Telly Today: Boris drama, Scottish drama and house building drama

THIS ENGLAND

The Sky Original airs its second episode this evening.

The UK prepares for rising Covid 19 cases, hospitals and care homes make plans on how to deal with the pandemic. Boris attends the COBRA meetings as Patrick Vallance and Chris Whitty outline covid case data and presents estimated fatality rates.

Boris makes various media appearances to discuss Covid plans as cases continue to rise around the world and the situation worsens in Italy. Big sporting events go ahead as planned while scientific organisations urge that measures are brought in to contain the spread of the virus.

Cabinet discusses potential lockdown, Cummings is told the UK isn’t as far behind Italy as first thought.

9pm, Sky Atlantic

RIVER CITY

Desperate to meet her favourite make-up influencer, Madonna tries to persuade Scarlett to let her go, despite being grounded. However, Scarlett is insistent – after the stunt Madonna pulled, she’s going nowhere.

Meanwhile, Andrew prepares a surprise party for Scarlett to make up for not winning the Star of Shieldinch Award and show how much she means to the community. Andrew attempts to get Madonna involved but she has no intention of doing anything nice for her mum.

Later, Madonna opens up to Stevie about how neglected and overlooked she feels at home. Stevie encourages Madonna to talk to Scarlett little realising her confession will become a very public affair.

Elsewhere, Nicole grows concerned when Tyler is suddenly called to the police station for further questioning. Worse still, she’s caught off guard when DCI Shaw shows up at the Two Jailbirds to talk to her. Realising DCI Shaw is trying to divide and conquer the couple, Nicole gives very little away but is stunned to discover the policewoman knows they’re seeing each other.

Nicole tries to play it down but DCI Shaw is hellbent on getting Nicole to incriminate Tyler for Darren’s death. Despite Shaw’s best efforts, Nicole adamantly portrays herself as the victim – refusing to be ensnared by her tactics.

With the weight of the world on his shoulders, Mikey opens up to Mulvaney about his unsuccessful attempts to find his birth mother. Feeling his search has halted, Mikey is encouraged when Mulvaney reveals he might be able to help. Before he leaves, Mulvaney offers Mikey some other advice – makeup with his best friend, Gillian. After all, she’s been by his side year after year and their feud is futile.

10pm, BBC Scotland Channel / iPlayer for the rest of the UK

GRAND DESIGNS

In this episode, Kevin meets retired racehorse breeder John and his wife Helen in Dunstable.

The couple met at Newbury races in 2005 and wed two years later, living together in a 17th-century farmhouse until illness struck in 2018. Helen had a catastrophic stroke, severely affecting her mobility and leaving her with aphasia, which affects her ability to communicate. Constrained by the steep stairs, narrow doorways and changes in the level of their current home, John resolved to make a big change in their lives with the purchase of a nearby two-acre plot.

Following the demolition of an old, dilapidated house on site, a new high-tech accessible pavilion, complete with a wildlife garden, will be built in its place for £1.3 million. Leaving the home where they thought they would spend the rest of their lives is a huge leap of faith for John and Helen, but they both hope that the new house will give them a happier and brighter future.

Employed as project manager is John’s son Ollie, who has a small construction business. With a 16-month schedule and their current house on the market, Ollie is under severe pressure not to let the building programme overrun. He gets off to a flying start: three months in, the shell of the basement is complete, and assembly of an eight-metre-tall exposed concrete spine wall has begun.

Unfortunately, defects mean bringing in a concrete doctor to try to avoid a rebuild, costing tens of thousands of pounds and significant delays. Then, the installation of the concrete fascias goes wrong, with the supporting steel frame cracking under the weight, spelling potential disaster. As the sale of John and Helen’s house is confirmed, Ollie must resolve all the issues and push on, hopeful that the build doesn’t exact too high a price on a family still reeling from Helen’s stroke.

9 pm, Channel 4