Primetime picks of next week’s TV

It’s looking like a great week’s viewing is coming our way so here’s Primetime’s picks of what to stay in for.

suranne_jones

We kick off with the second part of Unforgiven on Monday at 9pm, ITV1.

This show got off to a really strong start last week and if you missed it, it’s well worth catching up on ITV’s player so that you aren’t out of the loop tomorrow night.

Suranne Jones is excellent in this role and this week, her character’s problems intensify as she struggles to keep hold of her new relationship and continues to search for her sister.

Another show that looks pretty interesting is Born Survivors – My 22 Stone Dad and Skinny Me which is also on tomorrow on BBC3 at 10:30pm..

This second episode of Born Survivors features Emma who’s fifteen years old, 5ft 7 and weighs just seven and a half stone. In the last year, she’s lost a stone in weight because six months ago, she stopped eating and she blames her dad Grant for it.

Weighing in at 22½ stone, Grant is clinically obese. Discovering that his own weight was at the root of his only daughter’s illness was devastating for him.

Over the course of six months, the programme follows Emma as she attempts to get to her goal weight. In order to help his daughter towards recovery, Grant works hard to shed five-and-a-half stone. Observing the family dynamic, by talking to Emma, her parents and her boyfriend, My 22 Stone Dad And Skinny Me attempts to understand the growing danger of eating disorders amongst teenagers.

Here’s a clip from it…

Another programme that highlights the obese and the underweight is Supersize vs Superskinny which is on Channel 4, Tuesday at 8pm.

dr christianThe series examines issues around weight, food and body image, and is presented by the gorgeous Dr Christian Jessen… and Anna Richardson.

Underweight working mum Gillian and overeating nurse Philippa enter the feeding clinic and Anna launches her very own Flab Fighters club.

To be honest, I’d watch anything if Dr Christian’s in it. In fact, he was the only reason I ever watched the Embarrassing Illnesses show! It totally grossed me out but it was well worth it to watch him.

Then on Wednesday, Big Chef Takes on Little Chef is on Channel 4 at 9pm. Heston Blumenthal takes on the culinary challenge of making Little Chef a profitable business again.

Heston has strong childhood memories of Little Chef, but can he work his food alchemy to breathe fresh life into the restaurant’s menu and help restore it to former glories?

Can a chef more used to serving up £200-a-head meals turn around the heston_blumenthal_little_chef_ahero_01fortunes of a much loved but tired British institution?

I guess we’ll have to tune in to see but I could’ve saved Little Chef a lot of time and effort if they’d just asked me how to improve their restaurant chain; all they needed to do was cut their exorbitant prices!

The last time I was in a Little Chef was about four years ago when my husband and I had egg on toast and coffee and it came to about £11! I vowed then I’d never go in again and I haven’t.

Also on Wednesday is ITV’s drama Stockwell at 9pm which tells the story of the fatal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes in July 2005. The Brazilian electrician was killed in London’s Stockwell tube station after a catalogue of errors led police to mistake him for failed suicide bomber Hussain Osman.

Based on the evidence given during the criminal trial and inquest, the stockwellprogramme re-creates the actions of the police surveillance and firearms teams, and presents a comprehensive account of the mistakes and confusion that led to the wrong man being followed and killed.

I’ll be very interested to see this programme and find out what really happened in the wake of the frenzy of fear that 9/11 whipped up here.

Then on Thursday, one of my favourite shows of all time continues. This week’s episode of ER is The Book of Abby and is on More 4 at 9pm. In it, we say goodbye to the fabulous Abby Lockhart as she moves on and out of County. Here’s a clip of it…

Also on Thursday, do not miss Dodi Al-Fayed: What Really Happened? It’s on at 10pm on Channel 4 and is the second in the series of Jacques Peretti’s investigations to find out the truth about three people who’re connected to the Royal family.

dodiIn this episode, Jacques looks at the life of Dodi Al Fayed who became a household name following his death in a car crash with Princess Diana.

Though he was an Oscar-winning film producer, there were allegations that he was also a drug-taking womaniser.

Jacques Peretti meets the people who knew him to discover what he was really like.

