So this week we continue a good run of TV highlights with a couple of amusing Sky1 shows and some new thrillers from the BBC so let’s get started.

A Touch of Cloth (Sky1, Sun and Mon, 9pm)
Kicking off with a Sky double bill of new crime show A Touch of Cloth starring John Hannah and Suranne Jones. Though A Touch of Cloth isn’t a new crime series but in fact a two-part spoof conceived and co-written by sardonic comic and writer Charlie Brooker who combines all the familiar elements of British cop shows into this pastiche. Hannah stars as DCI Jack Cloth a maverick, alcoholic, widowed detective who has to team up with Jones’ incompetent DC Anne Oldman in order to investigate a series of gruesome murders. As Brooker is a former TV critic, he has watched many of the major British crime shows of the past, including Wire in the Blood and Silent Witness both of which are drawn on here, to put together plenty of plot points that will be instantly recognisable to those who watch these sort of programmes on a regular basis. Jones and Hannah both send themselves up tremendously, and fans of The Naked Gun will love the quick-witted humour that Brooker and his fellow writers employ and after all it’ll be good to cheer yourself up over Bank Holiday weekend as it doesn’t look like the weather will be particularly great.

Murder (BBC2, Sun, 10pm)
And after a bit of a laugh, I strongly suggest you head over to BBC2 for this intense hour long drama which follows a murder investigation from the first arrest to the end of the court case. Murder stars Karla Crome as Colleen a girl who is crying in the bathroom next to the lifeless body of her sister Erin claiming that Joe Dempsie’s ex-soldier Stefan is guilty of killing her after he met both of them at a pub earlier in the night. Murder is constructed by to-camera interviews from all of our characters, including Robert Pugh’s detective and Stephen Dillane’s lawyer, along with CCTV footage and still photos from the crime scene. Written by long-time crime show scribe Robert Jones and directed by Birger Larsen, who was also in charge of the first three episodes of the Danish version of The Killing, this drama is created by people who really understand the genre and I personally think that Murder may well be the best single drama of the year so far.

Who Do You Think You Are? (BBC1, Wed, 9pm)
Though the genealogy show has been back for a few weeks now I haven’t had space in the preview to write about it however the subjects haven’t been that interesting up to this point. That’s not the case this week as internationally renowned actor Patrick Stewart tries to trace his family tree however like a lot of people on the show he’s not going back that far. This is because Stewart wants to find out more about his father Alfred, who he remembers mainly from the war stories he used to here, but also sadly because of the domestic abuse he inflicted on Stewart’s mother. Journeying back, Stewart finds out about his father’s terrible war experiences and learns more about the character that his father was before he knew him. As always expect plenty of tears and surprises along the way but, because Stewart is involved, also expect this episode of WDYTYA to have plenty of stoicism attached to it.

Good Cop (BBC1, Thurs, 9pm)
You wait for one good thriller to come along, and the two turn up at once with Good Cop starring Luther and Inside Men’s Warren Brown as PC Rocksavage an ordinary policeman whose life changes over the course of one day after he runs into an ex-girlfriend and her daughter before suffering personal trauma. After ‘Sav’ and his partner Andy run into trouble with a gang led by Stephen Graham’s Finch, it is only a matter of time before they are caught out and Sav has to watch his partner being brutally beaten by the criminals. So starts a revenge drama as Rocksavage has to track down the men responsible while at the same time making sure that they don’t harm anybody else close to him including the ex-girlfriend or his very ill father. Written by Stephen Butchard, who also penned the gripping five daughters, Good Cop has excellent pedigree with a cast that not only includes Brown and Graham but also Aisling Loftus, Michael Angelis and Stephen Walters. Judging from the trailer this looks like a great revenge thriller and has all the hallmarks of an excellent British drama.

Trolllied (Sky1, Fri, 9pm)
We end the week with a bit of a laugh as one of Sky’s original comedies coming back for a second run of this silly sitcom set in a budget supermarket. It’s all change at Valco as Jason Watkins’ Gavin has been promoted to head office, while Jane Horrocks as his underling Julie, is horrified when she finds out she’ll have a new boss in Stephanie Beacham’s Lorraine. Obviously wanting to make a good impression Mark Addy’s butcher slaps on his best aftershave and tries to butter her up but things don’t go to plan. I rather enjoyed the first series of Trollied as it was a very old-school sitcom and to me it almost felt like a sketch show as everybody who worked in the store got their own little segments with the best coming from customer service operators Sue and Linda. I’m hoping that this series picks up where the last one left off so we find out what happened with Kieran and Katie plus I’m sure Beacham will be a hoot as the new boss.

What do you think to my picks? Do you feel I’ve left anything out? Leave Your Comments Below.