What not to miss in the week ahead
DRAMA
The Pursuit Of Love
Nancy Mitford’s 1945 comic novel set in the interwar years gets a glossy adaptation for TV in this BBC and Amazon co-production.
Downton alumna Lily James plays Linda Radlett, who with her beloved cousin Fanny Logan (Emily Beecham), is stuck in the Oxfordshire countryside in the 1920s. Linda, who has lived her life under the terrifying regime of Uncle Matthew (Dominic West), dreams of excitement and adventure, but Fanny, abandoned by her mother The Bolter (Emily Mortimer) is more concerned with comfort and stability.
Things start to change for them both when their glamorous neighbour Lord Merlin (Andrew Scott) brings Tony Kroesig (Freddie Fox) to their coming out ball. Tomorrow, BBC1, 9pm
DRAMA
Three Families
Inspired by real events this twopart drama, from the team that made Three Girls, highlights the effects of the 1967 Abortion Act not being extended to Northern Ireland.
The storylines, set between 201319, include Sinéad Keenan as Theresa, who is forced to question her own beliefs when her teenage daughter reveals she’s pregnant. Intent only on protecting her child, Theresa makes a hard choice to try and help her terminate her pregnancy, only to discover that she could face a prison sentence for breaking the law.
Meanwhile, newlyweds Hannah (Amy James-kelly) and Jonathan (Colin Morgan) are devastated when they learn that their much-wanted baby will not survive the pregnancy. When the couple speak to their doctor about their options, they discover how limited their choices are.
Monday and Tuesday, BBC1, 9pm
DRAMA
Danny Boy
Real life is the inspiration for this feature-length drama too, which follows a young man’s journey from hero to alleged war criminal, the determined lawyer on his tail, and their search for truth in the fog of war.
Anthony Boyle plays the real-life soldier Brian Wood, accused of war crimes in Iraq by the human rights lawyer Phil Shiner, played by Toby Jones. The two men go head to head in a legal and moral conflict that takes us from the battlefield to the courtroom, and one of Britain’s biggest ever public inquiries, the Al-sweady Inquiry.
Memory, evidence and trauma collide, as Brian finds himself caught on the fine line between war and unlawful killing.
Wednesday, BBC2, 9pm
DOCUMENTARY
Leigh-anne: Race, Pop & Power
This one-off documentary follows pop star Leigh-anne Pinnock as she confronts her experience as the only black member of Little Mix, and as a black woman in the music industry.
The singer, whose parents are of Caribbean heritage, talks about the racism she experienced growing up and how she has been treated since becoming part of Little Mix. Against the backdrop of the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of George Floyd’s death, Leighanne addresses the racism she sees around her and in her industry and has some difficult conversations about black representation with those at the top of the music industry. Thursday, BBC1, 9pm
DOCUMENTARY
The Queen And Her Cousins With Alexander Armstrong
As the Queen turns 95, Alexander Armstrong travels across the country to meet her cousins, who share what it means to be part of this extraordinary family. The Pointless presenter meets relatives from branches, including from the Mountbatten dynasty and from the Queen Mother’s Bowes Lyon side. Monday, STV, 9pm