Innholdsfortegnelse for 16-Aug-25 i TV Times

WILDLIFE Parenthood SUNDAY BBC1 This show is an absolute delight. And not just because of the amazing footage of the animals. In this week’s episode, the series looks at the parenting challenges in the world’s grassy regions. While grass provides food, it doesn’t always provide much cover and this can spell jeopardy for parents trying to keep their young safe. However, in Kenya, the landscape helps a cheetah teach her cubs how to hunt. Fascinating. See page 47 It seems to be all the rage this year with actors playing fictional prime ministers. First, we had Idris Elba in Heads of State, and now, Netflix’s new drama Hostage sees Suranne Jones as British Prime Minister Abigail Dalton, who is caught up in a kidnapping plot along with the visiting French…

MUDTOWN NEW WED, 9PM, U&ALIBI DRAMA (BOX SET, SKY BOX SETS, VIRGIN TV BOX SETS & NOW) An arson attack during an illegal rave at a warehouse kicks off a dangerous chain of events in Welsh legal crime drama Mudtown. Following its premiere on Welsh-language channel S4C and BBC iPlayer as Ar y Ffin last year, the English version of this six-part series arrives on U&Alibi this week. The Newport-set story stars Gotham and The Crown actor Erin Richards as experienced magistrate and mum of two Claire Lewis Jones, who’s hiding a chequered past involving a relationship she once had with local crime kingpin Pete Burton (The Gold’s Tom Cullen). But Claire’s personal and professional worlds collide when her precocious teenage daughter Beca (The Crow Girl’s Lauren Morais) becomes entangled…

1 OUTRAGEOUS Set against the opulent backdrop of 1930s British high society, this lavish drama explores the story of the real-life aristocratic Mitford sisters – Nancy (played by Bessie Carter), Pamela (Isobel Jesper Jones), Diana (Joanna Vanderham), Unity (Shannon Watson), Jessica (Zoe Brough) and Deborah (Orla Hill). All refusing to play by the rules, the intrigue and scandal surrounding the family made headlines across the globe, with their actions highlighting the political and societal changes of the time. Look out for Anna Chancellor and James Purefoy as the siblings’ parents, affectionately nicknamed Muv and Farve. ✱ All six episodes are available to stream now on U 2 THE NARROW ROAD TO THE DEEP NORTH Expect an unflinching depiction of the brutal realities of war, and its emotional impact on individuals, in…

With a job he loves and a place of his own, George’s autistic brother Kojo is living the life he once dreamt of. But the mechanic’s stab at independence is being cruelly exploited, and George is left reeling this week when he discovers his sibling has been given drugs. George has long been uneasy about Kojo fleeing the nest, and his concerns have rocketed since Kojo allowed workmate Harry to move in with him. ‘He has met a lot of lads like Harry during the years he’s run bars, and he can see that Harry could be involved in drugs,’ says Colin Salmon, who plays George. Harry is, indeed, caught up in dealing, but he’s been forced into it by Ravi. He’s trying to protect Kojo, but Ravi and accomplice…

Mack’s in need of a massive bottle of Scotch this week, for not only does he realise that his initial suspicions about ‘saintly’ John were spot on, but he also has an almighty bust-up with Charity that leaves him fearing their marriage is no more. The couple’s relationship is currently on shaky ground due to Charity’s decision to become a surrogate for granddaughter Sarah, even though she had previously refused to try for a baby with Mack after they’d suffered an ectopic pregnancy. While disapproving Mack eventually offered his support, it was on the assumption that she’d most likely fail to conceive. Beating the odds, his 49-year-old wife is, of course, now expecting. Already at a low ebb, Mack’s further upset when busy Charity refuses to spend time with him.…

