THIS WEEK’S TOP TV PICKS
PROPERTY George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm
There’s apparently a drinking game linked to Amazing Spaces – back for its ninth run – that involves participants downing some form of alcoholic beverage every time the architect declares something is ‘amazing’. If you’re going to have a go, prepare to be sozzled before the credits roll because Clarke (above) can barely believe what he’s seeing. You might think that after so long he’d run out of small spaces transformed into aweinspiring places to see, but no. Here he visits a disappearing bathroom (we’re not sure what the point is, either) and a Reliant Robin being turned into a minicamper. The full series is available on All 4 after the opening episode.
COMEDY Jack Whitehall’s Father’s Day Friday, BBC1, 8.30pm
Next Sunday is Father’s Day, but this year is going to be very different for many. We’ll be contacting our dads via video call or standing awkwardly in back gardens, weather permitting, while socially distancing.
And that’s if we’re lucky. Jack Whitehall (above) is no different, which is why he’s going to make himself comfortable outside his parents’ front door so that he can spend time with his father, Michael. We’ve seen their often combative relationship in the past, but there’s also genuine affection between them, as we’ll see when they reminisce over old photos and videos and spring surprises on key workers who are isolating from loved ones.
HISTORY Tutankhamun In Colour Thursday, BBC4, 9pm
When British Egyptologist Howard Carter opened up the tomb of the famous pharaoh (right) in 1922, he uncovered a hoard of treasures that had been hidden for centuries. Tutankhamun’s tomb had somehow escaped the graverobbers who had desecrated the burial places of so many other pharaohs, and the news of Carter’s discovery captured the imagination of a Britain just out of the First World War. Now that astonishing moment is brought back to vivid life through the colourisation of photographs and film taken at the time. Presented by Egyptologist Elizabeth Frood, this is a compelling retelling of perhaps the greatest archaeological story of all time.
DOCUMENTARY Murder In The Car Park Monday, Channel 4, 9pm
It was a brutal murder from another era, one that has left a haunting legacy and is unsolved to this day. The body of private detective Daniel Morgan (played by Matthew Batte, above) was found in the car park of a South London pub in 1987 with an axe wedged in his skull. Rumours tied the killing to anyone from crime gang lords to corrupt senior police officers and even powerful Establishment figures, but an investigation lasting more than 30 years has so far come up empty-handed. Now, featuring interviews with suspects, police officers and Morgan’s family, a gripping three-part series promises to shed new light on a fascinating if sinister chapter in British criminal history.
DRAMA My Brilliant Friend Friday, Sky Atlantic, 9pm & 10.10pm
The first season of the drama adapted from Elena Ferrante’s epic series of novels earned acclaim to match the plaudits that greeted the brilliant source material. In the new series, the two young women at the heart of Ferrante’s autobiographical story embark on a new stage of their lives, based on the second book,
The Story Of A New Name.
For the studious Elena (played by Margherita Mazzucco, pictured above), a promising academic career beckons, but her beloved friend Lila is trapped in a loveless, violent marriage. Prepare to be captivated once more by the enthralling saga set in a lovingly crafted vision of post-war Naples.