The must watch TV in the next seven days
DRAMA
Gentleman Jack
Sally Wainwright swaps the gritty contemporary drama of Happy Valley for Halifax in 1832 to retell the story of lesbian landowner Anne Lister. The eight- part series, based on Anne’s extensive diaries, follows her efforts to revive her rundown ancestral home by establishing a coal mine on the land; the travails of her extended family and her love affairs with women. Suranne Jones stars as Anne, who was nicknamed Gentleman Jack by locals. The first episode sees Anne returning broken- hearted to Shibden Hall from Hastings, having discovered that her lover Vere Hobart ( Jodhi May), has accepted a marriage proposal from a man.
Also starring Gemma Jones, Timothy West and Sophie Rundle. Tomorrow, BBC1, 9pm
DRAMA
Summer Of Rockets
Stephen Poliakoff ’s Cold War drama is set in the summer of 1958, when Russia and America are at the start of the Space Race. The espionage plot centres around Samuel Petrukhin, played by Toby Stephens, a Russianborn Jewish inventor ( loosely based on Poliakoff ’s father), who is asked by MI5 to gather information about an affluent, glamorous and charming family he has become friendly with. The couple in question are Kathleen and Richard Shaw MP ( Keeley Hawes and Linus Roache) who are also friends with Lord Arthur Wallington ( Timothy Spall), another person the spooks are interested in. Wednesday, BBC2, 9pm
HISTORY Victorian Sensations With Hannah Fry
We might think our era of technological change is unrivalled, but this fascinating three- part series shows how scientific and social advances transformed society in the 1890s. In the first episode mathematician Dr Hannah Fry investigates how innovations in science and technology – including the X- ray, safety bicycle and protoaeroplane – transformed Britain, giving rise to the modern world. Wednesday, BBC4, 9pm
CRIME Hatton Garden: The Inside Story
As a companion piece to ITV’S fourpart drama Hatton Garden running this week ( see our cover story for more), Ross Kemp tells the untold story of the police investigation into the heist – Britain’s biggest burglary.
Interviewing key officers, and using unseen police surveillance footage and the gang’s secretly recorded conversations, the film takes us inside one of the Flying Squad’s longest and most challenging operations, ending in the conviction of the final gang member in April this year.
Friday, STV, 9pm
DANCE BBC Young Dancer 2019 Grand Final
Anita Rani and Ore Oduba host as the winners of heats in South Asian, contemporary, ballet and street dance, plus one wildcard, compete for the title.
Today, BBC2, 8pm
MUSIC Eurovision Song Contest 2019
Graham Norton hosts as the pop circus moves to Tel Aviv following Israel’s victory last year. The UK, looking for its first win since 1997, is represented by Michael Rice and his anthemic song Bigger.
Today, BBC1, 8pm
HISTORY Britain’s Most Historic Towns
The new series, presented by Alice Roberts, begins in Dover and the underground base beneath the cliffs, where the Dunkirk evacuation was masterminded. ■
Today, Channel 4, 8pm