Television treats for this week

When having a look over the TV schedule for new programmes starting this week I’m going to be honest and say it looks a bit disappointing. There’s a few ongoing shows like Scott and Bailey (ITV1 on Wednesday) and Masterchef (BBC One on Thursday) but nothing really new.

So this week’s picks are a bit of a mixed bag. If there is any television show that we’ve missed out then let us know in the comments below.

Broadchurch

David Tennant and Olivia Colman star in Broadchurch. | Photo: ITV

We’re nearing the end of Broadchurch, and growing closer to finding out who killed Danny Latimer. The finger of suspicion has pointed at almost every one who lives in the village, but by building the tension instead it made the series feel a bit dragged out. However, there has been some fantastic acting from the whole cast, in particular Olivia Colman.

Watch the penultimate episode on ITV1, Monday at 9pm. Catch up with the rest of the series online using ITV Player.

8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown

8 out of 10 cats play Countdown. | Photo: Channel 4

8 Out of 10 Cats takeover of Countdown originally happened as part of Channel 4′s Mash Up evening. Now there’s a series which started last week. Again we saw poor Jon Richardson, who loves winning Countdown, had to sit through his fellow comedians bumbling their way through the letters and the numbers game show.

This week on Friday, Channel 4 at 9pm Jimmy Carr will continue to host while Jon Richardson will be joined by actor, Stephen Mangan and they will be competing against Lee Mack and Richard Osman, from Pointless.

Doctor Who

Doctor Who continues this weekend. | Photo: BBC One

Doctor Who continues this weekend on BBC One, Saturday at 6.45pm. The Doctor and Clara arrive at a haunted mansion where a spirit called the Witch of the Well turns out to be more than they expect.

What to watch: April 8th to 14th

There’s so much television to choose from, but what are the highlights to catch this week?This is TV Talk’s glance at what the small screen has to offer.

Get your game show on

Five Minutes to a Fortune | Photo: Channel 4

Davina McCall has perfected her game show presenting skills on The Million Pound Drop Live. She’s able to seamlessly go from sympathy to excitement. Her latest game show is Five Minutes to a Fortune where contestants need to complete five challenges in five minutes. At the same time an hourglass filled with cash starts to drain away.

The series starts on Monday, April 8th and is on every weekday afternoon on Channel 4 at 5pm.

A new series of Catchphrase started on ITV | Photo: ITV

Fans of game shows might like to know that ITV have resurrected Catchphrase. The show is very similar to when Roy Walker presented it, including it’s retro-looking set, but there’s no Roy Walker. Stephen Mulhern doesn’t have the same charm, but guessing the catchphrases is enjoyable. Perfect viewing for 6.45pm on a Sunday on ITV.

Fancy a cuppa?

Victoria Wood travels the globe to find out why the humble cup of tea is so popular in BBC One documentary Victoria Wood’s Nice Cup of Tea.

This two part programme, on Wednesday and Thursday at 9pm, sounds very quaint but as a nation we do love tea. As well as discovering the origins of the drink Victoria Wood also chats to actor Matt Smith about the Time Lord’s love of tea.

Doctor Who

The Doctor and Clara are off an another adventure | Photo: BBC

Speaking of The Doctor, his show is also back on this weekend. Admittedly it isn’t really one to forget, although the BBC have started to play with the time it starts. This Saturday it’s on at 6pm on BBC One and sees The Doctor and Clara landing on a damaged Russian submarine. Not only is the submarine spiralling out of control but an alien creature is on the loose.

Don’t miss

Great shows from Channel 4 this week | Photo: Channel 4

Channel 4 comedy shows The Mimic and Anna & Katy finish this week. They’ve been great series, so watch them on 4OD before they go. Catch the final episodes on Channel 4 at Wednesday 10pm for The Mimic and 10.35pm for Anna & Katy.

Finally Channel 4 return to their Big Fat Gypsy series on Sunday, April 14th at 9pm. My Big Fat Gypsy Fortune will reveal how the Gypsy and Traveller communities manage to afford their lavish weddings.

Fancy staying at Hotel GB?

Hands down Channel 4 have won the category for most bizarre show of the year with Hotel GB. On paper the show is just another attempt from the channel to help out Britain’s unemployed as 12 trainees are given the chance to work in a real hotel and maybe get a permanent job out of the experience.

However, Hotel GB is no ordinary hotel. Every department is headed up by a Channel 4 celebrity. Dr Christian Jessen from Embarrassing Bodies is the gym manager, Kim Woodburn from How Clean is Your House is the hotel’s cleaner and Gok Wan is behind the bar. Other positions of responsibility in the hotel have been given to Phil Spencer, Kirstie Allsopp, Hilary Devey, Katie Piper and Jimmy Carr.