I always felt he was unjustly vilified by the media so I’ll be very interested to see this show.

On Friday there’s another interesting watch in the form of a documentary. Is TV Too Rude? is on ITV1 at 8pm. In the wake of Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand’s infamous ‘joke’ on actor Andrew Sachs, the programme looks at the role of ‘rudeness’ on TV.

Since Manuelgate, other broadcasters have also been reprimanded for on-air behaviour that was deemed offensive by some viewers and listeners. Talksport radio presenter Jon Gaunt was sacked for calling a guest a Nazi live on air, although he claims he meant to call Redbridge councillor Michael Stark a “health Nazi” while discussing plans to ban smokers from adopting children.

So are broadcasters pushing the decency envelope too far or merely replicating the moral standards seen in our everyday lives? Tonight’s Jonathan Maitland explores the issue with the broadcasters at the sharp end of the criticism, including Jon Gaunt, and plays the so-called “offensive material” to a viewers’ jury to gauge whether TV bosses are letting performers go too far.

The programme also looks at whether comedians really need to be profane in order to get laughs, with comedian Richard Herring taking part in an experiment where he performs his stand-up routine with and without swearing.

I wish they’d asked Roy Chubby Brown to try this out… now that would have been interesting!

eyeFriday’s main feature though is the Celebrity Big Brother live final which kicks off at 8:30pm and continues at 10pm on Channel 4. Who wins? You decide… because I’ve lost interest!

If pushed, I’d say I’d like La Toya to win, just because she’s so piggin’ weird…

Saturday doesn’t offer anything terribly fabulous on telly but having said that, one of my most favourite films ever is on ITV3 at 5:20pm; Uncle Buck. It stars the late and very great John Candy in the title role.

One of the absolutely best bits of the film is where he’s called in to see his niece’s teacher. She’s an offensive old bag but unfortunately for Buck, she’s also got a giant mole on her face that he can’t stop looking at and making reference to. It still makes me laugh and I must’ve seen it about a hundred times. Here’s just a snippet of that hilarious scene. The quality is pretty bad but it’s the only clip I could find that showed the full scene.

It also stars Macaulay Culkin who was Hollywood’s sweetheart at the time.

Then Sunday is a HUGE night for TV because LOST IS BACK!! I know! I cannot wait, seriously. It starts at 9pm on Sky 1 and goes on until 10:50pm! Oh joy to the world.Matthew Fox - Lost

Because You Left is the premiere and will be followed by episode two, The Lie. The two episodes show the survivors starting to feel the after effects of the island being moved while Jack and Ben try to reunite the Oceanic Six in an attempt to save their fellow castaways.

Then, if you’re lost in Lost fever by then – and I know I will be – there’s Lost: Season Five Revealed right after the premiere in which Iain Lee talks to the cast and crew of Lost and tries to get them to spill the beans about the secrets of season five.

Also on Sunday night – which clashes with Lost – is the docudrama, A Short Stay in Switzerland on BBC1 at 9pm, so I’ll be catching up with it on iPlayer.

It stars Julie Walters who portrays Dr Anne Turner in this dramatic 206_switzerlandadaptation of Dr Turner’s real life fight with a terminal illness and her determination to die with dignity.

Having just witnessed the death of her husband Jack from an incurable neurological disease, Anne Turner is diagnosed with a near identical illness.

With determined rationality, Anne’s answer is that once her illness has reached a critical point, she will take her own life. And she needs her children’s support.

But the more her son and two daughters struggle to gain consensus over their mother’s desire to die as they struggle to find another way through, the further they pull apart.

From Jessica’s silent recriminations to Sophie’s stubborn practicality, the magnitude of the situation threatens to tear the family to pieces.

Anne must also face the fury of her best friend Claire – whose opposing views bring them into direct and vocal conflict.

Writer Frank McGuinness adds: “As a doctor Anne Turner lived and worked by her principles, and she chose to die by them. This film recognises that rare courage.”

This really is a must watch for me and I’m sure it’ll be a very moving and thought provoking drama.

So that’s it for this week’s Primetime picks. See you here same time, same place, next week!

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