Pick of the Week
Brian and Maggie
Wednesday, Channel 4, 9pm
Here’s a story of an unlikely friendship, forged over a series of television interviews, which ended on a sour note and presaged the end of a political career. This two-part drama re-creates the disastrous October 1989 exchange between political interviewer Brian Walden and the UK’s beleaguered prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, fighting to maintain her grip on power amid turmoil within her government and dissatisfaction with her increasingly authoritarian policies. The 45-minute interview was meant to present Thatcher as strong and still in control, but the Iron Lady’s mask slipped as she faltered under Walden’s tough questioning, and the interview instead became a “devastating exposé”, changing the British public’s perception of her and becoming the catalyst for her eventual downfall. Steve Coogan stars as Walden, with Harriet Walter as Thatcher, and the drama re-enacts events leading up to the notorious interview, lovingly re-creating the 1980s ambience of Britain during a time of domestic upheaval. Following the interview, Walden and Thatcher never spoke again, and within a year she had resigned as Tory leader, her political reputation in ruins. It’s wasn’t quite as seismic as Frost v Nixon or Emily Maitland v Prince Andrew, but Coogan and Walter give it some serious dramatic punch.
Highlights
Alison Hammond’s Florida Unpacked
Monday, BBC Two, 6.30pm
Not a lot of people know this, but Bake Off presenter Alison Hammond used to work as a tour rep, and in this new series she taps into her experience in the travel industry to explore the sunshine state on a budget. Florida is not a cheap place to visit, but Hammond is determined to get full bang for her buck as she seeks out affordable options away from the usual tourist traps. So probably no Disney World or other big theme parks, but lots of hidden gems, local restaurants and camping in scenic national parks. Hammond will be accompanied by her son Aidan on this bucket-list trip. “I can’t wait to share Florida’s best-kept secrets with you all.” Aw, shucks.
The Last Musician of Auschwitz
Monday, BBC Two, 9pm
January 27th is Holocaust Memorial Day, and this year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. In this powerful documentary film, we meet 99-year-old cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who is the last surviving member of the death camp’s women’s orchestra. What was it like to make music in a place of horror and despair? For Lasker-Wallfisch, her musical talent saved her life, as she spared the gas chamber but made to play marches to accompany the prisoners’ slave labour. The film features musical works composed by prisoners in Auschwitz, and performed in the camp’s terrible shadow, along with a rendition of a Schumann composition that Lasker-Wallfisch was asked to play by the camp’s doctor, Josef Mengele.
Wynne & Joanna: All at Sea
Tuesday, BBC One, 11.10pm
Fancy a boat trip along the Welsh coast with Gavin & Stacey star Joanna Page and opera singer and Strictly star Wynne Evans, stopping off at some significant landmarks along the way? Old pals Evans and Page have taken time out from their busy schedules and reunited for this madcap maritime adventure, during which they’ll also rediscover some of the wonders of their home country. Their boat will follow the coastline from Cardiff to Pembrokeshire, and during the trip the pals will visit such places as Barry Island, the setting for Gavin & Stacey, and Skomer Island, where they swim with the puffins.
Dancing with the Stars: ‘I had a shaky day,’ says Ireland AM presenter Elaine Crowley as she is voted off show
Three sporting events to watch this week: Your handy guide to sport on television
Harry Potter hyperfans will be putting their faith in the new TV reboot. But be careful what you wish for
TV guide: the best new shows to watch, starting tonight
Idris Elba: Our Knife Crime Crisis
Wednesday, BBC One, 9pm
The actor Idris Elba grew up in a tough neighbourhood in east London, and he knows all too well how easily he could have fallen into a life of violent crime. This documentary film tracks Elba’s crusade to confront the issue of knife crime in the UK, as he meets victims, perpetrators and grieving families, and challenges the perception of knife-related violence as mostly black, urban gang members. “White, middle-class and rural areas are also affected, perpetrators are getting younger and fear is spreading,” he says. Elba takes his mission all the way to Downing Street and the palace, meeting prime minister Keir Starmer for a knife crime summit and discussing ways of tackling the problem with King Charles.
The Apprentice
Thursday, BBC One, 9pm
The boss is back – and you’d better look busier than ever. It’s the 19th series of The Apprentice, and don’t expect Alan Sugar to have mellowed one iota. You’d be advised to wear Kevlar under that business suit because Sugar will take no prisoners as 18 ambitious young guns battle for the chance to get in his good books and bag a quarter of a million in seed capital, not to mention the mentorship of the boss man himself. During this series, the workplace gladiators will have to flog tour packages on the Austrian ski slopes, programme a virtual pop star, sell real Easter eggs, and work out how to make bread from a pile of potatoes and tomatoes. Each episode is immediately followed by The Apprentice: You’re Fired, on BBC Two at 10pm.
Death in Paradise
Friday, BBC One, 9pm
It’s all getting very Doctor Who-ey around the island of Saint-Marie – every time you look, the lead detective has regenerated into a completely different character. I can’t keep up. At the close of series 13, Ralf Little bid the island farewell as DI Neville Parker, and last month’s Christmas special introduced us to a new DI: Mervin Wilson, played by Don Gilet. But Mervin’s not that keen on taking the job, and is looking forward to getting back to London. When a young man is found murdered in a ravine, however, leaving behind a cryptic message, Mervin has no choice but to postpone his departure. Will he solve this seemingly uncrackable case? And will the island weave its spell over Mervin, tempting him to indefinitely extend his stay? Do you really need to ask?
Streaming
Mythic Quest
From Wednesday, January 29th, Apple TV+
Good news, people: the video game team behind Mythic Quest are back together, and they are ready to get their collective heads around the seismic changes in gaming tech that’s happened over the last five minutes or so. Apple TV’s hit workplace comedy returns for its fourth series, with co-creator Rob McElhenney back as MQ boss Ian Grimm, and a comic cast that includes Ashly Burch, Jessie Ennis, Charlotte Nicdao, Imani Hakim and David Hornsby. Expect things to be as chaotic as ever in the Mythic Quest office as egos collide, relationships bloom and bust, and game glitches pop up in unexpected places. To help you navigate the Mythic Quest madness, a new companion show, Side Quest, launching in March, should make everything clear as lava.
The Recruit
From Thursday, January 30th, Netflix
Hotshot CIA lawyer Owen Hendricks (Noah Cosentino) has somehow survived everyone trying to kill him in series one, so nothing for it but to send out even more bad guys to try to finish him off, in this second series of the comedy-thriller from creator Alexi Hawley. “You seem to always need to be the hero,” says his curmudgeonly boss before sending him out on a new covert mission, this time to South Korea, where Owen discovers the joys of K-pop, K-food and K-violence. He teams up with a local intelligence agent Jang Kyun (Teo Yoo) to infiltrate Seoul’s spy trade and learn a few Jackie Chan moves – the hard way – while he’s there. He’ll also have to use all his boyish charm and wit to stop all-out gang warfare.
