May 2009 Archives

Have I Got News for You (Friday 9pm, BBC1)

David Mitchell is on hosting duties this evening for a show that remains as fresh and biting as ever.

Big Brother’s Big Quiz (Friday 10pm, E4)

Oh whatever - does anybody actually care any more?

Dexter (Friday 10pm, FX)

It’s not quite up to the standards of the highly feted seasons one and two, but this series of Dexter is still one of the most enjoyable, watchable and fascinating drama series on TV. Hopefully by the time this season wraps up, it will be firing on all cylinders again.

Friday Night With Jonathan Ross (Friday 10.35pm, BBC1)

One of the upsides of the post Sachsgate furore is the effect it has had on Jonathan Ross’s interviewing style on Friday Night With… He’s a bit calmer, less inclined to tit around and rely on tedious innuendo, and he actually chats to his guests a bit more. Tonight’s is definitely worth a look as Joanna Lumley, national treasure extraordinaire, pops in for a chat, along with music from The Killers.

Britain’s Got Talent - the Final (Saturday 6.45pm, ITV1)

The ratings-busting Britain’s Got Talent dominates this evening’s schedules as the hopefuls all line up for the grand final that is likely to see shocks and tears alike. If I’m honest, this show is not my cup of tea but it’s hard to deny how much BGT is a defining phenomenon of modern broadcasting in the UK. And then just think, in just a few short months Simon will be back with The X Factor 2009 - I don’t whether to cheer or cry.

Robin Hood (Saturday 7.25pm, BBC1/BBC HD)

Gisborne’s in the dungeon awaiting his fate, Kate is making doe eyes at Robin, and Isabella’s husband arrives. Just another day in Nottingham then.

Mumbai Calling (Saturday 10pm, ITV1)

This new comedy starring Sanjeev Bhaskar as the manager of a call centre in India might benefit from the lead in from BGT - or more than likely vanish without trace in post talent show fatigue. Any new comedy needs to be supported, but this sounds like it was dreamt up in a comedy workshop for media students. Ah well, it might defy expectation, and Bhaskar is always entertaining.

Benidorm (Sunday 9pm, ITV1)

While we wait to see if Mumbai Calling sets the world on fire, ITV’s comedy big gun, Benidorm, is back for a one off special ahead of the third series. The show is an acquired taste, but thankfully it has more texture and depth than the middle class flummery of Reggie Perrin over on the BBC. The cast play it with gusto, even if some of the material, centring on a bunch of mis-matched holidaymakers, doesn’t quite hit the mark. Not dreadful, not great. Perhaps that’s a perfect thumbnail of the modern ITV?

House (Sunday 9pm, Sky1/Sky HD)

The most notable thing about this new series of House is it’s new home, seeing the US medical drama moving from Five to Sky. So far, so ho hum. Irrespective of my previous criticisms of Hugh Laurie’s accent, I’ve always found House to be quite repetitive and tedious in its execution. Sorry. Witty dialogue and character is one thing, but after five seasons, I want something a bit more than what is effectively a glorified disease of the week show.

Saturday Play: The Complete Smiley - A Murder of Quality Radio 4, Saturday 2.30pm
Radio 4 continues its dramatisation of John le Carré’s novels featuring George Smiley. This week’s instalment is something of a departure from the spy investigation that we may be used to, as Smiley investigates a murder in the prestigious Carne College. Geoffrey Palmer, Marcia Warren and Sam Dale join Simon Russell Beale’s George Smiley.

Archive on 4: Lynne Truss - Did I Really Ask That? Radio 4, Saturday 8pm
These days she’s better known for her book on the declining standards of punctuation, Eats, Shoots & Leaves, but in the 1980s Lynne Truss worked as an arts journalist, interviewing many theatrical giants: Arthur Miller, Tom Stoppard, Simon Gray, Anthony Minghella… Truss has dusted off the tape recordings she made of those interviews, and here extracts the best (and the worst) bits. Not only should we get some great opportunities to listen to some of the performing arts world’s biggest names, I for one will also pick up some tips on how not to interview…

Elaine Paige on Sunday Radio 2, Sunday 1pm
This week’s guest is Whoopi Goldberg, producer of Sister Act: The Musical, who talks about her Broadway career as well as plugging the new show.

Newfangle Radio 4, Monday 11.30am
Russell Tovey stars in this new six-part sitcom by Adam Rosenthal (son of Jack) and Viv Ambrose. Newfangle is a proto-human — an ape to you and me — in a race that is on the verge of evolving into humans. In this first episode, Newfangle has fallen for female ape Snaggle (Pippa Evans) and has to invent language so that he can express his love.

Afternoon Play: On Ego Radio 4, Tuesday 2.15pm
Henry Goodman, Susan Lynch and Elliot Levey star in a science fiction about Alex, a man who builds a teleportation device in an attempt to prove his theoyr that humans and emotions are just a bunch of neurons. When his wife falls ill, he is forced to confront his own beliefs.

Scum Radio 4, Thursday 11.30am
Mark Kermode, the Godfather of film criticism, examines the history of Roy Minton’s controversial teleplay Scum, which was deemed too controversial in its portrayal of life in prison, and was banned by the BBC. A subsequent restaging as a feature film turned it into one of the most controversial British films ever. Kermode seeks input from screenwriter Minton, actor Mick Ford and former director of BBC Television Alasdair Milne.

Electric Ink Radio 4, Friday 11.30am
The second new sitcom of the week, scripted by satirist Alistair Beaton, is set in the changing world of the newspaper industry, with Robert Lindsay as an old school print journalist struggling to keep up with modern technology, and railing against the celebrity obsession of the daily tabloids.

Friday Night is Music Night Radio 2, Friday 7.30pm
Anthony Andrews introduces a concert dedicated to the musicals of Lerner and Loewe, whose hits include Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, Gigi and Camelot. Vocal perfomances come from Laura Michelle Kelly, Claire moore, Robert Meadmore and Liz Robertson.

David Attenborough’s Life Stories Radio 4, Friday 8.50pm
A new 20-part series of 10-minute vignettes meditating on the lives of certain creatures from the man with one of the most reassuring voices in British broadcasting, starting with the sloth.

While I’m getting over my horror at last night’s firing on The Apprentice (why is Lorraine still there?!), can I please draw your attention to tonight’s impending finale of one of the greatest drama series in the history of television, like… ever?

I could provide a catalogue of great ER moments from 15 years of top-notch medical plots and emotional character moments, but there are far too many to choose for that to be even remotely worthwhile. If you’ve watched ER and stayed with it throughout, then you already know what this show means to you. And with a TV series that runs for this long, strong memories of it can mark significant moments in our lives.

This is genius: an incredible edit of clips from various series of The Apprentice to create one of the funniest (and — be warned — rudest) videos of recent times. As its creator, Cassetteboy, asserts:

A quick word of warning first - it’s a little bit smutty, so if you watch it at work, one of you will get fired.

Having returned from an enforced sabbatical (a medically necessary house arrest that saw me devour season one of 30 Rock and season two of The Tudors), I was amused to come across this story at the top of the week on the subject of Robin Hood and Primeval containing too much snogging. Erm…

It seems that nine year old William Barclay-Clarke has a problem with excessive tonsil tennis in his favourite Saturday night adventure shows.

