Telly Today: A&E, River City and prime time Jeremy Vine

Highlights for October 3rd…

24 HOURS IN A&E

Filmed before the coronavirus pandemic, the RTS award-winning documentary series returns for a 29th series, following patients treated in the same 24-hour period at St George’s Hospital in south-west London.

The hospital has one of the busiest A&E departments in Britain – a place where stories of life, love and loss unfold every day. Graham, who’s 50, went out for a weekend motorbike ride with his friend and lost control of the handlebars at high speed. Doctors fear there’s significant damage to his back and neck, so he’s sent for an urgent CT scan while his wife Kate rushes to his bedside in resus.

Kate is worried he might not be able to walk again. She describes how love blossomed between her and Graham and how their decision to start a family threw some unforeseen problems at them.

Joyce, who’s 76, is rushed to A&E after a fall at home. She’s having breathing difficulties and doctors suspect an underlying infection is causing an array of problems. Emergency care nurse Joan is on shift in resus, and seeing this elderly vulnerable patient makes her reflect on the experiences she’s had with her own family, the difficulties of ageing and loneliness, and why it’s important to make time to give someone a cup of tea on a busy shift.

In urgent care, Norman, who tripped and fell backwards over a paving stone, has pain and swelling in his foot, which is making it difficult for him to walk. As doctors investigate whether he might have broken his foot, he shares his own story of love and loss, and caring for the ones you love.

9 pm Channel 4

RIVER CITY

Mulvaney expresses his disapproval of Lenny faking his amnesia as a means to bring Lydia and Amber back together. Lenny assures him he’ll drop the act once the two women in his life have made up – and the police investigation has moved on.

Mulvaney pushes Lenny to use the newfound sympathy he’s receiving to build bridges with Lydia, to which he agrees. Lenny invites Lydia to the Oyster Café for some breakfast, where they reminisce about their shared past. There’s an undeniable closeness between the former couple as they take their trip down memory lane. Lydia tries to bury her feelings for Lenny and heads back to work with Andrew, as Lenny wonders if he pushed things too far.

Elsewhere, a frustrated DCI Shaw fears she’s hit a roadblock in the Darren Foulkes’ murder investigation. Just then she spots a happy and carefree-looking Tyler and Nicole chatting, and their closeness raises her suspicions.

Questioning Nicole and Tyler separately, DCI Shaw asks them if there is anyone from Darren’s past who has a grudge against him. Nicole and Tyler are united in their lie, but it doesn’t take long before DCI Shaw has a new prime suspect in her sights. Scarlett enlists the help of a sullen Madonna as emergency cover for the One Stop Shop. However, when an opportunity to go shopping with her friends comes calling, Madonna dumps the shopkeeping responsibilities on Callum.

When Scarlett discovers Madonna duped her, she grounds her daughter – indefinitely. Tensions grow when a dumbfounded Andrew discovers Scarlett left her underage daughter in charge when he told her not to. All is not well in the O’Hara household.

10 pm BBC Scotland Channel

LIVE: BRITAIN ON THE BRINK – DEBATE

Channel 5 bring the current cost of the UK living crisis to the fore with a live primetime debate focusing on the recent unrest with workers, such as rail staff. Britain has seen following recent Tory policy a host of financial concerns, but that’s just the latest in a long line of issues putting ‘Britain on the brink’.

Host of the channel’s daily live daytime topical series which bears his name, Jeremy Vine will present this hour-long special discussion about the current wave of industrial action, looking at how it is affecting the public.

Vine hears the stories of people who have been affected by the strikes, from small businesses to daily commuters, while those taking part and union leaders explain why they feel such measures are necessary.

9 pm Channel 5