Great British Menu Banquet (Friday 6pm, BBC2)
The final final of this year’s Great British Menu as the winners assemble at the Gherkin in London to cook the selected dishes for some of the finest names in the culinary world.
Alexei Sayle’s Liverpool (Friday 9pm, BBC2)
A welcome haven in a sea of televisual tedium this evening as Big Brother and the football conspire to destroy any joy in the TV schedules. And remember, it’s even worse now Peep Show and Derren Brown have gone. But this is a great piece of TV, building on last week’s brilliant opener. Tonight the comic actor looks at Liverpool’s often-uncomfortable identity as a city of culture, and how that sits with the industrial and commercial face of the city. Fascinating.
8 out of 10 Cats (Friday 10pm, C4)
Sitting between the two helpings of Big Brother is the new series of 8 out of 10 Cats, with Jimmy Carr returning to quiz two teams of comedians on statistical facts and figures in the news. Team captains Sean Lock and Jason Manford also return, but I do wonder what the point is - it was only ever worth tuning in for Dave Spikey as a team captain, and without him the show does limp along a bit. Still, Carr can still fire them off the cuff, and Sean Lock is usually entertaining. It all just makes me feel a bit meh.
Sex, Telly and Britain (Saturday 10.30am, Radio4)
As the TV schedules are a veritable wasteland this weekend, Square Eyes takes a rare trip to the Radio schedules. In the third part of Miranda Sawyer’s look at British culture against a backdrop of 1968, it seems that the country’s writers were turning their attentions to the Second World War. As things were hotting up in Vietnam, there was enough distance from the atrocities of WWII for wordsmiths to start satirising and commenting on those events. Includes contributions from Dad’s Army creators Jimmy Perry and David Croft.
Doctor Who (Saturday 7.10pm, BBC1)
We’re in the final lap now as Russell T Davies returns to scripting duties for the final four episodes of this series of Doctor Who. It’s a claustrophobic little tale with the Doctor having a break from Donna to take a trip on a space cruise that gets into trouble on the planet Midnight. It’s tense and scary (as you’d expect), with great turns from a guest cast that includes Lesley Sharp, Lindsey Coulson, Daniel Ryan and Holby City’s Rakie Ayola.
Kidulthood (Saturday 9.40pm, BBC3)
With the sequel, Adulthood, due in cinemas next week, it’s probably worth checking out the television debut of the original from the pen of Noel Clarke (Doctor Who’s Mickey Smith) following the lives of a group of 15 year olds in West London. Not dissimilar to BBC3 drama pilot W10 LDN - again written by Noel Clarke and directed, as here, by Menhaj Huda. Powerful stuff and rightly praised on its original release.
A Tribute to Humph (Sunday from 11.15am, Radio 4)
Going off piste again, but no strand of programming paying tribute to the late and forever great Humphrey Lyttleton can be ignored. Starting with a repeat of the jazz musician and I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue chairman’s final contribution to Desert Island Discs, the centrepiece of today’s programmes is Chairman Humph (12.04pm). Stephen Fry presents this fond look at Humph’s life and work, as told by some of his close friends and colleagues. There won’t be a dry eye in the house, but the laughter will surely outweigh the tears…
How TV Changed Britain (Sunday 8pm, C4)
This could be a contentious edition of the historically themed clips show that highlights how certain things have changed and developed against the backdrop of television. Tonight it’s the turn of how women have been viewed on television, from the post war years of simpering housewives, up to the strong role models of DCI Tennison and her more pleasing ilk. There’s also a look at the lines of What Not To Wear and other style/body image shows. And of course, a show about the portrayal of women on television wouldn’t be complete without Elsie Tanner.
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