“In Robin Hood snogging happens every single week. In the last series Maid Marian died and now Robin is pretty much with every girl.”

Aw bless! It seems that young William is playing to type of every nine year old boy out there and is clearly at the age when girls are just silly. But rather than screwing his face up in disgust and waiting for the sword fights to start again a minute later, young William has fired off a missive to the BBC.

This just in: Matt Smith, who will soon start filming his first scenes as the Doctor for the 2010 series of Doctor Who, will be performing live at London’s Royal Court Theatre this coming Friday at 4pm.

He will be taking part in a rehearsed reading of The Hotel Play by Wallace Shawn, as part of the Royal Court’s season devoted to the playwright. It’s a large piece with a cast of over sixty, so don’t expect him to get a huge amount of stage time. On the other hand, there are lots of other splendid actors joining him in the endeavour, including Benedict Cumberbatch, who TV Today included in our rundown of people who could possibly take on the role of the good Doctor. Longer term Who fans should note that also taking part is Geoffrey Beevers, who played the Master in the 1980 story The Keeper of Traken, a role he has also reprised

The full cast list (cribbed wholesale from the Royal Court website) is:

Cast includes Geoffrey Beevers, Diane Borger, Andrew Buckett, Bill Buckhurst, Ben Caplin, Anna Calder-Marshall, Kier Charles, Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Darnley, Sarah Davies, Jacqueline Defferary, Monica Dolan, Emily McDonnell, Elyse Dodgson, Amanda Drew, Deborah Eisenberg, Stephanie Fayerman, Ed Fortes, Alan Francis, Ian Gelder, Adam Gillen, Jonathan McGuiness, Alex Guiney, Jeremy Herrin, William Hope, Shane Hough, Maxwell Hutcheon, Patrick Kennedy, Isabella Laughland, Rob Laycock, Deirdre Lennon, Daisy Lewis, Alex Lowe, Charlotte Lucas, Emily Lucienne, George Mackay, Bruce Mackinnon, Benjamin Noble, Pamela Nomvete, Will Payne, Harry Peacock, Stephen Pidcock, Pearce Quigley, Ian Redford, Tariq Rifaat, Marcelo Dos Santos, Danny Sapani, Kerry Shale, Baruka O’Shaughnessy, Matt Smith, Roderick Smith, Colin Stinton, Bobby Stokes, Nicolas Tennant, John Trindle, June Watson, Harry Waller, Nigel Whitmey, Amanda Wilkin and Becky Wootton

The theatre’s website booking system seems to be playing up at the moment, so I can’t tell if there are any tickets left. However, the chances of seeing such a huge array of acting talent in one place is very rare, so in any event I’d advise booking as quickly as possible. Once word gets about Mr. Smith being involved, tickets are liable to go very quickly. Indeed, as the Royal Shakespeare Company noted on its twitter feed:

• Wallace Shawn rehearsed readings, Royal Court Theatre

Thanks to the bank holiday, a shorter-than-usual TV week to pick the best bits from…

Holby City BBC1, Tuesday 8pm
Long time Holby City fans will recognise a guest star this week, as Peter Wingfield pops in for a guest appearance as former regular Dan Clifford. Three weeks have passed since Maddy’s (Nadine Lewington) stabbing and she seems to be recovering well. But will she go for the promotion at City, or take up Clifford’s offer of a research position?

Britain’s Got Talent ITV1, Tuesday 8.30pm, Thursday 8.30pm
After a strong first live semi-final on Sunday and last night’s second, which was very much a show of two halves, it’s clear that this year’s BGT is shaping up pretty well, despite (because of?) some of the poorer quality acts who have slipped through the net to get on the live shows. The BGT website has just announced the line-up for Tuesday’s show — schedule the “nip to the loo” run for Floral Highnotes, if I were you…

Armando Ianucci in Milton’s Heaven and Hell BBC2, Wednesday 9pm
As part of the BBC’s Poetry season, Armando Ianucci presents this look at one of the greatest works of British fiction, John Milton’s Paradise Lost. An hour in the presence of Ianucci can never be tiring, even when the subject matter is an epic poem that is traditionally seen as difficult.

The Apprentice BBC1, Wednesday 9pm
Six self-important would-be business people. One shopping channel with a variety of tat — erm, I mean quality merchandise — to sell. What could possibly go wrong? I can’t quite believe Debra’s still in the running, but if she’s made it this far I wouldn’t like to place bets on her going this week.

What the Dickens? Sky Arts 1, Wednesday 9pm
Sky Arts’ literary-based comedy panel show returns for a second series, hosted by Sandi Toksvig with team captains Chris Addison and Sue Perkins.

Previously on ER More4, Thursday 8.05pm
ER: The series finale More4, Thursday 9pm
And so the cubicle curtain is pulled around the expiring carcass of one of television’s finest ever drama series. The double-length final episode of ER is preceded by a clip show looking back at 15 years’ worth of stories from County General Hospital. Lots of old friends return for the last episode, which features the opening of John Carter’s new medical centre. Chief among them is not a character, but something of character: the old style opening credits and music. I never really understood why they went in the first place, but it’s certainly good to see them back for one last hurrah. A copy from YouTube is below — but beware the cast list included: you may consider that to be a spoiler in itself:

Michael Wood on Beowulf BBC4, Thursday 9pm
Another Poetry Season documentary, this time looking back to the Dark Ages and the epic poem Beowulf. Historian Michael Wood is joined in his exploration of the mythic tale by poet Seamus Heaney, author of an award-winning translation, and actor Julian Glover, who has published his own adaptation and performed it on stage to great acclaim.

So the newspaper websites are cock-a-hoop with the news that Jonathan Ross’s Radio 2 shows are to be pre-recorded in future. Leading the charge, naturally enough given its part in exposing the Brand/Sachs controversy, the Daily Mail says:

Yesterday the BBC confirmed that the controversial presenter’s Radio 2 show will no longer be broadcast live from today, but will be recorded on Fridays.

The action comes two weeks after Ross, 48, was accused of homophobia for jokingly suggesting parents should give gay sons up for adoption on the show.

He suggested mothers and fathers give their sons away if they ask for a Hannah Montana MP3 player, ‘before he brings his, erm, partner home’.

This appears to have been the final straw for radio bosses already petrified about further scandals enveloping the BBC’s highest paid act, on £6million a year.

[Pause for a while, as we consider what must have been a trying decision for Mail bosses: “Who do we hate more? The gays, or the BBC?”. And… we’re back in the room]

The tabloids have been keen to stoke up the implication that the move is causing a rift between Ross and his BBC bosses, but there’s no sign of that from Ross’s Twitter feed, seemingly happy to discuss the situation with his fans:

And, responding to concerns from Heat magazine’s Boyd Hilton that some of the show’s more interactive elements may suffer, he seems sanguine:

…while making the sort of self-deprecating joke about the situation that’s liable to get the tabloids all heated up again:

Before the anti-BBC and/or anti-Ross types hail this move as a victory, there’s one thing that needs to be borne in mind: the original Russell Brand show item which cause the whole storm in the first place was also pre-recorded. Part of the reason that Ofcom fined the Corporation a record £150,000 was that the compliance procedures, whereby controversial pre-recorded material had to be queried and either cleared or edited before broadcast, were not followed.

