Innholdsfortegnelse for 17-May-25 i TV Times

THE BRONTËS BY ANITA RANI: SISTERS OF DISRUPTION TUE, 9PM, SKY ARTS FACTUAL Growing up in the West Yorkshire city of Bradford, a few miles from Haworth Parsonage, where the Brontë siblings lived, Anita Rani has always felt an affinity with the Victorian authors. Now, in new Sky Arts documentary The Brontës by Anita Rani: Sisters of Disruption, the Countryfile and Woman’s Hour presenter travels back to Yorkshire to speak to literary experts and historians about how Charlotte, Emily and Anne’s work pushed boundaries with themes of race and gender equality. Along the way, she also reflects on why the pioneering trio’s novels resonated with her. ‘We had a painting of them on the wall at school and they were like ghosts in the background of my childhood,’ shares Anita,…

It’s no secret that Craig is leaving the cobbles. What Corrie bosses won’t say, however, is whether PC Plod departs in one piece or ends up pounding the pavements in soap heaven. The tabloids have talked of a ‘grisly demise’, but all will be confirmed this week – on Wednesday, to be precise. Craigy, as we know, has metamorphosed from a chubby kid with a pet rat to a police officer and pillar of the community. Although he enjoys his job, what he really wants is to become a detective. So he’s full of excitement as he arrives at the nick to start another placement in CID. He has an added spring in his step as he has a date arranged for that evening – ooh, worra tinker (pun intended).…

FILM The Boys in the Boat SPORTS DRAMA 8PM, BBC2 George Clooney is wearing his director’s hat again for this rousing drama about the US rowing team and the uphill challenge they faced at the ‘Hitler Olympics’ in Berlin in 1936. Masters of the Air’s Callum Turner stars as rower Joe Rantz, part of the team in training for ‘the most difficult sport in the world’ – you’ve either got the lungs or you haven’t. In Clooney’s safe pair of hands it’s a traditional underdog story told in a familiar but attractive way (think Chariots of Fire with oars!) and the impressive cast also includes Joel Edgerton, Peter Guinness and Jack Mulhern. SM Titanic: Our Secret Histories FACTUAL 8PM, C4 This September will mark 40 years since the wreckage of…

PICK OF THE DAY Who Do You Think You Are? FACTUAL 9PM, BBC1 There’s an extra passenger on board when BAFTA-winning comedian and writer Aisling Bea goes on a journey into her family’s past as the latest series of the genealogy show continues. It was filmed a few weeks before the Irish star of C4’s This Way Up gave birth to her first child, so it finds her heavily pregnant as she returns to Ireland and finds out how she’s personally connected to pivotal moments in the country’s history that she had previously only learnt about at school – the Great Famine in the mid-19th century and the Easter Rising of 1916, which paved the way for Irish independence. MD The British Blood Scandal DOCUMENTARY 9PM, ITV1 …Poisoned at School. Angela’s…

PICK OF THE DAY Austin COMEDY 9.30PM, BBC1 As this wonderfully charming comedy draws to a close, Austin – hurt by hearing Julian say that they’re unalike, and that he may not even be Austin’s father – takes off, leaving only a cryptic note behind. Can Julian manage to track him down and make amends? While we’ve loved the chemistry between Ben Miller and Sally Phillips as Julian and his wife Ingrid, and Gia Carides and Roy Billing as Austin’s Australian family – mum Mel and grandfather Bill – it’s Michael Theo, as Austin, who has been the real star of the show here. You can also see Michael in the reality show Love on the Spectrum: Australia on Netflix, while a second series of Austin is in the works.…

TERRIFIC TALE Dystopian drama The Handmaid’s Tale has returned to C4 for its sixth and final series! Elisabeth Moss, who plays June, and the rest of the cast have brought to life the characters exactly as I remember them from Margaret Atwood’s novel, which this excellent production is based on. Amanda Yates, Newcastle COVER STORY The front cover of TV Times [issue 3-9 May] celebrating the 80th anniversary of VE Day was beautiful. It was so eye-catching and I enjoyed looking at all the lovely details. Stunning! Emma Wright, Devon ED: Thank you! We’re so pleased you liked our cover, illustrated by artist Eleanor Tomlinson. £25 WINNER JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED I really enjoyed the first series of ITV1’s medical thriller Malpractice, which followed the investigation into an A&E…

