TV & Radio
Highlights and listings.
DRAMA
Bloodlands
Line of Duty creator Jed Mercurio is part of the team behind this fourpart Northern Ireland-set thriller starring James Nesbitt. He plays DCI Tom Brannick, who believes he recognises the hallmarks of a legendary assassin known as Goliath on a case he is investigating. Except Goliath hasn’t been active for 20 years and previous unsolved cases linked to him include the murder of Tom’s wife, Emma.
Rumours abound that the killer was a serving police officer and soon Brannick and DS Niamh Mcgovern (Charlene Mckenna) are digging around in a past that some would like to remain undisturbed, including, it seems, old friend and now senior officer Jackie Twomey, played by Lorcan Cranitch.
Tomorrow, BBC1, 9pm
NATURE
Chris Packham's Animal Einsteins
In this six-part series, Chris Packham and a team of animal behavioural experts will assess the skills and techniques animals use to survive. We meet the chimps with a better memory than us, cuttlefish that plan ahead, and bees that can count and play football.
It’s not necessarily the biggest brains that win out but the ones that are engaged most efficiently – to solve problems, remember information and use tools, all in pursuit of their need to find food, create a safe home, attract a mate, raise a family and most important of all – avoid being eaten. Tomorrow, BBC2, 8pm
INVESTIGATION
For Love Or Money
Kym Marsh and Ashley Johnbaptiste are on the trail of the criminals extorting vast amounts of money from unsuspecting victims under the guise of love. Running each weekday morning, in the first episode, they investigate a man who, after targeting a businesswoman on a dating site, proceeded to trick her over a period of months out of almost £60,000. They also speak to a man who has discovered that photographs stolen from him are now being used on sites as part of an online ‘catfishing’ campaign.
Monday to Friday, BBC1, 11am
GAME SHOW
Gordon Ramsay's Bank Balance
The fiery chef turns his hand to presenting a new game show for the BBC, which promises the chance to win £100,000. Running on three consecutive nights next week, pairs of contestants (in households and support bubbles), must answer a series of questions correctly in order to place different sized stacks of gold bars on a volatile Balance Board. The more bars they build up, the more they could win. But, the more bars on the board, the more volatile it becomes and the greater the risk that the bars come crashing down, leaving the contestants to go home with nothing.
Wednesday to Friday, BBC1, 9pm
ENTERTAINMENT
Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway
As no one is going out, expect huge audiences for the knockabout entertainment of Saturday Night Takeaway, presented by Ant and Dec. In the first episode, Gary Barlow is live in the studio, Stephen Mulhern returns for an Ant v Dec, Fleur East surprises a viewer, plus Harry and Jamie Redknapp are the victims of a prank.
Today, STV, 7pm
TRUE CRIME
Murder In A Small Town
A two-part documentary looking into the case against Luke Mitchell, who was convicted of killing his 14-yearold girlfriend Jodi Jones in Dalkeith in 2003. Mitchell, who was also just 14 at the time of the notorious crime, still maintains his innocence. Wednesday and Thursday, Channel 5, 9pm