The very best of the week ahead
Today Top Gear BBC TWO, 8.00PM
With Chris Evans now departed, Top Gear returns for another stab at regaining its popularity with Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris and Rory Reid sharing the presenting duties. And, from the off, the on-set rapport is so much better. But will a simple retune get this banger back on the road? Top Gear’s format was showing cracks even before Clarkson, Hammond and May ran off into the sunset. With The Grand
Tour a success for Amazon, the need for Top Gear to seize its chance and try for something fresh is greater than ever. A glance at the gee-wow supercar line-up (Aston Martin DB11, Ferrari FXX K, Bugatti Chiron, Lamborghini Hurican) and travelogue locations (Kazakhstan, Montenegro, Cuba, Las Vegas) for the new series suggests they haven’t entirely grasped the reinvention nettle. But with an eyepopping rocket launch tonight that out-bangs anything the Grand Tour dreamt up, there’s no doubt that fun and spectacle is still high on the agenda. Gerard O’Donovan
Call the Midwife BBC ONE, 8.00PM
Liz White brings a blast of energy to the midwives’ drama when she returns as the mother of thalidomide victim Susan. She enlists the help of guiltridden Dr Turner (Stephen McGann) in organising prosthetic limbs for her daughter. It was Turner, after all, who prescribed the drug. Vicki Power
Monday Mutiny CHANNEL 4, 9.00PM
“There’s an old nautical saying: ‘When ships were made of wood, men were made of steel’.” So says the captain at the start of this thrilling five-part series. Can 21stcentury men rise to the challenge by reliving one of history’s greatest feats of endurance and survival? In an imaginative experiment, nine amateur adventurers recreate William Bligh’s 1789 voyage, when he and his loyal crew crossed 4,000 miles of the Pacific Ocean, after being cast adrift from HMS Bounty by mutinying officers and left for dead. SAS: Who
Dares Wins chief instructor Ant Middleton skippers the plucky team attempting the journey from Tonga to Timor in a replica 23ft open boat, with the same equipment and rations that Bligh’s men had. Raging seas and sudden storms turn out to be the least of their problems. The lack of toilet facilities, shelter and privacy soon takes its toll. Will Middleton face his own mutiny? It’s compelling Bear Grylls-on-a-boat fare, with reconstructions and readings from Bligh’s diary adding an extra, evocative dimension. The epic journey continues tomorrow. Michael Hogan
Broadchurch ITV, 9.00PM
After last week’s searing, carefully handled opener, rape victim Trish (Julie Hesmondhalgh) is still in shock and reluctant to talk. Detectives Ellie Miller (Olivia Colman) and Alec Hardy (David Tennant) start to investigate Trish’s private life and interview people who were in the area at the time of the attack. Toby Dantzic
Tuesday Back to the Land with Kate Humble BBC TWO, 8.00PM
Terms such as “artisan” or “handcrafted” have received a bad rap ever since they were adopted by trendy people, but here Kate Humble and entrepreneur Geetie SinghWatson (who opened the UK’s first organic gastropub) find examples of how businesses adhering to such principles may come to underpin Britain’s ailing rural industries. They begin in Pembrokeshire in the spring, where they find six cottage industries turning challenging traditional practices into innovative, successful ventures. Among them is a 15-strong company producing handmade, handwrapped chocolate called NomNom, and a man producing an assortment of seaweed products which he then sells both to global retailers and to passers-by from his seaside shack. It’s not exactly a “how to” guide, as few would be able to take these kind of gambles without a substantial financial cushion. But for an area of the British economy too often given bad press, Back to the Land provides a much-needed injection of positivity and can-do spirit. Gabriel Tate
The Replacement BBC ONE, 9.00PM
Architect Ellen’s (Morven Christie) obsession with Paula (Vicky McClure) starts to impinge on her home life and new baby as she returns to work. Ellen’s attempts to expose Paula’s malfeasance is thwarted by her quarry’s own manoeuvring. GT
Wednesday A Killing in My Family CHANNEL 4, 10.00PM
“How do you spell killed? Is it a curly C or kicking K?” “Granny said mum passed away but I didn’t know what passed away meant.” They are just two of the guileless moments that make this raw, intimate documentary so poignant. Every day in England and Wales, a child loses a family member to murder or manslaughter. For this documentary, the Cutting Edge team are given unprecedented access to the UK’s only residential weekend specifically for bereaved children. The event, run by the Winston’s Wish charity, invites 16 children, some as young as four, along with their surviving parent or grandparents to face their grief and pain together, under the close guidance of bereavement professionals – many of whom have suffered the same experience. The cameras capture the full impact of the weekend on the children, from the heartbreaking tales of shootings, stabbings and murdersuicides to the admirable work of the team who help rebuild the children’s lives. It’s tough to watch at times but worthy and powerful. MH
The Royal House of Windsor CHANNEL 4, 9.00PM
Tonight’s slice of Windsor family history puts the Duke of Edinburgh centre stage. This episode explores his naval career and his role as the Windsor’s most radical moderniser. TD
Thursday Prime Suspect 1973 ITV, 9.00PM
From the moment Thunderclap Newman’s Something in the Air kicks off in the second episode, it’s clear that something remains slightly off about Prime Suspect 1973: a great song, but it was released in 1969. For all the good intentions, the execution on this series still isn’t quite there. The investigation into the murder of Julie-Ann Collins proceeds alongside the plans of criminal kingpin and prison lag Clifford Bentley (Alun Armstrong) to mastermind a bank robbery. The young Jane Tennison (Stefanie Martini), meanwhile, risks becoming a bit-part player in her own show, and when she gets into a clinch with a colleague, their professional relationship doesn’t emerge unscathed. GT
Brexit: Britain’s Biggest Deal BBC TWO, 9.00PM; SCOT, 11.15PM
The BBC continues to wrestle with the thorny notion of what Brexit means, with Laura Kuenssberg stepping up to weigh up the costs and benefits of a quick, clean Brexit and a longer, more complex process. GT
Friday The Gadget Show CHANNEL 5, 7.00PM
After 13 years and more than 300 episodes, the technology review show gets a major revamp, returning with a new-look, newsier format, and now minus presenter Jason Bradbury. Instead actor Craig Charles takes the reins offering tech news round-ups and reviews from a new studio base, while old hands Jon Bentley and Ortis Deley contribute the usual prerecorded tech challenges. Journalists Georgie Barrat and Harry Wallop also join the show, the latter with a regular heads-up on the best gadget bargains of the week. There is a treat for gamers in this opener with Charles reviewing the all-new Nintendo Switch games console just days after it launches in the UK. Other features include Bentley testing a 360-degree camera in the perfect location (a motorcycle “wall of death”), and Barrat’s series-long experiment to see whether training apps and gadgets can change the fortunes of struggling Midlands minor-leaguers Monkey Tree FC. GO
Lethal Weapon ITV, 9.00PM
Can anyone really top Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as Lethal Weapon’s misfit police duo? Well, Clayne Crawford and Damon Wayans are making a decent fist of it in this TV series based on the buddy-cop film. Here, Riggs and Murtaugh (Crawford and Wayans) attend a boxer’s party, which leads them into a case involving illegal gun-runners touting militarygrade weapons. Clive Morgan