TV guide: 12 of the best new shows to watch, beginning tonight

The Full Irish Hidden Camera Show

Sunday, RTÉ1, 8.30pm

Be careful when you’re out and about: you might find yourself getting pranked by Carl Mullan, Doireann Garrihy and Donncha O’Callaghan. This week the trio have a more clever tricks up their sleeves for fooling hapless passersby, including a miracle hair restoration cream that works a little too effectively, a quiz where the contestants have no time to answer the questions, a rubbish fashion designer who thinks he’s Versace, a parrot that demands to be let out of its cage, and a rogue AI that has some rather controversial views.

The Piano

Sunday, Channel 4, 9pm

It’s been called Bake Off for pianos, and the first series – broadcast last year – was so well received, the producers have lined up two more for our delight and delectation. The idea is simple: amateur pianists do their party piece at pianos set up in various railway station concourses around the UK, but what they don’t realise is that judges Claudia Winkleman, Mika and Lang Lang are concealed nearby listening to every note. The best pianists are chosen to compete for a chance to perform a concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall. In the first episode of the new series, the judges are in Manchester’s Piccadilly Station, where they encounter some unlikely ivory-tinklers, including a boxer and dance DJ.

Ireland’s Young Filmmakers of the Year Awards

Monday, RTÉ2, 7pm

Young film-makers from around the country are showcasing their talent in the 28th annual IYFTYs, taking place in Troy Studios in Limerick, and presented by actor and comedian Faye Shortt and radio presenter Gemma Bradley. Budding Greta Gerwigs and Christopher Nolans have to start somewhere, and these awards set out to encourage young film-makers – including some of this year’s entrants, Gracie May Burke (7), Louis Martin (17) and Meagha Marcharla (17) to follow their dreams. Among the short films, animations and documentaries up for gongs are: Charlie, by St Brigid’s Community College in Galway, the story of a teenager dealing with homelessness; Devil May Care, Nora Twomey’s story of her great-grandmother’s involvement in the Irish Civil War; and Who Killed Cinema?, Corey Talbot’s Lego mystery adventure.

Miriam: Death of a Reality Star

Monday, Channel 4, 9pm

In 2004, a bunch of hot-blooded fellas signed up for reality dating show There’s Something about Miriam, and battled to win the heart of gorgeous Mexican model Miriam Rivera. But when it was revealed at the end that Rivera was transgender, things turned sour, prize money was handed back, and writs began to fly. Fast-forward to 2019, and Rivera is found dead at her Mexican home by her husband, in an apparent suicide. This factual series looks back at that notorious TV show, Miriam’s troubled past, and her mysterious death 15 years later.

Tuesday, RTÉ1, 7.30pm

The garden design challenge is now in its 15th series, and this year the contestants are tasked with transforming five gardens at the Connaught Grove social housing development in Athboy, Co Meath, in just three weeks and on a €15,000 budget. The winning designer will have their garden recreated at this year’s Bloom festival in the Phoenix Park. This week, Dijana Kalic, originally from Croatia, is tasked with designing a garden for Michael with a space where he can remember his wife, Breda, who died five years ago.

Stalking: State of Fear

Tuesday, UTV, 9pm

In June 2021, 23-year-old Gracie Spinks was murdered by a stalker, four months after she had reported him to Derbyshire police. The makers of this hard-hitting documentary look at the devastating effect stalking has on victims’ lives, and meet victims and their families, including Spinks’ family, and the most shocking aspect of this programme is the failure of police and lawmakers to take victims seriously and tackle this horrific form of harassment and intimidation. The programme also uses emergency call recordings and police interview footage to show the harrowing reality for victims.

Off Duty Chef: Bringing it Home

Wednesday, RTÉ1, 8.30pm

Irish Times cookery columnist Mark Moriarty returns with a new cookery series, and this time he going back to his parents’ home in Ventry, Co Kerry, where he was first inspired to come up with delicious dishes using simple and seasonal ingredients. Focusing on the idea that good food begins at home, he whips up some traditional, everyday dishes, adding some special ingredients to lift them out of the ordinary. He’ll also explore the rugged, beautiful landscape of Co Kerry, and visit some foodie hotspots including Krugers Bar in Dún Chaoin, Quinn’s Bar in Ventry and the Chart House, where he began his journey to becoming a celeb chef.

Boxing, Belief and Me

Wednesday, BBC1, 10.40pm

You need a busload of faith to succeed in the world of boxing, and in this documentary we meet Bhupinder Singh aka Pops, a devout Sikh who is also a dedicated boxing coach, working hard to instil self-belief in his young charges, and passionately believing that young lives blighted by crime and gang culture can be transformed through the sport. The programme follows him as he trains young athletes at the MLSS Boxing Academy in Walsall in the West Midlands, including his protege Junior Foster, who is training for his first professional bout.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz

Thursday, Sky Atlantic & Now, 9pm

Harvey Keitel stars in this series based on the best-selling novel by Heather Morris, which is based on the true story of Lali and Gita, two prisoners in the titular concentration camp who found love amid the horror of the Holocaust. Lali, a Slovakian Jew, is assigned to ink identification numbers on his fellow prisoners’ arms, and when he meets Gita, they make a pact to keep each other alive. The action moves between 1942 and 60 years later, when Lali (Keitel) is in his 80s, and tells his extraordinary story to young writer Heather (Melanie Lynskey).

Songlines

Thursday, RTÉ1, 10.15pm

Singer and Traveller Thomas McCarthy takes an extraordinary trip around Ireland and beyond, meeting Traveller singers and musicians, and hearing their songs and tunes in this new feature-length documentary made by Harvest Films in conjunction with the Irish Traditional Music Archive, and directed by Pat Collins. He meets singer Rosie McCarthy in Macroom, Co Cork, who at 16 is talented beyond her years, and Kitty Cassidy in Waterford, still a sprightly singer at 84. The film not only highlights the huge importance of singing and preserving old songs, but also the huge contribution Travellers have made to Ireland’s musical tradition.

Granite Harbour

Friday, BBC1, 8pm

The popular Scottish crime series returns, with Lindo (Romario Simpson), Bart (Hannah Donaldson) and the Major Investigations Team having their work cut out to solve two murders, avert a turf war between rival drug gangs, and stop a deadly new compound made from cocaine and ketamine from flooding the streets of Aberdeen. They’re not getting much help from drug kingpin Grace McFadden, whose fixer has been found dead, or from the crew of a Norwegian cargo ship, where a stowaway has allegedly been killed. And just to put the cat among the pigeons, Lindo’s estranged dad arrives from Jamaica – but why now?

ITV Studio Sessions

Friday, UTV, 10.45pm

Jess Glynne. Photograph: Jeff Spicer/Getty

Clara Amfo presents this new Friday night musical series showcasing some of the UK’s finest musicians and introducing new talent in an intimate setting – a sort of mash-up of Later... and Other Voices. The difference is that each episode will feature just one artist, performing a session in the Blue Room of London’s O2 Arena, and the first episode features the fabulous Jess Glynne, who has clocked up seven UK chart-topping hits, and who performs new songs, old favourites, and a cover version, and chats to Amfo about her life in music. Other artists lined up over the series include Becky Hill, Cat Burns and Yungblud.