Today
A Great British Injustice: The Maguire Story
BBC TWO, 10.00PM; NI, 11.30PM
On 5 October 1974, the IRA detonated bombs in two pubs in Guildford, Surrey. Two months later, Annie Maguire was arrested (along with her husband Patrick, sons Vincent and Patrick, and three others), on suspicion of involvement. Their arrests came as a result of alleged confessions made by Paul Hill and Gerry Conlon (Annie’s nephew). Despite a search of the Maguires’ home, no bomb-making equipment was found and the “Maguire Seven” were charged due to the discovery of what was claimed to be nitro-glycerine on their hands. They were all convicted and served their sentences (except for Gerry’s dad “Giuseppe”, who died in prison). Their convictions were quashed by the Court of Appeal in 1991 when the forensic evidence was discredited. This documentary by Stephen Nolan tells the story of what judge John May described as the worst miscarriage of justice he had ever seen. Warning: this contains harrowing scenes and strong language. Sarah Hughes
Dynasties BBC ONE, 8.00PM
David Attenborough’s enthralling series hits a high point this week as the team follows the Marsh Pride of lions in Kenya through an exceptionally difficult year in which the ragged group find themselves under attack. SH
Monday Babies: Their Wonderful World BBC TWO, 9.00PM
Any exhausted new parents should try to watch this engrossing sing three-part documentary series about child development, presented nted by paediatrician Dr Guddi ddi Singh. Gathering more than n 200 babies and parents at a “Baby by Lab”, Singh oversees some e ambitious and fun experiments s as experts investigate the he nature-versus-nurture re debate by finding out t if temperament is something ething babies are born with. . One particularly interesting ng test, by a US scientist, t, shows how incredibly ly well-attuned very small mall children are to the concept of fairness and how they form biases. At each stage the scientists discuss the importance of the tests in a manner that’s illuminating and easy to digest. Vicki Power
The Truth About the Menopause BBC ONE, 9.00PM; SCOTLAND, 10.45PM
Mariella Frostrup aims to break taboos about the menopause by sharing her own story in this documentary. She discusses the risks of HRT with Woman’s Hour’s Jenni Murray and pays a visit to her gynaecologist. VP
Tuesday Tue Mrs Wil Wilson BBC ONE, 9.0 9.00PM
“The stories just kind of fell out of him.” The truth of these throwaway words by Alison Wilson becomes clear over the course of this gripping drama. It tells the story of Alison (Ruth W Wilson, in a drama based on her grandmother’s memoirs) and her husband Alexander’s (Iain Glen) many secret lives. The revelation comes early, when Mr Wilson, an intelligence officer, passes away, and a woman knocks on Alison’s door claiming to be his wife. Cutting between the Forties, when Alison and Alexander first met, and the Sixties, as the fallout from his half-truths become clear, Mrs Wilson is a well-judged collision of buttoned-up British reserve and private indulgence, of drab quotidian life and the thrill of espionage and dual existences. Adapted by Anna Symon ( Indian Summers), it’s subdued, but with high emotion roiling under the surface. Wilson is superb: Alison veers between disbelief, anger and defiance, as she grapples with her husband’s hazy identity. Gabriel Tate
How to Spend It Well at Christmas with Phillip Schofield
ITV, 8.00PM
This Morning’s co-host is joined by an array of celebrities to test the latest products targeted at the festive market, beginning with toys. Chris Kamara tries ride-on electric cars, Sally Phillips scrutinises computer consoles and Coronation Street’s Simon Gregson plays new board games. GT
Wednesday Death and Nightingales BBC TWO, 9.00PM
Author Eugene McCabe is often tagged as “the greatest Irish writer you’ve never heard of ”. He’s a superb stylist, whose literary territories are the bleak borderlands between Northern PICK OF THE WEEK Ireland and the Republic, Protestants and Catholics, past and present, and the good and bad in every human heart. This new drama is a haunting three-part adaptation of McCabe’s 1993 novel is a spellbinding tale of love, oppression and prejudice, set in rural Co Fermanagh in 1885. Jamie Dornan stars as Liam Ward, the mysterious outsider to whom Beth Winters (Ann Skelly) gives her heart – and with whom she plans to escape the man who calls himself her father, landowner Billy Winters (Matthew Rhys). This opener gets off to a startling start and the atmosphere becomes more poisonous as the story plays out in multiple flashbacks. It’s broodingly romantic, full of smallscale enmity and desire, and an intense but very rewarding watch. Gerard O’Donovan
Superkids: Breaking Out of Care CHANNEL 4, 10.00PM
Writer Lemn Sissay spent his first 18 years moving between foster families and children’s homes, a traumatic experience that permeates much of his work. Here he embarks on a mission to help seven young people in Coventry express their care experiences in words and to perform them in front of an audience of local decision-makers – who may be able to make a real difference to their lives. GO
Thursday
A Hotel for the Super Rich & Famous BBC ONE, 8.00PM; NOT WALES
It must be Luxury Hotel Week in the land of the TV executives, as Channel 4’s documentary on life at Cliveden House is followed by this new BBC series on London’s five-star Corinthia Hotel. It’s initially tempting to see this as no more than an advertisement, but as the episode progresses it becomes clear that it’s a far more interesting prospect. Yes, there are the usual mini-crises – this week is all about general manager Thomas Kochs and his attempts to revitalise the hotel’s afternoon tea – but the programme’s strength lies in the interviews with staff members, whose stories subtly remind us of how diverse the hotel industry is. We meet Bulgarian housekeeper Yvette, who started her life in the UK as a strawberry picker and lovingly refers to the rooms she oversees as “my daughters”. There’s also Sicilian Louis, for whom hotels are “in my DNA”, and room attendant Elena, who speaks movingly about her previous life. And there’s charming 16-year-old Max, the hotel’s youngest employee, who talks about how his job has transformed his self-esteem. It adds up to a documentary that, just like a good hotel, is more than the mere sum of its parts. Sarah Hughes
Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas CHANNEL 4, 8.00PM
Channel 4 get their festive programming off to an early start, as Kirstie Allsopp guides us through how to make everything from pop-up Christmas cards to festive windows. SH
Friday Sir Cliff Richard: Radio 2 in Concert BBC TWO, 11.05PM; SCOTLAND, 11.35PM
With any luck, this concert may signal an end to hostilities between Cliff Richard and the BBC, after the ill-advised coverage by the latter of a police raid on the former’s home – and the consequent legal judgment. This showcase, recorded at the BBC Radio Theatre, should capture the Peter Pan of Pop in rude health. With Sir Cliff ’s latest concerts spanning the decades from early hits ( Move It, Living Doll) to recent material ( Rise Up, Reborn), there should be something for everyone here. And it’s a winner for the BBC too – especially after Richard’s recent Royal Albert Hall concert, at which he impishly encouraged the crowd to “have a boo” at the Corporation. Even those less keen on Richard may find it hard to deny the pop nous of such songs as We Don’t Talk Anymore, and while the idea of him covering Michael Jackson’s Beat It has a perverse appeal, all but the diehard fans will hope he isn’t tempted to roll out Millennium Prayer or Mistletoe and Wine. He’s been playing the latter live, oddly, since this tour kicked off in July. Gabriel Tate
Unreported World CHANNEL 4, 7.30PM
Krishnan Guru-Murthy travels to El Salvador to meet victims of President Donald Trump’s indiscriminate attitude towards the deportation of illegal immigrants. Ostensibly aimed at the MS-13 street gang, Trump’s policies have often swept up those who arrived in America as children over two decades earlier. GT