In the face of such a large fine, moving Ross’s Saturday show to a pre-recorded format was perhaps inevitable. But it does require that the people clearing the material for broadcast need to be much more alert and hands-on than they were in October 2008.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T: The Art of Backing Vocals Radio 4, Saturday 10.30am
Backing vocals can make or break a song. Nick Barraclough looks at the craft involved.

The Saturday Play: The Complete Smiley - Call for the Dead Radio 4, Saturday 2.30pm
After the success of their Complete Ripley season, Radio 4’s Saturday play attempts the same trick with the John le Carré novels featuring the enigmatic George Smiley. While Alec Guinness’ portrayal of Smiley in the BBC TV adaptations of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Smiley’s People cast a long shadow, the character appeared in eight novels in total, so it will be some time before we get to the tales already told on television. This should give Simon Russell Beale time to embed himself fully in the role. The season starts with the 1950s-set Call for the Dead, and the apparent suicide of a Foreign Office civil servant who only days previously had been investigated and cleared by Smiley after allegations of being a Communist.

Elaine Paige on Sunday Radio 2, Sunday 1pm
This week’s guest is Barbara Windsor, herself no stranger to musicals through her lengthy stage career. Today she shares her favourite musical numbers with EP.

Classic Serial: Mugsborough 1917 Radio 4, Sunday 3pm
A sequel to 2008’s Sony-nominated adaptation of The Ragged Trouser Philanthropists. Picking up the story of the residents of Mugsborough ten years after the original novel ended, Johnny Vegas reprises his role and leads an all-star cast including Paul Whitehouse, Shirley Henderson, Raquel Cassidy and Kevin Eldon.

The Better Half Radio 4, Monday 11.30am
Noel Coward’s 1922 play was considered too racy for public consumption at the time, and was only rediscovered by researches in the British Library in 2007. Samuel West is David, in an unhappy marriage to Alice (Federay Holmes), who tries to persuade him to have an affair with her best friend Marion (Lisa Dillon). A curio rather than a masterpiece, it nevertheless contains some typical Coward dialogue.

Afternoon Play: Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders Radio 4, Tuesday 2.15pm
Last week’s crime drama concludes as Young Rumpole (Benedict Cumberbatch) continues to maintain that his client, accused of murder, should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Spread a Little Happiness Suranne Jones (Unforgiven, Coronation Street) and Susan Cookson (the much missed Maggie Caldwell from Casualty) star in this new comedy drama by the husband and wife team of John Godber and Jane Thornton. Jodie (Cookson) is about to open her new sandwich bar, with the help of her friend Hope (Jones), who’s just left her husband.

A Very Theatrical Revolution
Dominic Dromgoole, artistic director of the reconstructed Shakespeare’s Globe theatre on London’s South Bank, goes on the trail of one of Shakespeare’s later theatres, the Blackfriars Theatre, which opened in 1609.

Friday Play: Sunny Afternoon
The normality of a sunny London afternoon is brutally shattered when a man is killed in the street. Testimonies from passers-by and residents who witnessed the event reveal the personal, unforeseen and lasting repercussions of such an incident. Michael Begley and Tom Hollander star in what’s likely to be a downbeat start to the weekend.

Given Monday’s bank holiday, this weekend’s Square Eyes is an extended affair, covering the best of telly drama, comedy and other bits over the next four days.

Hay-on-Sky Sky Arts, Friday 7pm
As the UK’s foremost literary festival gets underway, Sky Arts casts its gaze over Hay-on-Wye in the first of a daily series of programmes.

Tonight: MPs Under Fire ITV1, Friday 8pm
The scheduled edition of ITV’s current affairs show gets pre-empted for a timely look at the scandal that’s been building around the issues of MPs’ expenses.

The Night James Brown saved Boston BBC4, Friday 9.15pm
The night after Martin Luther King was assassinated, tensions in the USA were rife. Authorities in Boston briefly considered pulling the plug on a scheduled concert by the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. When they realised that would probably inflame the situation further, the authorities instead turned to Brown for help. This fascinating documentary chronicles a night when music and civil rights combined like no other.

Robin Hood BBC1, Saturday 6.35pm
When Toby Stephens’ Prince John arrived on the scene a couple of episodes ago, it gave a shot in the arm to a series that was already far more fun than it has been in previous series. Alas, last week’s episode basically relegated him to a Sheriff-lite villain, and so I’m not particularly disappointed that Prince John bows out (for now, at least) this week. True to form, though, it’s a bonkers tale, as Toby Stephens’ prince tries to usurp the throne by faking King Richard’s death. Yes, that’s sure to go well, isn’t it?

Britain’s Got Talent ITV1, Saturday 8.20pm
Britain’s Got Talent: Live Semi-finals from Sunday, 8.30pm
The audition programmes are over: from Sunday, we enter the glorious live shows. Before then, though, we have to endure the “selection process”, as all the acts who received a yes from the judges find out whether or not they’re through. Unlike X Factor or American Idol, though, there’s no additional performance at this stage, which makes Saturday’s show usually the least interesting of the whole run. Especial;y since it’s an hour and a half long.

Incidentally, now is a good time to mention ITV2’s Britain’s Got More Talent, which during the audition shows has been a complete joy to watch and adds to the BGT enjoyment immeasurably. Don’t miss it.

The South Bank Show ITV1, Sunday 10.15pm
We’d better enjoy it while we have it. This week’s show is a profile of one of British television’s current auteurs, the writer/director Peter Kosminsky (The Government Inspector, Britz). When it comes to portraying difficult subjects, nobody places television drama at the heart of debate like Kosminsky.

Film: The Hunchback of Notre Dame Five, Monday 6.15pm
One of Disney’s finest in its clutch of 1990s musicals with Oscar nominated music from Alan Menken (whose Sister Act: The Musical is currently previewing in the West End) and Stephen Schwartz (Wicked), who were later to collaborate on the live-action/animated hybrid Enchanted. It is uneven, though: you get the typical Disney cuteness in the form of three comedy gargoyles, while you also have some of the darkest, most adult themes that the House of Mouse has committed to drawn cel. Take the number below, Hellfire, as Judge Frollo anguishes over his own sinful thoughts:

Springwatch BBC2, from Monday 8pm
The natural-history-as-soap-opera show returns for a three week run, with Chris Packham replacing Bill Oddie as Kate Humble’s co-presenter.

Ashes to Ashes BBC1, Monday 9pm
Much as I love this show and the darker turn it’s been taking this series, the last few episodes seem to have fallen into a rut. The structure (Alex receives message from the preent day through a 1980s icon she sees on TV; boring crime in 1982 trundles on; more mysterious comments trickle through, with a build-up of same just before the closing credits) has been getting a little pat, meaning that there doesn’t really feel like we’re advancing story-wise from week to week yet. With two episodes to go after this, will we start to see more about what Operation Rose is, and how it affects Alex Drake?

TV and radio presenter Tim Lovejoy has just posted up a new interview with Pulling creator Sharon Horgan on his internet TV venture, Channel Bee.

As well as discussing the vital issue of whether tinned kippers are just posh sardines, Horgan talks about the cancellation of the BBC3 comedy, whose one-hour finale was aired on Sunday (and is currently still available on iPlayer).

Shall I tell you what they [the BBC] said? They said that they didn’t cancel it, they simply continued it in another form. … By cancelling it.

