Countdown to Chelsea
Sunday, BBC One, 6.15pm
While we wait patiently for this year’s Bloom festival at the Phoenix Park, here’s a sneak preview of the mother of all flower shows, the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show 2024. This venerable event has been going since 1912, and here’s your chance to count down to this year’s show, which takes place in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. Sophie Raworth and Joe Swift will be presenting this exclusive first glimpse at some of the spectacular show gardens which will be on display during this year’s flower fest, not to mention a round-up of some of the best blooms. They won’t be alone: Adam Frost, Rachel de Thame, Arit Anderson, Toby Buckland and JJ Chalmers will be joining the horticultural hootenanny.
Back from the Brink
Sunday, RTÉ One, 6.30pm
Derek Mooney continues his journey around Europe to discover how conservationists are working to repair the damage done to the environment and biodiversity by generations of mismanagement. In the second of this two-part series, Mooney visits Sweden to see the efforts being made to keep the invasive raccoon dog under control. He then goes to the Netherlands to meet a man who is working hard to restore a badger population severely depleted by industrial activity. Mooney’s whirlwind tour also takes him to Switzerland to explore the concept of the “sponge city”, using green spaces to prevent flooding and overheating, and he learns how wild goats in Howth could become nature’s firefighters.
PJ Gallagher: Changing My Mind
Monday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
Comedian PJ Gallagher is known as a gas ticket altogether, but behind the laughs and wisecracks, Gallagher is very candid about the mental health issues he has had to deal with offstage. Gallagher credits St Patrick’s Mental Health Services for saving his life, and in this documentary, he looks at the range of therapies available for maintaining mental wellbeing, including mindfulness and talk therapy, and some unorthodox methods such as psilocybin – the active chemical in magic mushrooms. It’s all done with Gallagher’s trademark wit and humour, but there is a serious intent to dispel the stigma around mental illness to help others who may be struggling with their own mental health.
Imposter: The Man Who Came Back from the Dead
Monday, Channel 4, 9pm
A strange tale of fraud and fakery is unravelled in this four-part documentary about a fugitive who turned up in a Glasgow hospital in a Covid coma. When authorities tried to establish the sick man’s identity, they discovered he was an American named Nicholas Rossi, wanted in Utah on sex offence charges, and under investigation for fraud by the FBI. But when he awoke from his coma, he insisted his name was Arthur Knight and that he was a victim of mistaken identity. Things were further complicated when it was learned that Rossi (real name Nicholas Alahverdian) had apparently died from a terminal illness. Did Alahverdian fake his own death, or was Arthur Knight real?
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The Great British Sewing Bee
Tuesday, BBC One, 9pm
Forget extreme sports – the real test of mettle and moxie is whether you can sew like the wind. This is the 10th series of the super-popular sewing challenge, and a new bunch of contestants are waiting, needles at the ready, to show their skill under the expert eye of judges Esme Young and Patrick Grant. They’ll be faced with a variety of tough sewing tasks to test their abilities, and in the first episode they’ll have to knock up a denim midi skirt, transform a bog-standard T-shirt into a fab fashion piece, and create a casual day dress to die for. This series features a new presenter, actor and comedian Kiell Smith-Bynoe, standing in for Sara Pascoe, who is on maternity leave.