If that not is enough name dropping for you then you will be glad to know the hotel managers are Mary Portas and Gordon Ramsay. Oh, and celebrities have also been staying at the hotel too.

On top of all this the show is also a competition to see whether hospitality or the kitchen will earn the most money therefore winning the show. It is also an exercise at giving money to charity as every penny earned throughout the show is going to The Prince’s Trust and Springboard.

That’s a lot for a mere week of television. Yet somehow I have really enjoyed watching the show. Just as you get bored with Gordon Ramsay shouting at some poor soul in the kitchen the show starts following Kirstie Allsopp and Gok Wan planning a surprise wedding for some of the guests. Unfortunately the celebrities tend to get more attention than any of the trainees. I can’t remember any of the trainees’ names so I am just reduced to remembering who they are by listing everything they have done in the show.

I think sometimes the trainees realise the show format is neglecting them a bit too as they sometimes have nothing to do and all that earns them is a glare and a telling off from a television presenter. And as only two will get a job at the end of the week it feels like the show is nothing more than a gesture to help unemployed people out, especially as in the UK over one million young people are without a job.

This year Channel 4 have liked helping unemployed people out, with Mary Portas starting a knicker factory and Gordon Ramsay’s attempt to rehabilitate prisoners by teaching them to bake. In some cases at Hotel GB the celebrity mentor figure works Katie Piper who is known for having her face rebuilt after an acid attack, is professional and good at training up her beauty therapy assistant. On the other hand Phil Spencer, from Location, Location, Location, is learning how to be a maître d’ on the job, as well as teaching others how to be waiters.

A lot more work has clearly gone into the show that the audience sees on-screen, but with relatively little time for preparation the hotel is working, and working well. The only real disasters have been a slow receptionist, someone in the restaurant getting champagne accidentally poured over them and one trainee leaving before the hotel had even officially opened.

Paddy McGuinness is presenting the evening recaps and has actually been really enjoyable to watch. His jokey approach has set the tone of the show quite well, with a sort of “no one knows what is really happening but we’ll appreciate it” approach.

Sadly though, once the Hotel GB doors have closed I can’t imagine them opening up again. Unless it creates a new variety of similar shows. Nick Hewer from Countdown and Channel 4 News anchorman Jon Snow could run a newspaper for a week. Jon Snow can do the journalism side and Nick Hewer can do the numbers. Alternatively Noel Edmonds and Kevin McCloud could open a call centre together. Kevin McCloud is good at organising people on building sites and Noel Edmonds has a lot of experience in answering the phone. The opportunities are endless.

The last Hotel GB is on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm, or you can catch up with the rest of the week’s shows on 4OD.

A short history of everything bland

Good television is hard to find at the moment because of Euro 2012. However, there are some parts of the schedule that can still be enjoyed that are not football. I thought Channel 4′s new comedy panel show A Short History of Everything Else would be one of those shows. I think I may have been wrong.

The show sees host, Griff Rhys Jones, ask his panelists, Marcus Brigstocke and Charlie Baker, a variety of questions about the past which they answer with jokes. The premise seems simple enough, and the people involved are funny and enjoyable to watch so surely not much can go wrong. But somehow the show just doesn’t seem to go anywhere and ended up being just something to have on in the background.

The questions about the country’s recent social history didn’t really delve back further than the 1980s, which made it feel like you were watching snippets of old episodes of Have I Got News For You. On top of that just as the contestants were getting to a funny bit they would be cut off by another question. As a result no one on the show came across as funny as they actually could be.

Now having seen what the show is like, it reminds me of another short-lived Channel 4 panel show called Back in the Day, which was on air back in 2005. It was presented by Clive Anderson who asked the show’s contestants a variety of questions about the last five decades. The nostalgia packed show had clips of news events ranging from 1950-1999, as well as panelists whose answers and memories were supposed to bring some humour into the mix. As Back in the Day only lasted one series, it clearly didn’t work. But seeing as it was a long time ago, and was hidden away in the schedule, Channel 4 seem to think they could get away with trying the format out again.

It is a shame that A Short History of Everything Else doesn’t work because everyone involved is good, I am really glad that Marcus Brigstocke is back on-screen. However, the current version of the show is too fixated on working properly as a quiz and educating people about our social history, rather than concentrating on being funny. It’s not bad, just forgettable.