16-22 AUGUST THIS WEEK’S PICKS Radio 2’s Piano Room NEW Thursday, BBC Radio 2, from 11.25am The highlight of Vernon Kay’s mid-morning show today is Robbie Williams performing alongside the BBC Concert Orchestra in the Piano Room. As tradition dictates, Robbie will perform one of his hits, a new track from his forthcoming album and a cover version. NEW Open Country Thursday, BBC Radio 4, 3.00pm A new edition of the rural magazine follows host Martha Kearney as she explores the beauty of Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire, a site of flowering meadows, reedbeds and endangered wildlife that was entrusted to the National Trust 125 years ago this year. THIS WEEK ON… THE ARCHERS Tensions are mounting for the younger Horrobins as peacemaker Brad tries his best to smooth the troubled…

1 COASTAL ADVENTURES WITH HELEN, JULES & JB 5 TRAVELOGUE Helen Skelton makes some steely new friends in this week’s edition of the coastline showcase when she visits Sunderland’s Sculpture Trail, which celebrates the port city’s shipbuilding heritage. See page 67 2 HOSTAGE NETFLIX THRILLER Political power play and personal peril collide in this new five-parter starring Suranne Jones and Julie Delpy as world leaders who find everything they hold dear being threatened. See page 20 3 ONE NIGHT ITV1 DRAMA Jodie Whittaker, Nicole da Silva and Yael Stone play three childhood friends whose lives were changed for ever by a traumatic event 20 years prior, in this six-part story that debuted on Paramount+ in 2023. See page 15 4 THE ANSWER RUN BBC1 QUIZ SHOW Brush up on your…

CONFESSIONS OF A BRAIN SURGEON NEW MONDAY, 9PM, BBC2 FACTUAL Pioneering British neurosurgeon Henry Marsh took an unusual path into medicine. Having dropped out of a politics, philosophy and economics degree at the University of Oxford after experiencing depression, he worked as a hospital porter and became fascinated observing surgeons at work and was inspired to follow in their footsteps. First returning to Oxford to complete his course, Henry went on to study medicine at London’s Royal Free Medical School and later specialised in neurology when his son was successfully treated for a brain tumour at three months old. Henry retired from the NHS in 2015 and is now 75, and looks back on his career in a new BBC2 documentary, Confessions of a Brain Surgeon. In an exclusive interview,…

Life seems to be going swimmingly for Sarah, who’s in a romance with fit Kit and is effortlessly juggling a management job at Underworld with being a single mum to invisible son Harry. But things get super-stressful this week, thanks to an incident at the factory. Sarah’s tasked by Carla with handling a meeting with client Eli. The bloke turns up late and irate, explaining that an overzealous cop insisted on searching his car as he was parked illegally. Sarah tries to unruffle his feathers, but when Kit arrives to see her, Eli recognises him as the bothersome bobby. Realising he’s Sarah fella, the unimpressed businessman makes to leave, at which point Sarah locks him in her office, so that he has no choice but to listen to her pitch.…

Denise’s decision to give things another go with husband Jack has left an opening in Ravi’s life for ex-partner Priya. Having shared lingering looks and flirty banter for months, not to mention a snog when he and Dee were together, the pair finally give in to their lusty urges, although the odds of them living happily ever after surely lie somewhere between slim and non-existent. The former lovers have a strong bond due to having two kids together, Nugget and Avani. The latter, they discovered to their horror last week, recently got pregnant – something kept from them by Suki and Eve – and went on to have a termination. Aware that some family time is in order, Ravi agrees to a shopping trip, but when he learns that his…

WIN £100 CROSSWORD YOU CAN WIN £100! SOLVE THE CLUES AND REARRANGE THE LETTERS IN THE YELLOW SQUARES TO SPELL OUT THE NAME OF A BRITISH TV PRESENTER (4,6) ACROSS 1 & 4 Across I’m in a drama as Kate Lonergan’s leader of the Merry Men (4,6) 4 See 1 Across 10 Bellows out family surname in Bread (7) 11 Home help upset country setting for A Suitable Boy (5) 12 Skateboarding jump by Made in Chelsea’s Mr Locke (5) 13 Hollywood actor Mr Wood in jail he rebuilt (6) 15 Part of kingdom rising for Dallas actor Mr Katz (4) 17 Explosion is big, in theory, in US sitcom (4) 19 Spread CV with mayo for James as Lord Asriel in His Dark Materials (6) 22 The X Factor winner…