There’s lots more in the 15-minute interview — it’s worth watching.

• ChannelBee: Tim talks to Sharon Horgan

Moving On (Monday-Friday 2.15pm, BBC1)
A week of connected dramas dealing with issues of moving on and changes in life. Sheila Hancock stars in this first episode as widow Liz, who comes home from holiday with a former Ghurkha in tow to live with her — much to the horror of her family. One to set the Sky+ for throughout the week.

The Shield (Monday 11pm, Five US)
It’s the final ever episode of one of America’s finest crime dramas, that saw Michael Chiklis win Best Actor at the Emmys in 2005. As you’d expect, it’s a brutal finale as Detective Vic Mackey has nowhere left to run and past misdemeanours catch up with him. He’s been a great character who always subscribed to the doctrine that the ends justify the means — but will that help him bring down crime boss Beltran? A great show, The Shield will be missed.

Dollhouse (Tuesday 9pm, Sci-Fi)
Knowledgeable friends, who have already caught this new show from Joss Whedon following its US airings, have been filling up my Twitter feed in the last few days with mystified tweets on the subject of Dollhouse’s renewal for a second season. So that bodes well for the quality of a show that stars Eliza Dushku as an agent of a secret organisation that wipes its operatives’ minds. The MacGuffin here is that the organisation implants new traits into its agents that will be useful for their next mission. So, it’s a bit like Joe 90 then…?

Flight of the Conchords (Tuesday 10.30pm, BBC4)
A cracking episode that sees the boys financially embarrassed when Bret splurges their dwindling cash reserves and spends $2.79 on a second cup for the apartment. This sees the duo reduced to playing gigs with no instruments as they desperately try to get out of a dark pit of debt. Classic Conchords.

Waterloo Road (Wednesday 8pm, BBC1)
When Waterloo Road is your best option for drama on telly of an evening, you suddenly know that the long wasteland of the summer schedules has just arrived. Last in the series.

The Apprentice (Wednesday 9pm, BBC1)
Seven candidates left, but that’s still seven feckless idiots who will provide us with mirth filled entertainment galore. This week, the teams try to sell product at Olympia’s annual baby show. One has to wonder just how dull this show would be if they actually picked people who would do well in a job interview. But that’s not really the point is it?

Playing the Part (Thursday 8pm, BBC1)
An interesting little show that sees actors take on the real-life jobs their on-screen characters perform. Here, Waterloo Road’s Denise Welch returns to the secondary school she attended in County Durham to teach a class of kids. Welch has always been a likable personality, and here she shows great vulnerability when she stands before the toughest room she’ll ever have to face. There’ll be tears before bedtime, mark my words.

ER (Thursday 9pm, More4)
The penultimate visit to County General. The team are actually away from home turf this week as they go to help out at a camp for children who have undergone open-heart surgery. There’s a sense of clearing the decks here as several storylines reach a conclusion, leaving the way clear for next week’s no doubt teary finale. The end is nigh…

In a bid to minimise the effects of Political Voting, the scoring of tonight’s Eurovision Song Contest has been altered, and features a 50/50 mix of public voting and a jury made up of five music professionals in each country.

When the 25 songs are finished, Europe gets 15 minutes to vote by call or SMS. When the lines close, votes are added up, and the top countries are allocated an internal score of 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or a single point. The juries also rank the countries, and allocate the same internal 12, 10, 8-1 points. These are added together to get the final ranked order of countries, and it is this list that is announced by the countries in the live final. In any tie break, the country with the higher public vote is given precedence.

One quirk of this scoring system is that the juries have already voted. They all watched the second dress rehearsal on Friday evening and cast their votes depending on those performances. Let’s just say that very few performers brought their “A-game” to the table. Expect France, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Portugal and Estonia to feature in final voting.

• Read our interview with Jade Ewen
• All our Eurovision coverage at www.thestage.co.uk/eurovision

The propensity of soap operas to chop and change actors in the same roles has been a topic we’ve returned to on occasion (see They say she’s the same, but she’s not the same and The changing face of soap acting, for example).

It’s unusual for it to be acknowledged, though — which is why this video is amusing. Okay, so it’s an extra recorded for fans rather than part of the show itself, but it at least demonstrates that Neighbours has a sense of humour about itself that’s kind of refreshing.

As we’ve explained before, actress Michala Banas stepped in when Kym Valentine, who usually plays the role of Libby Kennedy, fell ill. The sketch above was apparently recorded for Five, which airs Neighbours here in the UK.

Thanks to @rickyboleto for pointing this out!

The voting blocs of countries do exist, and this has been proven over many studies, but what’s also true, looking at the results of the Song Contest is that while bloc and political voting do exist, their effect is not the only factor in deciding the winner — otherwise the same country would just keep… on… winning!

If you want to win, you need to have a good song. If it’s good, then you’ll be able to overpower any of the so-called political effects.

Getting the Gongs Radio 4, Saturday 10.30am
Away from the big budget, red carpet extravaganzas such as the Oscars and the Baftas, the industry awards show is a boom business (and, if you can get you foot in the door as a presenter of such things, can be a lucrative sideline). The Now Show’s Steve Punt, himself a veteran of such events, looks at the ceremonies, talking to presenters Gyles Brandreth and Stephen K Amos.

Eurovision Radio 2, Saturday 8pm
While Terry Wogan has passed on his microphone to Graham Norton, Ken Bruce continues his own commentary duties on Radio 2. Oh, and The Stage’s very own Eurovision correspondent Ewan Spence, who has been providing reports from Moscow all week at thestage.co.uk/eurovision, will be providing his alternative commentary from his own website, ewanspence.com.

Desert Island Discs Radio 4, Sunday 11.15am
Castaway this week is veteran actor Peter Sallis, best known for Last of the Summer Wine and Wallace and Gromit.

Drama on 3: Hum Radio 3, Sunday 8pm
Nina Sosanya, Anne Reid and Con O’Neill head an impressive cast in a contemporary drama by Laura Wade. Sound affects us all differently, but it’s increasingly inescapable. Emma is part of a team in Bristol who are called out to investigate cases of noise pollution and finds that a number of cases defy explanation. Can an inexplicable “hum” be to blame?

Woman’s Hour Drama: Falco - Poseidon’s Gold Radio 4, Monday-Friday 10.45am & 7.45pm
A fifth series based on Lindsey Davis’s books about a detective in ancient Rome sees Trevor Peacock join regulars Anton Lesser and Anna Madeley. When Falco’s dead brother Festus turns out to have been involved in a dodgy art scam, Falco ends up in the frame for the murder of one of Festus’s associates.

Afternoon Play: The Moment You Feel It Radio 4, Monday 2.15pm
Alf is very old and his memories get muddled, to say nothing of the conversations he carries on in his head with voices from the past. When Alf’s carer finds a stranger’s coat in his kitchen, the chain of chopped-up and contradictory memories it touches not only reveal the stranger’s identity, but also the story of Alf’s own unhappy marriage and how his wife died so young. Richard Briers stars as Alf, with Rory Kinnear also appearing as a younger Alf.

Afternoon Play: Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders Radio 4, Tuesday 2.15pm
Timothy West reprises his role as the radio voice of John Mortimer’s renowned barrister — but here, he is reminiscing about one of his earliest cases. Benedict Cumberbatch plays the young Rumpole investigating the shooting of two war heroes in the 1950s.

