THIS WEEK’S TOP TV PICKS
HEALTH Football, Prince William And Our Mental Health Thursday, BBC1, 8.05pm
‘It’s OK to not feel OK.’ That’s the vital message Prince William (right) has for British men who have mental al health problems blems but may suffer in silence. The Duke of Cambridge has long campaigned to bring about fundamental change, using football as an unthreatening arena to bring together men who are still hidebound by the notion of the stiff upper lip and get them to open up. This inspirational documentary shows William meeting footballers, from Premier League stars who admit to their private anguish, to grassroots players who are able to reveal their pain to their team-mates.
ARTS Men At The Barre Wednesday, BBC4, 9pm
Yes, real men do wear tights: take a peek behind the Covent Garden curtain and discover the secrets s of the male dancers of the Royal al Ballet, as revealed by awardwinning filmmaker Richard Macer. This is an eye-opening, ng, access-all-areas areas documentary, a wrily entertaining study of these rare individuals, who combine grace and beauty with the power and athleticism of elite sportsmen. And while the principal dancers enjoy star treatment, we also witness the sweat and slog that goes into the work of the lesser-sung company members. Brilliant ballet sequences are intercut with interviews with both the leading lights and the young dancers making their Billy Elliot-style dreams a reality.
DRAMA Mayans M.C. Sunday, BBC2, 10.55pm
Get your motor running and head out on the highway once more: it’s the second season of the Sons Of f Anarchy biker gang spin-off set t in southern n California on the US/ Mexico border. Conflicted antihero EZ Z (J.D. Pardo) o) continues to follow an uneasy existence as a prospective member of the Mayans motorcycle gang, hoping for elevation to the full ranks while also jostling for power in a tense relationship with brother Angel. Irish actress Sarah Bolger (above) also stars. A double bill of the first two parts – after which the entire series is on BBC iPlayer – begins with a brutal but compelling episode, as the conflict between the gangs, drug cartels and US authorities erupts into an explosive gun battle.
COMEDY The First Team Thursday, BBC2, 9pm
A promising new sitcom from the creators of The Inbetweeners that follows the mostly offfield antics of young footballers Benji (Shaquille AliYebuah), Jack (Jack McMullen) and Mattie (Jake Short). t) While they may be winners on the pitch, when it comes to daily life, the trio have a tendency to score own goals. They struggle to deal with women, money and social media, but it’s not all their fault – Italian manager Cesare (Paolo Sassanelli), American chairman Mark Crane (Arrested Development’s Will Arnett), resident hard man Petey Brooks (Theo BarklemBiggs, above) and ineffectual coach Chris Booth (Chris Geere) don’t make life easy.
HISTORY A House Through Time Tuesday, BBC2, 9pm
For his third fascinating trip through the life and times of a single property, perty, historian David avid Olusoga (right) heads ds to a house near Bristol’s docks. Built in 1718 by Captain Edmund Saunders, No N 10 Guinea Street is inextricably linked to Britain’s slave trade. Its first resident, Joseph Smith, trafficked men, women and children from Africa to the plantations of the Caribbean, and Olusoga uncovers evidence of piracy when he reads an account of one of Smith’s voyages from 1721. The story then moves on to a doctor and noted political satirist, before the arrival of Captain Joseph Holbrook, a sugar trader, and his servant, Thomas, described as a ‘native of Jamaica’.