Table of contents for 11-May-2024 in What's on TV

BLUE LIGHTS Monday, 9pm, BBC1 Drama The fact that DS Murray Canning is happy to bend the rules to get results is clear, yet his colleagues are shocked when they find he placed Tommy in deadly peril at the end of last week’s episode! DS Canning sent the young cop to Lee Thompson’s nightclub to observe his drug-dealing operation, but when Tommy was viciously attacked, he fled the scene. Helen McNally (Joanne Crawford) is furious to hear that DS Canning abandoned a fellow officer, but this week he seems to be up to no good again in order to cut crime numbers. He pays Lee (Seamus O’Hara) a visit, hoping to strike a deal with him, saying he’s prepared to turn a blind eye to the drug dealer’s actions, providing he behaves himself… ‘Inspector NcNally…

NEW THE GATHERING Tue & Wed, 9pm, C4 Drama (box set, Channel 4) There’s teenage trauma and problematic parenting in new C4 drama The Gathering. About an attack on working-class gymnast Kelly at a Merseyside beach party, the series flashes back to tell the stories of the adolescents and adults in her world, many of whom come under suspicion. Kelly, who has her hands full helping her hard-up, widowed dad Paul (Warren Brown) raise her younger brother, is an elite gymnast, but she’s putting her future at risk by hanging out with a gang of free runners. ‘Kelly jumps off buildings,’ explains newcomer Eva Morgan, who plays Kelly and is herself from Liverpool. ‘It’s a joyous thing for her, and gives her freedom and adrenaline in the best way.’ Meanwhile, well-to-do fellow gymnast Jess (Sadie Soverall) is…

LIVE! EUROVISION SONG CONTEST Saturday, 8pm, BBC1 Entertainment Get ready for some impressive vocals, eye-catching costumes and memorable melodies as the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 takes place this Saturday! Held in Malmö, Sweden, following Loreen’s victory with Tattoo in 2023, this year’s final will feature 26 acts from different countries all battling it out for Eurovision glory. The UK will be represented by It’s a Sin actor and pop star Olly Alexander with his song Dizzy. Standing out ‘This whole experience feels like a dream!’ reveals Olly. ‘I have watched Eurovision ever since I was a kid. It’s quite overwhelming, but very exciting!’ Twenty countries advance from the semi-finals (on Tue 7 May and Thu 9 May) to battle the pre-qualified ‘Big Five’ nations of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, plus…

After Ruby makes a request to meet The Beatles, the Doctor takes her back to 1960s Abbey Road in the TARDIS – but they quickly realise all is not as it should be. The villainous Maestro (RuPaul’s Drag Race star Jinkx Monsoon) has been interfering with musical history, and the future of the world is at stake. Will the Doctor and Ruby be able to restore harmony to the universe? Watch out for guest appearances from Strictly’s Shirley Ballas and Johannes Radebe! ‘I was so excited about working with Jinkx!’ says Millie. ‘Pam Downe, our costume designer, let me pick the colours for my outfit, and I said black and white would be incredible. The beehive hairdo made it extra sassy – it was so cool!’…

When Bernie’s dodgy ex Denny turned up, it soon became clear he had something on her. Although he’s clearly a bad dad who’s neglected his twins Paul and Gemma, he feels that Bernie’s secret means she’s no better than him. This week, the mum’s painful past is revealed, explaining why she’s been googling ‘Christopher Green’. Mission When Gemma picks up on her mum’s strange behaviour, she gets Dev on the case. Expecting his girlfriend to be knee-deep in a madcap plan, Dev is blindsided when Bernie admits she had a third child who was taken into care. Bernie explains her son, Zodiac, was adopted and is now called Christopher Green. ‘Dev’s not immediately empathetic and she has to explain why she gave up her child,’ says Jane Hazlegrove, who plays the mum. Bernie also reveals she’s on…

THE REPAIR SHOP Wednesday, 8pm, BBC1 Factual Afrayed notebook with a secret dual purpose is brought into the barn this week by Claire, from Manchester. Belonging to her beloved grandmother Jean, the book appears to simply contain handwritten recipes for ginger cake and biscuits. But scribbled in its margins are diagrams of radio equipment and Bletchley Park codes from World War Two! ‘My grandmother was a telegraphist in the Wrens [Women’s Royal Naval Service] and was deciphering Japanese codes,’ explains Claire. ‘When she died in 2012, I inherited what I thought was her recipe book. But it turns out that it contains all her notes from the war!’ Jean had remained tight-lipped about her service, having signed the Official Secrets Act. Then, in 2009, she finally revealed her part in the vital codebreaking work. Bookbinder Chris…

RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW Joe Swift and Sophie Raworth bring us all the action THE GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE Kiell Smith-Bynoe hosts as the hit competition returns EMMERDALE Belle snaps and lashes out at her abusive husband Tom * For a more detailed reading of your stars, ring your sign’s Starline. Starlines are updated every Thursday. Calls cost 80p per minute plus your telephone company’s network access charge and last about three minutes. You must have the bill payer’s permission. Users must be 18+. SP: Spoke 0333 202 3390 COMPILED BY SEAN MARLAND. PHOTOS: BBC, ITV, SHUTTERSTOCK…