Shakespeare’s Sonnets Radio 3, all day Wednesday
To celebrate the 400th anniversary of their publication and to tie in with the BBC’s poetry season, fourteen of Shakespeare’s sonnets will be performed throughout the day. Ian McKellen is confirmed as a reader, but there may be others.

Happy Birthday Tommy Walker Radio 4, Thursday 11.30am
The Who’s rock opera Tommy is 40 years old this year. First released as a double album in 1969 before Ken Russell’s 1975 film, the subsequent stage musical won five Tony Awards. The programme includes an exclusive new interview with Roger Daltrey, and somehow manages to present the entire project’s somewhat convoluted plotline into a three minute summary.

Bonjour Mr Aznavour Radio 2, Friday 7pm
A former protégé of Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour is now one of the last great French chansonniers. Petula Clark fronts this new four-part series profiling his life, featuring interviews with Aznavour himself as well as Nana Mouskouri, Josh Groban, Herbert Kretzmer, Dee Shipman, Marcel Stellman and others.

Friday Play: A Hit To The Heart Radio 4, Friday 9pm
Nicholas Farrell and Niamh Cusack star as typical middle class parents of Lucy (Angela Terence) whose world falls apart when Lucy is linked with a bomb that explodes in their otherwise sleepy village. By Rachel Joyce.

EastEnders (Friday 8pm, BBC1)

Funny how the soaps are still a ubiquitous part of the TV schedules, and yet here at TV Today we rarely give them a look in. It’s not that we don’t watch them, but perhaps because there are so many episodes in any one week we’ve become desensitised to them… So in an effort to redress the balance somewhat, EastEnders makes it into the Square Eyes weekend selection. It’s an episode that focuses largely on Stacey Slater, who has started acting more than a little strangely - is this the beginning of a much bigger problem for Ms Slater? Great performance as ever from Lacey Turner, who remains one of the best things in a soap that appears to be in fairly rude health these days.

Boy Meets Girl (Friday 9pm, ITV1)

If it wasn’t for Martin Freeman and Rachael Stirling, this flimsy at best comedy drama would have fallen flat on the first outing. As it is, we’ve got to episode three and the body swap shenanigans are just about limping on towards episode four next week, but it’s touch and go whether it will get to the finish line. Boy Meets Girl is one of those dramas that doesn’t quite fit into ITV’s drama portfolio, and could have benefited from a different slot earlier in the week.

Reggie Perrin (Friday 9.30pm, BBC1)

Honestly, it hasn’t got any better. Take my advice and watch a rerun of My Family instead - compared to this, it’s genius.

Dexter (Friday 10pm, FX)

Best drama on television? Discuss.

Bear Grylls: Born Survivor (Saturday 7pm, C4)

Hurrah, he’s back! Will the jungles of Belize get the better of the Bear? Or will he just check into a Travelodge and go and get a proper job (as my dad so dryly observed the last time we watched this together)? Enjoyable as ever and just a little bit silly in a macho kind of way.

Eurovision Song Contest (Saturday 8pm, BBC1)

I’ve just been told I’ve pulled Finland out of the bag for this year’s sweep, so that’s who I’ll be cheering on come Saturday evening. It’s a pivotal year with a lot riding on it, as our supposedly best hope in years - the lovely Jade Ewen with It’s My Time - rides into battle. A knowledgeable colleague is predicting a high top five placing for our lass, which sadly I think is overly optimistic. But anything is possible with Eurovision. Sadly, no Wogan this year as the raven finally flew the tower last year, having had enough of biased voting patterns. Graham Norton is poor substitute, but anybody would be, so I won’t be too hard on him.

The Unloved (Sunday 9pm, C4)

The Unloved is the kind of one-off drama that Channel 4 does so well, and also affords actress Samantha Morton her directorial debut, as well as scripting along with Tony Grisoni. Based in part on Morton’s own childhood, young Lucy is abandoned by her mother and suffers violence at the hands of her father, eventually being swallowed up by the care system with harrowing effect. It’s a shockThe Unloved, Puing, sometimes brutal depiction of children in care, all told from Lucy’s point of view, making it even more horrifying (and entirely believable). Like Endgame a few weeks ago, this is a required piece of drama viewing with stunning performances from Susan Lynch, Robert Carlyle and Molly Windsor, who is breathtaking as Lucy.

Pulling (Sunday 9pm, BBC3)

I have an irrational hatred for Pulling. I don’t know what it is, but I have never taken it, while others, whose opinions I have great regard for, chortle away with merry abandon. It just seems terribly pleased with itself, and now it has a sense of smug martyrdom after being cancelled by BBC3, being allowed to finish off with this hour-long special. Even I can see what a crazy decision this on the part pf BBC3, as Pulling has clearly struck a chord with a good portion of BBC3’s audience. So enjoy while you can, it ain’t coming back. Next week: Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps…

Like Graham Norton and Terry Wogan before him, English actor Martyn Andrews will be putting his own spin on this year’s Eurovision Song Contest as he presents to the host country’s audience on the television channel Russia Today. He tells Nick Awde how he made his way to Moscow

If you appreciate diversity in your international news viewing, then you’ll probably have spotted Russia Today while flipping down your Sky or Freesat menu on the way to CNN. Aimed at English speakers the world over, Russia’s first all-digital channel was launched in 2005 with a style not unlike its US rival, backed up by 100 Anglophone reporters and presenters. And that’s where Martyn Andrews comes into the picture.

Read the full feature…

The simple answer is that they are all members of the European Broadcasting Union, a conglomerate of public service broadcasters grouping together to assist each other with new technologies and to promote collaboration with each other. With associate members around the world (including Canadian and Australlian broadcasters), the rules for entry to Eurovision are relatively simple: you need to be a full member of the EBU and be inside the European Broadcasting Area, and that isn’t solely based on mainland Europe.

And as leading website ESC Today reports, Qatar are negotiating to join the EBU and appear in the 2011 Song Contest; while at a press conference yesterday the organisers said they would love to get entries from all the eligible countries, including Italy and Monaco.

It looks like whoever wins this year and hosts the 2010 Contest may need to make a little more room in the schedule!

Seriously, Channel 4 Chief Executive Andy Duncan’s incessant whining about how hard done to the broadcaster is, is getting really tedious now. It’s getting so boring that he’s even starting to repeat himself in a further display of foot stamping to a House of Commons culture, media and sport select committee.

“I don’t understand why any of the licence fee is spent on acquisitions.”

he said to the committee between sobs. He went on to say:

“If they didn’t spend this money, they could spend it on original programming. There might have been a day decades ago when people went to watch a Christmas Day film on BBC One but that has gone.”

In response to that, would it be churlish to point out to Mr Duncan that the BBC’s showing of family movie Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were Rabbit pulled in 7.2 million on Christmas Day 2008? Looks like nobody wants to watch movies on the BBC at Christmas, doesn’t it?

Since ITV announced last week that The South Bank Show is to come to an end next year after more than three decades, the future of arts programming on mainstream terrestrial television has been thrust into the spotlight.

ITV has stated publicly that it is looking “at opportunities for new arts programming”. However, sceptics — not least those who work within ITV’s Specialist Factual and Arts department, which makes The South Bank Show — remain unconvinced that the broadcaster intends to make any significant investment in arts programming going forward and certainly nothing on the scale of The South Bank Show.

