Ugly Betty Friday, 9pm Channel 4
Six Feet Under’s Freddy Rogriguez makes his debut tonight as Gio, a sandwich salesman who makes Betty’s head turn. Elsewhere, Justin tries (and fails) to play basketball as a way of remembering his late father, while Mark helps Amanda in her quest to find fame as Fey Sommers’ illegitimate daughter. As always, fine, fine comedy drama that has more laughs than most sitcoms and more tugs of the heart than many dramas.
The X Factor Saturday, 5.45pm & 10pm ITV1
The first of this year’s live shows, and we’ll find out whether the new four-judge format works — and how Dermot O’Leary copes with a live studio audience. He’s shown his mettle in the empathic side of following the audition stages, but a hyped-up whooping crowd of harpies (and, behind the judges, a crazed audience) is another matter.
Strictly Come Dancing Saturday, 5.45pm & Sunday, 6.50pm, BBC1
All twelve contestants dance in competition this week, performing either a tango or a jive. Keep tuned to our Strictly Come Dancing pages for your week 3 score card, which I’ll be putting online later today.
Rugby World Cup Final: England v South Africa Saturday, 7.45pm ITV1
Thirty men in very tight fitting shirts and shorts get muddy together, thrusting their heads between each others’ hips and playing with balls. And they say Strictly Come Dancing has gay appeal…
Drop Dead Gorgeous Sunday, 9pm BBC3
The final episode of the second series, and Murray is trying to keep a lod on Ashley’s affair, while the whole family move into the house of Pauline’s dreams. This show has proven to be one of the strongest things to come out of BBC Three; I hope that Sinead Moynihan’s new role in Hollyoaks doesn’t mean that it’s the end of the road for the Runcorn supermodel.
Catwalk Dogs Sunday, 9pm, ITV1
This one-off comedy from Simon Nye sees putative stars Kris Marshall and Geeorgia Mackenzie upstaged at every turn by Archie, a small but extremely lovable fox terrier. This lightweight romcom set in the world of dog shows is certainly no Best In Show, but as a lightweight trifle on which to end the weekend, it seems to be pitched perfectly.
