The very best of the week ahead
Today Time BBC ONE 9.00PM
Apart from the superb acting, what elevates Jimmy McGovern’s prison drama above the norm is that it’s not just an impassioned broadside at the brokenness of the British prison system. At heart it’s about redemption and individual responsibility, and the complexity of grief, guilt and forgiveness. Last week we saw imprisoned teacher Mark Cobden (Sean Bean) finally work up the courage to defend himself on the wing – but at a price; and the immediate effects of compromised prison officer Eric McNally’s (Stephen Graham) decision to give in to prison kingpin Jackson (Brian McCardie). In this concluding episode we move on to the second year of Cobden’s incarceration and the chickens come home to roost with a vengeance. But it is how both men react to the trials that face them and respond to the need to make essentially moral choices that drives the drama here with some exceptionally powerful scenes building towards a satisfying close. Anyone keen to find out more about McGovern and the motivations behind his writing could do worse than check out Mark Lawson Talks to Jimmy McGovern, a 2010 interview, which follows on BBC Four at 10.05pm. Gerard O’Donovan
Piers Morgan’s Life Stories: Joan Collins ITV, 9PM
The grand dame of British screen sirens is celebrating 70 years in front of the camera. Who better, then, to have a lash-flutter with than best pal Piers Morgan, who’s clearly delighted to have a chance to share a retrospective root through her 87 years, 76 movies, five e husbands and unrivalled trove of showbiz howbiz memories. A total hoot. ot. GO
Monday Devon and Cornwall ll CHANNEL 4, 8PM
This lavish tour of the e southwestern counties, es, with its twinkly narration by John Nettles, soaring drones nes and soothing violins, has the vibe of an expensive tourist ist advert as it returns for a third rd series. There’s no mention of the poverty and second-home home owners forcing out locals, ocals, and
instead it buys in wholesale to the romantic view of Poldark country. Given the series’ strong ratings, viewers flock to these feel-good stories like gulls around a dropped Cornetto. It’s certainly a feast for the eyes when cameras soar over the 15-acre meadow at the Lost Gardens of Heligan, whose head gardener is enacting a plan to harvest its seeds to sell to landowners who will then plant more meadows. Vicki Power
Great British Gardens with Carol Klein CHANNEL 5, 9PM
Klein’s garden gard tour takes her to Northamptonshire’s Northam Coton Manor, where whe owner Susie Pasley-Tyler Pasley-T explains that she knew kn nothing about gardening garde when she inherited inh the house 30 years ago. Klein admires a the rewards that t Pasley-Tyler has reaped from turning its 10 acres into a showpiece that th mixes informal areas are such as a wildflower meadow with formal spaces, space including a rose garden. VP
Tuesday Philly DA: Breaking the Law
BBC FOUR, 10PM & 11PM
Ted Passon and Yoni Brook’s absorbing eight-parter explores the inherent difficulties in effecting meaningful change upon an institution seemingly purpose-built to resist it. In 2018 Larry Krasner, a veteran progressive, civil rights lawyer and fan of The Clash, upset the odds to be elected as the district attorney of Philadelphia, the city with the most incarcerations in America. Passon and Brook’s cameras were on hand to document the campaign, the aftermath and the early years of his efforts to transform a dysfunctional structure, bring the prison population down and loosen the obsession with punitive measures for even the most minor offences. Krasner is a fascinating character: passionate, abrasive, committed, occasionally rash and apparently fearless, locking horns with the police federation over a long-buried list of officers dubbed “damaged goods”, so unreliable they cannot be called to testify in cases. The issues with which he wrestles lie at the core of criminal justice systems around the world:
punishment or rehabilitation? Whether or not he finds practicable answers should make absolutely compelling television. Gabriel Tate
Uefa Euro 2020: Czech Republic v England / Croatia v Scotland
ITV & ITV2, 7PM / ITV4, 7PM
Home advantage should be enough for England to overcome a solid Czech team who beat Gareth Southgate’s side
in Prague two years ago; Mark Pougatch introduces coverage from Wembley. Over on ITV4, Scotland face an ageing but still dangerous Croatia; Seema Jaswal presents from Hampden Park. Both matches kick off at 8pm, with France, Germany or Portugal likely to await the teams finishing first and second in the group, either at the round of 16 or quarter final stage. GT
Wednesday UEFA Euro 2020: Portugal v France
BBC ONE, 7.30PM (KICK-OFF 8PM)
The Group of Death crescendoes as defending champions Portugal take on World Cup winners France in a repeat of the Euro 2016 final. They meet at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest, while Group F rivals Germany face Hungary at the same time in Munich (BBC Two, 7.30pm) – meaning one of the competition’s top sides could be out of the tournament by the end of the evening. Portugal beat France in their own back yard to win the title five years ago. That result will be on both teams’ minds, and especially that of veteran Portuguese superstar Ronaldo, who went off injured in the first half and missed his chance to add a Euros-winning goal to his all-consuming legacy. Earlier in the day, Slovakia take on Spain in Seville (ITV, 4.15pm) and Sweden face Poland in Saint Petersburg (ITV4, 4.15pm) to decide who qualifies from Group E. GO
Inside Tesco: 24/7 CHANNEL 5, 7PM
The second episode charts how the tough retail environment of the post-war years proved the making of Jack Cohen’s business when cost-saving measures such as self-service, cheap own-brand products and customer loyalty schemes proved hugely popular with cash-strapped customers. GO
Thursday Diana
ITV, 9PM
Exactly a week ahead of what would have been her 60th birthday and the unveiling of a statue that will bring together her estranged sons, William and Harry, Diana, Princess of Wales is lionised in this feature-length biography. It takes the same format as other royal documentaries, minus the royal watchers that crop up in most. Instead, the approach is softer: relatives, friends and acquaintances discuss the Princess’s special qualities and share their memories, accompanied by reams of footage we haven’t much seen before – including home movies taken by Diana’s father. Perhaps the biggest coup is in landing an interview with the Princess’s cousin, Diana
Macfarlane, who’s never spoken to the press before, and who shares childhood photos and talks about the Princess’s worship of Prince Charles when they were at boarding school together. VP
Hollywood Bulldogs
BRITBOX
Narrated by Ray Winstone, this documentary tells the story of a ragtag bunch of British men who fell into being Hollywood stuntmen in the 1970s, before it became a legitimate profession. Listening to their tales is like hanging out with old mates in the pub. VP
Friday Glastonbury in the 90s
BBC TWO & BBC FOUR, FROM 9PM
In the absence of the real thing, the BBC plunders the archives for some of the most noteworthy performances
of perhaps the defining decade of Glastonbury, the 1990s. At 9pm on BBC Two, Glastonbury in the 90s has Skunk Anansie’s Skin telling the story of how the rise of Britpop and dance music began to transform the festival into the global behemoth it is today. Stay tuned for reprises of memorable sets by Radiohead (in their OK Computer pomp at 10pm) and REM (at 11pm) from 1997 and 1999 respectively. Over on BBC Four at 9pm, see Al Green in a performance from 1999, before highlights compilations of the festival from 1998 (at 10pm) and 1999 (at 11.35pm). GT
Great Paintings of the World with Andrew Marr
CHANNEL 5, 9PMC
Andrew Marr moves on to a painting containing enough intrigue and artistry to span a series on its own: Rembrandt’s The Night Watch, which lives in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum. For Marr, it is both a unique piece of storytelling and “a great painting of democracy and tolerance”. GT