Understandably, then, there are fears that the end of the series — which over the course of 30 years has profiled the likes of Laurence Olivier and Arthur Miller — will mark the death knell for high-profile arts programming on terrestrial television.

Louise de Winter, director of the National Campaign for the Arts, has claimed that the “decline of interest in programming of this kind risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy”, which she said “further undermines wider engagement with the arts in all their variety”.

“This withdrawal of investment shows a regrettable lack of interest in the provision of quality arts programming on main­stream terrestrial channels,” she added.

So, just what is the state of arts programming provision outside of ITV?

Every morning when I get into work, I find an inbox crawling with press releases, most of which are of little to no interest either to me directly or even to The Stage as a whole. This morning, I did see one which deserved additional reading, as it covered children’s television, an area that TV Today readers will know is dear to our hearts.

The release claims that 70% of parents of children under 7 have said that their children have had regular nightmares because of children’s programmes.

Needless to say, both the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph have pumped out the story onto their respective websites, pausing only to rewrite every other sentence into their house style. Seriously — the Daily Mail version of the story is, sentence for sentence, exactly the same structure as the release (except for omitting a crucial couple of paragraphs at the end — but more of that anon).

But questions of lazy churnalism aside, the line being pushed by the press release does at least deserve some closer analysis.

Except, I’m not sure it really does stand up to such scrutiny.

• Eurovision: First Semi-final, BBC3, tonight 7pm

See also: Eurovision - the beginner’s guide

• The Eurovision Song Contest Semi-finals are on BBC3, at 8pm on Tuesday May 12 and Thursday May 14

Ashes to Ashes (Monday 9pm, BBC1)

An episode that has some pleasing echoes of Life on Mars with the reappearance of journalist Jackie Queen, who previously appeared in a hostage based episode of the parent series. There are references to Sam Tyler and other elements of Life on Mars. The overall storyline of girls arriving in London from the north to become part of a sex ring is fairly run of the mill, but such as it always is with Ashes - and that’s no bad thing sometimes.

Ideal (Monday 10.30pm, BBC3)

Some people might question why Pulling has been axed after two well-received series, while Ideal, starring Johnny Vegas, has notched up five series. But then, I never liked Pulling, so it doesn’t bother me. Ideal, in amongst all the surreal stuff, has quite a good heart, and there’s something rather lovable about drug dealer Moz. In this opener, Moz has decided to go straight…

Knight Rider (Tuesday 8pm, Sci-Fi)

Remake of the “classic” 80s action-adventure series. If there’s a point to this, could somebody please tell me what it is?

Eurovision Semi-Final (Tuesday 8.30pm, BBC3)

With the UK’s entry getting a free pass to Saturday’s final, there isn’t much tension to this first of two semi-finals for the campest singing contest in the world.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (Tuesday 9pm, Five)

200th episode of the venerable parent of the CSI franchise. To celebrate, William Friedkin, director of feted movies The Exorcist and The French Connection, steps into the director’s chair, much as Quentin Tarantino did before him for a previous landmark episode. It’s a personal tale for rookie CSI Ray Langston, who seeks to avenge the murder of a former student.

Flight of the Conchords (Tuesday 10.30pm, BBC4)

New series of the cult HBO comedy about New Zealand’s best folk combo. Funny and clever, in this series opener, the boys sack their manager.

The British Soap Awards (Wednesday 8pm, ITV1)

The great and good of Soapland pull on their frocks and clean their teeth for the annual awards night to celebrate the high and lows of the past soap year. By the time you read this, you’ll probably know all the results, but the awards are no less enjoyable for it. Philip Schofield hosts sans Fern this year…

The Apprentice (Wednesday 9pm, BBC1)

In the past, the away trip for the candidates has been to exotic locations and on swish cruise liners. In these credit crunch times, they’re having to make do with Margate. There’ll be some long faces for this episode when they realise those bikinis they packed are going to be for nothing. It’s a good task, too, as the teams have to come up with a marketing campaign for the seaside town.

ER (Thursday 9pm, More4)

The end is (almost) nigh, with a touching episode that sees Parminder Nagra clock in for her final shift at County General as Neela. It’s a nice episode that tugs just enough on the heart strings, with a couple of cameos from old faces that will send you over the edge with blubbing. God, I’m going to miss this show.

Lie to Me (Thursday 10pm, Sky1)

More US drama with a Brit taking the lead. Tim Roth stars as Dr Cal Lightman, yet another maverick, cerebral sleuth who is practically a walking lie detector. It’s all a bit ho hum and nothing particularly new, but Roth’s performance is worth giving it a look.

Back in the early days of digital TV, UKTV’s music and comedy channel Play (or Play UK, or UK Play, depending on which rebranding stage it was at) commissioned Matt Lucas and David Walliams to perform a series of caricature impressions of famous people — often with only a tangential resemblance to the people they were lampooning.

The resulting series of Rock Profile created some of the pre-Little Britain pair’s best work, not least the characterisation of Elton John and his partner David Furnish.

While Little Britain USA seemed to suggest that the duo were struggling to regain some of the originality that made the first LB series so watchable, when I heard that Lucas and Walliams were to revisit Rock Profile, I was hopeful that we’d see some of their creativity.

The first part of their new spoof interview is online — but is it any good? Find out by watching the video after the jump.

While this coming weekend’s Eurovision Song Contest final (BBC1 8.00pm Saturday, May 16) will be the only time that the majority of viewers will think about the contest, the national teams have already been hard at work in Moscow’s Olympic Stadium on their three minutes in front of an international audience.

As the weekend draws to a close, each country has had three ‘technical rehearsals’ of twenty minutes at a time to work on the stage. It’s a mix of checking through their performances in the huge LED screen surrounded space, finding the best camera angles to use on the live performances, and making sure their props can be brought out in time (if you want to keep track, the United Kingdom has a staircase, Romania has a throne — see the video below — and Ukraine brought the door from the Torchwood hub).

But as Monday starts there can be no more last minute changes, beyond those acts who have held something back to give themselves an edge. It’s now time for the dress rehearsals for the full shows to start.

Coronation Street (Friday 7.30/8.30pm)

Ken has an attack of conscience tonight as he is plagued with guilt over his affair with foxy pensioner Martha. So he goes and confesses to dreary Deirdre over how close he came to straying from the path for good. Oh Ken, really… Deirdre likes a fag out the back and a gin and tonic in a wine glass in the Rovers. Martha likes the classics and is a demon with scrambled eggs on toast… You do the maths.

Reggie Perrin (Friday 9.30pm, BBC1)

Watch it to make sure it’s still terrible. Which it is.

Dexter (Friday 10pm, FX)

As ever, Dexter remains a brilliantly audacious and entertaining drama, despite all the liberal smatterings of blood here and there. This week, our hero comes up against a child molester, all while trying to redirect a police investigation. And Prado’s suspicions about Dexter begin to grow.

Robin Hood (Saturday 6.15pm, BBC1/BBC HD)

With the Sheriff gone, it’s up to Prince John (played with delicious relish by Toby Stephens) to provide the camp villainy - and provide it he does! There’s a drought plaguing Nottingham, and the dastardly prince has monopolised the water supply to make sure the people love him. Good stuff, with some cracking fights this week.

