Angela Rippon’s River CruisesChannel 5, 8pmYes, this is yet another celebrity travelogue. You could also reasonably argue thatAngela Rippon’s River Cruisesspends curiously little time on the actual river, but what rapidly becomes clear as she begins her two-part trip along the “iconic waterway” that is the Danube (later episodes will follow her along the Mekong from Cambodia to Vietnam) is that it is almost impossible to make a dull film featuring cities as ravishing as Budapest, where she begins her voyage, and Vienna.
What’s on TV tonight?
This, inevitably, means we watch Rippon receiving a masterclass in waltzing (and this octogenarianStrictlystar has definitely still got it) and meeting some of the equine and human stars of the Spanish Riding School, as well as being deeply moved by the memorial to Jewish victims of Hungary’s Arrow Cross fascist movement. Away from the two capitals, she cycles through a region where Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned (and lucratively ransomed) and visits an abbey which supports itself thanks to imaginative uses for the humble apricot. Boundaries remain stubbornly unpushed, but the unsinkable Rippon is a voluble and unquenchably enthusiastic – bordering on exhausting – guide with twice the energy of people half her age.
Song of the SamuraiHBO MaxSet some 250 years after the events so memorably documented inShogun, this less epic but still enjoyable new eight-part series explores the bond between the warriors who defended Kyoto in the dying days of the Shogunate, when the return of imperial rule loomed ever larger.
Women’s Six Nations: Italy v England & Scotland v FranceBBC Two/iPlayer, 1.30pm & 4pmEngland will be firm favourites for this afternoon’s clash at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, before France will anticipate victory at Hive stadium, potentially setting up a title decider against the English next Sunday.
Live Boxing: Fabio Wardley v Daniel DuboisDazn, 6pmWhile Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua continue their own soap opera and Oleksandr Usyk remains far ahead of the heavyweight pack, the WBO belt vacated by the latter will be contested in an all-British affair: champion Fabio Wardley faces Daniel Dubois, who humbled Joshua in September 2024.
Simply Red at the BBCBBC Two/iPlayer, 8.45pmThree whole hours of Mick Hucknall and the gang, beginning with some selections from the archives spanning their career from their debutMoney’s Too Tight (to Mention) through theStarsyears to more recent songs. It’s followed at 10.15pm by40 Years of Simply Red: Holding Back the Years,last year’s concert in Chile, showcasing Hucknall’s enduring vocal prowess.
Monsieur SpadeU&Drama, 9pmThis is Spade as in Sam, Dashiell Hammett’s indelible gumshoe made famous by Humphrey Bogart inThe Maltese Falcon, portrayed here by Clive Owen, who seems to be enjoying himself onscreen more than he has in years. Boxsetted tonight, this iconoclastic treat sends the retired Spade to the south of France in 1963, where a murder at a nunnery brings the return of unwelcome figures from his past.GT
What’s on TV this week?
Sunday 10 May
Believe MeITV1, 9pm; all episodes will be available today on ITVXThis shocking, inevitably creepy drama tells the story of how the many victims of one of Britain’s most prolific sex attackers – the so-called “black cab rapist” John Worboys – were repeatedly failed and betrayed by the system supposed to protect them. Aimée-Ffion Edwards – who has impressed in shows fromSlow HorsesandPeaky BlinderstoDetectorists– digs deep here to play single-mother Sarah, who wakes up in hospital after a rare night out with friends, convinced that she was drugged and raped by the taxi driver paid to take her home. But despite what seems like plentiful evidence, the police assigned to her case raise barely an eyebrow’s worth of interest. Even her ex, the father of her child, while initially sympathetic, appears to believe that she somehow imagined the attack.
A pitch-perfect script by true-crime specialist Jeff Pope goes on, across four parts, to explore why, over the next six years, despite 14 women coming forward to police to report assaults or harassment in similar circumstances, no link was made to Worboys (Daniel Mays). A failure that enabled him to continue assaulting many more victims before being eventually arrested and charged in 2008.
