The Late Late Show
Friday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
Joining host Ryan Tubridy to chat about the upcoming final season of Game of Thrones, actor Liam Cunningham will also discuss his recent trip to South Sudan, where he visited those fleeing the civil war, photographing the people he met in the camps along his journey. Tubridy will also be joined by Irish MEP Mairead McGuinness, vice-president of the European Parliament, for the Brussels view as the UK goes back to the Brexit drawing board. And: Ahead of a national celebration and search for Ireland's Favourite Folk Song, Irish folk royalty including will discuss the music they're most connected to and to play some of their most-loved songs. Also appearing: At the beginning of 2018, Trisha Lewis weighed 27 stone and was fearful for her life. One year later, she is 100lbs down, and has shared her weight loss journey with 17,000 Instagram followers. Trisha describes the realities of morbid obesity and her plans to lose another 100lbs. Illegally adopted from a GP in Monaghan in the 1970s, and with few clues to her origins, Margaret Norton will describe the story of how she recently reconnected with her birth parents. Plus the return of TradFest with a performance from 11 vocalists; and comedy from Bridget and Eamon (Jennifer Zamparelli and Bernard O'Shea).
The Graham Norton Show
Friday, BBC1, 10.35pm
Saoirse Ronan (Mary, Queen of Scots) and Timothée Chalamet (Beautiful Boy) discuss their latest film roles, while Laura Linney reveals whey she is returning to the London stage for 26 further performances of My Name Is Lucy Barton, adapted from the acclaimed novel by Elizabeth Strout. Plus actor Stephen Mangan and music from The 1975.
On Bass – Tina Weymouth!
Friday, BBC4, 9pm
Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club celebrates the role of the bass guitar in popular music. While bassists may not have always enjoyed the same romanticised status as lead guitarists, she looks at some of the instrument's leading practitioners, discovering how Paul McCartney, James Jamerson and Carol Kaye's inspired bass lines underpinned, respectively, The Beatles, Motown and the LA sound in the 1960s. She also meets Herbie Flowers, who played the immortal line on Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side, pays tribute to Chic bassist Bernard Edwards, whose contribution to Good Times would prove be to hugely influential, and talks to Joy Division and New Order's Peter Hook about making the bass a lead instrument.
The Ray D’Arcy Show
Saturday, RTÉ One, 9.50pm
In his first chat show appearance since leaving the jungle, TV legend Noel Edmonds will join D’Arcy to talk about his adventures on
I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!
, as well as his career spanning 50 years. Also: Co Tyrone-born model Kate Grant on being named brand ambassador for cosmetics giant Benefit, as well as on breaking boundaries in the modelling industry and her activism for inclusion of people with Down syndrome and other disabilities; the five leaders of this year’s Operation Transformation, who are collectively 50 pounds lighter after just one week; Nicole Ryan, who talks about her brother Alex, who died after taking a synthetic drug in 2016; and music from Mick Flannery.
Michael McIntyre's Big Surprises
Saturday, BBC1, 7pm
With traces of Noel Edmonds, Jeremy Beadle and Ant & Dec, not to mention Candid Camera and Don't Forget Your Toothbrush, Michael McIntyre's Big Show is now a staple of Saturday night British telly. Here the comedian looks back over his favourite surprises and pranks from the last four series. We'll hear from Ed Balls, Alexander Armstrong and Carol Vorderman on what it was like to hand over their phone in Celebrity Send to All, while Gino D'Acampo relives his experience waking up and finding Michael in his bedroom on Midnight Gameshow. Some of show's Unexpected Stars reveal what it is like to find themselves on the stage in front of 2,000 people. Closing the show will be series three's Anush Hydros, who is now starring in the West End.
Drake's Royal Voyager
Saturday, Channel 5, 9pm
The Golden Hind was an English galleon best known for circumnavigating the globe between 1577 and 1580. Captained by mariner, privateer and explorer Sir Francis Drake, she was originally known as Pelican, but was renamed mid-voyage in 1578 in honour of Drake's patron, Sir Christopher Hatton, whose crest was a golden "hind" (female red deer). In this one-off documentary, Rob Bell explores the adventures of the famous ship which Drake used to plunder Spanish treasure. There are tales of witchcraft, bitter betrayal and attempted mutiny, as well as a look at how the Golden Hind secretly became the first English vessel to sail around the world — by accident.
The Clinton Affair
Sunday, More4, 9pm
This new six-part documentary recounts the events of President Bill Clinton’s administration, in particular when, after nearly 14 hours of debate, the House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment against Clinton, charging him with lying under oath to a federal grand jury and obstructing justice. The series begins in 1992, when the Democrats retook the White House for the first time in 12 years. However, scandals soon plagued the Clintons, and after the suicide of deputy White House counsel Vince Foster in 1993, the president called for an investigation.
Contributing: PA
