TV Weekly: A farewell in Neighbours and a Nuclear Bomb scandal

Telly picks for the coming week…

BAFTA award-winning actor Jason Watkins, the voice behind popular Channel 5 series, Inside the Tower of London, believes he may have an intriguing family connection to this world famous landmark.

Jason thinks he is related to famed Tudor Lieutenant of the Tower Sir John Brydges, the royal courtier responsible for overseeing the imprisonment and execution of England’s shortest reigning Queen: Lady Jane Grey. According to family legend, Jason could also be connected to another, even more famous figure, renowned Georgian author Jane Austen.

Now, with the help of acclaimed historian Tracy Borman, the pair embark on a journey to uncover the truth behind his family mystery. It is a story which will take them from the majesty of the Tower of London to Jane Austen’s house and the stately grounds of Sudeley Castle in the Cotswolds.

In her quest to discover the truth of Jason’s ancestry, Tracy unearths a cast of characters stretching back over 500 years.

Channel 5, Monday, 9pm

When Bob fails to show for work again, Scarlett and Angus fear the worst. Back at the flat, the pair are unsettled by signs that Bob’s depression has returned. At the cemetery, a clearly desolate Bob sits by Kim’s graveside. He talks to his late wife about feeling bleak about his future without her. Later, when Angus spots Bob slumped over, he panics.

Elsewhere, Alex and Lenny set their sights on uncovering the identity of the grass. Questioning Tyler’s loyalty, Lenny tasks Alex to uncover the truth. Maggie’s stunned when Sonny reveals he saw Eddie sneaking out of the Tall Ship in the dead of night. Along with Caitlin, Maggie spots the damaged footstool and uncovers the truth about Eddie’s stash from Tommy. Enraged at having their privacy violated, Maggie vows revenge.

In the second episode of the week Tyler’s taken aback when Lenny and Alex insist on meeting his mystery woman for lunch. Cornered, Tyler turns to his police contacts for help but DCI Douglas is adamant there’s nothing they can do. Sensing his desperation, Joy offers to pose as his new love interest.

Elsewhere, an incensed Maggie confronts Eddie. Realising Maggie won’t back down, Eddie decides to reveal why he needed the money. The truth surprises Caitlin, sparking a truce between the pair. Madonna tells Kelly-Marie she’s set her sights on a new love interest – Conor. Kelly-Marie warns her off but Madonna has made up her mind. However, when Conor snubs her advances, a deflated Madonna turns to Chloe for some much-needed relationship advice, little realising they have a shared love interest.

River City, Monday and Wednesday at 10pm on BBC Scotland and Tuesday and Thursday at 7pm on BBC One Scotland

Drama from New Zealand set in Wellington.

In this the first of six episodes meet middle-aged no-nonsense teacher Penny (Robyn Malcolm). In this establishing edition Penny’s world implodes when her ex-husband Phil (Peter Mullan) moves back to town.

Five years ago, Penny accused him of a sex crime against her teenage daughter Grace’s friend. Nobody believed her and Penny was ostracised from her friends and family. And Grace (Tara Canton) wants to welcome Phil back and have him move in with her and her three-year-old son, but Penny feels like she’s losing the only family she has left.

She takes her frustration out on a dodgy local fishing operator, staging a one-woman guerrilla attack on their boat.

The full series will be available on Channel 4 Streaming after transmission of this episode. The drama continues on Thursday on Channel 4 as Penny’s friends advise her to put the past behind her, for the sake of her relationship with her daughter Grace and her grandson. But Penny is still disturbed and struggling with Phil’s return.

Channel 4, Wednesday, 9pm

This documentary is the extraordinary story of Britain’s post-war nuclear weapons programme and its devastating legacy for the thousands of service personnel who took part, and the impact on their families and indigenous communities. The film reveals the full extent of the British government’s nuclear tests in Australia and the Pacific in the 1950s and 1960s. It exposes the debilitating health conditions that have blighted the lives of some of the veterans, descendants and indigenous Aboriginal and Gilbertese populations ever since.

Between 1952 and 1967 some 39,000 British and Commonwealth servicemen and scientists witnessed 45 atomic and hydrogen bombs and hundreds of radioactive experiments. The tests turned parts of the pristine Australian outback and Pacific coral atolls into some of the most contaminated places in the world.

Five veterans are interviewed for the programme and in powerful testimony two describe how they were ordered by the MoD to sail or fly through atomic mushroom clouds without being prepared or warned of the risks. Others talk about how they witnessed the nuclear blasts at only a nine mile distance without any protective clothing, using their bare hands to shield their eyes.

Cancers of the liver, blood, bone, bowel, skin and brain, heart disease, leukaemia, stillbirths and generational birth defects are amongst the catalogue of medical disorders suffered by many of the survivors and their children. They’ve campaigned for decades to get their voices heard. The film raises questions about the shattering consequences of Britain’s race to become a global nuclear power and allegations of decades of cover-up at the heart of government.

The film includes a series of contributors, many of whom are speaking for the first time about their harrowing experiences.

BBC Two, Wednesday, 9pm

With Cara’s life in the balance, a panicking Remi instructs her staff to get Cara into surgery immediately to stop her internal bleeding. Remi is reluctantly convinced by senior colleague Stevie not to attend surgery – it’s not something Remi should see.

Forced to endure a long night, Remi is relieved when Stevie updates her that Cara’s stable following surgery but is shocked to learn that Cara flatlined. The next morning, Cara briefly regains consciousness. Horrified by her wife’s apparently catatonic state, Remi spirals, fearing that Cara might have brain damage, but Stevie gives her some tough love, insisting Remi shouldn’t jump
to conclusions. Stevie’s advice proves sage when Cara later regains consciousness again, allaying any fears Remi might have about her mental state by offering a classic Cara response.

Also, this week Melanie’s departure day arrives, and she attends to a full to-do list leading up to her farewell party. Krista wonders if Vic is on the invitation list. Melanie dodges the question, but it’s clear from her reaction that the idea of walking away from Vic is weighing heavily.

Despite the concern of family and friends, Holly ploughs ahead with her plan to give an interview to Blaze for the Crimesborough podcast. Blaze is clearly grateful to have the interview, however when it drops editing makes Holly appear to be a happy killer.

Now that Terese is back from rehab, her main focus is getting back to work. She’s just waiting to hear from Susan and Karl if they will approve her doing some Eirini admin work from home while Lucas has decided the time has come to pass Fitzgerald Motors on to someone new, and newly minted local Max Ramsay is stunned when his dad Shane offers to buy the garage.

Amazon Prime, Monday to Thursday streaming from 7.30am

Max Ramsay is stunned when his dad Shane offers to buy the garage / Amazon Prime / Neighbours