Badminton Horse Trials 2026BBC Two/iPlayer, 1.45pmFollowing three days of dressage and cross-country, and the morning’s final horse inspection, showjumping takes centre stage on the final day of competition at the Badminton estate in Gloucestershire. Competitors jump in reverse order, so a nail-biting finish is all but guaranteed.
Bafta Television Awards 2026BBC One/iPlayer, 7pmLive from the Royal Festival Hall, Greg Davies hosts British television’s biggest awards bash, celebrating the best in small-screen entertainment in 2025. With gongs going in 27 categories ranging across drama, comedy, documentary, current affairs and reality, plus acting, there’s something for everyone here.AdolescenceandAmandalandare expected to do particularly well with seven and five nominations, respectively.
Hudson & RexU&Alibi, 8pmNever take your audience for granted. The eighth season of this cosy, dog-centred Canadian cop show outraged fans by replacing long-serving lead actor John Reardon (who had been in treatment for cancer) with Luke Roberts in controversial circumstances. It also emerged that the canine lead had died and been quietly substituted mid-way through the previous season. The show’s future remains uncertain.
The CageBBC One, 9pm; all episodes are already on iPlayerThe edgy Liverpool crime drama continues. As hapless casino manager Matty (Michael Socha) comes under renewed pressure from the police, Leanne (Sheridan Smith) has to make a difficult choice when her son’s troubles force her into an even more compromised position.
Trading PlacesChannel 5, 9pmThe first of four shows in which digital-era youngsters come face-to-face with rules-based alternative lifestyles. First up, four brand-obsessed shopaholics experience culture shock spending time in an anti-money, technology-free, eco-commune in the wilds of Cornwall.GO
Monday 11 May
Children of the BlitzBBC Two, 9pmLondoner Dorothea Barron, 101, does not like to talk about the Blitz. Dwelling on the Nazi bombing campaign of 1940, in which the UK was bombarded with eight months of air raids, “opens up far too many horrors”, she says. During the worst of it, 800,000 children were evacuated from major towns and cities for their safety. Yet over two million children, like Dorothea, stayed with their families to endure the terror and the grief of more than 35,000 tonnes of explosives. This extraordinary feature-length documentary tells the story of the Blitz through those children – now the last generation of people able to recall the Second World War.
What is striking about these stories is how often they jar against the romanticised idea of “Blitz spirit”. There is resilience, of course. There is keeping calm and carrying on. But there are also memories of mothers blown to pieces. Of a child so traumatised that it took her years to speak again. Of the day a little boy’s father died, as told in gut-wrenching detail by a sobbing 89-year-old man. Above all, however, there is a determination that no one should ever have to live through such a war again.
Pop Culture Jeopardy!NetflixThe irreverentJeopardy!spin-off – themed around pop culture and online trends – has moved from Amazon to Netflix for its second series. If this doesn’t work, quips host Colin Jost, it will return on OnlyFans. New episodes will air weekly on Netflix.
Great Central Asian Railway JourneysBBC Two/iPlayer, 6.30pmFluorescent traveller Michael Portillo is on the rails again – this time across the former Soviet stronghold of Central Asia. Tonight, he traces the Silk Road through Uzbekistan, where he marvels at capital Tashkent’s lavish Soviet-era metro system. It has only been filmable since 2018, when a ban on photographing it was lifted.
Major Crimes UnitChannel 5, 9pmThis dramatic three-part documentary chronicles the work of West Midlands Police’s Major Crime Unit, which handles only the most serious of cases. Tonight’s shocking opening episode explores the aftermath of a coordinated gun-toting ambush on a quiet residential street – gang violence with roots in County Lines organised crime.
Jean-Michel Jarre Live in SevillaSky Arts/NOW, 9pmElectronic music pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre specialises in the kind of shimmering, atmospheric synths that wouldn’t be out of place on a spaceship. Filmed in Seville’s Plaza de España, this 2025 concert sees him perform classics includingOxygene,Equinoxe,Robots Don’t CryandStardust.
