The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
DEATHS IN ABERDEEN
PREVIEWS Neil Diamond At The BBC – Saturday, BBC2, 8.25pm
Legendary singer-songwriter Neil Diamond has a knack for writing timeless tracks that seemingly never fade from popularity – and his hits such as Sweet Caroline, Forever In Blue Jeans and Solitary Man are rarely far from public consciousness. This means the BBC has decades of appearances on a range of BBC programmes including Wogan, The Shirley Bassey Show, Later With Jools Holland and Top Of The Pops from which to draw clips of classic performances, as well as rare interview footage. The programme is the first of an evening dedicated to Diamond, and is followed by Neil Diamond: Solitary Man (9.25pm), a documentary charting his life and career, and three live concert recordings.
The Piano – Sunday, Channel 4, 9pm
Claudia Winkleman is back on the box for the second run of this musical contest and, if it’s as remarkable as the first, we’re all in for a winner. For the uninitiated, the series focuses on the hunt for Britain’s best amateur pianist, with Mika and Lang Lang as the judges. They secretly watch players tickling the ivories on a keyboard in a public space. This time it’s Manchester’s Piccadilly Station, where a classically trained boxer, a dance DJ with a fantastic voice and an 80-year-old romantic catch their eye in the opening episode. Expect to be impressed and moved by what you see and hear as the search for the successor to last year’s winner – blind, neurodivergent teenager Lucy Illingworth – begins.
Blue Lights – Monday, BBC1, 9pm
After a smooching session while out for drinks at the pub, police colleagues Shane and Annie wake up in bed together – and, as she now lives with Grace, Annie is desperate for her surrogate big sister not to find out. However, all of that quickly goes out of the window when Shane comes downstairs with the news that Dixie has been shot. Meanwhile, as Lee Thompson moves quickly to fill the gap left by the death, the police head to the Mount Eden estate looking for answers – and they get more than they bargained for. Elsewhere, Grace and Stevie attend a heartbreaking case that shows a very different side to life on the Belfast beat.
Stalking: State Of Fear – Tuesday, ITV1, 9pm
Every day of the year, millions of British women live in fear of the men stalking them. Whether hiding in fortified homes or putting on disguises when venturing outside, this Exposure shocking documentary follows threatened women who are taking on the criminal justice system in an attempt to hold their stalkers to account. With intimate access to victims and also the family of Gracie Spinks – who was murdered by a work colleague in 2021 after police officers failed to take action against someone they could have known was a serial stalker – the programme reveals how the women of today feel abandoned by the system.
Race Across The World –
Wednesday, BBC1, 9pm
The race continues and budgets are a bit on the light side for some of the teams – especially the expensive first leg in Japan. Pchum Ben, a 15-day religious holiday in Cambodia, is in full swing as the teams leave Cambodia. The festival is said to precede the opening of the gates of hell, a fact which should give the teams a reason to hasten on towards the next checkpoint some 1,400km away. Their trip takes them through Thailand to the mountain town of Mae Sariang in the Shan Highlands on the Thai-Myanmar border. With a range of routes available, a familiar dilemma remains – stay on popular roads where costs are higher or go off the beaten track to save money.
The Twelve – Thursday, ITV1, 10,45pm
Tonight’s is the penultimate episode of the compelling Australian courtroom drama and Nathan lies under oath about the affair. Kate is understandably livid and wants to take the stand herself to set the records straight – completely going against Colby’s advice not to testify. But will the secret between Kate and her sister explode under the pressure of the revelations? Meanwhile, Simon’s daughter goes missing, putting his loyalties to the test, and Farrad is forced into an impossible situation, seeking help from a place that he can’t hope to find it. Sam Neill (Jurassic Park) and Kate Mulvany (Hunters) head the cast, alongside Coco Jack Gillies, Mandela Mathia, Matt Nable and Hazem Shammas.
Granite Harbour – Friday, TOP BBC1, 8pm PICK
After the first three-part series was a hit with viewers back in 2022, we’re returning to Aberdeen for a second run of the crime drama. Romario Simpson and Hannah Donaldson return as odd couple police detectives Davis Lindo and Lara “Bart” Bartlett. Last time out they solved the murder of one of the city’s most prominent oil industry executives. This time, they have double the trouble to deal with – their first case involves the murder of drug kingpin Grace McFadden’s notorious fixer, while the second focuses on the death of a stowaway, whose pregnant partner claims he was murdered en route to what they hoped would be a better life. Dawn Steele, Patrick Robinson and Bhav Joshi co-star.