THE RESPONDER Sunday, 9pm, BBC1 Drama Marco’s trying to be a good dad to his infant daughter, Adele, but he didn’t count on being a single father! The kind-hearted petty criminal has lost his job at the chicken shop and this week he’s shocked when the mother of his baby is unexpectedly locked up for eight weeks. She warns Marco (Josh Finan) that if Adele’s taken away by social services, she’ll never forgive him! ‘Marco is trying to clean up his act,’ says Josh. ‘If he was born into different circumstances, there would be fewer obstacles for him to realise his potential.’…

WIN £100! ACROSS 1 Max --------, EastEnders character played by Jake Wood from 2006 until 2021 (8) 6 Benoit Blanc mystery film starring Daniel Craig released in 2019 (6,3) 7 Old C4 medical sitcom that starred Tamsin Greig, Stephen Mangan and Mark Heap, Green ---- (4) 8 Damon Albarn’s band (4) 11 1986 fantasy movie starring David Bowie as the Goblin King (9) 13 Sock-puppet sheep created by US ventriloquist Shari Lewis (4,4) DOWN 1 Baroness Joan --------, presenter (8) 2 Romesh Ranganathan travel series, ----- Provocateur (5) 3 Presenter of C4’s Deal or No Deal until 2016, ---- Edmonds (4) 4 Keanu Reeves’ role in 1999 sci-fi movie The Matrix (3) 5 Captain Kirk’s Enterprise (8) 9 C4 daytime show from 2020 until 2023, Steph’s Packed ----- (5) 10 For example, Sebastian in 2023 film The Little Mermaid (4) 12 The Golden Girls star, ---…

NEW DOCTOR WHO Saturday, 6.20pm & 7.05pm, BBC1 Sci-fi Adventures across time and space beckon for the 15th Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and his companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) as Doctor Who returns for a new series this week, taking the duo on a journey into deep space in the far future, and then back to the 1960s for the musical encounter of a lifetime. ‘This series is so cinematic and beautiful,’ says Sex Education star Ncuti. ‘There’s nowhere else on British TV where you get stories like this. We’ve poured our blood, sweat and tears into it, and I can’t wait for everyone to see it!’ Going big ‘Every single episode feels like a mini-movie,’ adds former Coronation Street star Millie. ‘They’re all very different, and there are new monsters – and we’ve got some amazing…

Thursday MUST-SEE EPISODE! Now that Bianca knows Zack cheated on Whitney with Lauren, it’s only a matter of time until the truth spills out. With Zack having failed to confess his actions, this week Lauren’s forced to tell her best mate herself – but fate has other ideas… When everyone gathers in The Vic for Zack and Whit’s fancy-dress ‘sten do’, the couple aren’t in the mood. Zack’s guilt is eating him alive and his pregnant fiancée has had a run-in with Bianca. Furious that Bianca has let Britney misbehave, Whit tells Bianca that she’s no longer her maid of honour and asks Lauren instead! Bianca’s blood boils and she warns the cheating Branning to own up or else she will… ‘Lauren’s treading on eggshells because she doesn’t want Whitney to find out, but she also…

Monday MUST-SEE EPISODE! The Miligans are still reeling from last week’s crash that left their son Nicky unconscious. Caleb was riven with guilt, fearing that a row they’d had caused his son to drink and drive. But the police later discovered that someone else had been driving Nicky’s car. That someone was solicitor Ethan Anderson, who dragged Nicky out of the vehicle before fleeing the scene. Now, with Nicky still fighting for his life, his parents want to know who did this to their beloved boy. Needing the support of his family, Caleb makes up with Cain and reveals his intent to hunt down the driver. Consequences Knowing he’ll go down for what he’s done, if the furious Miligans/Dingles don’t get to him first, Ethan is trying to mask his terror. But his vicar dad…

NEW BETTER OFF DEAD? Tue, 9pm, BBC1 Factual As well as starring in dramas such as Silent Witness and Good Omens, actor Liz Carr is also a passionate campaigner and disability-rights activist. In Better Off Dead?, Liz, who was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune condition aged seven, reveals why she feels so strongly that assisted suicide should not be legalised. ‘There have been many TV programmes on assisted suicide and people like Esther Rantzen and Jonathan Dimbleby, who are all pro it, have been in the news, but there hasn’t been a single one from a disabled person who’s against it. This documentary is an attempt to redress that balance,’ says Liz. Liz interviews disabled peer Baroness Jane Campbell, who’s against legalising assisted suicide, and disabled journalist Melanie Reid, who’s pro. She also goes to Canada, where…