The Sky at NightBBC Four/iPlayer, 10pmThe Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire has allowed scientists to listen to the cosmos for almost 70 years. Tonight, Maggie Aderin meets the team behind the radio telescope to find out what radio waves can tell us about the universe. Plus, Chris Lintott learns about its Cold War history.SK
Tuesday 12 May
Wrestling with TrumpChannel 4, 10pmComedianMunya Chawawatravels to the United States to marry his lifelong obsession with wrestling to the rise of Donald Trump in this one-off film. This isnot as far-fetched a goal as it might seem, given that Trump’s connection with the WWE goes back four decades and his scripted “Battle of the Billionaires” clash with former WWE mogulVince McMahonwas arguably as important to broadening his appeal asThe Apprentice; he has duly acquired endorsements from squared-circle superstars including The Undertaker, Kane and the late Hulk Hogan.
Chawawa meets current and retired grapplers to explore Trump’s pointed, potent use of wrestling psychology and, while his encounters with Maga converts go nowhere, his meetings with one former pro and another branding himself “the Progressive Liberal” (and attracting vitriol everywhere he goes) provide bleak insights into the seemingly unbridgeable divides that have now opened up in Trump’s America. While Chawawa doesn’t quite put it all together and it isn’t always clear whether his priority is to fulfil a childhood fantasy and get in the ring, Louis Theroux-style, or to conduct a semi-serious political investigation, this is an always entertaining and frequently eyebrow-raising journey.
Tucci in ItalyDisney+/National Geographic, 8pmAs smooth as one of his famous negronis, Stanley Tucci is back for another culinary travelogue around his homeland. He begins in Naples and Campania, meeting those who are reviving a neglected grape – and,naturalmente, sampling their wares.
Untold: Jamie VardyNetflixKicking off the British version of Netflix’s sports documentary series is a genuine underdog story, well told: how Jamie Vardy went from non-league journeyman to England striker and Premier League champion in just four years. As a sporting story, there is less of his wife Rebekah (and even less ofWagatha Christie), but their forthcoming ITV reality show,The Vardys, will doubtless compensate for that.
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Eurovision Song Contest Semi-Final 2026BBC One/iPlayer, 8pmWhile politics now looms larger over Eurovision than ever before, Vienna’s organisers will hope the semi-finals tonight and on Thursday can deliver the musical goods. Watch out for Boy George performing with Senhit for San Marino and Estonia’s ambitiously titledToo Epic to be True, as performed by Vanilla Ninja.
Ian Fleming and the Curse of James BondSky Arts/NOW, 8pmMarlon James, Ralph Fiennes and William Boyd are among the contributors to another thoughtful Sky Arts profile, this one examining Ian Fleming’s colourful career in intelligence and the extent to which James Bond became an albatross around the neck of an author as enigmatic as his famous creation.
The Way OutU&Dave, 9pm; all episodes will be available to stream todayThe latestTaskmaster-inflected comedy challenge series plonks teams headed by Nish Kumar and Ed Gamble as they take on a quartet of bespoke escape rooms for nothing but glory. Tonight’s theme sees them don oilskins and waders to find their way off a fishing boat. Absurd, infectious fun.GT
Wednesday 13 May
Good OmensAmazon Prime VideoTeasingly referred to as season three, really this is a one-off 90-minute wrap-up episode to bring closure to fans of the comedy fantasy based on Terry Pratchett’s 1990 novel (showrunnerNeil Gaimanstepped down when multiple allegations of sexual assault and misconduct were made against him, which he denies).