Primeval (Saturday 7.15pm, ITV1)

There’s some playing around with the format in another great outing for Primeval, as a knight jumps through a anomaly on the trail of what he thinks is a dragon. It’s obviously another dinosaur, but to the knight it’s a thing to be slayed, which gives the team an extra complication they could do without. Usually it’s just the dinosaurs that are doing the chasing…

Inspector George Gently (Sunday 8.30pm, BBC1)

A solid detective drama for a Sunday night that this week sees Gently and Bacchus investigate the murder of a woman whose body is found on a church altar. The trail leads to a nightclub and its sleazy owner… Nice period detail and good turns from Martin Shaw and Lee Ingleby as Gently and Bacchus.

Damages (Sunday 10.20pm, BBC1/BBC HD)

The finale of what has been a twisty-turny second season for Damages that we know will end with Ellen standing in a hotel room pointing a gun at Patty. It’s fantastic, although one can’t help feeling that the resolution will be ultimately be disappointing - but they are usually are in shows like Damages. It’s not the end, but how we get there that’s important. And with a third season already in the works, the ending may not be all it seems…

Saturday Play: Point of Departure Radio 4, Saturday 2.30pm
Controversial African leader Jonah Kotto is attending a peace summit in Belfast where Alec Murray is assigned to his security detail. When security at Stormont is breached Alec fears for Kotto’s life, but is there a real threat, and, if so, how serious is it? George Harris and Patrick Fitzsymons star.

Archive on 4: John Barbirolli: Angel Of The North Radio 4, Saturday 9pm
Sir John Barbirolli was one of Britain’s greatest conductors. With both Italian and French blood in his veins, he became a champion of English music. He was a proud Cockney, whose zest and brilliance when he stood in front of an orchestra marked him out as irresistible. James Naughtie remembers Barbirolli in his own words, as well as through the recollections of colleagues, and through his recordings in the archives. The programme also explores the business of the conductor’s art.

Elaine Paige On Sunday Radio 2, Sunday 1pm
This week’s guests include Jason Donovan, currently starring in Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and Hannah Waddingham, appearing in A Little Night Music.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Radio 3, Sunday 8pm
As part of Radio 3’s Mendelssohn Weekend, Shakespeare’s play is performed with the composer’s complete incidental music in a new recording of Tim Carroll’s 2005 semi-staged production. As well as being broadcast on Radio 3, a video version will be available rom the website and via the red button on Digital TVs.

Book of the Week: My Name is Daphne Fairfax Radio 4, Monday-Friday 9.45am (rpt 12.30am)
Stage columnist Arthur Smith reads extracts from his new autobiography. To hear an interview with Arthur, including revelations about why he fell out with Billy Connolly and Jonathan Ross, listed to the Stage Podcast.

Not Letting It Be Radio 2, Tuesday 10.30pm
Matt Lucas presents a history of satirical swipes at the music business, from novelty songs to films including This is Spinal Tap.

The Wilson Dixon Line Radio 2, Thursday 10pm
A new series for Radio 2’s comedy hour sees this new character comedy from Jesse Griffin as country and western superstar Wilson Dixon. Observational, culture clash comedy is combined with live sets Wilson and his sidekick Snake Wizzelteats.

It’s just eight days until the final, but the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 coverage starts here. This year, for the first time, The Stage will have a correspondent at the contest itself. Ewan Spence will be taking a look behind the scenes, following the progress of the semi-finalists and keeping an eye on UK entry Jade Ewen and her mentor Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Of course, this is the first year that Terry Wogan will not be on ceremonial duties in the UK commentary booth. There’s more to the whole show than just Wogan, though. And so, for the benefit of anybody who’s new to Eurovision or just wants to take the contest a little more seriously than the UK has in the recent past, Ewan has prepared a series of introductory videos, which we’ve collected into a customised player. Click the image to load the player in a separate window:

Over the next few hours, you’ll see a “Eurovision” graphic appear in the right-hand column of the blog, which will act as a shortcut to the most recent Eurovision-centric stories, including Ewan’s reports from Moscow as they come in.

Various press sources are today quoting Davina McCall as believing that C4’s Big Brother, which she has presented since the first series in 2000, will end next year.

“It’s definitely only got two years left. It’s become an institution - the summer is all about Big Brother, just like winter is all about the X Factor.”

she has been quoted in today’s edition of The Sun.

My first reaction to this was to shrug and go back to my toasted bagel, but then the implications for Channel 4 start to filter through. This is far and away Channel 4’s biggest show, and whether you think it’s unmissable, edgy viewing, or tedious drivel, Big Brother is still a ratings winner for the broadcaster. Yes, ratings have been on the slide, year on year - last year saw the series finale pull in 5.1 million - but can you name a show on Channel 4 that pulls in anywhere near that number on a regular basis? Even in these lean times, Big Brother has the ability to spike C4’s ratings and share throughout the summer months.

So voting is now open for the public to decide which of three actors will be cast as Troy Bolton in Stage Entertainment’s production of High School Musical 2: Live on Tour.

All three performers — Ian McIntosh, Liam Doyle and James Lacey — have performed the same song from the show, Bet On It, on breakfast broadcaster GMTV. The station’s website is now accepting votes until midday.

Yesterday I caught up with the show’s director, Jeff Calhoun, to talk about the selection process.

When a stunning piece of drama like Endgame can only attract an audience of 800,000, then it really makes me wonder what the point of producing high quality, world- class drama is… Depressing, very depressing.

Another nail in the coffin for one of the things we do so well in this country. As Channel 4’s financial woes continue, I beg the BBC not to forget its duty to make drama with impact, elegance and a powerful message. It’s up to you, Auntie, to keep those home fires burning until finances in other sectors of broadcasting are more stable again.

If they ever are…

Normal, cheerful service will be resumed tomorrow when I’ve thought up some more jokes about Bonekickers.

Reasons to be Cheerful Radio 4, Saturday 10.30am
This all-too-brief series that’s determined to look at the glass as half-full concludes with an episode presented by comedian (and erstwhile Stage Edinburgh Fringe podcast correspondent) Stephen K Amos. Playing the pessimist role this week is fellow comedian Felix Dexter.

Saturday Play: The Admirable Crichton Radio 4, Saturday 2.30pm
There’s far more to JM Barrie’s satirical tale about a butler marooned on a desert island with his aristocratic employers than first appears. Fiona Kelcher’s adaptation highlights the cruel, sadistic streak of Crichton — Jeeves he most certainly is not. The wonderful Russell Tovey stars as Crichton.

Opera on 3: Skin Deep Radio 3, Saturday 6pm
With a plot by Armando Iannucci, writer of The Thick of It and its big screen sibling In the Loop, one would expect biting satire in this new operetta which premiered at the Grand Theatre, Leeds in January. According to The Stage reviewer George Hall, though, didn’t seem that impressed:

It’s a darkly comic fantasy, with identities confused as faces are swapped and individuals duplicated, though its progress towards an ineffective third-act climax seems convoluted and over-populated. Despite Sawer keeping the orchestra down, not all the text comes across, and what does lacks the bite of The Thick of It.

From Fact to Fiction Radio 4, Saturday 7pm (repeated Sunday 5.40pm)
A new series of the series in which celebrated writers create fictional responses to the week’s news. Writer for the first episode is playwright Laura Wade, who herself was in the news this week when she talked about the lack of roles for older women.

