THIS WEEK’S TOP TV SHOWS
DRAMA Little Birds Tuesday, Sky Atlantic, 9pm & 10pm
Brace yourself for a refreshingly adult costume drama in which the characters waste little time shedding their elegant period dress for copious bedroom scenes in which almost nothing is left to the imagination. A colourful feast for the senses based on the short stories by erotica author Anaïs Nin, the new six-part series is set among a diverse community of fevered expats from Europe and America in Tangier, Morocco, in the 1950s. Rising British star Juno Temple (above) stars as debutante Lucy Savage, who rapidly discovers that her fiancé Hugo (Hugh Skinner, Fleabag) has little interest in women and so embarks on an uninhibited exploration of the sensual possibilities offered all around her.
LIFESTYLE Lose A Stone In 21 Days With Michael Mosley Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm
Although some of us began lockdown with good intentions, many gave in to temptation, devouring comfort foods. TV doctor Michael Mosley (above) thinks he has a solution to our over-indulgence and has devised a lifestyle intervention that will make us feel good as well as overhaul our health. He puts five volunteers on a very low-calorie diet for three weeks and explores the research that indicates ties between BMI and Covid-19 survival rates. The first episode sees the volunteers undergo tests to ascertain their health levels before Mosley’s wife, GP Clare Bailey, offers advice she hopes will help them stick to their diets.
COMEDY Semi-Detached/ Squeamish About... Thursday, BBC2, 10pm & 10.30pm
A new comedy double bill starts tonight. SemiDetached sees the return of Lee Mack, whose farcical sitcom begins a six-part series after a successful pilot last year. Now blessed with both a baby girl and a moustache, in this week’s opener Stuart (Mack) is at the centre of a whirlwind of antics involving an unnerving brush with the law, the dangers of hummus and Frances Barber (above). Then at 10.30pm, velvetvoiced Matt Berry stars as eccentric historian Michael Squeamish, sharing his highly unreliable insights into the past over a bizarre array of archive footage that may have nothing to do with what he’s actually talking about. A joyful gem.
MUSIC Everything: The Real Thing Story Friday, BBC4, 9pm
The charttopping You To Me Are Everything made The Real Thing superstars in the hot summer of 1976, but the story behind that infectious sound was far removed from the glamour of an uptown disco. In this revealing documentary, the group’s members including Chris Amoo (above) and their musical peers – featuring Billy Ocean, Kim Wilde and David Essex – recall the long years of paying their dues before their ‘overnight success’. It’s also a powerful reminder of a very different era of race relations, when the Liverpudlian group faced bigoted attitudes that stood in the way of their success, before being confronted by their own personal demons.
SPORT The Edge Sunday, BBC2, 9pm
Cricket fans will long debate which is the greatest England era of all time, but only once has the national team sat atop the international Test rankings. The remarkable story of the side that, from 2009 to 2013, rose through the table to become world number one is revealed in this riveting documentary, encompassing all the dramatic feats on the pitch and the tempestuous conflicts in the dressing room. Discover what went into the winning formula through previously unseen behind-the-scenes footage, and candid interviews with players including Sir Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Sir Alastair Cook (above) and Stuart Broad, as well as their hard-nosed coach, Andy Flower.