TV Weekly
TV Weekly: From loch, glens and islands to Albert Square
Telly picks for the coming week…
Highland Cops |
Welcome to Britain’s biggest beat. Covering 12,000 square miles of loch, glens, islands and mountains, cutting-edge crime fighting meets traditional ways of life.
Insightful series that goes inside this unique police division to find out what it takes to patrol the beat and keep the peace in the most beautiful, and challenging places, in Britain. In the first of five episodes a bushcraft expert is reported missing in remote Sutherland. The officers battle to uncover which route he took before a blizzard sets in.
In remote Sutherland, a 32-year-old father of two has been missing for 48 hours. Being a bushcraft expert, he went out with only a small amount of provisions and the clothes on his back.
With little information about his planned route, the local officers unite with mountain rescue and coastguard to trawl the area, leaving no stone unturned. The weather was mild when the missing man set out, but the unpredictable Scottish weather is due to turn, with a blizzard on the way.
U&Dave, Sunday, February 16th at 6.40pm
Expedition: Search for the Nile |
In the second and final episode of the series adventurers Ben and Dwayne set out with a train of Ox Carts heading for the shore of Lake Victoria, hoping to find the he true source of the Nile.
As Victorian rivalries peaked and feuds intensified, they discover a complex history of conflicting opinions, claims, counter claims and backstabbing. They face their own perils, heading deep into impenetrable and deadly jungles, struggling across disease ridden swamps and experiencing firsthand the struggles that the great Victorian explorers, such as Livingstone, Speke and Stanley faced over 150 years ago, deep in the heart of Africa. Struggles that led to failure for many, death for some and victory for one.
When Livingstone disappears for nearly a decade, a young Welshman by the name of Stanley is dispatched to track him down. He hears of an old white-haired man living in a small village, in central Africa. In one of the world’s most famous meetings he finds the missing, presumed dead Livingstone, uttering the immortal words “Dr Livingstone I presume?”, second only to Neil Armstrong’s famous phrase when he landed on the moon.
Together Livingstone and Stanley go onto disprove Burton’s Lake Tanganyika theory, leaving only two other possible sources up for grabs. But tragedy overtakes Livingstone and one of the World’s greatest explorers dies in Central Africa, his embalmed body is carried thousands of miles back to Westminster Abbey for a state funeral.
But the Source of the Nile is still unsolved and Stanley, now a seasoned African explorer sets out to reveal the source once and for all. Our modern-day adventurers Ben and Dwyane cross scorched African Savannah, bash through thick tropical jungles, wade through deep swamps to eventually reach the mighty Nile, the world’s greatest river, seeing for themselves just how spectacular it is. Finally, years after the Victorian race for the Nile began, they arrive at the location which would eventually be proven and accepted as its source, solving one of the world’s greatest geographical puzzles though one of the greatest yet deadliest feats of exploration.
The legacy of what these men achieved, not necessarily heroes but men who performed heroic deeds, is summed up as Ben and Dwayne set sail down the world’s greatest River, the Nile.
Channel 5, Sunday, February 16th at 10.05 pm
MasterChef USA |
MasterChef USA embarks on its 14th series with a fresh theme – Generations. Hosted by Gordon Ramsay, alongside acclaimed chef Aarón Sánchez and renowned restaurateur Joe Bastianich, this ultimate cook-off features top home cooks from Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers.
The competition includes diverse challenges such as restaurant takeovers, iconic Mystery Box tasks, cooking at the Major League Soccer LAFC stadium, and the beloved Tag Team event—requiring teams to craft a Michelin-star quality three-course meal.
The ultimate winner seizes a $250,000 cash prize and the coveted title of America’s MasterChef. The series will be broadcast Monday to Friday with the first five episodes starting with Millenial Auditions. Food journalist Priya Krishna is this week’s guest judge for the series premiere. The contestants must get at least three yes votes to advance. They will audition by generation and first up is Millennials.
