Saddam Goes to Hollywood
Sunday, Channel 4, 8pm
Did you know that Saddam Hussein once fancied himself as a bigshot movie producer? This documentary tells the stranger-than-fiction story of the Iraqi dictator’s foray into the film-making business in the early 1980s. The film, Clash Of Loyalties, was financed by Saddam, filmed in Iraq during the height of the Iran-Iraq war, and starred Hollywood hellraiser Oliver Reed. Could have been subtitled ‘Recipe for Disaster’.
Shortscreen - Lost and Found
Monday, RTÉ2, 11.55pm
This moving film may leave you reaching for a box of hankies. It tells the story of a young boy who, following the death of his father, finds a surprising way to help his mother continue paying their domestic bills.
Naked Attraction
Monday, Channel 4, 10pm
Anna Richardson hosts a brand-new dating gameshow with a difference – each contestant is naked, and will choose a potential mate based on the person whose physique appeals to them the most.
The Collectors
Tuesday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
Kids love collecting things, whether it be Match Attax cards or Lego figures, but eventually they’ll grow out of it, and their collection will be left in the attic to gather dust. But some people never grow out of it, and turn their childhood hobby into a lifelong passion. The Collectors is a one-hour documentary profiling six people whose lives revolve around their collections. We meet Lillian O’Donoghue, who collects Coca-Cola memorabilia, and has transformed her house into a shrine to the iconic fizzy drink, and Martin Bolger, whose house is basically a parking lot for his Dinky car collection. We also meet Glenda Taylor, who is planning to set a table at her wedding for some of her collection of Barbie dolls. Weird? Maybe, but it’s nice to have an interest, isn’t it?
Vice Principals
Tuesday, Sky Atlantic, 9.35pm
At a suburban high school, two teachers have their eye on the top job as school principal, and as their feud escalates, the comedic possibilities are ratcheted up. Danny McBride and Walton Goggins star as Neal Gamby and Lee Russell, vice-principals at Lincoln High, who are locked in a battle royale to fill the slot vacated by the departing principal (a cameo role played by Bill Murray). The rivalry starts off as friendly sparring with words but, as the school year progresses, escalates into an epic power-struggle that drags the entire school and community in.
Artsnight - Lynn Barber Meets John Lydon
Friday, BBC Two, 11pm
At the age of 60, the punk icon formerly known as Johnny Rotten has come a long way from the angry young man of his punk days, but he certainly still has plenty to say for himself.
