The very best of the week ahead
Sunday
Secrets of Egypt’s Valley of the Kings
CHANNEL 4, 8.00PM
This engaging magazine series on recent discoveries in Egyptology brought us absorbing stories last year on why Tutankhamun’s tomb remained undiscovered for so long, new information about the reign of the great female pharaoh Hatshepsut, and how the tomb of Seti I is still yielding new information on the rituals practiced by ancient Egyptians in preparation for the afterlife. Now two new episodes explore, among other things, the depths to which some archaeologists are taking the search for the tomb of ancient Egypt’s most famous ruler, Cleopatra, and work currently being done to unearth the tomb of the last pharaoh of them all. But, first, tonight’s edition returns to the great pyramids of Giza and the recent discovery of a buried tomb dating back almost six millennia, which raises important questions about why the pharaohs abandoned this grandiose burial site and developed instead a secret new cemetery in the Valley of the Kings.
Gerard O’Donovan
The Nest
BBC ONE, 9.00PM
The second episode of this gripping surrogacy drama begins three months on, with Kaya (Mirren Mack) fully installed in Dan (Martin Compston) and Emily’s (Sophie Rundle) home. Meanwhile, journalist Eleanor (Katie Leung) is gathering more evidence about millionaire Dan’s suspiciously meteoric rise. GO
Monday The Real Michael Jackson
BBC TWO, 9.00PM
You might think nk that after the horrors of Leaving Neverland verland there is little more to be said d about the life of the one-time king g of pop, Michael Jackson. BBC Two begs to differ, however, and this feature-length documentary sounds more interesting ng than the standard trawl rawl through a dead d celebrity’s fall from grace. Made by y Jacques Peretti, ti, always a thoughtful ghtful film-maker and d one never afraid to o ask darker questions, The Real Michael Jackson aims to examine our relationship with celebrity, the things that we are prepared to ignore in the name of fandom and the reasons why the rumours about Jackson were allowed to slide. The film promises to look at Jackson’s complicated upbringing, to consider the way in which he both used and was used by his fame and to look at whether it is possible to separate the joy-filled music from the man. Sarah Hughes
Robbie Lyle: Football Fans Under the Skin
ITV, 10.45PM; UTV, 11.40PM; WALES, 11.10PM; NOT STV
Robbie Lyle, best-known as the loud-mouthed host of Arsenal Fan TV, shows us a different side with this thoughtful one-off film about racism in football. In addition to discussing the widespread racist abuse he receives, Lyle talks to fans of other clubs about their heartbreaking experiences while
Tuesday
Back in Time for the Corner Shop
BBC TWO, 8.00PM
The BBC knows it’s onto a winner with the Back in Time franchise, so much that this almost entirely superfluous postscript to its Corner Shop incarnation still passes the time effortlessly entertainingly, for all the padding and recycled footage from the previous five episodes. With the Ardern family having reached the end of their journey, they look to 2020 and beyond in the company of host Sara Cox. With the big beasts continuing to choke the smaller local stores, and one third of transactions now done using self-service, what are shopkeepers doing to fight back? They discover a blend of past and present, where “zero-waste” shopping rubs shoulders with remote-controlled delivery robots, Pay in Aisle scanning and niche stores catering for specific communities. As so often, the routes to survival tend to involve diversification or specialisation, with scant space in the middle ground. Gabriel Tate
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer
CHANNEL 4, 8.00PM
Another eccentric selection of famous faces get their hands doughy in the tent. ITV’s Alison Hammond, BBC’s Alex Jones, YouTube’s Joe Sugg and Twitter’s James Blunt (also known to sing) get to grips with traybakes, a classic British staple, and a biscuit scene reflecting childhood ambitions. GT
Wednesday Save Me Too
SKY ATLANTIC/NOW TV, 9.00PM
Anyone concerned that the first series of the brilliant but bleak Save Me wasn’t quite dark enough can rest assured that the formula for series two appears to be the same but with added misery. It’s 17 months since Nelly (the excellent Lennie James) saved Grace (Olive Gray) from the predatory Gideon (Ade Edmondson), but he has been left with more questions than answers and remains haunted by the disappearance of his estranged daughter, Jody (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness). Deciding that the only way to cope is to take direct action, Nelly approaches Gideon’s wife, Jennifer (Lesley Manville, a welcome addition to the cast), setting in motion a series of events that look set to have wide-reaching and tragic consequences. As with the first series, the great joy here lies in James’s smart, believable scripts, which perfectly capture the dismissed and supposedly dead-beat in a way that’s rarely well-depicted on TV. SH
Sunderland ’Til I Die
NETFLIX
The fantastic fly-on-the-wall documentary series returns for a second series with things not looking much better for beleaguered Sunderland, now in League One after relegation. Initial focus is on the new owner, Oxford businessman Stuart Donald, who arrives in the city talking a strong game before discovering that all the polished words in the world aren’t much help when you can’t get points on the board. SH
Thursday
How to Make: The Trainer
BBC FOUR, 8.00PM
We’re used to TV series that set out to show us how products like familiar food brands, homewares, cars and aeroplanes are designed and manufactured. But in this absorbing new series, materials engineer Zoe Laughlin takes things a step further – not only deconstructing everyday items but also designing and recreating her own bespoke versions to reveal the science that governs their making. She begins tonight with the not-so-humble trainer – a miracle of footwear design and manufacture that has been refined to a state of ergonomic near-perfection over the course of a century. Laughlin sets about ripping a selection of trainers into their varied constituent parts – in some cases more than 60 disparate items go into making up soles, uppers and fastenings. But it’s not until Laughlin sets about designing her own bespoke pair, illustrating the range of materials choices and processes that goes into them, that the full complexity of these amazingly advanced products emerges. GO
Hospital
BBC TWO, 9.00PM; N IRELAND, 11.15PM
The final episode in this fascinating series looks at treatments offering new hope to cancer patients. In Alder
Hey Children’s Hospital, two-year-old Yeshua undergoes a radical 12-hour surgery to remove a tumour in his abdomen. GO
Friday
Have I Got News for You/ The Mash Report
BBC ONE, 9.00PM/BBC TWO, 10.00PM
We could all use a laugh in these distressing times. And despite the BBC halting production on numerous soaps and dramas, the corporation is determined to keep us entertained by continuing to produce these two satirical shows. In order to fulfil social-distancing orders, however, both will be filmed without a live audience, a move that will likely impact the jovial atmosphere significantly, so slack will have to be cut. BBC Breakfast reporter Steph McGovern presents tonight’s edition of Have I Got News For You, with journalist Helen Lewis and comedian Miles Jupp joining team captains Ian Hislop and Paul Merton. All five will be recorded from their homes, but via the miracle of modern technology, they will appear together on a virtual HIGNFY set. The fourth series of The Mash Report, on BBC Two, kicks off with Nish Kumar and his colleagues, including Geoff Norcott and Ellie Taylor, also filming from their own homes. It’ll be tricky for both shows to find the right tone, considering there’s only one story and it’s no laughing matter. But we’re relying on them to deliver a caustic take on the news that brightens up what’s been another grim week. Vicki Power
Pilgrimage: The Road to Istanbul
BBC TWO, 9.00PM
The second instalment of the gently entertaining documentary follows the celebrity pilgrims to Bulgaria through a Serbian forest. Adrian Chiles is particularly charmed by a Serbian nun manning a remote monastery whose religious destiny was sealed on a visit to Essex. VP