TV ON DEMAND

Robin Wiggs’s guide to the best TV and movies on iplayer, Netflix and more…

CATCH-UP TV DRAMA

THE LARKINS ITV HUB ★★★★

This revival of the H.E. Bates characters has been a regular Sunday-night tonic, and all six episodes (with Joanna Scanlan and Bradley Walsh as Ma and Pop) are now available to watch as a box set.

STRIKE

BBC IPLAYER ★★★★

The crime dramas based on the books by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling) star Tom Burke as private eye Strike, with Holliday Grainger as Robin. From Thursday.

COMEDY PEOPLE JUST DO NOTHING BBC IPLAYER

★★★★

There’s something universal at the heart of BBC3’S series about a pirate radio station – its deluded characters see themselves as cooler than cool, but in reality, they’re vulnerable and crushingly mediocre. The excellent movie spin-off arrives on pay-per-view on Monday.

DETECTORISTS BBC IPLAYER ★★★★★ Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones recently co-starred in Worzel Gummidge, but they have yet to better their double act in this understated comedy about men who pay far too much attention to their metal detectors.

DOCUMENTARY

NAIL BAR BOYS BBC IPLAYER ★★★★ This new series, about British Vietnamese lads who work together at a nail salon in Liverpool, is a hidden gem. Its subjects, including brothers Astro and Kenny, are looking for love, have a great rapport with their clients, and – a bit of a curveball, this – compete in white-collar boxing. They’re also a lovely, open bunch. From tomorrow.

MALORY TOWERS

BBC IPLAYER ★★★★

Enid Blyton’s girls return for a second series of adventures that honour both the books and the ways we’ve moved on since. It does take a bit of getting used to, but it’s great fun once you do. From Monday.

GRIFF’S GREAT NEW ZEALAND ADVENTURE

ITV HUB ★★★★

Griff Rhys Jones embarks on a Kiwi tour by roads less travelled, starting in the far north.

THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD

BBC IPLAYER ★★★★★

Peter Jackson’s superb First World War tribute, which uses restoration techniques he also applied to Get Back (see Disney+).

ENTERTAINMENT

TOP GEAR BBC IPLAYER ★★★★

Freddie Flintoff, Chris Harris and Paddy Mcguinness head to the British Grand Prix in the first of the motoring show’s new series.

LAST CHANCE

THE MALLORCA FILES BBC IPLAYER ★★★ Series one of this light and sunny mystery with the mismatched sleuths Miranda (Elen Rhys) and Max (Julian Looman). She’s from the UK, he’s from Germany. Until Wednesday.

HOW IT WORKS

The free services BBC iplayer (bbc.co.uk/ iplayer), ITV Hub (itv.com/hub/itv), All 4 (all4.com) and My5 (my5.tv) give you from seven to 30 days – and sometimes longer – to watch TV and films that have already aired. Netflix (netflix.co.uk), Amazon Prime (amazon.co.uk/piv), Now (nowtv. com), Disney+ (disneyplus.com), Apple TV+ (tv.apple.com/gb), Britbox (britbox. co.uk), Acorn TV (acorn.tv) and discovery+ (discoveryplus.co.uk) are all subscription services. There is also a selection of nonsubscription sites for the rental of TV and film, such as Rakuten TV (uk.rakuten.tv) and Google Play (play.google.com/store). All of these services can be watched through a variety of internet-connected devices.