Michael Sheenand David Tennant again team up as the unlikely duo Aziraphale and Crowley – the former a prim angel, the other a devil-may-care demon – brought together originally for an epoch-spanning struggle to avert the apocalypse. Now, though, their friendship is in tatters following Aziraphale’s decision to return to heaven to take up the position of Supreme Archangel, leaving Crowley behind. And while Aziraphale takes on the onerous task of organising the Second Coming (a monumental responsibility that weighs heavily on him, especially when his ideas don’t entirely accord with those of his fellow angels), a heartbroken, drink-addled Crowley is left wandering the streets of Soho. Not for long, though, as sinister goings-on up above – mostly involving Jesus (Bilal Hasna) taking the lift down to Earth ahead of plan – soon have Aziraphale seeking out his old pal, and attempting to save the world all over again.
State Opening of Parliament 2026BBC One/iPlayer, 10.30amLive coverage from Westminster as King Charles proceeds from Buckingham Palace to the House of Lords to outline in the King’s Speech the government’s legislative plans for the coming parliamentary session.
The Future with Hannah FryBBC Two, 7.30pm; all episodes will be available today on iPlayerThe mathematician (one of the more tantalising names in the recently announcedCelebrity Traitorsline-up) returns with another run of the series in which she looks at the big changes science will unleash on the world in the coming years. In this opener, she travels to California and Japan to look at new developments in the eternal quest to extend human lifespan.
Kevin McCloud’s Listed BritainMore4, 9pmAs proved over decades onGrand Designs, few people make TV architecture as entertaining as Kevin McCloud. In this five-parter, he brings enthusiasm and insight to Britain’s great architectural heritage, looking at Grade I listed buildings – beginning with Tower Bridge and the Bristol Old Vic – and outlining what makes them so special.
FROMSky One/NOW, 9pmOne of the more eccentric psychological horror franchises, about an impossible-to-escape rural town terrorised by nocturnal creatures (Hotel CaliforniameetsStranger Things, you might say). Season four kicks off with the fallout from last time’s killer cliffhanger, and the dramatic arrival of a new family in town brings a spiritual element to the story arc.
Do You Know This Man?Channel 4, 10pmThis grimly eye-opening documentary tells the story of two women whose court case against the sexual predator who groomed and abused them as teenagers collapsed due to a technicality. When all hope seemed lost, in 2018 a social media appeal brought another victim to light, giving the case fresh momentum.GO
Thursday 14 May
Morecambe & Wise: The Lost TapeBBC Four/iPlayer, 8pmDuring the early decades of television, it was routine for the BBC toerase their archive of recorded programmesin order to recycle expensive videotape. This tragic practice has led to thousands of episodes – in some cases, entire series – being lost to time. Now and then, however, treasure is found. Just likethis marvellous lost episodefromThe Morecambe & Wise Show, recovered from a private collection by the charity Film is Fabulous! – a fitting present for what would have been Eric Morecambe’s 100th birthday.
Originally airing in 1968, the episode is taken from the double act’s first series after returning to the BBC, following a seven-year stint in commercial television. Yet to reach their 1970s zenith, this is a rougher, looserMorecambe and Wise, although no less exhilarating in their chemistry. A particularly snappy routine follows Eric as he gives Ernie a series of nonsensical directions to his house, including stopping at a pub and making a detour to Birmingham. A risqué sketch set in a nudist camp, featuring Ann Hamilton as naked guest Pauline, is less polished but delightfully silly. “Pauline’s got a lovely face, hasn’t she?” asks Ernie. “I don’t know,” says Eric, “I haven’t looked to be honest.”
On the RoamHBO MaxHollywood starJason Momoareturns for another outing of this tenuous six-part travelogue, loosely themed around the actor’s creative passions. Today’s opener, for instance, follows Momoa as he tries to rescue the fortunes of a band he likes. Self-indulgent? Undoubtedly. But Momoa is charismatic enough to sell it.
The A List: 15 Stories From Asia and Pacific DiasporasHBO MaxThe term “Asian American” hangs heavy over a multitude of disparate identities. This earnest documentary gives prominent Asian Americans such as actor Sandra Oh and senator Tammy Duckworth a chance to get specific – with stories that involve racism, resilience and a complex relationship with America.
