TV PICKS OF THE WEEK
strictly Come dancing Saturday, BBC1, 6.45pm
The delayed launch show only aired last night, but it was recorded on September 7 – which is good news for the celebrities as tonight’s live show would have been even more nerve-wracking if they had only been paired up with their professional partners 24 hours ago. Instead, they will at least have had a couple of weeks to get to know each other and rehearse their first dance, ready to perform it for judges Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse. Hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are on hand to reassure the class of 2022.
Frozen Planet II Sunday, BBC1, 8pm
There’s simply no end to the extraordinary footage featured in this series. Each shot is like a work of art – atmospheric, beautiful, bleak or terrifying. So brace yourself for some stunning scenes as we learn more about the creatures which have learnt to adapt to the frozen landscapes of Mount Kenya and the Southern Alps of New Zealand,
among other places. Look out for a pregnant high casqued chameleon, which faces the difficult daily cycle of tropical sun during the day and frost at night.
Inside Man Monday, BBC1, 9pm
Many of us know screenwriter Steven Moffat best for his stint as the showrunner of Doctor Who, as well as the co-creator of Sherlock with Mark Gatiss; the pair also revamped Dracula in 2020. Now Moffat is going solo again with a
new four-part project. It stars David Tennant, Stanley Tucci and Dolly Wells as a trio of seemingly very different people whose lives are about to become entwined in a most intriguing way. The second episode is set to air on Tuesday.
BBC new Comedy awards Tuesday, BBC Three, 10pm
The prestigious BBC New Comedy Awards, first established in 1995, have helped launch and build the careers of some of Britain’s most loved comedians including
Peter Kay, Lee Mack, Nina Conti, Russell Howard, Sindhu Vee, Alan Carr, Sarah Millican, Romesh Ranganathan, Josie Long and Joe Lycett, to name just a few. Over 1,000 stand-ups entered this year’s awards and these have been whittled down to 30 comics for the heats, beginning tonight. The six winners will then go forward to the final in Cardiff.
nine Perfect strangers Wednesday, Channel 4, 10pm
Following her role in Big Little Lies, Nicole Kidman appears in another TV adaptation of a Liane Moriarty novel, also written by David E Kelley. This cultish thriller is set at a secluded
health-and-wellness resort in Northern California, that promises healing and transformation for nine stressed city dwellers. Watching over them is the resort’s director Masha Dmitrichenko (Kidman), but beyond the placid swimming pool, daily nature hikes and personalised breakfast smoothies, something more sinister appears to be happening. Melissa Mccarthy also stars.
My Grandparents’ War: emeli sande Thursday, Channel 4, 8pm
Musician Emeli Sande is the latest celebrity to explore her
grandparents’ war stories, which take in the Second World War, the Mau Mau insurgency in Kenya, and the fight for independence in Zambia. Along the way, Emeli finds out more about the complicated and divisive legacy of the British Empire. It begins as she retraces her maternal grandparents Bob
and Betty Wood’s footsteps in Kenya, where they were posted by the British Army.
the Graham norton show Friday, BBC1, 10.40pm
Bohemian Rhapsody and No Time to Die star Remi Malek joins Graham to talk about Amsterdam, David O Russell’s new period mystery comedy. Scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis is also on the sofa to discuss how it feels to be taking on Michael Myers for the final time in Halloween Ends. Plus, there is music from Robbie Williams, who has recently released his 13th solo studio album XXV.