If you want to see what a Short History of Everything Else is like for yourself then head over to 4OD .

How to avoid the football this summer

Euro 2012 starts tonight with a match between Poland and Greece. While thousands may enjoy watching grown men kick a ball around for the next few weeks, others might not like it that sport invited itself onto our screens removing television programmes from the schedule without asking. So here are a selection of TV shows that are on despite the summer of sports.

Alan Carr’s Summertime Specstacular

Alan Carr is hosting a two-hour television extravaganza on Friday night with celebrities and bands taking part in games and sketches on the show. The guests include: David Walliams, The Saturdays, the cast of Made in Chelsea and Justin Bieber who seemed to be confused by his meeting with Alan Carr but enjoyed it nonetheless.

It sounds as though the show is like Carr’s chat show, Chattyman, and will feature a mix of celeb chat, Carr’s humour as well as plying the guests with alcohol.

Friday 8th June, 9pm on Channel 4.

Britain in a Day

Back in November 2011 a range of British people filmed what happened on one ordinary day in their lives. In total 750 hours of video were submitted, which included 11,526 clips via YouTube. This footage was then edited to a 90-minute film which sees families having breakfast, what life is like in a detention centre and even a marriage proposal.

After the film has been on BBC Two then a website will be launched to get where people can see the full film submissions online here.

Monday 11th June, 9pm on BBC Two.

A Short History of Everything Else

Griff Rhys Jones hosts a new comedy panel show providing alternative perspectives on our past. Rhys Jones is also joined by team captains Marcus Brigstocke and Charlie Baker who, along with guests, will be trying to prove that they remember more than the other team does.

Starts Wednesday 13th June, 10pm on Channel 4.

True Love

Doctor Who co-stars are back on-screen together again as David Tennant and Billie Piper star in True Love. The part improvised drama follows the love lives of five people living in the same town. Dominic Savage, Jane Horrocks and David Morrissey also appear in the show.

The first episode follows Nick (Tennant) who is happily married with children, but begins to question everything when he bumps into his first love again. So you get the idea of the kind of stories this series will tell, but if you really want to avoid the football then it could be the show for you.

Starts Sunday 17th June, 10.25pm on BBC One.

Channel 4′s Comedy Gala best bits

Channel 4′s Comedy Gala, which raises money for Great Ormond Street Hospital, returns for the third time tonight with a whole host of comedians and musicians. This year Jessie J is headlining the event with a live performance, but the line up also includes Lee Evans, Michael McIntyre, Micky Flanagan, Jonathan Ross, Kevin Bridges and many others.

On top of the comedy happening at the O2 arena, Jimmy Carr and Alan Carr will be hijacking the adverts again, making advert breaks bearable.

Here are the best advert hijackings by the Carrs that have taken place over the years.

Alan Carr dresses up as animals

In these adverts for Pedigree and Cravendale Alan seems to have revealed his fondness for wearing animal costumes, which isn’t at all unsettling.

The Carrs are a married couple

In this 0800 Reverse advert, it shows the Carrs as a married couple who seem to have lost that special spark.

Jimmy and Alan help out on a Cadbury’s advert

Back when Cadbury’s did elaborate adverts, like the gorilla playing the drums, Jimmy and Alan did their part and dressed up as a suit jacket.

Jimmy meets the Go Compare man

Jimmy Carr should be considered a hero as he injures the Go Compare man.

This year’s Comedy Gala, and hijacked adverts, is on Channel 4 on Sunday at 9, and you can watch previous gala performances on 4OD or buy the DVD over at Amazon.

Call the Midwife, Homeland and Rob Brydon all set to return

Can’t see anything you like on the television at the moment? Then have no fear as TV Talk looks at the shows that have been recommissioned and ones that we are looking forward to seeing.

The Rob Brydon Show

Rob Brydon’s take on a chat show will be back over the summer on BBC Two, as another six episodes have been commissioned. The programme is a mix of celebrity chat, comedy and music, and Brydon says that some great guests are already lined up.

It is not the only comedy show returning, as Sarah Millican’s Television Show has also been given another series.

Homeland

The hit US show may have only just finished but Channel 4 have already confirmed that they will be showing the second series. The continuity announcer said that Channel 4 have signed the rights as the credits were rolling on the final episode.

The Golden Globe award winning show starred Britain’s very own Damian Lewis, who impressed Emma with his realistic American accent.

While waiting for the show to come back to UK televisions, you can pre-order the DVD from Amazon.

