It’s a great week of telly comin’ atcha this week and our top 5 Primetime Picks begins with new ITV drama, Whitechapel which is on ITV1 at 9pm Monday. In fact, there’s loads of brand new stuff on this week!

In Whitechapel. the gorgeous Rupert Penry-Jones stars alongside Phil Davis and Steve Pemberton lead in this darkly atmospheric new thriller.

Set against the contrasting facades of Whitechapel, London, a series of bloody, tragic and impossible crimes suggest someone is carrying out copycat Jack the Ripper murders 120 years after the killer first struck..

In a city under the constant surveillance of CCTV and safe in the knowledge that DNA evidence helps catch even the most dangerous criminal, this modern day Ripper still manages to recreate the slaughter with alarming accuracy while mirroring the red herrings and twisted idiosyncrasies connected to the original case.

The murders are investigated by three unlikely heroes: Joseph Chandler (Penry-Jones), a fast-tracked, media savvy DI on his first big murder case; Ray Miles (Davis), a front-line, hard-bitten DS, nearing retirement, now saddled with a boss who would rather talk about Emotional Intelligence than gut feeling; and Edward Buchan (Pemberton), the expert on myths and legends behind unexplained or violent deaths: an eccentrically brilliant Ripperologist.

A modern police force is fighting an old adversary; an adversary who was never caught. Our heroes have a race against time to prevent further bloodshed.

Can’t wait!

Then on Tuesday at 10pm, another new series starts when Ladies of Letters begins on ITV3. Why it’s not on ITV1 I don’t know!

Maureen Lipman and Anne Reid star as warring widows in Ladies of Letters, the hit radio series that’s been adapted for TV.

In this first episode, Irene and Vera meet at Vera’s daughter’s wedding and begin a correspondence that, beneath a veneer of civility, hides a constant battle of one-upmanship as they regale each other with stories of blissful holidays, delicious recipes and grateful grandchildren.

In reality, both are lonely, taken for granted by their families and their correspondence is a lifeline for them: for all the unspoken animosity, they need each other.

In the original Radio 4 series, the leads were played by Patricia Routledge and Prunella Scales. I’m delighted to see Maureen Lipman back on TV and I reckon this’ll be a really good show.

On Wednesday, a brand new remake of an old favourite, Minder, comes to Five. The six-part drama stars Shane Richie as Archie Daley, Arthur Daley’s nephew, and Lex Shrapnel as Archie’s ‘minder’ Jamie Cartwright, plus a host of special guest stars in each episode.

Minder has all the heart and wit of the original series, but contains an added boldness, glamour and humour for modern day. At the core of the show is a funny, infuriating, warm and unbreakable relationship between two unlikely men – Archie and Jamie.

Glaswegian band, Attic Lights, have re-recorded a version of the iconic song ‘I Could Be So Good For You’ which will be used as the theme tune on the new series of Minder.

Take a look at this clip of episode 1 followed by the Attic Lights video…

Thursday sees the start of a show that I could do with starring in… 10 Years Younger: The Challenge. It’s on Channel 4 at 8pm and is presented by Myleene Klass.

Cleaning company manager Mary Gibson has the body of a 30-something but her face tells a very different story. A lifetime of sunbeds and smoking have piled on the years, leaving Mary with no choice but to carry out a daily ‘Polyfilla’ makeup job to fill the cracks.

Meanwhile, Civil Servant Kathleen is stuck in a time warp – having spent 25 years with the same hair cut and ten wearing the same pair of glasses. The passage of time has also left Kathleen with saggy eye-lids and crooked teeth.

Can Myleene wave of the 10 Years Younger magic wand and turn these plain Janes into beautiful bombshells? If she can, I’m so applying for the next series!

Finally on Friday, Five is showing a fascinating documentary; Titanic’s Final Moments: The True Story at 8pm.

In 1912 the supposedly ‘unsinkable’ Titanic sank beneath the icy waters of the North Atlantic. How Titanic came to so disastrously fail is still under investigation.

This documentary follows a recent expedition to uncover the missing pieces and reveals surprising new evidence that may forever change what’s known about the Titanic’s first and final trip.

I can’t wait to see this; the story of the Titanic has always fascinated me!