The Weakest Link (Friday 8.30pm, BBC1)
Ahead of tomorrow’s premiere of that thing with the Police Box, the Doctor faces his most dangerous foe ever – Anne Robinson. All manner of Who luminaries are on hand for this special edition, including the Doctor himself.
Ugly Betty (Friday 9pm, C4)
It’s quite easy to forget that Ugly Betty is still on, but it remains great, cartoony fun and passes an hour rather well (considering the other shows on offer tonight, Betty is a godsend of quality viewing). Most episodes blur into one, so there’s no point telling you what happens. Just go with the flow…
I Blame the Spice Girls: The Monster Quiz of the Decade (Friday 9pm, Five)
Yes, I blame the Spice Girls too. This quiz looking back over the last ten years is supposed to celebrate 10 years of Five. Is this the best they can do? Shouldn’t we just be having a weekend of back-to-back CSI? Predictably disappointing.
Doctor Who (Saturday 7pm, BBC1)
Oh, it’s back is it? Yawn. Not sure I can be bothered this year… Ah, who am I kidding, I’m still as big a Doctor Who daftie as I ever was. This new series looks slicker and more exciting than ever, with new girl Martha Jones quickly dispelling the spirit of… well, whoever that other girl was. In tonight’s opener, medical student Martha finds the hospital she’s working in is transported to the moon, where the thuggish looking Judoon are causing merry hell. But who on earth is the odd bloke with the sideburns and natty blue suit? Next week: Shakespeare. Verily, bring it on!
Any Dream Will Do (Saturday 7.45pm, BBC1)
Following the modest success of How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria, Graham Norton is back with a chance for the blokes to get in on the West End action as Andrew Lloyd Webber searches for a new Joseph. This looks like a lot of fun (as was Maria), with Bill Kenwright stepping into the producer slot left vacant by David Ian’s defection to ITV with Grease. Norton glides about proceedings effortlessly, perfectly suited to the format, with John Barrowman and Denise Van Outen on hand as judges. Will Doctor Who and Joseph be a dream pairing for BBC1? Time will tell…
View Joseph:Any Dream will Do clips
A Tribute to John Inman (Saturday 8.25, BBC2)
Wendy Richard heads up a tribute for the fondly remembered John Inman, who died earlier this month. Amongst the interviews with friends and colleagues will be a showing of Front Page Story, an episode of Are You Being Served?, the classic sit com that made the actor a star. Mr Lucas is appointed editor of the Grace Brothers staff magazine, where he launches a beauty contest with Miss Brahams as a ringer. Great show, great actor.
Celebrity Wife Swap (Sunday 8pm, C4)
Sadly this isn’t a patch on the sublime Edwina Currie/John McCirrick edition of a while back, but there’s still something that boggles the mind in the pairing of Paul Daniels and Vanessa Feltz. What’s that? Paul Daniels is quiet, withdrawn and sullen? Surely not! It’s not often I sympathise with Vanessa Feltz, but this is one of those rare occasions. Meanwhile “The Lovely” Debbie McGee has gone to stay with Feltz’s young fiancée, Ben Ofoedu. On the evidence of this, you wonder why she’d want to go back to millionaire Paul Daniels (thank you Mrs Merton!)
Persuasion (Sunday 9pm, ITV1)
The trio of Jane Austen adaptations have, on the whole, been great stuff, not least of all this deft take on Persuasion. If any actor was seemingly tailor made to play an Austen fella, it’s Rupert Penry-Jones. How many ladies have dreamt of this dashing figure striding across a field towards them, shirt aflowing? Anne Elliot’s family is forced to move to Bath following daddy blowing their fortune. Renting out their estate to another family brings the figure of Captain Wentworth back into Anne’s life, which is a bit of a shock considering she was once set to marry him. Oops! The rest of the blanks you can probably fill in yourself.
Mark Lawson Talks to Nicholas Craig (Sunday 10pm, BBC4) There’s something about Nicholas Craig, the self-styled Naked Actor, that’s always joyful to watch, but is never quite as clever as Nigel Planer would have you believe. Still, this is good knock about fun, as a poker faced Mark Lawson interviews the former Young One’s alter ego. He’s worked with them all, darling, and now he’s about to star in top US drama, McKendrick. If you can let yourself go and enter into the fun, this is worth a giggle or two.
