What to watch during an England match

If you look hard enough at the television schedule then there are shows that are on the television that aren’t football, such as the new David Tennant drama and comedy panel show A Short History of Everything Else.

Although you can take some solace with the idea that not all television is football at the moment, what if you deliberately want to miss the antics of Rooney, Terry and Cole? Then here is a step-by-step guide of what to watch when the England games are on television.

The first England match takes place on Monday 11th June at 5pm on ITV1. England will be taking on France in their first match of the competition. Alternative viewing options include Come Dine With Me, Channel 4 at 5pm, which is on all the time but in this time of need you will want to see people get drunk and fail to make soufflés. If you don’t fancy that then Bridezillas, melodramatic bridal dramas, is on Really at 5pm, and 5* are replaying episodes of US sitcom Malcolm in the Middle.

To cover the second half of the match then switch to Channel 4 for their daily dose of The Simpsons at 6pm, and then the perfect television accompaniment to your dinner, Dave has a double dose of Man v Food at 6.20pm.

With one match successfully avoided, we move to England’s second match. It is on Friday 15th June at 7.45 on BBC One and sees England take on Sweden. The night’s options include BBC Three’s double bill repeat of the Doctor Who episodes, starting at 7pm with Vincent and the Doctor as well as The Lodger. After that, Channel 4 welcomes back the Million Pound Drop Live, which you can also play either on your laptop or on the new app which launched last week. Then with the football over at 10pm everyone should get back together to watch Episodes on BBC Two.

The last group match for England is against Ukraine and is on Tuesday 19th June at 7.45 on ITV1. At the same time you can watch a repeat of the Hairy Biker’s Mum Knows Best from 7pm on BBC Two. There is also a repeat of Inspector George Gently on BBC One from 8.30 to 10pm. And depending on how desperate you are to avoid watching the football, Channel 4 is showing Embarrassing Bodies.

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.