Well it’s been a pretty grim weekend for many of us so far with storms everywhere and feeling a tad sticky but at least when the weather fails us, we’ve got telly to keep us entertained!

And there are lots of new series starting next week too, so here are our picks of some great shows to watch next week…

Monday

Teenagers Fighting Cancer, 8:00pm, Channel 4

This is one of those films that’s incredibly humbling and which makes you count your blessings. Filmed over nine months, this hour-long documentary goes inside Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s Young Person’s Unit, a specialised cancer ward in Birmingham, where the young patients undergo months of gruelling treatment in the hope of overcoming their illness.

How do the teenagers and their friends and families cope with life-threatening conditions? With intimate access to the patients and medical staff, this film tells the poignant stories of three young people thrust together at random by their illness, giving an insight into an aspect of teenage life that is often ignored by the media.

These young people’s heart-wrenching stories provide glimpses of an extraordinarily hopeful approach to life, love, sickness and health

The Hotel Inspector, 9:00pm, Five

In the first programme of the new series, no-nonsense hotelier Alex Polizzi comes face to face with one of the worst establishments she has ever visited – the Crown Inn in Lewes. After a string of terrible internet reviews and the loss of a precious star in the Visit England ratings, can Alex restore this filthy guesthouse to its former glory?

Two years ago, former care assistant Karen Lloyd sunk her life savings into the eight-bedroom Crown Inn in Lewes. With a great location, the guesthouse should have no trouble attracting customers – but after a number of appalling internet reviews, Karen has lost over £32,000. “I had visions of having this wonderful place people were happy to come to – but it hasn’t worked out that way,” she sighs. After a disastrous year, the hotel was stripped of one of its three stars by the tourist board.

With an illustrious career at establishments such as the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong and Marco Pierre White’s Criterion restaurant, hotelier Alex Polizzi hopes she can breathe new life into the rundown inn. Her first impressions do not bode well, however. “There’s peeling paint, a broken window and very smeared, dirty glass,” she says of the front of the hotel. And things get even worse inside. “The first thing I notice is a tray of filthy condiment bottles. If I wasn’t here for business I’d turn around and walk back out again,” Alex asserts. Oh dear…

Tuesday

Bounty Girls, 7:00pm, Biography Channel

Move over bail bond boys, we’ve got four tough, smart and beautiful Miami babes who know how to use their signature style and skills to take down fugitives. And if you’re a fan of Dog the Bounty Hunter, you’ll probably enjoy this show too!

In every episode, real life bounty hunters Jag, Clyde, Jade and Gloria of Sunshine State Bail Bonds stop at nothing to track and apprehend some of Miami’s most dangerous fugitives.

The Bounty Girls work hard and live dangerously to earn their pay, and not only are they fighting for their livelihood, but they are also often fighting for their lives.

In this episode, the girls are on the hunt for a suspected child molester, a man wanted for aggravated battery, and someone who’s accused of robbing Hurricane Katrina victims.

You Have Been Watching, 10:00pm, Channel 4

Writer and presenter Charlie Brooker – he’s the dude who brought us Dead Set, the zombie version of Big Brother – hosts this brand new comedy quiz.

He’ll be joined by three guests to help him dissect the week in television and invite viewers to cast their votes on various topics.

This first episode in a series of eight shows will include a detailed look at BBC1’s daily magazine format, The One Show.

Wednesday

Embarrassing Teenage Bodies, 8:00pm, Channel 4

Tonight’s show is the first of four new episodes entitled ‘Bodies Behaving Badly’ in which the fearless docs encounter again some of their teenage patients to see how their cases have progressed.

In addition, the new series exposes teenagers’ worst habits and revealing the truth about what goes on behind your kid’s bedroom door. Whether it’s at festivals, universities, schools or on the beaches of Magaluf…this generation of teenagers comes with a health warning!

The doctors travel to Magaluf in Majorca and discover how teens are jeopardising their health on holiday while back in Britain, Maria’s weight is causing her problems, Indre can’t control her bladder, Adele has a lot of body hair and while Lois can’t stop pulling her hair out!

The Grandparent Diaries: Ian Batten, 9:00pm, BBC4

This is the first of three new programmes in this documentary series about grandparents in Britain today. Tonight we meet Londoner Ian Batten – fashion designer, father of four and grandfather of seven.

Ian takes all seven of his grandchildren, ranging from toddlers to teenagers, for a weekend by the sea for the first time. As a 1960s dad who brought his own children up in the liberal spirit of the time, his approach seems to be a hit with the children.

Bedtimes are relaxed and the kids happily chip in, but do his own children recall their upbringings as similarly idyllic, and how has the free, liberal approach influenced their own views on parenting?

Through interviews spanning three generations, the family’s archive footage and observation, the film looks at how the philosophies of the 1960s influence Ian as a grandfather whilst celebrating the enduring traditions of grandparenting through the 20th century.

Thursday

Horizon: 40 Years on the Moon, 8:00pm, BBC4

Professor Brian Cox takes a look through nearly 50 years of BBC archive at the story of man’s relationship with the moon.

From the BBC’s space fanatic James Burke testing out the latest NASA equipment to 1960s interviews about the bacon-flavoured crystals that astronauts can survive on in space, to the iconic images of man’s first steps on the moon and the dramatic story of Apollo 13, Horizon and the BBC have covered it all.

But since President Kennedy’s goal of landing a man on the moon before the end of the 1960s was reached, no one has succeeded in reigniting the public’s enthusiasm for space travel and lunar voyages. Why?

