BEST OF THE REST
THE PARAS: MEN OF WAR
ITV, 9pm
TRAINING to become an elite soldier is absolutely brutal.
Pushed to their physical and mental limits, the young men, some still in their teens, will not all make it through the 28-week recruitment course.
Some will certainly wonder if they should have chosen a nice gentle career instead.
This no holds-barred series has unfiltered access to the Parachute Regiment over 12 months as it follows raw recruits hoping to earn a coveted maroon beret.
It’s a tough start for the 41 recruits at Catterick barracks, who each have their heads shaved and will all be called Joe (Joined On Enlistment).
“The first day in training is a massive shock,” says Lieutenant Dan Lovegrove.
Private Jack Kojo-Braima, 17, says: “I’m not going to be able to call my mum and ask her to give me a hug. It’s about just growing a pair and getting the job done.”
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN: EURO ROAD TRIP
Sky One, 9pm
THIS League Of Their Own spin-off sees Freddie Flintoff and Jamie Redknapp take on challenges on a European road trip, all set by the absent James Corden.
Like an all-powerful overlord, James merely sets out the tasks from his throne somewhere, with the occasional voiceover his only input.
But Jamie and Freddie are more than capable of continuing the usual blokey banter on their own as they tot up points, trying to avoid being the loser.
There’s a forfeit – the loser will have to bungee-jump off that massive 720ft dam, the Contra Dam, you see at the beginning of Goldeneye.
In this episode, the mates strike it out across the Channel in a sailing race, with Kevin Pietersen and Alan Carr there to help – or hinder.
And later, the four go on stage at the Lido de Paris to perform a show-stopping can-can. Although, for them, it’s more like ‘can’t can’t’.