There's The Life and Death of Lily Savage, a night on BBC Four dedicated to The Specials, Barbie lands on Sky while The Beautiful Game hits Netflix, and it’s Dublin derby time at Tallaght Stadium . . .
Pick of the Day
The Life and Death of Lily Savage, 9.00pm, UTV
The TV host and entertainer Paul O'Grady (below) became a much-loved fixture of British TV and radio before his death this time last year.
But for more than 20 years he was a razor-tongued drag queen – and that was the role that first brought him fame.
Set against the backdrop of Margaret Thatcher's Britain, Clause 28 and the Aids crisis, this is the story of the star through the prism of his famous creation, Lily Savage.
The documentary features Paul's closest friends and family, including his daughter Sharyn Mousley and sister Sheila Rudd, and interviews with Ian McKellen, Julian Clary, Jo Brand, Alan Carr and Graham Norton among others.
Don’t Miss
Terry Hall at the BBC, 9.00pm, BBC Four
If you watched Tuesday’s documentary about The Specials on what would’ve been Terry Hall’s 65th birthday, you’ll lap this up.
It’s part of a Specials night that begins with a look back at the singer/songwriter's career using BBC archive footage, from his early days as frontman with the Specials to Fun Boy Three, the Colourfield and his solo career.
Followed at 10pm by Rock Goes to College: The Specials, where the band perform hits at the Colchester Institute in 1979.
Then at 10.45pm there’s Rudies Come Back: The Rise and Rise of 2-Tone - Arena, where Adrian Thrills visits Coventry to investigate the musical blend of reggae, rock, soul, ska, blue beat and punk that became known as 2-Tone.
At 11.20pm there’s The Specials: 6 Music Sessions, where they perform a studio session for Steve Lamacq on Radio 6 Music.
Finally, at 11.55pm there’s 2-Tone: The Sound of Coventry, a documentary recounting the story of Coventry label 2 Tone Records.
Founder Jerry Dammers, then the keyboard player of the Specials, reveals how he came up with the ideas behind the 2-Tone revolution.
The film also explores how the new musical genre went mainstream overnight as legions of fans adopted the rude boy/girl image and propelled the labels' bands up the charts.
Good Friday Movie
Brooklyn, 9.35pm, RTÉ One
Another chance to see the drama based on Colm Toibin's novel, starring Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Jim Broadbent and Julie Walters.
Ronan plays a young Irish woman living with her mother in the 1950s who decides to make a fresh start in America.
She makes herself a new home and life in New York and falls in love.
But her past catches up with her when she receives bad news from Ireland and faces a harsh choice between her two homes.
New to Stream
Barbie, Sky Cinema & NOW
Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman and Ncuti Gatwa star in director Greta Gerwig’s much hyped comedy.
To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place.
Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colourful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land.
But when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.
The Beautiful Game, Netflix
Mal (Bill Nighy) is the manager of England’s homeless football team, taking his players to Rome with the hope of being crowned champions of the Homeless World Cup, a global street soccer tournament.
At the last minute he decides to bring with them talented striker Vinny (Micheal Ward), who could give them a real chance at winning - but only if he’s ready to let go of his past and become part of the team.
Made with the support of the Homeless World Cup, The Beautiful Game is a film of second chances - where homeless teams from around the world find that all roads lead to Rome, and everything’s to play for.
Renegade Nell, Disney+
Written by Sally Wainright and starring former Derry Girl Louisa Harland, this has to be worth a look.
Framed for murder and on the run with her sisters, Nell Jackson (Harland) turns her hand to highway robbery to survive in early 18th Century England.
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Aided by her superpowered sidekick, a plucky little sprite called Billy Blind, Nell realises that fate has put her on the wrong side of the law for a reason.
A reason much bigger than she could have ever imagined: to defeat a magical plot against the Queen of England.
A Gentleman in Moscow, Paramount+
This eight-part series promises to be a fascinating story about a Russian Count banished to a hotel for life and is set against the backdrop of the Bolshevik Revolution.
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Ewan McGregor plays Count Alexander Rostov, a charming and well-mannered gentleman, punished to a life of confinement, in times of social and political upheaval.
The series also stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Johnny Harris, Leah Harvey, and Beau Gadson in prominent roles.
Is it Cake? Netflix
The hit fun series - it makes The Masked Singer look like Happy Valley - returns for a third season with bigger cakes, higher stakes, and wilder bakes.
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This season, a new batch of bakers push the boundaries of culinary craftsmanship, creating hyper-realistic cakes to trick and deceive their way to the ultimate cash prize.
Once again, viewers will find themselves asking the question - is it real? Or . . . Is It Cake?
The Wages of Fear, Netflix
In the middle of the desert, near a refugee camp, an oil well catches fire, directly threatening the lives of the population.
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Dispatching experts to the site, the company operating the well realizes that it has only one solution to avert the catastrophe: detonate the oil well with nitroglycerin within 24 hours.
Against a large sum of money, a powerhouse team is then sent 800km away to transport 200kg of explosives in two trucks.
The team then has less than 20 hours to reach the oil well.
Sport
SSE Airtricity League Live, 7.35pm, RTÉ2
Streaming on RTÉ Player
Well, this is where I'm going to be tonight.
It’s the big Dublin derby between Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians (KO 7.45pm).
Peter Collins is joined by Alan Cawley and Rachel Graham for coverage of the Premier Division match at Tallaght Stadium, where there should be an electric atmosphere.
Rovers have won the league in each of the last four seasons but have endured a sluggish start to the current campaign, and their only win so far came last time out in Galway.
On the other hand, Stephen Bradley’s Hoops are up against a Bohs’ side that enjoyed an excellent win a fortnight ago against Derry City, with new boss Alan Reynolds announced on Tuesday.
Commentary is by Des Curran and Kenny Cunningham.