Doctor Who

The BBC still has not confirmed a date for the return of Doctor Who this year, but Digital Spy says the new series will be premiered at the 2012 Edinburgh Television Festival in late August. The same happened with the last series of Doctor Who, which was then aired on television soon after.

It has already been revealed that Amy and Rory will be leaving part way through series seven, and a new companion played by Jenna-Louise Coleman will be introduced in the Christmas special.

Call The Midwife

Talking about Christmas (yes, I know it is only May) The BBC has announced that Call the Midwife will return earlier than expected with a Christmas special. The series has also seen recognition for actress and comedian Miranda Hart, who has been nominated for a Bafta in the supporting actress category.

The Christmas special will see Miranda Hart return alongside Jenny Agutter and Pam Ferris, but full plot details are not yet known. In the meantime you can buy the first series on DVD from Amazon.

Bafta television nominations for 2012 announced

Appropriate Adult, ITV’s crime drama about the killer Fred West, leads the nominations at this year’s British Academy Television Awards.

The ITV drama has four nominations which are in the leading actor category for Dominic West, leading actress for Emily Watson, supporting actress for Monica Dolan as well as a nomination for mini series.

Sherlock, Twenty Twelve, Scott and Bailey and The Great British Bake Off are among other nominations that have been announced.

The awards will be presented at Royal Festival Hall on May 27th, by Dara O’Briain who is also a nominee for his performances on Mock the Week.

Below are the Bafta television nominations in full.



Leading actor
Benedict Cumberbatch – Sherlock
Dominic West – Appropriate Adult
John Simm – Exile
Joseph Gilgun – This is England ’88


Supporting actor
Andrew Scott – Sherlock
Joseph Mawle – Birdsong
Martin Freeman – Sherlock
Stephen Rea – The Shadowline

Male Performance in a comedy programme
Brendan O’Carroll – Mrs Brown’s Boys
Darren Boyd – Spy
Hugh Bonneville – Twenty Twelve
Tom Hollander – Rev.

Entertainment performance
Alan Carr – Alan Carr Chatty Man
Dara O’Briain – Mock the Week
Graham Norton – The Graham Norton Show
Harry Hill – Harry Hill’s TV Burp

Mini series
Appropriate Adult
The Crimson Petal and the White
This is England ’88
Top Boy

Soap and continuing drama
Coronation Street
Eastenders
Holby City
Shameless

Factual series
The Choir: Military Wives
Educating Essex
Our War
Protecting our children

Single documentary
9/11: The day that changed the world
The fight of their lives
Terry Pratchett: Choosing to die
We need to talk about Dad

Reality and constructed factual
An Idiot Abroad
Don’t Tell The Bride
Made in Chelsea
The Young Apprentice

News coverage
BBC News at Ten: Siege of Homs
Channel 4 News: Japan earthquake
ITV News at Ten: Battle of Misrata
Sky News: Libya rebel convoy

New media
Autumn Watch
The Bank Job
Misfits
Psychoville

Comedy programme
Charlie Brooker’s 2011 Wipe
Comic Strip: The Hunt for Tony Blair
The Cricklewood Greats
Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle


Leading actress
Emily Watson – Appropriate Adult
Nadine Marshall – Random
Ramola Garai – The Crimson Petal
Vicky McClure – This is England ’88


Supporting actress
Anna Chancellor – The Hour
Maggie Smith – Downton Abbey
Miranda Hart – Call the Midwife
Monica Dolan – Appropriate Adult

Female performance in a comedy programme
Jennifer Saunders – Absolutely Fabulous
Olivia Colman – Twenty Twelve
Ruth Jones – Stella
Tamsin Greig – Friday Night Dinner

Single drama
Holy Flying Circus
Page Eight
Random
Stolen

Drama series
The Fades
Misfits
Scott and Bailey
Spooks

International
Borgen
The Killing
Modern Family
The Slap

Specialist factual
British Masters
Frozen Planet
Mummifying Alan
Wonders of the Universe

Feature
DIY SOS: The Big Build
Hairy Bikers’ Meals on Wheels
The Great British Bake Off
Timothy Spall: Somewhere at Sea

Current affairs
Bahrain: Shouting in the Dark
Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields
The Truth About Adoption
Undercover Care: The Abuse Exposed

Sport and live event
Frankenstein’s Wedding: Live in Leeds
The Royal Wedding
Rugby World Cup Final
Tour De France 2011

Entertainment programme
Celebrity Juice
Derren Brown: The Experiments
Harry Hill’s TV Burp
Michael McIntyre’ Christmas Comedy Roadshow

Situation comedy
Fresh Meat
Mrs Brown’s Boys
Friday Night Dinner
Rev.


