Monday 17 August 2009

TV Picks: 17-23 August 2009

Monday 17 August 2009

Pick of the Week: The X Factor -- ITV1, Sat @7pm

Once again, here's my pick of the week's best new television airing in the UK:

MONDAY 17th
Brothers In Arms: Basra (Sky1, 9pm) Documentary about 5 Rifles battalion on a tour of duty in Basra.
Peter Andre: Going It Alone (ITV2, 9pm) Reality series following the singer after his recent split from glamour model Katie Price.

TUESDAY 18th
The Duchess On The Estate (ITV1, 9pm) Two-part documentary where Sarah Ferguson spends 10 days living in a Manchester estate rife with drugs and crime.
Virgin Cooks (BBC3, 9pm) Chef Gordon Jones teaches inexperienced cooks how to slash their food budgets by learning a handful of simple dishes.

WEDNESDAY 19th
Missing Children: Lorraine Kelly Investigates (Sky1, 9pm) The breakfast TV host investigates the disappearances of Katrice Lee in 1981 and Ben Needham in 1991, two young children who vanished while abroad.

THURSDAY 20th
Doctor Who: Greatest Moments (BBC3, 8pm) Three-part series looking back at some of the Time Lord's best moments through the years. Features interviews with David Tennant, Fremema Agyeman, Georgia Moffett, David Morrissey & John Barrowman.
Benefit Busters (Channel 4, 9pm) Series about the welfare system and how it's abused, featuring an unemployed 26-year-old who owes £75,000 on a credit card but is too lazy to get a job to pay it off.
Justin Lee Collins: West End Star (Sky1, 9pm) The comedian has three weeks to become part of the London musical Chicago.
Tough Guy Or Chicken? (BBC3, 9pm) Five men travel around the world facing various challenges in hostile environments. First stop: 4,000m above sea-level in the Ecuadorean Andes to become "chagras" (tough cowboys).

FRIDAY 21st
The Tudors (BBC2, 9pm) Season 3 of the historical drama starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII.

SATURDAY 22nd
The X Factor (ITV1, 7pm) New series of the singing competition, with judges Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh. Hosted by Dermot O'Leary.
The Cube (ITV1, 8.30pm) Gameshow hosted by Phillip Schofield where a contestant could win £250,000 by succeeding in a series of deceptively simple tasks under the spotlight.
Michael McIntyre: Live & Laughing (BBC1, 9pm) Standup comedy from the comedian, performed live at the Hammersmith Apollo.

SUNDAY 23rd
Gunrush (ITV1, 9pm) Drama series that begins when a young girl is shot by a teenage gang member in a shop queue, prompting her grieving father to take matters into his own hands and find his daughter's killer.