Another great night’s goggle box watching is in store this evening so here’s our top telly picks for today with my personal highlight being the start of the new series, The Ambulance: 8 Minutes to Disaster.

Emmerdale, ITV1, 7pm ~ It’s an hour long episode tonight which usually means there’s trouble down on t’farm. Tonight, Andy’s furious when he hears that Debbie quizzed Katie about their relationship and whether Andy ever hit her when they were together. Jo takes the brunt of his anger, as always, and fearing he’s going to hit her again, she pretends that she’s pregnant. Her lie may soon lead to a nasty showdown though as Andy arranges a Doctor’s visit for her.

Elsewhere in the village, Donald asks Anna to use Matthew’s attraction to her to get the upper hand over the Kings, and Ross is worried about Donna when he hears that she plans to leave the police force.

Eastenders, BBC1, 7.30pm ~ Personally, unless there’s something really gripping in the hour long Emmerdale – and it doesn’t sound as though there is – I turn over half way through to watch Eastenders, and tonight will be no different as we see Tony’s hold over Whitney getting stronger. She’s taken her nose stud out at his request and is wearing less and less of her trade-mark make up. Tony wants Ricky out and so has a go at him about sleeping on the sofa while Pat offers the ex-jailbird at job at the taxi office, but will he accept?

Meanwhile, Tanya’s trying to find out what’s wrong with Abi but Max assures her their daughter is fine. He then asks her why she’s so reluctant to ask Jack about what happened to Penny. In the meantime, Jack’s ex-wife Selena wants to meet up with him. He refuses and says he’s too busy at work to meet with her but Tanya’s intrigued to know what she wants. Will she take the initiative and go to see Selena herself?

At the Vic, Peggy’s family photo doesn’t go to plan and Billy’s devastated that Honey hasn’t turned up. He clearly doesn’t quite get how breaking up with someone works. Danielle finally figures out who it is that Callum’s secretly in love with and Bradley and Stacey get a taste of what it’s like to be parents.

Ray Mears Extreme Survival, Dave, 7pm ~ Roger’s Rangers: My suggestion for tonight’s antidote to soap is this trip into the wilderness to learn from Ray how to survive on only what can be found in the forest. He bases tonight’s adventure on the actions of one of his heroes, Robert Rogers, who during the Seven Years War against the French in New England and Canada used his knowledge of the forest to keep his men alive. Ray Mears’ enthusiasm is infectious and who knows, maybe if you ever find yourself stuck in a forest, you’ll be glad you watched!

The Restaurant, BBC2, 8pm ~ Motorway Service: Chef Raymond Blanc sends three couples to motorway service stations on a mission to come up with a menu that will tempt passing motorists away from the fast-food bars. Mike and Harriet have to wear an ostrich costume after failing to find one more suitable for their Blue Goose offering and Scott prepares coq au vin without Richard’s help. Gasp! Meanwhile, Russell and Michele concentrate on their research.

Extraordinary People: The Twins who Share a Body, Fiver, 8pm ~ If you enjoyed Bodyshock the other night about baby Lali who was born with two faces, then you’ll probably enjoy this one too. Tonight’s programme tells the remarkable story of Minnesotan twins Abby and Brittany Hensel who are the world’s oldest living dicephalus conjoined twins. Their condition means that they are two completely different people sharing a body and the girls have just two arms and legs between them. It’s a heart warming story of courage and a determination to survive despite the odds being stacked against them.

The Ambulance: 8 Minutes to Disaster, Channel 4, 9pm ~ The Cutting Edge series never fail to deliver top notch programmes and this, their latest offering, shows life on the front line of the Reading ambulance service. We see the crews trying to comply with Government targets to reach 75% of life-threatening calls within eight minutes as well as the daily dramas faced by them and their patients.

This first episode shows the rather amusing tale of a man and his wife; the man is being treated by the crew and despite the fact that he’s unconscious and bleeding heavily, his wife doesn’t think he really needs to go to hospital.

“Why does he need to go to hospital? Is there something wrong with him?” she asks the paramedics.

Then there’s the other end of the scale where people call an ambulance for the most minor problems or simply because they want someone to talk to. Don’t miss this excellent new series!

Ugly Betty, E4, 9pm ~ A Thousand Words By Friday: If ambulance chasing isn’t your thing, and you don’t want to watch the formidable Ann Widdecombe sorting out girl gangs, then Betty might well be the solution for your televisual dilemma at 9pm. Tonight’s show sees Daniel falling for Wilhemina’s younger sister while Betty is disappointed that her writing assignment hasn’t gone as well as she hoped it would. Also tonight, Amanda enlists Marc’s help in contacting her biological father – Gene Simmons. I don’t watch Ugly Betty as a rule but I may well make an exception tonight just to see Gene Simmons who’s one of my heroes from my long past teenage years!

Revolver, Five, 10.10pm ~ This film directed by Guy Ritchie (Mr Madonna) follows the story of gangster Jake Green, played by the gorgeous Jason Statham. He’s biding his time in prison after being set up by his deranged and dangerous former boss, Dorothy Macha, played by Ray Liotta. Don’t ask me why a nasty gangland criminal is called Dorothy, but despite his girly name, he is not a man to mess with. However, prison time gives Jake ample opportunity to plot revenge, and even if that means dying in the process, he’s determined to see his own brand of justice done.

Excellent ‘ardman film also starring Vincent Pastore, Terence Maynard and Andre Benjamin, who’s better known as one half of hip-hop group OutKast.

Never Mind The Buzzcocks, BBC2, 10pm ~ If you want to end the evening with a laugh or two, you could do worse than to watch this long running comedy pop quiz hosted by Simon Amstell. His team captains are Bill Bailey and Phill Jupitus whose team members tonight are, KT Tunstall, Lauren Laverne, Jeremy Edwards and Jon McClure from Reverend and the Makers.

Question Time, BBC1, 10.35pm ~ Bournemouth: If you just can’t drop off, flick over to Question Time and you’ll be dozing within minutes. For those of you who actually enjoy listening to politicians evading questions however, you’ll be pleased that QT is back for a new series. Tonight, Deputy leader of the Labour Party Harriet Harman, shadow business secretary Alan Duncan, Liberal Democrat youth spokesperson Lynne Featherstone and Private Eye editor Ian Hislop join David Dimbleby for a topical debate from the Liberal Democrat Party conference in Bournemouth.

See, just reading that back makes my eyelids heavy…

That’s all our recommendations for today so enjoy your Thursday and we’ll see you tomorrow.