An a-ma-zing 21 years ago, BBC1 revived its classic ballroom-themed competition Come Dancing and gave it a makeover, rebranding it Strictly Come Dancing and having celebrities, paired with professional hoofers, as contestants. The judges were Len Goodman, Arlene Phillips, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli, while Bruce Forsyth co-hosted alongside Tess Daly – and Bruce joyfully struck a dancer’s pose with his wife Wilnelia for our cover. ‘Ballroom dancing is romantic,’ said Bruce, who was sure there was an audience for Strictly. ‘A million people are putting on their dancing pumps and learning how to dance. That’s a staggering figure.’ Broadcaster Natasha Kaplinsky won the first series with her pro partner Brendan Cole. Bruce stepped down as co-presenter in April 2014, and he passed away on 18 August 2017, aged…

THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES THURSDAY, 9PM, 5 FACTUAL Steve Backshall is buzzing with excitement about his new 5 docuseries The Secret Life of Bees. ‘As a naturalist, my key interest is bugs and insects, and bees are some of the most fascinating,’ enthuses the presenter, 52, in an exclusive interview with TV Times. ‘There’s so much about their societies that’s mind-blowing!’ Taking flight this week to coincide with World Bee Day on Tuesday 20 May, the two-parter follows Steve as he establishes a honeybee colony or ‘beetopia’ at the Berkshire home he shares with his wife, Olympic rower Helen Glover, and their three children. Here, Steve tells us why he couldn’t bee happier about this special project… What was the appeal of this show for you, Steve? I’ve always…

To say that Lauren’s pregnancy wasn’t a breeze is quite the understatement – when some ladies might be enjoying pamper days and baby showers, the 30-something was battling a crippling addiction to painkillers. Although Lauren eventually sought help and is currently on a methadone programme, she’s worried about the possible health ramifications for newborn son Jimmy, and this week, as her concerns rocket, she’s delivered devastating news – the tot has a serious visual impairment. ‘ALL LAUREN WANTS IS REASSURANCE’ Peter can see that his fiancée is struggling with their new arrival, who’s having trouble latching on and crying more than usual, and his private fear is that her stress will lead her back to bad habits. Linda’s much more use, and urges Lauren to listen to her instincts – if…

The Bombing of Pan Am 103 DRAMA 9PM, BBC1 It’s only been a few months since we saw Colin Firth in Lockerbie: A Search for Truth (available on NOW) playing a father campaigning for justice after his daughter was killed, but the tragedy is back on our screens. This six-parter, which features a host of top Scottish talent, is a far more expansive tale, taking on a wide range of perspectives while focusing on investigations on both sides of the Atlantic. It’s a deeply moving story, which portrays the sheer scale of the tragedy while capturing the agony of those left to pick up the pieces. Continues tomorrow. SMA See feature, page 10 Countdown to RHS Chelsea Flower Show FACTUAL 6PM, BBC1 Monty Don is a busy chap, leading coverage…

PICK OF THE DAY The Chelsea Detective DRAMA 8PM, U&DRAMA (BOX SET, U) Adrian Scarborough returns as DI Max Arnold for a third series of the crime drama, and he’s immediately called into action when a body is discovered on an allotment in the affluent London borough. A driving licence found on the dead man makes the case seem cut and dried, but the body isn’t that of the licence holder. And the mystery takes Max and his partner DS Layla Walsh (Vanessa Emme) all the way to the US Embassy, where Alex Kingston guest stars as American ambassador Emily Morgan. Can Max avoid a diplomatic incident and discover the identity of the killer? Continues tomorrow. NH Britain’s Most Expensive Houses FACTUAL 9PM, C4 We all love having a nose…