On Tuesday it’s Baby Boomers Auditions. Joe’s mother Lidia Bastianich joins the judging panel for the second round of auditions, which features Baby Boomers while mid-week we see the Gen Z Auditions with Internet personality and Series 10 finalist Nick DiGiovanni returns to judge the Gen Z contestants.
Gen X Auditions airs on Thursday with Series 3 winner Christine Ha returns to judge the final round of auditions and the week rounds up with Back to the Future. The contestants find childhood photos of themselves in the mystery box. Their challenge is to take a comfort food from their childhood and recreate it in an elevated style.
U&W, Monday to Friday at 7 pm from February 17th
American Murder: Gabby Petito |
In August 2021, 22-year-old Gabby Petito was killed by her fiance, Brian Laundrie, while the young couple was on a four month road trip across the United States documenting their “van life” journey on social media.
Two months later, Laundrie was found to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and his parents were suspected of helping to cover up the murder.
While taking viewers on a journey through Gabby and Brian’s final days together, the series will unveil the tragic reality behind their Insta-perfect life and reveal painful moments where their story might have taken a different turn.
Netflix, begins streaming on February 17th
Best of EastEnders |
As the big 4-0 approches for EastEnders tonight BBC Four take us back over four decades with some of the greatest episodes from the soap.
Starting at 7pm its back to 1986 and the nation was gripped with the ongoings of Angie (Anita Dobson) and Den Watts (Leslie Grantham). Womaniser Den wasn’t for staying with Ange, but she’d told a little lie – she had six months to live – Den when he found out didn’t blow up and confront. Instead, he waited and dished up his revenge on Christmas Day. It became one of the most memorable moments from the early days of Albert Square. Directed by acclaimed film-maker Antonia Bird, This October 1986 edition was the first episode of ‘Enders to feature only two characters; see how the Den and Angie’s final fall out began.
As the evening goes on Ross Kemp – Albert Square’s Grant – introduces the June 1994 episode that sees the culmination of ‘Sharongate’. It’s drama Walford way as Sharon (Letitia Dean) and Phil’s (Steve McFadden) affair is made public by Grant – right in the middle of Phil and Kathy’s engagement party at the Queen Vic, all thanks to an audio recording confession by Sharon to Michelle (Susan Tully).
The legendary Pam St Clement – Pat Butcher – reflects on the long running love affair Pat had with Frank (Mike Reid). This is followed by the bonfire night episode from 2000 which sees fireworks of a different kind in a one-hour special. It marked the second departure of Frank Butcher following the discovery of his affair. As the Queen Vic fills with drunken revellers for Peggy’s party, Frank panics when he realises the note he left his wife has gone missing.
A more recent episode is introduced by Angela Wynter and Rudolph Walker, who play husband and wife Patrick and Yolande Trueman. The pair look back on the two-hander episode from May 2024 which deals with Yolande’s sexual assault at the hands of the local priest. The episode then follows.
Other highlights tonight include the documentary Just Another Day which was the inspiration for Victoria Wood’s Making of Acorn Antiques spoof. In the real documentary John Pitman visits the set of EastEnders in 1986, which had then only been on air for just over a year. He watches the filming process as Lofty and Michelle get engaged on a bench in Albert Square, and talks to several cast members, including Susan Tully, Wendy Richard, Leslie Grantham and June Brown.
In EastEnders: Family Album the first fifteen years is reflected upon in this documentary from 2000. Peggy’s breast cancer and Mark’s HIV positive condition come under the spotlight, Patsy Palmer talks about Bianca’s notorious liaison with Dan, and Adam Woodyatt reveals how he would like his character to leave the series.
This is followed by Gaby Roslin on a wander behind the scenes in Albert Square during the 2001 ‘Who Shot Phil’ storyline to look at the main suspects in EastEnders: The Whole Truth which was first broadcast in April 2001. The evening is wrapped up with a classic episode of Wogan where he is joined by some of the Albert Square regulars as the show celebrated its 3rd anniversary.
BBC Four, Sunday, February 16th from 7pm and on the iPlayer