Paul Merton: Driving Amazing TrainsChannel 4, 8pmThe next stop in Paul Merton’s charming train odyssey is Germany, where this series will terminate. Tonight, the comedian takes control of a 40-ton tram in Dresden and pays a visit to the prisoner of war camp, Colditz, which was served by a railway during the Second World War.
The HardacresChannel 5, 9pmTimes are a-changing at Hardacre Hall – tonight’s return of thecosy period dramasees the arrival of electricity. Prospects are not quite as bright in 1895 Britain, however, which is in recession. The no-nonsense Hardacres must diversify their business to survive, while dealing with a potentially hazardous garden party. This series also sees the arrival of acid-tongued matriarch Lady Imelda Hansen (Some Mothers Do’Ave ’Em’sMichele Dotrice).
BergeracU&Drama, 9pmFresh from falling off the wagon, troubled detective Jim Bergerac (Damien Molony) finds himself rocked this week by the arrest of his lover Nicola (Camilla Beeput) for murder. The evidence against her is overwhelming, but that does not mean the case is closed.SK
Friday 15 May
RivalsDisney+After picking up an international Emmy, the rollicking adaptation of Jilly Cooper’sRutshire Chroniclesgallops back for a second series of boardroom and bedroom shenanigans among Britain’s upper classes. ButRivalsis not just a bonkfest (although there’s nudity less than 10 minutes into the first episode); it also has much to say about the British obsession with class and money, and it captures the hedonism and excess of the 1980s.
We’re back in the cutthroat world of that decade’s television industry; Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) and Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant) are the dashing and dastardly rivals of the title, still battling for the regional franchise in the affluent Rutshire (for which read the Cotswolds). Baddingham has survived the nasty bump on the head that came courtesy of Cameron (Nafessa Williams), the mistress he had only just learnt he shared with Campbell-Black, and now he’s determined to take revenge – but will that cloud his judgement?
Hayley Atwell (replacing Anastasia Griffith) joins the ensemble cast as Helen Gordon, Campbell-Black’s ex-wife, and Rupert Everett as her husband Malise, his former show-jumping coach and mentor, as the rivalries heat up. Six episodes drop today; another six arrive later in the year.
Berlin and the Lady with an ErmineNetflixIn this new eight-part spin-off from the hit Spanish thrillerMoney Heist, anti-hero Berlin (Pedro Alonso) and his daring gang return for some more high-octane crime. It’s set in Seville, where they make plans to steal Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece,Lady with an Ermine– but revenge is also on Berlin’s mind.
The CrashNetflixThis true-crime documentary tells the barely believable story of Ohio teenager Mackenzie Shirilla, who survived a 100mph car crash in which her on-off boyfriend and his friend died in 2022. It looked like an accident, but her behaviour afterwards raised suspicions from both the victims’ families and police.
Dutton RanchParamount+TheYellowstoneuniverseexpands ever further with this nine-part sequel, in which Kelly Reilly and Cole Hauser reprise their roles as Beth Dutton and Rip Wheeler, along with their ward, Carter (Finn Little). After the sale of Yellowstone, they have relocated to south Texas, and soon butt heads with the owner of a rival ranch, Beulah Jackson (Annette Bening). Ed Harris also joins the cast as local vet Everett McKinney. Two episodes drop today, then weekly.
Hidden Treasures of the National TrustBBC Two/iPlayer, 9pmA welcome return for this series taking us behind the scenes of historic buildings and meeting those who work in them. It starts with two houses associated with writers, Agatha Christie’s Greenway in Devon and Thomas Hardy’s Max Gate in Dorset.
Smoggie QueensBBC Three, 10pm & 10.30pm; all episodes will be available today on iPlayerThe easygoing (ie, light on laughs) sitcom about a group of LGBTQ friends in Middlesbrough returns for a second series, starting with a surprise coming-out party for Stewart (Elijah Young) at Keith’s World of Carpets.VL
