PICK OF THE WEEK

SATURDAY

Britain’s Got Talent (STV, 8pm)

The well of artistry, skill and courage shows no sign of running dry as presenting duo

Ant and Dec welcome another batch of performers to the London Palladium Theatre. Whether the performers’ self-belief is a good thing, only you can be the judge. They’ll all be hoping the nerves don’t get the better of them so they can pull out all the stops and blow judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams out of their seats. There are still places up for grabs in the live semi-finals, but how many of this edition’s turns will be booking their ticket?

The Great Garden Revolution (C4, 8.15pm)

A variety of programmes were created during lockdown that might otherwise never have seen the light of day. Those in charge of commissioning took it upon themselves to order series that tapped into the psyche of viewers who were spending their newfound free time taking up crafts or gardening, or simply wanted to make the environment in which they were largely trapped all the more appealing and comfortable. One such show was The Great Garden Revolution, which proved popular enough to return for a second run. Horticulturist Errol Reuben Fernandes joins the team, which also includes designer Joel Bird and craftsman Bruce Kenneth. The trio set about demonstrating ways in which we can all revamp our outdoor spaces. At least the producers resisted the temptation to stick Great British in the title.

Leonardo (Drama, 9pm)

Poldark actor Aidan Turner swaps the wilds of Cornwall for Renaissance Italy to play the genius Leonardo da Vinci in this period eight-parter, making its regular TV debut (it was previously available via Prime Video) with a double-bill. It begins in Milan in 1506, and the celebrated artist has been arrested for poisoning Caterina de Cremona. After protesting his innocence to Stefano Giraldi, Leonardo remembers his days as an apprentice in Andrea del Verrocchio’s studio, where he first meets Caterina. Giancarlo Giannini and Matilda De Angelis also star.

ABBA: The Missing 40 Years (C5, 9.20pm)

In 1982, fans around the world were shocked when the four members of Abba announced they were going their separate ways. It seemed as if an irreparable rift had developed between them, but it must have healed to a certain extent in the 40 years since then, because they’ve come back together to record new music and have created a stage show. This programme reveals what the quartet have been up to during the intervening years, and the tales

TV CHOICE go some way to proving that fact can be stranger than fiction.

Later - with Jools Holland (BBC2, 10pm)

You can run but you can’t hide from Liam Gallagher this week. On Tuesday, he appears with his sons Lennon and Gene in the documentary 48 Hours from Rockfield, which is being simulcast on Sky Arts, Sky Showcase and Sky Max, in which he chats about his life and career and performs songs from his new album C’Mon You Know. But before that he’s taking centre stage alongside Holland in the latest episode of the latter’s 60th series. As well as singing live in the studio, Gallagher has promised to choose a favourite clip from the Later archive for us all to savour. One for the Oasis fans.

SUNDAY

RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022 (BBC1, 6pm)

Green-fingered gurus up and down the UK will be perched on the edge of their seats and wishing smell-o-vision was a thing during an exclusive first look at this year’s eagerly anticipated horticultural event. Presenters Sophie Raworth and Joe Swift will be spotlighting the exhibits they think will get everyone talking, while actress Caroline Quentin comes to Chelsea looking for a dash of inspiration for her own back garden. Plus, a team of expert presenters, including Adam Frost, Carol Klein, Rachel de Thame, Arit Anderson and Toby Buckland, explore some of the show gardens, offering their thoughts on what they see and smell, and discover some of the beautiful blooms in the Great Pavilion.

Grace (STV, 8pm)

Fans of successful crime novels can be twitchy when their favourite detectives make the leap to the small screen, but Peter James’ DSI Roy Grace is in the safest of hands with John Simm. Series two concludes with an adaptation of the book Dead Tomorrow, in which Grace is faced with one of his most challenging cases. When a body is dredged up from the seabed of the English Channel, it sets in motion a truly disturbing investigation which forces him to ask how far anyone might go to save the ones they love.

Inside Classical: Women’s Words and Voices (BBC4, 8pm)

This new series showcases concerts by the BBC Orchestras and specially invited guests, all performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls in various British cities. In the opener, Marta Gardolinska conducts the National Orchestra of Wales at Hoddinott Concert Hall in the Wales Millennium Centre Cardiff. The absorbing programme features the Bacewicz Overture, Tchaikovsky’s rousing Fourth Symphony and Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, where the orchestra is joined by Radio 3 New

Generation Artist Johan Dalene.

Idris Elba’s Fight School (BBC2, 9pm)

We’ve reached the last episode of this – pardon the pun – knockout series and it’s going to pull on the heartstrings until the very final moments. The actor’s team are about to face the British Army’s elite boxing team and 29-year-old Chanika struggles with the imposing opposition. Sadly, it’s the Omicron variant that puts the kybosh on the event, the night before it’s due to take place: the bout is cancelled and Fight School is forced to close. Can Idris keep up the momentum and pull off a sporting miracle?

