The Late Late Show Valentine's Special
Friday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
Love is in the air as The Late Late celebrates matters of the heart, starting with celebrity couple Vogue Williams and Spencer Williams. The two crossed paths on a reality show in 2017, and now they are married with child. They will tell Ryan Tubridy some of the secrets to the success of their relationship, and describe what has changed since the birth of baby Theodore. Also, actor Kenneth Branagh will be on to talk about his latest film, All Is True, in which he plays an ageing William Shakespeare, as well as why Ireland holds a special place in his heart, having moved from his Belfast birthplace to England at the age of nine. Plus: romantic tales of true love from viewers who have overcome the odds to find their soulmate; music from Whigfield and Mickey Joe Harte; and a performance from comedy dance duo Lords of Strut.
Eurovision: You Decide 2019
Friday, BBC2, 7.30pm
Forget Brexit for just a moment – here's a European issue that surely every Briton agrees they should get a vote on: who will represent them in Tel Aviv this year. Mel Giedroyc and former Eurovision winner Mans Zelmerlow broadcast live from MediaCity UK in Salford, where six acts battle it out for the honour. However, in a change to previous formats, they will only sing three songs between them. Each tune has been given to two acts, who will perform it in contrasting styles. Paul Rice and Holly Tandy each tackle Bigger Than Us, Jordan Clarke takes on MAID over Freaks, and Sweet Lies will be sung by Kerrie-Anne and Anisa.
Humpback Whales: A Detective Story
Friday, BBC2, 9pm
In September 2015 in Monterey Bay, California, a 30-tonne humpback whale breached and landed on Tom Mustill and a friend as they paddled a sea kayak. Both survived,though the near-death experience left Mustill, a documentary-maker, wondering if the whale was deliberately trying to hurt them. Here he returns to California to investigate that possibility, meeting others who have survived similar encounters and the experts who know the whales best. What Mustill discovers raises far bigger questions, not just about what happened that day but also about man's relationship with whales.
The Defiant Ones
Friday, BBC4, 10pm
As ever, Friday night is music documentaries night on BBC Four, and the latest series is a cracker. The Defiant Ones focuses on music entrepreneurs Jimmy Iovine and Dr Dre and their influence on contemporary culture. Dre was raised in Compton, California, and crossed paths with the likes of Eazy-E and Ice Cube, who became part of gangsta-rap group NWA. Meanwhile, Brooklyn native Jimmy worked with the likes of John Lennon, Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen. The second offering examines Iovine's reputation as a fearless producer, and his time on the West Coast working with Tom Petty.
David Bowie: Finding Fame
Saturday, BBC2, 9pm
Just how did a young sax-playing lad from Brixton with an Anthony Newley fixation morph into the world's best-loved alien? This feature-length documentary, the third in a trilogy that began with the acclaimed David Bowie: Five Years, focuses on the years that saw David Jones transform into David Bowie and then into Ziggy Stardust. It's a bonanza for Bowie fans, with unseen footage and unheard sounds, and exclusive interviews with family, friends, lovers and collaborators, including former girlfriends Hermione Farthingale and Dana Gillespie, lifelong pals Geoff MacCormack and George Underwood, producers Tony Visconti and Tony Hatch, and the last surviving Spider from Mars, Woody Woodmansey. Fifty years after the release of Space Oddity, this doc is a golden opportunity for us space cadets to reconnect with our commander. It's followed by Bowie at Glastonbury 2000 (BBC Four, 10.55pm), featuring highlights from his two-hour festival-closing set.
Dermot Bannon's Incredible Homes
Sunday, RTÉ One, 9.30pm
There's nothing like sitting in on a Sunday night and looking at other people's houses on the telly. Be it Home of the Year or Room to Improve, we just love peeking beyond the hall door and seeing what kind of living space other people have created for themselves. So prepare for a serious bout of property env as celebrity architect Dermot Bannon takes us inside some of the world's most desirable gaffes. In this first episode, he heads to Australia in search of bonzer homes. Hefetches up at The Cabbage Tree House, a cave-inspired dwelling built into the hillside north of Sydney. The brick-and-concrete structure has an outdoor bath and 20,000sq m of rainforest as a back garden, which the owners share with a python and a family of koala bears. Bannon also visits the stunning home of one of Australia's richest women, Judith Neilson, and the famous Harry Seidler House, perched on a cliff overlooking a deep valley. Bog-standard homes? You decide.
Endeavour
Sunday, UTV, 8pm (also Tuesday, Virgin Media One, 9pm)
Oxford, 1969. As the sixth series opens, something disturbing has happened — DS
Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans) has grown the monster of all moustaches. Life may never be the same again. In fact, change is happening all over the place, not least because of the merger of Oxford City Police with Thames Valley Constabulary. Morse and Thursday are still finding their feet in this heady new world. The former is back in uniform, having been forced to take up a post in an isolated countryside spot; the latter is at the forbidding Castle Gate Station, where he’s set to lock horns with his former adversary DCI Ronnie Box. But Morse is about to be reunited with his mentor after discovering the body of a missing schoolgirl on his patch.
Discovering: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra – Benjamin Britten
Sunday, BBC4, 8pm
Katie Derham introduces a performance of The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Britten's 1945 composition was originally commissioned for a British educational documentary (Instruments of the Orchestra) and was based on the second movement, Rondeau, of the Abdelazer suite. The concert is followed by an examination of the piece, in which musicians discuss how the composer took classical techniques and reinvented them to create an optimistic vision for postwar Britain.
British Academy Film Awards 2019
Sunday, BBC1, 9pm
The 2019 film awards season has thrown up a few surprises here and there. Nobody expected the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody to do so well, or for Black Panther to snatch the coveted Best Ensemble Cast trophy at the recent SAG Awards. While Black Panther isn't in the running in any of the Bafta categories, Bohemian Rhapsody is up for Best British Film and Rami Malek has been nominated as Best Actor. He stands a good chance of winning, although the field is wide open. Best Actress looks like a two-horse race involving Glenn Close and Olivia Colman, who stars in the Irish-produced The Favourite which is nominated in 12 categories, including Best Film and Best Director; perhaps being on home soil will stand Colman in good stead. The Other famous faces in the running for awards include Richard E Grant, Adam Driver, Mahershala Ali and Rachel Weisz.
Contributing: PA
