Our top TV picks: The fight for justice by survivors of Mother and Baby homes

Plus Boris Johnson's ‘deeply unofficial and secret assignment’ to the frontline in Ukraine

Dr Maeve O'Rourke University of Galway, Justice For Magdalenes campaigner, who features in the documentary Testimony, about the fight for justice by Magdalene Home and Mother and Baby Home survivors.

The Crow Girl

Monday, 5, 9pm

It’s generally a good sign when a series makes the leap from streaming onto terrestrial TV – this six-part crime thriller was originally available via Paramount+, but is making the jump to 5. You can catch three episodes this week, starting Monday. Crow Girl is based on a series of books by Erik Axl Sund and stars British actors Eve Myles ( Gone) and Katherine Kelly ( Protection). Myles plays DCI Jeanette Kilburn, who is leading a team investigating the death of a young man found on a Bristol street. Kelly, meanwhile, is psychotherapist Dr Sophia Craven, who comes on board to help out. But as more bodies of young men are discovered – surprisingly, this isn’t one of those shows focused on dead young women – the case gets more complicated. Among the executive producers here is Slash of Guns n Roses fame. Yes, seriously.

Building Ireland

Tuesday, RTÉ One, 7pm

Geographer Susan Hegarty with the O'Connell brothers of the ESB Fisheries Team Athlone in new series Building Ireland kicking 

A brand-new six-part series begins this week on RTÉ that’s focused on the built heritage and environment defining the River Shannon region. So we’ll travel from Leitrim to Limerick alongside its expert presenters: geographer Dr Susan Hegarty, engineer Tim Joyce and architect Orla Murphy. In this first episode, Murphy explores Athlone’s evolution and how its Shannon crossing played a strategic role in its development. She’ll also take in medieval streetscapes and urban topography and look at the town’s potential for urban regeneration. There’s even more to be explored as Joyce investigates the engineering challenges of defending Athlone from recurring floods and Hegarty meets the ESB fisheries team trying to defend the endangered European silver eel. This looks set to be an in-depth look at the River Shannon – and certainly an opportunity to discover more about parts and people in Ireland that don’t always get celebrated.

Katie Price: Nothing to Hide

Wednesday, Sky Documentaries, 9pm

A young Katie Price as featured in episode two of the documentary series Katie Price: Nothing to Hide, airing Wednesday, Sky Documentaries at 9pm.

If you missed the first part of this documentary about British glamour model and tabloid favourite Katie Price, fear not – you can catch up on the first episode on NOW. But regardless of whether you’ve seen it or not, this compelling documentary is a must watch for how it dives into the story of Price’s rise as a 1990s glamour model, her controversial courting of the media, high- profile relationships with the likes of Peter Andre, and the impact this has had on her and her (extremely loving and patient) family. In this episode Price tells us about becoming her alter-ego Jordan, who spent her nights on the town being snapped by paparazzi, while Katie was trying to find control over her image in an industry that wanted to control her. The four-part series, from Louis Theroux’s BAFTA-winning Mindhouse, gives a new perspective on Price beyond the salacious headlines.

Testimony

Wednesday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm

This multi-award-winning documentary – directed by Aoife Kelleher and written by Kelleher and Rachel Lysaght – is an essential look at the courageous fight for justice by survivors of Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries, Mother and Baby Home institutions and forced family separation. By putting the survivors’ words, activism and experiences front and centre, it shows the huge lengths they had to go to achieve justice in a country not very eager to atone for its sins against them. Kelleher, who also directed the documentary Mrs Robinson, about President Mary Robinson, has become an astute chronicler of Irish women’s lives. Participants in this emotional but essential watch include Philomena Lee, whose story was told in the film Philomena, and human rights lawyer Maeve O’Rourke.

The Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke

Thursday, BBC Two, 9pm

The rise and fall of blogger Ruby Franke is explored in Devil In the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke, Thursday, BBC Two at 9pm

Ruby Franke set up a YouTube channel called 8 Passengers in 2015, wanting to document her life in Utah alongside husband Kevin and their six children. Given the fact that we’re all nosy about how others live, the channel hoovered up viewers – up to 2.5 million of them at its peak. But while the family appeared wholesome, fans started to raise concerns about how Franke disciplined her children. After separating from her husband in 2022 amid the YouTube channel losing thousands of views, Franke connected with counsellor Jodi Hildebrandt. By 2023, Franke and Hildebrandt were being arrested and charged with child abuse. This promises to tell the inside story of what happened, and includes interviews with some of Frankes’ children and their father Kevin.

Boris Johnson: Into Ukraine’s Kill Zone

Friday, 5, 9pm

Heading to Ukraine’s frontline on a ‘deeply unofficial and secret assignment’ wasn’t exactly what anyone had on former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s 2026 bingo card, but that’s what he’s doing for this feature-length documentary. The big question is what Johnson can bring us from the frontline, as he eschews the typical relaxing travel documentary route of former politicians to become embedded with Ukrainian soldiers. One would hope he will be able to draw on his journalistic background to tell the real story of what soldiers are facing during the invasion as he meets them in the ‘kill zone’ near Zaporizhzhia, as well as exploring the impact on civilians living with huge levels of fear and uncertainty. If he can shed new light on people’s experiences, then it’ll be a trip worth taking – as long as it’s not a case of being The Boris Show.