Elaine Paige on Sunday Radio 2, Sunday 1pm
Spring Awakening star Aneurin Barnard is this week’s guest, singing Left Behind from the musical. Plus actress Sian Phillips, also currently in the West End in Calendar Girls, picks her top musicals.

Ladies of Letters Crunch Credit Radio 4, Monday-Friday 10.45am (repeated 7.45pm)
Lou Wakefield and Carole Hayman’s gloriously comic creations Vera and Irene return, exchanging missives and misunderstandings that produce some glorious comedy. Patricia Routledge and Prunella Scales return to the roles — ITV3’s versions in the form of Anne Reid and Maureen Lipman were fun, but pale shadows of the original.

Afternoon Play: Solo behind the Iron Curtain Radio 4, Tuesday 2.15pm
In the 1960s, Robert Vaughn was possibly the most famous spy in the world, renowned for his role as Napoleon Solo in The Man from UNCLE. 1968 saw him filming a movie in Prague — and if you know your history, you can probably guess what happened next. This comedy thriller recreates the events that saw the film’s cast and crew trapped in the Czech capital as the tanks rolled in. Vaughn plays himself, with support coming from his Hustle costar Robert Glenister playing George Segal.

It’s My Story: Earfull Radio 4, Wednesday 11am
A welcome repeat for last November’s documentary following deaf actor as he prepares to get a cochlear implant which would enable him to recover some of his hearing, interwoven with a recording of his one-man play Earfull.

Afternoon Play: Fifteen Radio 4, Wednesday 2.15pm
15-year-old Ellie is sent into foster care when her addict mother goes into rehab. What she doesn’t reveal is that she is seven months pregnant. Meanwhile, her foster parents’ desparation to have a child is now all they have in common with each other…

Afternoon Play: Dos and Don’ts for the Mentally Interesting Radio 4, Friday 2.15pm
Based on the popular blog The Secret Life of a Manic Depressive by Seaneen Molloy, Louise Ramsden’s adaptation casts Seainin Brennan as Seaneen, charting the highs and lows of living with bipolar disorder. As the blurb states, “You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. You’ll probably do both if you’re a manic depressive like me.”

Here are the three actors who will be vying for the public vote to win the role of Troy Bolton in the forthcoming tour of the High School Musical 2 stage musical. From left to right, they are James Lacey, Ian McIntosh and Liam Doyle, pictured with the show’s director Jeff Calhoun and choreographer Lisa Stevens.

You can watch the video of this morning’s announcement of the shortlist on the GMTV website - but after the jump, we’ll have more information on the three hopefuls.

Boy Meets Girl (Friday 9pm, ITV1)

Mmm, not sure about this one. Martin Freeman plays Danny, and Rachael Stirling is Veronica - two strangers who end up swapping bodies thanks to the freak affects of a storm. With hilarious results. If not for the presence of two engaging leads - Freeman can still pull it together in a post The Office world - it would be easy to dismiss this as fluffy nonsense. As it stands, the pair’s attempts to get back to the right body become quite charming thanks to good performances and what could have been a disaster becomes quite entertaining. It’s possibly in the wrong slot, though.

Reggie Perrin (Friday 9.30pm, BBC1)

Don’t do it. Seriously, you’ll want to sue the Beeb for the 30 minutes you’ve just lost. Dreadful stuff that even Martin Clunes can’t save. Things are lifted a fraction by the presence of Wendy Craig as Reggie’s mother. But, sad to say, even her saintly presence doesn’t make this worth watching.

Robin Hood (Saturday 6.20pm, BBC1/BBCHD)

Toby Stephens arrives this week to camp it up marvellously as the oft mentioned, never seen Prince John. And by God, he’s brilliant, even managing to put Keith Allen’s Sheriff of Nottingham in the shade. As ever, he’d rather like Robin’s head on a spike, but he has an extra task for Gisborne to attend to…

Primeval (Saturday 7.20pm, ITV1)

More cracking stuff from Dinosaur Chasey-Chase. The team appears to be on the run this week as they are chased through a wood by some nasty prehistoric birdies. Wearing tuxedos. The team, that is. Not the birds. Clearly something isn’t right here, and we learn how the guys and gals from the ARC ended up in this predicament through flashback. As brilliant and breathless as always.

Star Trek (Saturday from 6am, Sc—Fi)

As JJ Abrams’s monster revival of the Star Trek franchise prepares to take cinemas by storm, Sci-Fi powers up the dilithium crystals for three solid days of original Trek action. There might be a new James T Kirk in town now, but Shatner was - and always will be - the best.

Inspector George Gently (Sunday 8.30pm, BBC1/BBCHD)

Yesterday we talked about Janice Hadlow’s desire to make a new drama in the vein of Our Friends in the North, and with Inspector George Gently we can see just what the mind that brought you that great drama is up to. Peter Flannery scripts this first of four new outings for Martin Shaw as 1960s detective Inspector George Gently. And very lovely it is too. The owner of a house due for demolition is found dead in the garden, which brings Gently and sidekick John Bacchus to investigate. Of course, all is not what it seems and the building holds some dark secrets. Hugely enjoyable and perfect for a lazy Sunday evening.

Ashes to Ashes (Monday 9pm, BBC1)

The much-improved Ashes continues with a story based around animal rights activists and attacks on a laboratory. Sometimes the series feels like an extended list of things that we remember from the 80s, and you half expect Stuart Maconie to pop up in a talking heads clip every minute or so. But this second series of Ashes to Ashes has remembered that a good central story is essential. The more trippy elements feel much more consistent when working with story - and Alex starting to forget what her daughter looks like is rather chilling. Fire up the Quatro!

Compulsion (Monday 9pm, ITV1)

A slightly disturbing and icky thriller starting ER’s Parminder Nagra and Ray Winstone. Nagra is the daughter of a rich businessman who resists her parents’ wishes that she enters an arranged marriage. Enter family chauffeur Flowers, (the brick-like Ray Winstone), who offers to help in exchange for jumping into the sack with him. And really, that’s all you need to know. Not one of ITV’s best, it has to be said.

Endgame (Monday 9pm, C4)

Forget the nonsense on ITV, this is where the real drama is tonight (sorry Gene!). A group of men meet in secret in an attempt to bring years of apartheid to an end as South Africa teeters on the brink of civil war. Based on Robert Harvey’s book, The Fall of Apartheid, this is deftly played stuff that turns people sitting round a table into taught, engrossing drama. Paula Milne scripts with a tremendous cast that includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Derek Jacobi, Clarke Peters and Mark Strong). Breathtaking drama in a way that only Channel 4 does. Let’s not lose that, eh?

ITV1 breakfast broadcaster GMTV has just announced the three finalists in its search to find an actor to play Troy Bolton in the forthcoming tour of Stage Entertainment’s High School Musical 2: Live on Tour.

They are:

• James Lacey
• Ian McIntosh
• Liam Doyle

The finals of the casting process will take place next week, with performances from all three starting on Tuesday. Voting by the public will open on Thursday via GMTV’s website, and the result will be announced live on Friday’s show.

I don’t have too much information about what training each of the actors has received at the moment — but when I do, TV Today will let you know.

Update: And here is that information - complete with pictures