Sugar Rush
Friday, Netflix
In the last season of Aziz Ansari’s Master of None, his character Dev ended up hosting a fast-paced baking competition entitled Clash of the Cupcakes, which challenged its contestants to come up with ever more intricate sweet treats in record time. This summer Netflix have concocted a show called Sugar Rush which pretty much works under the same premise but minus the silent, mask-wearing dance troupe the Jabbawockeez. Sugar Rush is the vanilla essence of The Great British Bake Off squirted into the jam-packed frenzy of Ready Steady Cook. Its clock-watching ensures that there will be tears shed as an elaborate tiered cake inevitably collapses to the ground.
First Night of the Proms
Friday, BBC Two, 8.30pm
New series. At London's Royal Albert Hall, the new season launches with a feast for the eyes and ears in the world premiere of Five Telegrams, with music by Anna Meredith and stunning digital projections by 59 Productions marking the centenary of the end of the first World War. The all-British programme also features Vaughan Williams' pre-war choral masterpiece Toward the Unknown Region, along with Gustav Holst's evergreen Proms favourite The Planets – the first piece Mars, Bringer of War, famously anticipates the onset of mechanistic warfare. The BBC Symphony Orchestra, under conductor Sakari Oramo, is joined by the combined forces of the BBC Symphony Chorus, the National Youth Choir of Great Britain and the BBC Proms Youth Ensemble. Presented by Katie Derham.
8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
Friday, Channel 4, 9pm
New series. Regulars including hitherto perennial host Jimmy Carr are nudged to one side as Canadian comedian Katherine Ryan hosts an all-women edition of the words-and-numbers quiz, inviting Róisín Conaty and Jessica Hynes to take on Sara Pascoe and Lolly Adefope, as part of a celebration of 100 years of women's suffrage. As usual, Rachel Riley is at the letters and numbers board, while Morgana Robinson appears in character as EastEnders' Natalie Cassidy alongside wordsmith Susie Dent in Dictionary Corner.
Reginald D Hunter’s Songs of the Border
Saturday, BBC Two, 9pm
The border between the US and Mexico has been in the news a lot recently thanks to president Donald Trump and his wall, but as comedian Reginald D Hunter discovers, it's also long held sway over the imagination of songwriters in both countries. In this documentary, Hunter takes a 2,000-mile road trip along the border to learn what music can tell us about the relationship between the nations. He discovers that classic American pop and country has often portrayed Mexico as a land of escape and romance, but also danger, while the music created by some of the 36 million Mexican-Americans who are also US citizens offers its own insights into topical issues such as identity, immigration and drug smuggling.
Poldark
Sunday, BBC One, 9pm
Geoffrey Charles has grown up a lot in this series – in fact, he’s not old enough to be led astray. Can Ross find a way to keep the youngster out of trouble? Meanwhile, the MP has problems of his own as the Warleggans scheme to bring down Pascoe’s bank.
Unforgotten
Sunday, ITV, 9pm
The cold-case drama starring the always superb Nicola Walker alongside a successfully cast-against-type Sanjeev Bhaskar as detectives Cassie and Sunny returns for a most welcome third series (the previous two are available on the ITV Hub if you need to catch up). Once again written by Chris Lang, this new six-parter follows the pair as they are called upon to identify human remains found buried in the central reservation on a stretch of the M1. It's not long before four old school friends (guest stars James Fleet, Alex Jennings, Kevin McNally and Neil Morrissey) are in the frame, and long-held secrets begin to emerge – testing the quartet's relationships to the limit...
Additional reporting: PA
