Best of the week ahead on TV
UTV, 9.20pm
The last episode in the series includes director Danny Boyle talking about his new film Trance, while Bobby Womack and Damon Albarn also join Ross for a chat and to play some music.
RTÉ One, 9.45pm
Cork celebrity doctor Pixie McKenna, comedian Sean Lock and former pop star Brian McFadden are among Brendan O’Connor’s guests.
BBC One, 9pm
One-off drama about an 18-year-old girl who tries to escape her troubled family by joining the army.
UTV, 10pm
Warwick Davis is probably best known for his light-hearted outings with Ricky Gervais, but he gets all serious for this documentary on a group of Holocaust victims that he feels a special affinity for. The Ovitzes were a Romanian family with seven brothers and sisters born with dwarfism. They toured around Europe as a musical group, the Lilliput Troupe, until 1944 when the Germans deported them to Auschwitz. There, they were subjected to some barbaric experiments by Josef Mengele but the liberation of the camp came in time to save them from the gas chambers. Davis follows their fascinating story, along the way reflecting on his own experience.
UTV, 9pm
The Antrim actor continues his exploration of the island. He meets top surfer John McCarthy in Co Clare, samples the good life in Ballyvolane House, near Fermoy, Co Cork, and also tries some fishing on the Blackwater.
RTÉ One, 9.35pm
Heartbreaking documentary on three families caring for their dying child, and another who lost their daughter at nine-months-old. The film follows them over six months at LauraLynn House in Dublin, Ireland’s only paediatric hospice, and we also see the important support of such organisations as the Jack and Jill Foundation.
Channel 4, 8pm
Second episode of the five-part series in which Dr Tanya Byron explores sleep issues for children and teenagers. One of the questions dealt with in tonight’s show will be whether teenagers really are as lazy as the stereotype suggest, or is it unfair to ask them to conform with a timetable that may not suit them.
Republic of Ireland v Austria (RTÉ Two, ko 7.45pm) has the home side playing a team that are 39 places below them in the rankings, but Trapattoni’s men have often struggled at home in the past against seemingly inferior opposition. Another qualifier of interest tonight is Montenegro v England (UTV, ko 8pm).
RTÉ One, 7.30pm
Maguire again goes overseas in search of Irish cooking talent, and meets up with Léa Linster in her Michelin-starred restaurant in Luxembourg. She shows him how to cook a rack of lamb, while the presenter himself prepares curried chicken spring rolls.
BBC Two, 9pm
The celebrated novelist has been a major advocate for orangutans since he first encountered them in the jungles of Borneo 18 years ago. Pratchett returns to the rapidly changing island to explore if deforestation and the palm oil industry mean that these incredible primates are doomed in the wild. Given his own battle with Alzheimer’s, it proves to be quite a challenging trip, and causes him to reflect on some of the bigger questions, such as his own mortality and the role of humankind in wiping out so many species.
TG4, 7.30pm
Joe Mac Coitir from Cobh in Co Cork is tonight’s guest. A member of the Titanic Memorial Committee in 2011, Mac Coitir’s claim to fame as mayor was his invitation to Ian Paisley to visit.
BBC Two, 9pm
Looks at some of the food science that’s uncovering amazing things about why we like particular foods. One of the big breakthroughs could be a way of making the brain think a snack is sweeter, even though no extra sugar has been added. It also meets some of those who are following the career path of elite, professional tasters.
RTÉ Two, 9.30pm
The staff of Ultimate Hair and Beauty in the GPO Arcade in Dublin take over the salon for 10 days under the guidance of Norah Casey. First to go is the product display in the front window that the staff are sick of promoting. Some of the younger workers also get a chance to shine, and one stylist fronts an attempt to create a viral stunt that they hope will put the salon on the map.
BBC One (not NI), 10.35pm
Beyoncé herself directs this profile, so presumably we can expect some interesting insights, but not much in the way of tell-all exposé.
RTÉ One, 11pm
Pat Collins’s film follows sound recordist Eoghan as he returns to Ireland to record places free from man-made sound.
TG4, 11.05pm
We’re into the fifth and final series, which is broken into two sets of eight episodes each. Our three amigos attempt to start producing meth again, but the police are closing in on the operation, forcing Mike to take some drastic steps to cover his tracks. It’s arguably the best series yet, with the tone growing ever darker as Walt approaches his ultimate showdown. Those final episodes are being broadcast in the US during the summer, with TG4 following soon after.
RTÉ Two, 12.50pm
Jim Carrey and Steve Carell are among the familiar voices for this animated take on the Dr Seuss classic.
BBC Four, 10pm
As David Bowie tops the charts again, this is an appropriate time to repeat this Jarvis Cocker-narrated documentary on his most revolutionary incarnation. This is followed by The Genius of David Bowie (11pm), a compilation of some of his best performances on TV, including Space Oddity and Life on Mars. Earlier in the evening, Nile Rodgers: The Hitmaker (9pm) looks at the incredible career of the man responsible for much of Bowie’s Let’s Dance album. Rodgers is best known for his disco-era band Chic, but also had a hand in the success of a lengthy list of stars that includes Diana Ross, Madonna and Duran Duran.
