MUST-SEE SHOWS
ELLA FITZGERALD: JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS
Tonight, BBC2, 9.30pm
SHE had one of the great voices of the 20th century and this documentary explores how Ella Fitzgerald’s music also reflected the passions and troubles of the times she lived in and the events of her own life.
Starting in 1934, when the teenage Ella won a talent contest in Harlem, it traces her career over five decades, but this is no normal biography. Instead, it draws intelligently on images and music to evoke the period, although it does find room for some impressive talking heads, including Smokey Robinson, Jamie Cullum, Tony Bennett, Norma Miller and Laura Mvula.
TWO SISTERS, ONE BODY
Tomorrow, Channel 4, 9.15pm
LIKE many other teenagers, Carmen and Lupita Andrade love playing the piano, doing handstands, hanging out with their friends and dressing up together.
However, they are two very special young ladies – two in a million, you could say. Born in 2002 in Mexico, the omphalopagus twins were given three days to live. But while most conjoined twins are either stillborn or die within the first few hours of being born, the sisters have survived against the odds.
Carmen and Lupita moved to America when they were babies with their parents and received expert medical care.
Fast forward 19 years, and this documentary follows the twins, still conjoined and living in small-town Connecticut.
LONG LOST FAMILY: BORN WITHOUT TRACE
Monday, ITV, 9pm
OVER the next two nights, Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell are helping four foundlings to finally uncover their identities.
Tonight, we hear the incredible true stories of David McBride who was abandoned in a car as a two-week-old infant, and Helen Ward who was left in a tartan bag in a telephone box in Dundalk in 1968.
Both have spent their adult life trying to track down their parents and have submitted DNA samples in the hope of getting answers.
SPRINGWATCH 2020
Tuesday, BBC2, 8pm
THE second week of live programmes from across the country begins with a very timely look at how nature can affect our mental health.
Chris Packham will also be sharing an extraordinary story of
how a love of birds united English POWs and German officers during the Second World War.
There will be plenty of glorious footage, as the team follows a pair of choughs in West Wales, and cameraman Gordon Buchanan focuses on Scottish ospreys in Loch Lomond National Park.
BRADLEY WALSH: HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY
Wednesday, ITV, 9pm
JASON MANFORD is the presenter looking back at Bradley Walsh’s life and career, from his early showbiz days as a standup comedian to his appearances as a game show host and acting roles in such hit series as Coronation Street, Law and Order: UK and, most recently, Doctor Who.
There’s also an amusing look at Walsh’s outtakes, fashion choices and hairstyles down the years.
AMBULANCE
Thursday, BBC1, 9pm
THE Bafta-award winning series is back with new episodes filmed in the spring of 2019. Cameras follow the staff of the North West Ambulance Service. The shift starts with a call about a stabbing.
Advanced Paramedic Rob is dispatched, but as it is not known whether the attacker is still in the vicinity, he will have to wait for the all-clear before he and his colleagues can actually rush to the rescue and treat the victim.
TOM JONES AT 80
Friday, BBC4, 9pm
TO mark the Welsh singer’s birthday, this archive-based celebration looks back at his remarkable 60-plus year career in the spotlight.
Drawing on his greatest songs, from Delilah and It’s Not Unusual to The Green, Green Grass of Home and Kiss, it also includes rarely seen footage and interviews.