DESTINATION X WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY, 9PM, BBC1 REALITY Geography tests at school weren’t half as much fun as Destination X, the hit adventure game in which competitors traverse Europe on a special bus with blacked-out windows while trying to decipher cryptic clues as to their exact whereabouts in a quest to win £100,000. With just four instalments left in the debut 10-part series, the remaining players must work harder than ever to crack the challenges set by host Rob Brydon to earn extra hints that could prove crucial when they each have to place an X on a map indicating the place they believe they are, as the person furthest away is eliminated. For the production team, keeping the show on the road was no mean feat. Not only did…

ONE NIGHT NEW SATURDAY, 9.30PM, ITV1 DRAMA (BOX SET, ITVX) Three childhood pals relive an ordeal that happened 20 years ago in Australia-set mystery One Night. Arriving on ITV1 this week following its debut on Paramount+ in 2023, the six-part series stars Jodie Whittaker as high-flyer Tess, who remains traumatised after a sexual assault decades earlier, although her recollections are hazy. When Tess, who has been living in the UK, returns to her coastal Oz home town, she’s reunited with her friends: free-spirited writer Simone (Nicole da Silva) and sensible lawyer Hat (Yael Stone). But old tensions resurface and secrets emerge when they learn Simone has penned a novel fictionalising the events of the harrowing evening Tess was attacked. Here, Yael, Jodie and Nicole give us their take on the…

HOSTAGE NEW FROM THURSDAY 21 AUGUST, NETFLIX THRILLER A British Prime Minister faces an unimaginable choice between her family and her duty in Netflix’s new political thriller Hostage. The five-part story stars Vigil’s Suranne Jones as fictional leader Abigail Dalton, who is hosting French President Vivienne Toussaint (Before Sunrise star Julie Delpy) for an important summit. But during the meeting, Abigail receives the horrifying news that her husband Alex (The Ipcress File’s Ashley Thomas) has been kidnapped while carrying out humanitarian work overseas. When the kidnappers threaten to kill Alex unless Abigail resigns, she is forced to ask Vivienne for help – and discovers that her French counterpart is also being targeted by blackmailers. Can the pair put aside their differences to unravel the sinister plot that threatens them both?…

Secret lovers Abi and Carl are managing to fly under the radar, which is nothing short of miraculous given that they’re having saucy bunk-ups in the very hotel owned and managed by his sister Debbie. This week, however, the lusty pair’s luck finally runs out when, in yet another ‘are you asking to get caught?’ moment, they have a snog at the kitchen window of the Webster house and are spotted by Tracy. Carl has previously had some flirty banter with the florist, and as the week begins, he cheekily tells Tracy that he’s staying at the Chariot Square Hotel; specifically (and rather ominously) in room 101. Faced with agg from jealous Abi, he insists it was all a cover and suggests she join him for more action. Returning to…

It was always going to be a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ Robert and Aaron would end up back in bed together. Less than three months after Robert’s return to the village, the former married couple have some red-hot rumpy pumpy and, ironically, it’s thanks in no small part to the machinations of Aaron’s new husband John. Wanting rid of Robert – who’s not only a love rival, but is also on his tail over Nate’s murder – John has manipulated his half-brother into appearing violent and unhinged. Robert despairs as John pays him a visit and smugly reveals that both Victoria and Aaron have washed their hands of him. Alone in despair and thinking he has nothing left, Robert starts smashing up his bedroom, but a passing Aaron…

THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB NETFLIX Sir Ben Kingsley, Pierce Brosnan, Dame Helen Mirren and Celia Imrie turn sleuth in an adaptation of Richard Osman’s debut novel KING & CONQUEROR BBC1 James Norton stars in a new historical epic depicting a brutal power struggle THE CASTLE: REBUILDING HISTORY C4 A one-off special charts the restoration of Norwich Castle’s medieval keep HERE WE GO BBC1 What to expect as the chaotic Jessops go on holiday to Malta ATOMIC SKY ATLANTIC Alfie Allen and Shazad Latif play unlikely heroes in a new global thriller…