What to watch on TV this week
SATURDAY
We follow Nadia Forde to Ibiza has she hangs out on the party island and also performs her debut single in a club.
The big clash in the Premier League is (Sky Sports1, kick-off 5.30pm), a game that clashes with the FA Cup semi-final clash of (BBC One, kick-off 5.20pm).
Earlier in the day, there’s a big Irish interest in (Sky Sports 1, kick-off 12.15pm).
The ERC Cup semi-final features (BT Sport 1, kick-off 3.15pm), and TG4 has the All-Ireland U21 football semi-finals from 1.30pm.
SUNDAY
The Voice of Ireland RTÉ One, 6.30pm
The semi-final features six acts, with a combination of public votes and judges’ scores deciding which two will be eliminated in advance of next week’s final.
A huge day in sport includes TG4’s coverage of the hurling league semi-finals of (throw-in 2pm) and (4pm).
In soccer, it’s (BT Sport 1, kick-off 3pm) in the FA Cup semi-final,and Premier League clashes of (Sky Sport 1, kick-off 1.30pm) and (Sky Sport 1, kick-off 4pm).
The semi-final of the ERC Cup features (Sky Sport 2, kick-off 3.15pm).
MONDAY
Life Stories: Dáil on the Dole TV3, 9pm
It’s a common complaint that the pampered world of politics helps ensure a huge disconnect from the lives of ordinary people. In this new series, four TDs spend time with constituents who are dependent on social welfare payments. First up is Fine Gael TD Catherine Byrne, with Laura Spencer, a single mother with two young daughters, living in a flat in Dublin’s inner city.
Raised by Wolves Channel 4, 10pm
The final episode of the current series of the Moran sisters’ comedy. The show has had its moments without ever becoming essential viewing.
TUESDAY
Gallipoli — Ireland’s Forgotten Heroes RTÉ One, 10.15pm
We normally see David Davin-Power reporting from outside the Dail, but for this documentary, he travels to Turkey to delve into the Irish involvement in the disastrous Gallipoli campaign of World War I. His own grandfather survived the conflict, unlike 3,000 other Irishmen who perished in an ill-fated invasion that was planned by Winston Churchill.
Bayern Munich v Porto TV3, ko 7.45pm
Can the Germans turn around a 3-1 deficit from the first leg of this Champions League quarter-final? Gaizka Mendieta and Mark Lawrenson provide the studio analysis, while Kevin Kilbane is in the commentary box with Trevor Welch.
WEDNESDAY
The Consumer Show RTÉ One, 8.30pm
Despite the recession, children’s birthday parties are one area of Irish life that seem to still be in Celtic Tiger mode. Paying for big groups in an indoor activity centre can make for an expensive day out. In tonight’s programme, Tadhg Enright looks at ways of keeping costs down while still ensuring the little darlings have a great time.
There’s also a report on ‘best before’ dates on food labels, and the massive waste of food caused by people not fully understanding them.
Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid RTÉ Two, ko 7.45pm
The second leg of the Madrid derby in the Champions League quarter-final has the sides level 0-0 from a feisty first-leg encounter.
THURSDAY
Home of the Year RTÉ One, 8.30pm
The judges are off to Co Sligo for tonight’s episode where they see a cob-and-timber-frame home built by an architect and carpenter couple, largely using the subsoil from around their property; a renovated open-plan cottage; and a 200-year-old thatched cottage.
Masterchef BBC One, 8pm
Three contestants are through to the second-last episode, and tonight they have to engage in some teamwork to come up with a three-course meal, with each preparing one course.
FRIDAY
The final of the series has the three remaining contestants producing one more meal before the judges decide on the winner for 2015.
(Sky Sports 5/BBC NI, kick-off 7.35pm) has the southern side completing a busy week which has also seen them in action in the ERC Cup.
Soccer action features (RTE Two, 7.45pm) in the SSE Airtricity League, while (BBC Two, 7pm — not Northern Ireland) has more action from the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, with Dennis Taylor and John Parrott among the commentators.
