TV PICKS OF THE WEEK
GUY MARTIN’S WORLD SPEED RECORDS Tonight, Channel 4, 6pm
Perhaps spending most of his life in Lincolnshire has had more of an impact on Guy Martin than he thought. The county’s flat landscape is as close as we get in Britain to the terrain at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, a site popular with those trying to break the land speed record.
Looking at it all day, every day may have inspired him to help build and pilot a number of machines designed to set new marks. In his latest programme, Guy looks back at the vehicles he’s driven and the stories behind their record attempts.
KILLING ESCOBAR Tomorrow, BBC2, 9pm
How and why was a Scottish mercenary hired to kill notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar in 1989?
This documentary tells the incredible story of Peter McAleese, who was approached by a Colombian cartel to take out the world’s biggest cocaine dealer. As well as a full account of the fateful mission and the dark consequences for those involved, the film provides a character study of McAleese.
After serving with the Parachute Regiment and SAS, McAleese gathered a select team of ex-Special Forces operatives and began training for a lightning raid on Escobar’s Hacienda which ultimately ended in disaster.
UPRISING Tuesday, BBC1, 9pm
Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen’s drama anthology Small Axe was one of the TV highlights of 2020. Now, he’s back with a documentary across three consecutive evenings looking at three key events in 1981.
Episodes focus on the Black People’s Day of Action, which saw more than 20,000 people join the first organised mass protest by black British people, and the Brixton riots, but it begins with the New Cross Fire, which killed 13 young black British people.
It charts the build up to the blaze, hearing from survivors about growing up in South London when tensions with the police – and the National Front – were rising.
CRAIG AND BRUNO’S
GREAT BRITISH ROAD TRIPS Wednesday, ITV, 8pm
The second leg of Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli’s journey takes them to the Yorkshire Dales to experience its picturesque villages, stunning scenery and undulating roads.
Bruno thinks his Aussie fellow Strictly judge should feel at home – sharing Yorkshire’s passion for cricket. But will Craig show his Italian travelling companion how it’s done?
The pair also get a lesson in handforging from blacksmith Annabelle Bradley, and meet the Yorkshire Dales Classic Car Club.
INSIDE HAMPTON COURT Thursday, Channel 5, 8pm
This two-part programme takes an intimate look behind the scenes at King Henry VIII’s beloved royal palace on the Thames. We’re introduced to the staff who keep the popular tourist attraction running, including warder, James, who shows us the last remaining evidence of the king’s passion for second wife Anne Boleyn – intertwined initials carved into the panelling. Plus, Historic Royal Palaces chief curator Tracy Borman follows the story of Henry’s third wife Jane Seymour, and visits the suite of rooms he had built for her.
OLYMPICS 2020: OPENING CEREMONY Friday, BBC1, 12am
The build up to an Olympic Games is rarely straightforward, but in 2020, in the wake of the global pandemic, the Tokyo Games were postponed for the first time in the modern Olympics’ 124-year history.
Thankfully, the XXXII Olympiad opening ceremony will finally take place. Opening day events include cycling, rowing and shooting action.
TAKE OFF WITH BRADLEY & HOLLY Saturday, BBC1, 6pm
TV presenters Bradley Walsh and Holly Willoughby host this new game show which offers members of the audience the chance to win seats on a plane jetting off on the holiday of a lifetime.
This week the prize destination is Los Angeles and Las Vegas.