Super Garden
Tuesday, RTÉ One, 7pm
We’re getting close to the big day when Bloom opens its doors to the hordes of horticulture fans eager to experience the wonderful showcase gardens and floral delights on display. But which of the Super Garden contestants will get the chance to show their own garden design at Ireland’s biggest flower show? This week the final contestant is Breda Tennyson from Kilkenny, a retired civil servant who has found a new passion for gardening and landscaping – and has never lost her belief in sustainability and biodiversity. She designs a garden for a mother and daughter who are looking for a space to switch off and relax away from all the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Off Duty Chef: Bringing it Home
Wednesday, RTÉ One, 8.30pm
This time of the year, we might be thinking of putting aside the full Irish breakfast and going for something a little more continental, and in this episode of Bringing it Home, Irish Times food writer Mark Moriarty has some great ideas for a springtime brunch that will transport your taste buds to sunny Mediterranean climes. He shows how to do poached eggs to perfection, laying them out on fresh sourdough bread and adding seasonal asparagus, plus the magic ingredient: a sprinkle of chilli oil to wake up the senses. But what about dinner? Relax – Moriarty has a simple recipe for tasty tomato sauce for your pasta, followed by a classic French tarte Tatin with smooth caramel and soft-scoop ice-cream.
The Dry
Wednesday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm
It’s episode three of this drily witty comedy series, and Shiv (Róisín Gallagher) is still living at home and trying to stay sober, but the temptations are piling up, not least because of new boyfriend Alex, who has a taste for the finer things in life. In episode three, Shiv’s mum Bernie (Pom Boyd) and dad Tom (Ciarán Hinds) are shocked to find Alex in their kitchen rustling up a wonderful breakfast – how did their daughter manage to bag such a god? And when’s the wedding? Shiv’s sister Caroline, however, is not too sure if her fellah, Shane, is really “the one”, so she’s fired up the flirting apps and gone on a dating spree – with disastrous consequences. Tom is still covering up that he’s lost his job, but Shiv is suspicious and follows him. She’s not ready, though, for what she finds
Murder, They Hope
Thursday, BBC Two, 9pm
Sian Gibson and Johnny Vegas star as sleuthing couple Gemma and Terry – and let’s be clear: they’re no Marple and Poirot. That doesn’t stop them gamely having a go at working out whodunit, and in this double episode to end series two, the couple are planning their wedding reception and have checked into the hotel two days early to make sure all is prepared, when a wedding gift lands at their feet: a dead guest at the hotel. In the second of the double finale, Terry is forced to reconnect with an old friend who’s in a spot of bother, leaving Gemma to do the crime solving on her own. He better hope she doesn’t do a better job of it without him.
Fleishman is in Trouble
Thursday, RTÉ2, 10.30pm
Previously seen on Disney+, this series, based on the novel by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, is well worth a try on terrestrial TV. It’s a sharply observed drama of divorce, parenting and careering, starring Jesse Eisenberg as Manhattan medic Toby Fleishman, whose increasingly fraught relationship with his ambitious wife, Rachel (Claire Danes), ends in inevitable divorce. Toby finds himself back on the singles market and getting lots of swipes on his dating apps, but his gallivanting is curtailed when Rachel suddenly drops off their kids at his place and promptly disappears, forcing Toby to finally face up to what really happened with his marriage.
The Young Offenders
Friday, BBC One, 9.30pm
After his ill-fated “free” trip to Colombia, Conor (Alex Murphy) is out of prison and back living with his mum Mairead (Hilary Rose). Unfortunately, that means he’s also living with Sgt Tony Healy (Dominic MacHale), who has moved in with Mairead. With Jock (Chris Walley) still banged up inside, Conor is getting bored – and driving Mairead and Tony up the wall, spending all day on the games console with the curtains drawn. When Tony plans a fishing trip with his dad, Tony snr (Pat Shortt), Mairead hits on an idea: send Conor along on the trip for a bit of character building and bonding with Tony. Who knows, Conor might even discover a new passion for all things piscatorial. And fish might ride bicycles.
The Nevermets
Friday, Channel 4, 10pm
In this brave new world of online dating and socialising, it’s inevitable that many people will form intense relationships with people they have only met via a click of a button. And many people will fall in love with the person on the other side of the screen without ever being in the same physical space. But what happens when the reality of meeting in person comes into play? This six-part series follows several couples in long-distance relationships who are getting ready to meet for the first time in the flesh. Will the filter bubble burst or will actually being up close and personal bring a new dimension to their relationship?