Hunted (C4, 9pm)

The nailbiting series is back for a new run as 11 people, including an ex-military veteran, serving police officer and mother of two, a couple of experienced urban explorers and two profoundly deaf young men, aim to spend 23 days evading an elite team of hunters, led by Assistant Chief Constable of Cleveland Police, Lisa Theaker, and win a share of £100,000. In this opener, the fugitives must make their way from the Isle of Wight to the mainland, having been left on a deserted beach with only a change of clothes and a small amount of cash. Some try to hide in plain sight, while others attempt a more conspicuous means of transport – only to be pipped at the post. Tune in tomorrow for part two.

Britain’s Strictest Headmistress (STV, 10.15pm)

Cameras go inside Michaela Community School in Wembley, run by Katharine Birbalsingh, who has been dubbed the country’s strictest headmistress, for the first time in this intriguing documentary. We meet children who have been given detention for not making eye-contact, or because they’ve forgotten a second pencil, while Birbalsingh describes the reasoning behind her controversial methods, claiming being lenient has led to a slide in standards, a loss of control for teachers and prompted parents to give up.

MONDAY

Food Unwrapped Gets Baking (C4, 8pm)

Bake Off: The Professionals returns this week, but the Food Unwrapped team are getting in early by revealing some tricks of the industrial baking trade. Andi Oliver goes behind the scenes at Maryland cookies to find out why the chocolate chips don’t just become a melty mess, and Briony May Williams heads to Germany to investigate what gives pretzels their signature shine. Briony also uncovers the surprising truth about where bicarbonate of soda comes from, while Jimmy Doherty learns some explosive facts about flour.

The Chris & Rosie Ramsey Show (BBC2, 9pm)

It’s a brave couple who brings their real-life relationship to the big or small screen, but this entertaining late-night offering, starring husband and wife Chris and Rosie Ramsey, is a breath of fresh air. Each week, the startlingly honest pair are joined by a celebrity couple to poke fun at life, taking in a wide range of issues including growing up, relationships, arguments, annoyances, parenting and everything in between. They’ll also be asking the mother of all questions: what’s your beef?

Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace (STV, 9pm)

Have a box of hankies at the ready for this series, shown across three nights, in which Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell knit together the stories of people who were abandoned as babies. They begin with Andy Hallsworth, who was left on the steps of a church over 50 years ago and knows almost nothing about his birth. They also meet the series’ youngest foundling to date: Natasha Carr, who was left in public toilets inside London’s St Thomas’s hospital in 1989. In episodes two and three, they meet Matt Butt, who was found as a baby in a London phone box, and David Reardon, who has spent a lifetime wondering about his origins after being abandoned opposite an underground station 70 years ago.

Secrets of Size: Atoms to Supergalaxies (BBC4, 9pm)

Prepare to have your mind thoroughly blown as theoretical physicist Jim Al-Khalili concludes this fascinating two-parter. He explores the largest-known structures out in the vastness of space, including an enormous cloud of solar plasma which surrounds and protects the solar system, the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way, revealing how it emits the lowest note ever heard in the cosmos, and the giant arc, a collection of galaxies which spans more than three per cent of the observable universe.

Troy Deeney: Where’s My History? (C4, 10pm)

This insightful film chronicles the Birmingham City captain’s bid to make the teaching of Black, Asian and minority ethnic histories and experiences mandatory in the school curriculum. It explores his own school days, and follows his meeting with Nadhim Zahawi, Secretary of State for Education, after Troy wrote him an open letter that led to a petition that has more than 50,000 signatures. We also hear from boxer Anthony Joshua, and actor David Harewood MBE.

TUESDAY

Bake Off: The Professionals (C4, 8pm)

There’s a new addition to the Bake Off: The Professionals family – new host Stacey Solomon is joining co-presenter Liam Charles and resident judges Benoit Blin and Cherish Finden. However, the basic premise remains the same as patisserie teams from across Britain compete to prove they are the best. In the opening episode, the chefs will have to call on their knowhow to create 36 individual strawberry fraisiers and a chocolate amenity in just three hours. Then it’s time to turn an ordinary dessert into an incredible finedining experience as they are asked to whip up a classic treacle tart complete with towering, edible showpiece sculptures. If they impress, they go through to the next round, but the team that fails to win over the judges will be heading home.

The Witch Hunts: Lucy Worsley Investigates (BBC2, 9pm)

Lucy Worsley is one of Britain’s most famous historians but in the unlikely event she’s considering a career change, perhaps she should think about becoming a detective. As well as her current Radio 4 show Lady Killers, which finds her re-investigating the cases of Victorian women who were accused of murder, she’s using her sleuthing skills to tackle some of history’s biggest mysteries in Lucy Worsley Investigates. Future episodes will see her looking at the causes of the Black Death, the supposed madness of King George III and the princes in the Tower, but she begins by exploring the true horror of the witch hunts. The case begins in North Berwick, where the story goes that in 1590, a coven of witches gathered to cast a spell to kill the King of Scotland, James VI.

The Chernobyl Disaster: Meltdown (C5, 9pm)

Ben Fogle narrates this three-part documentary exploring the 1986 nuclear accident and its impact. The series will also bring us up to date by examining the events of this year, when Russia took over Chernobyl during the war against Ukraine and the plant was once again set on a potentially catastrophic course, but it begins by looking at the key mistakes that led to the disaster. It’s a story that begins in the 1960s, when the Soviet Union set out to lead the world in nuclear power. However, employees at Chernobyl quickly