Our TV picks: The Traitors Ireland returns to screens after a smash hit first season

Will this season reach the same height as the first?

Fri, 28 Aug, 2026 - 12:00

Vigil

Sunday, BBC One, 9pm

The third season of Vigil kicks off this week, which means the return of the always compelling Suranne Jones and Rose Leslie as DCI Amy Silva and DI Kirsten Longacre. In this six-part crime thriller series, they’re sent to the chilly confines of a remote Arctic research station to investigate the shooting dead of a member of a secret British special forces mission.

Because the weather is so bad, the presumption is that the killer is still afoot locally. This leaves just a small number of suspects. But the seemingly easy task – surprise! – turns out to be anything but. True Detective season four vibes here, but without the supernatural twist.

Trigger Point

Sunday, ITV1, 9pm

Trigger Point has been a huge success for ITV to date – the previous three series have been streamed a whopping 91 million times. Now comes the six-part fourth series focusing on bomb disposal expert Lana Washington (the great Vicky McClure) and her colleagues. This time the new threat is posed by professional mercenaries intent on sowing chaos in London. If you’re a fan of tense thrillers, or series like Slow Horses and Line of Duty (Jed Mercurio, executive producer of Line of Duty, is also an EP here), then this will be right up your street.

Tea with Judi Dench Featuring Sir Ian McKellen

Monday, Sky Arts, 9pm

Two acting legends – Dame Judi Dench and her longtime pal, Sir Ian McKellen – meet over a cuppa to discuss their careers and memories.

We’re promised a warm, candid conversation about the pair’s lives both on stage and off. So expect chats about Shakespeare, stage fright and the insecurities of acting. They’ll also talk about worldwide fame, their successes and failures, and why McKellen regrets not being able to come out to his parents, who died when he was young.

Cheap Irish Homes

Tuesday, RTÉ One, 7pm

If you thought the phrase ‘cheap Irish home’ was an oxymoron, this series aims to set you straight. Each week (across seven episodes), experts Maggie Molloy and architect Tadhg Casey travel the length and breadth of the country to uncover affordable homes that might need just a little bit of love.

Episode one of the latest season sees them help Marie Kinane, 27, search for a house in County Sligo. The Tipperary native moved there three years ago to work in pharmaceuticals, but wants to get out of her rented home and buy her own house.

Her budget is €190,000, and she’s looking for at least two bedrooms, close to the water and near her job. Luckily, Maggie has her eye on three houses that might just fit the bill.

Donal’s Italian Kitchen

Wednesday, RTÉ One, 8.30pm

The cheery and entertaining Donal Skehan must have had a fine time travelling around Italy for this latest series of his show. Talk about the dream job. He’ll share with us what it was like to revisit honeymoon memories in Florence before going on to learn all about pasta in its many forms.

In the first episode, he also shows us how to make Marry Me Chicken in a creamy sun-dried tomato sauce and a squash risotto with crispy prosciutto. As for dessert? That will be a rhubarb and orange panna cotta. Yum.

RTÉ 100: Points Of View

Wednesday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm

RTÉ takes a look at itself in this new documentary about how 2RN, Raidió Éireann and RTÉ evolved over the years, with its shows and presenters helping to tell the story of Ireland, and chart changing trends.

We’ll hear from experts like historian Donal Fallon, history professor Lyndsey Earner-Byrne, activist Colm O’Gorman, and journalists Sinéad O’Carroll and Fintan O’Toole as they unpick the story of the stations and how public media reflects Ireland in all its forms.

Sandi’s Ireland: A Literary Journey

Thursday, More4, 9pm

Broadcaster Sandi Toksvig visited Ireland to film this two-part journey where she follows in the footsteps of some of Ireland’s literary greats and surveys the landscapes, places and people that have inspired them.

Things kick off in Dublin, where she meets best-selling novelist and national treasure Marian Keyes and finds out about where the Irish storytelling grá comes from.

She also pops into Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and the Abbey Theatre in the city centre before heading to the countryside to venture through the landscapes that proved inspirational to William Butler Yeats.

Live from the Lycett Arms

Friday, Channel 4, 10pm

Joe Lycett hopes to "celebrate our British boozers" with his new live pub show. Picture: Matt Crockett

Has comedian and artist Joe Lycett heard of the old RTÉ culture show Nighthawks, which was set in a pub? If not, he’d certainly enjoy it – because his new show sees him become an actual pub landlord.

But, like Nighthawks, this isn’t a pub that’s open daily. “I’ve always wanted to run a pub that only exists for an hour a week, for the purposes of a TV concept,” he explained. The show is described by Lycett as “a love letter to the great British pub” and will see a celebrity becoming manager of the East London boozer each week, serving up a cast of people who include regulars and strangers.

It’s sure to be a wild ride, knowing Lycett.

Chad Powers

From Thursday, Disney+

Glen Powell puts on the prosthetics once again to transform himself into college football phenom Chad Powers, in this second series of the sports comedy, a sort of macho Mrs Doubtfire on the gridiron. Powell is former star quarterback Russ Holliday, whose career has imploded following a disastrous on-field error.

With his name now mud in the world of college football, Russ decides to don a disguise to get back in the game, becoming good ol’ southern boy Chad Powers, and leading the struggling South Georgia Catfish team to winning glory.

But can Russ keep the Chad deception going for a second series? With his off-the-field behaviour raising increased suspicion, it can’t be long before Coach Hudson (Steve Zahn) learns the truth about his star player.

The Grand Tour

From Friday, Prime Video

It had to happen sooner or later: Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond, the creators of Prime Video’s popular petrolhead series, have finally run out of road, and now they’re graciously handing the ignition keys to a new generation of car enthusiasts for this latest series of The Grand Tour.

But will the new kids on the block be able to recreate the laddish chemistry and rapport built up by Clarkson, May, and Hammond over the years? Prime Video have avoided the Top Gear mistake of bringing in American former sitcom stars as replacements, going instead for YouTube stars James Engelsman and Thomas Holland, creators of the acclaimed Throttle House, and throwing a curveball by adding Francis Bourgeois, who is more associated with trains than automobiles.

But it turns out Britain’s most famous trainspotter is a closet car enthusiast, and all three will be relishing the thought of driving across some tricky terrains including the Angolan desert, delving into Malaysia’s souped-up car culture, and putting performance cars through their paces in California.

Along the way they’ll be buzzed by fighter jets, harassed by jackals, and have some near-death experiences in some very dodgy vehicles. As the tagline says: Same show. New knobs.

The Traitors Ireland Series 2

Sunday, RTÉ One, 9.30pm

The Traitors Ireland returns for it's second season. Picture: Andres Poveda

The first season of The Traitors Ireland was an unqualified success for RTÉ last year, with over 600,000 people tuning into the first episode alone. The bould Siobhán McSweeney made a fantastic host, harnessing her dramatic side while also keeping a bit of warmth intact - perfect for keeping the contestants on their toes. Now comes season two and a new group of strangers heading to Slane Castle to play a murder mystery game that will net the winner €50,000. Excitingly, we’re told that there’s a twist early on which “causes immediate confusion amongst the group”. Ordinarily that might sound bad, but with The Traitors the more drama the better. Tonight the new contestants meet for the first time, and are sorted into Traitors and Faithful. Will this reach the heights of season one? Here’s hoping.

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