On his journey through the ages, Professor Cox explores the role that international competition played in getting man to the moon and asks if, with America no longer the world’s only superpower, we are at the dawn of a bright new space age.

Squirrel Wars: Red vs Grey, 8:30pm, More4

To licensed pest-control officer Paul, grey squirrels are recent immigrants. They came to Britain in the 1820s from America and their population has been multiplying ever since.
The main losers in the squirrel wars have been the British red squirrels, falling victim to a deadly squirrel plague whenever the greys move into their patch. It seems that Britain isn’t big enough for the both of them.

The headquarters for Paul’s mission are the offices of Lord Rupert Redesdale in the House of Lords, who runs the Red Squirrel Protection Partnership. This funds Paul’s quest to rid Northumberland, home of the Redesdale estate, of the entire grey squirrel population.

But how will this one-man elimination team, armed with a rifle, a camouflage jacket and a few traps, fare in a county of 1.2 million acres? And what happens when Lord Redesdale’s squirrel war fund starts to diminish, leaving Paul more alone than ever?

Friday

Wild Things, 7:35pm, Channel 4

In the early 1970s, a group of idealistic young adults converted a regular North London townhouse into a revolutionary commune. They believed that life in a nuclear family was stifling, and chose to raise their children collectively.

These children would not belong to anybody; they would be wild and free. As part of this new way of life, the children were not given their father’s surname; they were all given a new name: Wild. The idea spread across England through a network of interlinked communes and collectives.

This film, directed by Adam Hopkins, tells the story of how the Wild name came about, and goes in search of the grown-up Wild kids.

My Father The Mercenary, 8:30pm, More4

Philip Sessarego was a soldier of fortune who had fought in 80s Afghanistan, taken part in a coup in the Maldives and trained the Sri Lankan army. In 1993, he walked out on his family and was, apparently, killed soon after.

His daughter, Claire, was just 14 years old at the time. She thought she’d never see him again but, much to the family’s astonishment, he appeared on television in 2001, using an assumed name, as an expert pundit on the mujahaddin.

Then, in November 2008, a body was found decomposing in a garage in the Belgian city of Antwerp and, using DNA samples taken from Claire, the corpse was confirmed as that of her father.

This emotional film, directed by James Ross, follows Claire and her brother Paul, as they travel from their home in Hereford (home of the SAS) to Belgium to collect their father’s remains, and to uncover the extraordinary story of who he was and how he died.

Saturday

Katie Price Exclusive – with Piers Morgan, 9:00pm, ITV1

There has been an air of mystery surrounding Katie Price and Peter Andre’s break up, as the couple have lived their marital life in the spotlight after meeting in the jungle for I Am A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! and then having television crews following them on a day to day basis for ITV2’s Katie and Peter.

When the news was released in May it shocked us all and since then both Katie and Peter have barely been out of the press, battling it out.

Former glamour model Jordan has finally decided to set the record straight with an exclusive one off no holds barred interview with none other than Piers Morgan.

Marathon Man, 10:50pm, Film4

A young looking Dustin Hoffman stars in this often stomach churning film that is most definitely not for the faint hearted… and really, really not good if you’re scared of dentists! Made in 1976, it’s lost none of its scary factor.

In New York City, the brother of an infamous Nazi war criminal is killed in a head on collision car accident. Shortly thereafter, members of a covert US government group called “The Division” begin to be murdered one by one.

When the brother to one Division member sees his brother knifed to death, it is revealed that former SS dentist Szell, “the White Angel” of Auschwitz, is wrapping up loose ends to smuggle priceless diamonds from the United States.

Laurence Olivier also stars as a former concentration camp sadist who leaves his hiding place in South America to claim the priceless gems taken from Jewish victims during the war. Here’s the film’s trailer…

Sunday

Michael Jackson’s Last Days: What Really Happened, 9:00pm, Channel 4

In June 2005, Michael Jackson was acquitted of child molestation, but instead of returning to his Neverland home, he disappeared, wandering the globe for two years.
Writer Jacques Peretti wanted to find out why.

To this end, he tracks down the people inside the Jackson story who have never agreed to talk on camera before, including Bob Jones, his manager and right-hand man of 17 years; and Victor Guttierez, the investigative reporter who first uncovered allegations of child abuse and subsequently fled the US.

They talk frankly about the details of the darkest moments in Jackson’s life. What emerges is a story radically different from the one the public know: a picture both darker, more complex and more morally ambiguous than anyone could have imagined.

Caddyshack, 9:00pm, Comedy Central

Starring Chevvy Chase and Bill Murray, this great comedy from Groundhog Day director Harold Ramis is a real laugh out loud film, despite its age…

Danny Noonan is a young caddy at Bushwood Country Club who has no idea about where his future will lead. His best chance at getting his life on track is to earn a caddy scholarship from Judge Elihu Smails, the owner of the Country Club.

Al Czervik is a rude and eccentric millionaire who wants to buy Bushwood. Judge Smails dislikes Al and it’s not long before there’s a conflict between the Judge and Al, the Judge and Danny, and even between the Judge and Ty Webb the charming golfer who’s slowly helping Danny figure out his real goals.

On the outside of this is Carl Spackler, the Golf Course Grounds keeper, who’s goal is eliminate a rampaging gopher who is chewing up holes throughout the golf course.

Here’s a clip from the film…

Brilliant film!

So that’s it for this week. Have a good one and we’ll see you next week!