TV & Radio
Highlights and listings
DOCUMENTARY Talking Pictures: Harry Potter/harry Potter: A History Of Magic
There’s a double helping of Harry Potter-related programmes as Warwick Davis (Professor Flitwick and Griphook in the franchise) explores the BBC archives and conjures up the story of the Harry Potter films with the help of rarely seen footage and interviews with the series’ producer, directors, actors and JK Rowling herself.
The second programme is inspired by the new British Library exhibition about the boy wizard, marking the 20 years since Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone first cast its spell on readers across the globe.
JK Rowling, who is lending unseen manuscripts, drawings and drafts from her private archives (which will sit alongside treasures from the British Library, as well as original drawings from Jim Kay) talks about some of the personal items she has lent to the exhibition and gives new insight into her writing, looking at some of the objects from the exhibition that have fired her imagination. For a complete JK Rowling fix, the BBC has also decided to repeat the 2011 episode of Who Do You Think You Are? (today, BBC2, 6:30pm) which investigated the author’s French roots.
Today, BBC2, 8:30pm/9pm
CRIMINAL JUSTICE Ross Kemp Behind Bars: Inside Barlinnie
With unprecedented access, Ross Kemp immerses himself in prison life at the sharp end in HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow. The iconic prison has a formidable reputation and has served the city for over 130 years. With access to every part of the jail, Ross discovers what it is really like to be an inmate and how prison officers handle the violence, homemade weapons and drugs, which cast a shadow across daily life behind bars. He discovers what it is like to be a lifer, meets a prisoner preparing for freedom and with trepidation, enters the wing of the prison housing sex offenders, the fastest growing group of inmates in the prison system today.
Thursday, STV, 9pm
NATURE
Blue Planet II
This landmark seven-part series, which has been more than four years in the making, will bring us closer than ever before to the lives of some of the most extraordinary sea creatures.
David Attenborough, now 91, adds his unmistakable voice to the astonishing images gathered during more than 6,000 hours of underwater filming in all the oceans of the world, from the intense heat of the tropics to our planet’s frozen poles.
Tomorrow, BBC1, 8pm
MUSIC Ball And Boe: Back Together
Following the success of their first album and TV special, Michael Ball and Alfie Boe are reunited for more
classic stage numbers, including As If We Never Said Goodbye, from Sunset Boulevard and He Lives In You from The Lion King. Special guests include Imelda May and Jason Manford.
Tomorrow, STV, 9pm
FOOD
Nigella: At My Table
Nigella Lawson is back with a new series packed with simple recipes full of complex flavours. In the first episode, the cook and author shares new discoveries like her Turkish-inspired eggs, as well as oldfashioned favourites including Queen of Puddings.
Monday, BBC2, 8:30pm
MUSIC
Harry Styles At The BBC
The former One Direction star performs tracks from his eponymous number one debut album in a one-hour special hosted by Nick Grimshaw. ■
Thursday, BBC1, 8pm