Following an acclaimed performance in BBC1’s deaf-led revenge thriller Reunion last month, Rose Ayling-Ellis now takes the central role in ITV1’s new crime drama Code of Silence. Written by Catherine Moulton, drawing on her own experiences with lip-reading and hearing loss, the six-part story sees former EastEnders star Rose play Alison Brooks, a cash-strapped young woman who works in the canteen of a Canterbury police station. Dreaming of a more interesting life, and tired of being underestimated because she is deaf, Alison jumps at the chance to challenge perceptions when DS Ashleigh Francis (Ghosts’ Charlotte Ritchie) calls upon her impressive lipreading skills to assist in an ongoing investigation. CODE OF SILENCE SUNDAY & MONDAY, 9PM, ITV1 DRAMA (BOX SET, ITVX) Ashleigh and her colleague DI James Marsh (Broadchurch actor Andrew…

Transformers One PARAMOUNT+ PREMIERE ANIMATION This shiny animation tells the hitherto untold origin stories of heroic Optimus Prime and his evil nemesis Megatron (voiced by Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry). They are mining bots and friends on their home planet Cybertron, but a quest to reach the planet’s mysterious exterior sees them forging wary alliances and exposing secrets that shake them to their core, sowing the seeds of enmity. Flashes of knowing humour sweeten the deal, while Laurence Fishburne’s reanimated oldster delivers some gravitas. And if the battle finale eventually succumbs to the franchise’s customary bombastic overkill, it at least makes you care a little about who’s doing the fighting. Dir: Josh Cooley 2024, PG, 104min FROM FRIDAY The Boys in the Boat BBC2 8PM - 10PM PREMIERE SPORTS…

PICK OF THE DAY Inside Our Dyslexic Minds FACTUAL 9PM, BBC2 Following last week’s exploration of ADHD, and an earlier two-part documentary about autism (available on iPlayer), Chris Packham’s latest investigation into the experience of neurodivergence concentrates on dyslexia. Though usually associated with reading difficulties, the impact of the condition can be broad, affecting memory and navigational skills. As well as talking to his stepdaughter, wildlife presenter Megan McCubbin, about her dyslexia, Chris meets Lee, 53, and Suiki, 35, to discuss their symptoms, and invites both to make a film evoking their unique worlds for family and friends. Fascinating and important TV. RL Canal Boat Diaries FACTUAL 8PM, U&YESTERDAY (BOX SET, U) Narrowboater Robbie Cumming is back with his gentle show that makes you feel you’re on Naughty Lass alongside…

PICK OF THE DAY Nine Perfect Strangers DRAMA PRIME VIDEO (FIRST TWO EPISODES, THEN WEEKLY) Those mourning the end of The White Lotus will doubtless be pleased to see this slow-burning thriller about the intrigues of a batch of wealthy but flawed Americans returning for a second series. Nicole Kidman is back as mysterious wellness guru Masha Dmitrichenko, who welcomes a new group of guests – including characters played by Mark Strong and Murray Bartlett (who stole The White Lotus’ first season) – to her new retreat in the Austrian Alps. As they transform themselves and shed light on their past lives, they find they’re connected in ways they couldn’t possibly have imagined. SMA Sirens DRAMA NETFLIX In this five-part dark comedy from the creator of Maid, Devon (The Perfect…

ARIES (21 March-19 April) Venus helps you to empower yourself in your working life. Is there a new venture you are excited to start? Call… 09058 170 399* TAURUS (20 April-20 May) The Sun and Mercury are in your sign, giving you all the persuasiveness you need to get exactly what you want. Call… 09058 170 400* GEMINI (21 May-20 June) This is a time of victory for you, Gemini. Something you have been wanting to achieve is now within reach. Go for it! Call… 09058 170 401* CANCER (21 June-22 July) You are in a good place right now and others will follow your lead. Keep moving in the direction you have planned. Call… 09058 170 402* LEO (23 July-22 August) Mars in your sign helps you to motivate…