TV guide: 12 of the best new shows to watch, beginning tonight (2024)

Saucy! Secrets of the British Sex Comedy

Sunday, Channel 4, 10pm

In the 1970s, Britain’s cinema industry was in the doldrums, but a new wave of filmmakers found a way to put bums on seats – by putting boobs on screen. Thus the age of the British sex comedy began, and this documentary series brings us back to that golden age when films such as Adventures of a Taxi Driver and Come Play with Me pushed the boundaries of good taste and had folk flocking to the cinemas in their droves. The film that kick-started it all was Confessions of a Window Cleaner in 1974, starring Robin Asquith, whose arse became more recognisable than his face. Asquith talks about how Confessions transformed his life.

McDonald & Dodds

Sunday, UTV, 8pm

This week, the unlikely crime-fighting duo face a conundrum with no obvious route to a conclusion. A man has been murdered while taking the bus, but no one has seen what happened despite it being a very busy route. How did the killer manage to murder his victim without anyone noticing? The mystery brings DCI McDonald and DS Dodds into the worlds of blues music and art auctions, as a ticket stub for a local arts and culture festival in Bath is found on the victim. This leads the pair to a respected blues history professor and eccentric sibling art auctioneers.

The Turkish Detective

Monday, BBC2, 9pm

Ethan Kai stars as young British detective Mehmet Suleyman, who has transferred to Istanbul to go back to his roots, with Haluk Bilginer as his new boss, Chief Inspector Cetin Ikmen, in this series set in the bustling, colourful streets of the Turkish capital and based on the crime novels by Barbara Nadel. Suleyman soon learns that appearances can be deceptive, and under the bumbling exterior, Inspector Ikmen’s mind is razor-sharp. Suleyman also learns the reality of policing in this strange new city. In this final episode, the team is on the verge of discovering the identity of the person behind the shady group known as Kayra Khan, but will Ikmen be able to convince the higher-ups to go with his daring plan to bring down Kayra Khan?

Jamie: What to Eat This Week

Monday, Channel 4, 8pm

Jamie Oliver’s new series is up and running, but he’s not in some shiny new studio done up to look like the ultimate kitchen fantasy. He’s actually down in his garden shed, digging up all sorts of ideas for summer cooking and eating. He’s on a mission to show us how we can make wonderful, healthy dishes from summer’s bounty, including salads, traybakes, barbecues, roasts and lots of fruity treats. At this time of year there are so many fab ingredients in season, the possibilities are endless, and Jamie’s the man to help us enjoy our summer cooking and eating.

Cooking with the Stars

Tuesday, UTV, 8pm

We’ve heard of Dancing with the Stars, but in this series the action moves from the dancefloor to the kitchen as a bunch of celebrities get on their aprons and get out their pots and pans in the hopes of winning the golden frying pan. Among the celebrity wannabe gourmets battling it out in the kitchen for series four are polymath presenter Carol Vorderman, Paralympian Ellie Simmonds, athlete Linford Christie, model Abbey Clancy and actor and TV personality Christopher Biggins. Emma Willis and Tom Allen are your hosts as the heat gets turned up to hellish levels.

Bláth na hÓige

Tuesday, TG4, 8.30pm

Here’s another chance to catch a bunch of talented young sean-nós singers on their musical journey to the heart of Connemara to hone their sean-nós skills and learn from the best. They’re heading to Stiúideo Cuan in An Spidéal, where renowned sean-nós singer Síle Denvir and celebrated fiddle player Colm Mac Con Iomaire are waiting to get them to the next stage. The first of the musical acolytes in the series is singer Cathal Ó Curráin from Gaoth Dobhair in Donegal, who is also a dab hand at the bouzouki, banjo and fiddle.

Atomic People

Wednesday, BBC2, 9pm

The survivors of the only two atomic bombs ever used in warfare, the ones dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th, 1945, are known as “Hibokusha”. They were just children when the bombs were dropped, instantly killing 80,000 people in Hiroshima and 40,000 in Nagasaki, and leaving tens of thousands more dying from radiation exposure. The last of the atomic people are now aged about 85, representing a shrinking group of humans who have survived a nuclear bomb, and this documentary sets out to capture their testimony before it is lost forever.

Peter O’Toole: Réalta agus Rógaire

Wednesday, TG4, 9.30

Following his star-making turn in David Lean’s 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia, Anglo-Irish actor Peter O’Toole swaggered through an illustrious film career, and this documentary looks back on his larger-than-life stage and screen persona, and his reputation as a hellraiser. The programme features contributions from his family, including his daughter Kate, who shares exclusive photographs and stories from O’Toole’s life. There are also contributions from some of the many people who worked with O’Toole over the years, including Brian Blessed, Twiggy and Mary Coughlan.

Interview with the Vampire

Thursday, BBC2, 9pm

The dark, Gothic drama based on the novels of Anne Rice returns for its second series, with Sam Reid as the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt and Jacob Anderson as Louis de Point du Lac, and we’re promised some “emotional moments” among all the neck-biting, necromancing and nefarious deeds. The role of Claudia has been recast, with Delainey Hayles taking over from Bailey Bass, and in the first episode, What Can the Damned Really Say About the Damned?, Claudia and Louis head to Romania in search of other vampires to connect with. Meanwhile, Louis has the betrayal of Lestat still playing on his mind.

Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA

Thursday, Channel 4, 10pm

When chef Gordon Ramsay moved his hit TV show Stateside, Americans couldn’t get enough of this sweary kitchen devil, and now he’s back with his eighth transatlantic series in which he helps hapless restaurant owners across the pond turn their ailing businesses around with a generous helping of ball-busting and bootstrapping, not to mention lots of Ramsay’s trademark effing and blinding. In the first episode, Ramsay visits Bel Aire diner in Queens, New York, where he helps two bickering brothers learn how to get along – and properly run a profitable restaurant

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon

Friday, Sky Max & Now, 9pm

You just can’t kill off those zombie TV series – it’s like whack-a-mole: once one apocalyptic survival series ends, another one pops up to take its place. This is the fifth spin-off from the hugely successful Walking Dead series, and it features recurring character Daryl Dixon (played by Norman Reedus), who has just washed ashore in France of all places. Naturally, he wants to know how he got here, and how he can get back to the US and among good ol’ American zombies, not this baguette-wielding French variety. His first job, though, is to help a young boy escape from a nasty religious cult.

Miriam Margolyes: A New Australian Adventure

Friday, BBC2, 9pm

Actor Miriam Margolyes is back in her beloved Australia for her latest travel series, but this time she’s really having to get out of her comfort zone. Having recently recovered from a heart procedure, Miriam is naturally feeling a bit fragile, but she feels that a visit to the place she considers her second home could be just what the doctor ordered. Her first stop is Perth in western Australia, and here she meets inspirational local characters who have followed their own paths to a successful life.