£500 Crossword Solve the clues and rearrange the letters in the shaded squares to spell out the name of an English TV presenter (4,4). To enter, see below right. The winner gets £500. Usual rules apply (below). ACROSS 1 See picture clue: English chef, Ainsley -------- (8) 4 2016 Gerard Butler film, ---- of Egypt (4) 8 Netflix comedy drama with Ricky Gervais (5,4) 9 Singer and former coach on reality show The Voice UK, Danny - ’-------- (1’8) 12 2004 movie with Daniel Craig, ----- Cake (5) 13 90s US sitcom, The Fresh Prince of --- --- (3-3) 14 Singer of New York, New York, Frank ------- (7) 17 Film about Mozart that won the Best Picture Academy Award in 1985 (7) 19 English actor from 2002 movie Gosford Park, Dame Eileen ------ (6) 20 Ted -----, sitcom starring Jason Sudeikis…

★ Starring recent Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone, Fancy Dance is a moving one-off drama on Apple TV+. Lily plays Native American woman Jax. Along with her niece Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson), Jax hits the road to search for her missing sister. ★ Netflix reality series Buying London follows luxury-property mogul Daniel Daggers and his ambitious team of agents as they try to sell prime real estate in some of the capital’s most prestigious locations. ★ Sky Documentaries’ Daley will shine a light on the life and amazing athletics career of 1980s decathlon champion Daley Thompson. It charts his highs and lows, from his Olympic gold medal-winning glory in 1980 and 1984 to dealing with racism. ★ Superhero series The Boys is back for a fourth series on Prime Video. This time, the world is…

THE NEWSREADER on BBC2 (currently on BBC iPlayer) If you enjoyed… Both series of Australian drama The Newsreader. Set in a TV newsroom in the 1980s, the action followed journalist Helen Norville (Anna Torv), whose career as a news anchor became threatened by misogyny. Sam Reid starred as Helen’s colleague Dale Jennings. DOUGLAS IS CANCELLED on ITV1 & ITVX You’ll want to check out… This upcoming four-part series, which is also set in a TV newsroom. Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville plays respected news presenter Douglas Bellowes, whose show is at risk of being cancelled, while former Doctor Who star Karen Gillan is his savvy co-anchor Madeline.…

Their first adventure in the TARDIS sees the Doctor and Ruby travelling to a distant future, where they land on a space station. After exploring their surroundings, they discover it’s a baby farm – staffed by talking babies. As the duo try to figure out who left the children alone on this ship, they become aware of a sinister creature lurking in its depths. Along with the only other adult on board, Jocelyn (Bridgerton’s Golda Rosheuvel), the Doctor and Ruby must find a way to defeat the terrifying Bogeyman and keep the babies out of harm’s way. ‘It was a lot of fun working with the babies – it was a very calm set!’ jokes Ncuti. ‘The Doctor and Ruby love making mischief together. It’s very special to go through space and…

Wednesday MUST-SEE EPISODE! Bethany Platt wasn’t the only one who was distraught to learn that Nathan Curtis was back in Weatherfield. Her mum Sarah was horrified to know that the man who groomed and abused her daughter was not only out of jail but working nearby on a building site, too. This week, still totally convinced that Nathan’s behind Lauren Bolton’s presumed murder, Bethany continues to hunt down every scrap of information on him. So determined is she that she even sneaks into solicitor Dee-Dee’s office when she hears her telling Carla and Nina that some new information on Lauren’s case has come to light. Wanting to know who’s given Nathan an alibi for the night the teenage sex worker disappeared, Bethany then hits up copper Craig, who lets slip that Nathan has…

NEW THE JENNINGS VS ALZHEIMER’S Monday, 9pm, BBC2 Factual John Jennings has always known that there’s a 50-50 chance he might get Alzheimer’s in his 50s like his mum, Carol, who died in March, aged 70. But his family has also been at the forefront of finding a cure. In 1986, when genetic factors weren’t thought to be connected to the disease, Carol wrote to top scientists after suspecting a familial link following the early diagnoses of her father and his four siblings. ‘Mum didn’t have a medical background, but she was convinced that it was useful to look at the pattern of people in our family getting the disease in their 50s,’ says John, 39. ‘She was so determined.’ The following research into Carol’s family led to the discovery of an Alzheimer’s gene that could…

NEW ROB AND RYLAN’S GRAND TOUR Sunday, 9pm, BBC2 Factual (box set, BBC iPlayer) The stunning cities of Venice, Florence and Rome are on the itinerary when Rob Rinder and Rylan Clark follow in the footsteps of 19th-century poet Lord Byron and other Grand Tourists who travelled to Europe to further their education. ‘The Grand Tour was like the gap year for wealthy young men between the 17th to 19th century,’ explains Rob. ‘The idea was to return home better informed, having had a full cultural experience.’ Over the course of three episodes, the pals immerse themselves in Italian art, culture and nightlife – just as Lord Byron and his counterparts would have done – plus share candid details from their own lives. ‘This is not your typical travelogue,’ explains Rylan. ‘It’s almost a reality…