THIS WEEK’S TOP TV PICKS
DRAMA I May Destroy You Monday&Tuesday,BBC1,10.45pm
Her brilliance as both an actress and screenwriter have made her a name to watch in recent years. Now Michaela Coel (right) – creator of zeitgeisty sitcom Chewing Gum and star of Black Earth Rising – presents a new 12-part series based on her own traumatic experience of sexual assault. Arabella (Coel) is an acclaimed new literary talent whose world is turned upside down when she realises she has been the victim of rape after a drug was slipped into her drink. It may sound like grimly forbidding subject matter, but though there’s no getting away from the disturbing issues, Coel weaves many moments of surprising humour into a story set amid the busy hubbub of modern nightlife and the arts scene.
DOCUMENTARY Murder In The Outback: The Falconio And
Lees Mystery Sun-Wed, Channel 4,
It was a sensational case that led news headlines around the world. English couple Joanne Lees and Peter Falconio (above) had been backpacking in the remote outback of Australia’s Northern Territory when their camper van was flagged down by a passing truck. Lees told how she had fled for her life after Falconio was shot by an unidentified man. The case lasted for years, and eventually resulted in the life imprisonment of thuggish drug dealer Bradley John Murdoch for the murder. But with Falconio’s body never found, this mustwatch series (over four consecutive nights) promises decisive new evidence.
FASHION You Are What You Wear Thursday, BBC1, 8.05pm
‘If you are in a style rut, you have come to the right place,’ proclaims Rylan Clark-Neal (right) as he presents a funfilled, four-part new series. It’s an alluring concept: members of the public who have struggled with their fashion sense for too long are welcomed to ‘the department store of your dreams’. There, one of five dedicated stylists – each with a very different approach – will endeavour to select the perfect outfit and find them just the look they need. The promise is to fulfil one simple aim: ‘to make you look gorgeous.’ It’s an engaging show that will leave viewers at home hotly debating whether the resulting makeovers are magic – or madness.
FAMILY Celebrity Supply Teacher CBBC, Monday-Friday, 9.25am
Parents have just spent months grappling with teaching their children at home, and now, just as schools are reopening, along comes a 20-part series that might have helped them. Each ten-minute episode sees a public figure offer a lesson in a subject they feel passionate about. Gary Lineker, Ricky Wilson and Katie Piper are among those in future editions, but the run begins with Geri Horner (above) talking about her career as a children’s author. Others to look out for this week are Marcus Rashford’s PE lesson, Emmerdale’s Jeff Hordley and Zoe Henry discussing gardening, Heston Blumenthal’s cookery class and astronaut Tim Peake talking rockets.
HISTORY A Greek Odyssey With Bettany Hughes Friday, Channel 5, 9pm
Join historian Bettany Hughes (right) for a voyage across the sunkissed Aegean and Ionian seas. In an enchanting six-part series she’ll be tracing the journey of Homer’s hero Odysseus as he made his ten-year journey home from the Trojan War to Ithaca. It’s a chance for Hughes to retell the history and legends of the classical era – illustrated by breathtaking monuments and fascinating archaeological digs – and to discover the delights of modern-day Greece on islands where she samples mouthwatering local dishes and experiences the glories of nature awaiting travellers. The opening episode sees Hughes visiting the islands of Lesbos and Samos.