TV & Radio
Highlights and listings
COMEDY
The First Team
This new comedy from The Inbetweeners creators Iain Morris and Damon Beesley follows three young professional footballers at a fictional Premier League club. Characters Benji, Jack and Mattie (Shaquille Aliyebuah, Jack Mcmullen and Jake Short) encounter include terrifying team hard-man Petey (Theo Barklem-biggs), mercurial Italian manager Cesare (Paolo Sassanelli) and eccentric chairman Mark Crane (Will Arnett). As the six-part series progresses, it’s clear that our trio are better at scoring goals than negotiating life off the pitch. Thursday, BBC2, 9:30pm
HISTORY
A House Through Time
David Olusoga sets out once more to uncover the history of a single house, discovering remarkable stories along the way – of piracy, a foundling baby, and a runaway slave. In this series the featured property is an 18th century sea captain’s house situated near Bristol’s docks: Number 10 Guinea Street. The man who built the house in 1718, Captain Edmund Saunders, was a prolific slave trader, as was the first full-time resident, Joseph Smith.
Smith was another sea captain, and while hunting for more information about his life, David uncovers extraordinary evidence from one of his voyages from 1721. A handwritten account from one of the ship’s crew reveals a story of piracy, peril and revenge.
Tuesday, BBC2, 9pm
DOCUMENTARY
Soul Boy – Our Lives
Anthony Flavin has grown up in care from the age of six. His great passions in life are the music, fashion and films from the 1960s and 70s, particularly
Northern Soul. This heartwarming film follows Anthony in the run up to his 18th birthday as he finds his place on Nottingham’s Northern Soul scene. With help from his keyworker, Luke, and a collection of Northern Soul friends, he’s about to take his first steps as a DJ and towards an independent life.
Wednesday, BBC1, 7:30pm
DRAMA
Little Boy Blue
The death of 11-year-old Liverpool schoolboy Rhys Jones, who was shot dead while walking home from football practice in 2007, shocked the nation. The murder and the long and complex investigation to find those responsible and bring them to court is charted in a re-run of this powerful four-part fact-based drama from 2017. Stephen Graham plays Detective Superintendent Dave Kelly, while Sinead Keenan and Brían F O’byrne play Rhys’s parents Melanie and Steve. The series, playing over four nights this week, shows the battle the police faced to gather evidence as friends and family members of the person they believed responsible obstructed their investigation.
Tomorrow, STV, 9:15pm; Monday to Wednesday, 9pm
DATING
Pretty Single
This new six-part dating show sees six image-obsessed singletons from Scotland and Northern Ireland ditch their make-up to try to find a love connection that’s more than skin deep.
First up is hairdresser, single mum and self-confessed romantic Patricia from Londonderry, who admits she hides her true self behind make-up to boost her confidence.
Monday, BBC Scotland, 10pm
MUSIC Citizens Of Boomtown: The Story Of The Boomtown Rats
On the back of their first album in more than 35 years, this documentary tells the story of the Boomtown Rats and their journey from Dublin to the top of the charts in the late 1970s and early 80s. ■ Today, BBC2, 9:20pm