easy with her three-piece band, and there’s also music from the British group Jungle, who perform from the newly renovated Alexandra Palace Theatre in North London.

SUNDAY

The Larkins (STV, 8pm)

It’s set in the late 1950s, but there’s a chance that the new period drama The Larkins will also make viewers feel nostalgic for the early 1990s, when ITV brought us The Darling Buds of May, starring David Jason and Pam Ferris. Like The Larkins, it was based on the books by HE

Bates about a loving, unconventional family who have created their own rural idyll, but new stars Bradley Walsh and Joanna Scanlan will be hoping to quickly put all thoughts of the previous adaption out of our heads. In the opening episode, the family is looking forward to the May Day Fair. Unfortunately, there are some clouds on the Larkins’ horizon as taxman

Cedric (Tok Stephen) comes calling, and daughter Mariette (Bridgerton’s Sabrina Bartlett, in the role that made Catherine ZetaJones a star) has some bombshell news.

The Mating Game (BBC1, 8pm)

David Attenborough narrates this look at mating rituals for aquatic creatures, including the lengthy journeys of humpback whales, where a female leads up to 20 males in a chase that tests both their stamina and determination. There’s also an insight into the role played by coral reefs, home to clown fish, flatworms and nudibranches. However, some fish are forced to take their mating rituals outside their territory, putting them at risk from