What do you think about the nominations? Has your favourite programme been missed out, or are you happy that your favourite show has been given a Bafta television nomination? Let us know what you think.

There can never be too many cooks

No matter what time of year it is seems that there is never a shortage of cookery programmes so here are a selection of the best baking shows on the box now and some you might have missed.

The Little Paris Kitchen: Cooking with Rachel Khoo

Rachel Khoo ditched England in favour of wandering around the Parisian streets is incredibly passionate about French food. She opens up her poky flat to become an intimate restaurant for two whilst in the kitchen she is cooking up her version of French food. Despite that her recipes are actually simple to follow, but look great. For example she walks through her idea of a croque madame muffin which sounds complicated but all it involved was some white bread, eggs, cheese and ham.

The only thing that brings down this show is she never stops talking about how great Paris is whilst looking at the Eiffel Tower, making you feel a bit inadequate.

Watch the show on Mondays, BBC2 8.30 or find it on iPlayer here.

Hairy Bikers’ Bakeation

Two things to know about the Hairy Bikers; they like bikes and they like baking. This show allows them to ride across huge stretches of Europe and make the best breads, cakes and sweets known in the continent.

Something I love about the Hairy Bikers is they are always excited about food and eat proper portions. They themselves show what that does to a person but at the same time you can just serve yourself another huge portion of cake and enjoy that.

Along the way you also get to learn a bit about the places where they have stopped off, as well as discovering new recipes. Sometimes the programme takes a while to start baking as they describe the premise of the show and their journey again and again.

The show is every Tuesday, BBC2 at 8pm, or find it on iPlayer.

Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard

Lanlard credentials are that he was trained in France and used to run Albert and Michel Roux Snr’s patisserie, but now runs his own cake emporium in London called Cake Boy.

Each day he showcases a few sweet and simple recipes. Every day he gives three baking enthusiasts a different challenge varying from creating the ideal birthday cake for a child or make the perfect cupcakes and then he picks the best one. Their prize is to take part in a master class in his kitchen and get to showcase their baked goods in Lanlard’s cake emporium.

Eric hosts his bake offs every week day on Channel 4 at 12.05pm or watch it online at 4OD and find the recipes as well.

Sunday Brunch

When the BBC announced that Something for the Weekend wasn’t going to get another series, presenters Simon Rimmer and Tim Lovejoy decided to move to pastures new and work together on a programme about food and drink, at a similar time but on Channel 4. Radically different.

It doesn’t feel like it belongs on Channel 4 yet as it has replaced T4, the programming slot for young people, with a leisurely cookery show. However, as the pair of presenters are good friends it is an enjoyable watch as they spend their Sunday morning chatting to celebrities and creating a variety of sweet and savoury dishes.

Worth a watch so tune in on Sundays on Channel 4 at 10am or check it out on 4OD.

Mary Portas: pants to unemployment

Mary Portas has decided that as she is now the Queen of the High Street she will now turn her hand to reviving British manufacturing by creating a knicker factory in Middleton.

The Bottom Line , her new programme for Channel 4, brings together her passion for improving shopping with her need to understand people and isn’t as patronising as I thought it would be about the current employment situation in the UK. In fact she seems genuinely moved to want to change it all, and then realises that her small pants factory isn’t enough.

Portas has eight jobs to offer and is worried that not enough people will turn up for the roles. On the day only a mere 300 people turn up for the small number of positions available. Even if you would expect that most of these people wouldn’t be able to string a sentence together, the majority were normal people who would be a pleasure in the workplace just some of them had never attempted sewing before.

But once Portas had got her eight it became sort of Big Brother-esque as all the new employees got given a personality according to what Portas thinks about them. The main two are Lauren and Andrew.

Lauren is the wildcard choice who only got the job because Portas sees herself in her, whilst everyone else seems to be seeing someone who doesn’t listen and isn’t prepared to learn. On the other hand we have Andrew, who is willing to learn and better himself for the sake of his son. It was an adorable sight to see a man, who looked hardly a day over 12, wearing his friend’s suit which was several sizes too big for him, talk about wanting to do this for his son. And unexpectedly Andrew was the best one at sewing in the whole group.

The problem with these types of shows is they would have been filmed months ago and part of the drama is knowing whether it will work out or not. This is slightly spoilt by the fact that you can go and buy the pants right now if you wish. But saying that it is a good show and optimistic about the talent of the unemployed people in Britain and wanting to do something about it, rather than ignoring it.

Catch up on 4OD or watch the show on Thursday, 9pm on Channel 4.