2013-05-29

Saturday
8.30pm Les Dawson: An Audience with that Never Was ITV - 10 June 2013 marks the twentieth anniversary of the death of one of Britain's finest comedians, Les Dawson. At the time he was just two weeks away from making a television special - he had been invited to be the star of London Weekend Television's popular An Audience With..., but the programme was never made. Now with the aid of new multimedia holographic technology, Les Dawson will appear back on stage in front of a celebrity audience. The show features hitherto unseen home videos and archive footage of his life and work, with contributions from Cilla Black, Ken Dodd, Sir Bruce Forsyth and Sir Terry Wogan.
10.00pm The Americans ITV - US drama series.  Cold War drama series following two KGB agents posing as Americans in 1980s Washington DC. Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings seem like any other American married couple, but they are actually highly trained Soviet spies, who must kidnap a high-ranking defector and return him to Russia.
Sunday
8.00pm Spying on Hitler's Army: The Secret Recordings Channel 4 - Docudrama that tells the story of one of World War II's last secrets: an audacious British intelligence operation to listen in on the private conversations of 10,000 German prisoners of war without their ever knowing they were being overheard. The prisoners' unguarded reminiscences and unintentional confessions have only just come to light, but prove once and for all just how closely the German army were involved in the atrocities of the Holocaust.
Monday
8.30pm Food Unwrapped Channel 4 - Jimmy Doherty joins Kate Quilton and Matt Tebbutt for the second run of the food and science series that travels the world to lift the lid on what is really in our favourite supermarket products.
9.00pm The People's Coronation with David Dimbelby BBC1 - To mark the sixtieth anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, David Dimbleby tells the story of a ceremony which for centuries had been the preserve of the privileged. But in 1953, after initial resistance, the coronation would, for the first time, be televised and witnessed by millions.
9.00pm Simon Hopkinson Cooks More4 - Simon Hopkinson reveals the secrets that go into making the world's most delicious restaurant dishes, showing how it's possible to achieve perfect professional results at home. With recipes selected for their flavour and complementary qualities, each episode Simon devises his own restaurant menu before seeking out expert knowledge for tips, tricks and techniques.
10.00pm What a Load of Buzzcocks BBC2 - A romp through key years of Never Mind The Buzzcocks' 17 year run, combining the most engaging music news stories with a raft of Buzzcocks' memorable moments, starting with 1996, the year the programme was first shown. 1996 was a busy year for Michael Jackson and the year Take That split. Plus, there is a touching tribute to Phill Jupitus.
10.00pm The Hoff's Best Action Film Ever! BBC3 - Series in which David Hasselhoff chooses his ultimate film in six genres. The Hoff checks out everything you need to make a great action film, from the best baddies to heroes with attitude, using film clips and commentary from celebrities, die-hard film buffs and comedians.
Tuesday
8.00pm Animal Heroes ITV - Series about the Royal Army Veterinary Corps which focuses on the unique bond between soldiers and animals. This episode looks at how the Vet Corps selects puppies that have the temperament and character to become military working dogs, and are then trained to become 'biters' or 'sniffers' - ferocious guard dogs or highly capable explosive search dogs destined for the front lines in Afghanistan.
9.00pm Dirty Britain ITV - Series 2 of the cleaning documentary. Silvio and Alex are portaloo cleaners who every day have to deal with the personal and pungent - particularly on building sites. In the rural tranquility of the Cotswolds, Richard and his team of cleaners tackle a squalid house previously occupied by a couple with mental health issues. Meanwhile, pest controller Jim England faces an uphill battle in Hackney with a rat infestation that has lasted 23 years. Sandra and her cleaners work in some of the country's most expensive homes but they reveal that wealth does not always make for better clients.
9.00pm 24 Hours in A&e Channel 4 - The documentary series based at King's College Hospital London moves from Wednesday to Tuesday for one week only.
9.00pm The Call Centre BBC3 - Documentary series following staff in the third largest call centre in Swansea. CEO Nev Wilshire has an unorthodox approach to management - he plans to improve the performance of admin assistant Kayleigh by finding her a new boyfriend. Tea lady Hayley gets an unexpected gift from Nev, but her smile vanishes after the sales manager plays a practical joke on her.
9.00pm Mad Dogs Sky1 - The drama starring Max Beesley, Philip Glenister, John Simm and Marc Warren are returns for a third series. The four friends find themselves in a rundown prison in the middle of the desert.
10.00pm The Making of 24 Hours in A&e Channel 4 - Documentary looking how the documentary series is made.
10.35pm The Unspeakable Crime BBC1 - Documentary exploring rape from forensic medical to police investigation, court and beyond.
Wednesday
Love & Marriage ITV - Six-part comedy drama series starring Alison Steadman, Celia Imrie and Larry Lamb set in Coventry. The series centres around retired lollipop lady Pauline, whose decision to change her life has an effect on her extended family. In the first episode, Pauline is distraught when dad Frank has an accident, but is floored by her husband Ken's cruel indifference - the last straw for Pauline. Feeling unloved and unappreciated, Pauline walks out and moves in with her free-spirited sister Rowan. Pauline and Ken's son Kevin also faces a difficult time when he is made redundant, hiding the fact from wife Sarah. Meanwhile, Kevin's sister Heather is struggling to conceive, and husband Charlie is far from supportive.
D-Day as it happens Channel 4 - D-Day: As It Happens is a 24-hour history event to be broadcast across TV, web, mobile devices and social media, telling the story of this pivotal event in 20th-century history in a completely new way. Using newly-analysed archive footage, viewers can track the progress of seven people who were there on the day, each of them a real participant in the 1944 invasion. And they can do so moment by moment in real time, encountering the twists and turns of the fighting at the same time as the D-Day seven did, and learning their fate as the action unfolds in parallel with the present. Concludes Tomorrow
Thursday
8.00pm Super Tornado Channel 4 - On 20 May a monster tornado swept through the US state of Oklahoma, killing more than 20 people, injuring hundreds more and flattening entire neighbourhoods. In the aftermath, this documentary investigates the terrifying power of the storms that produce the fastest and most destructive winds on Earth. British weather expert Alex Beresford travels through the devastation of the city where a number of people, including nine children in a school, died in a storm now rated as an EF5 tornado, the most dangerous of all of nature's furies. Alex interviews survivors, rescuers and the tornado scientists struggling to understand and predict how future storms may strike.
9.00pm Life Savers BBC1 - Documentary series following every step of a ground-breaking 'chain of survival' for life-threatening injuries, designed to save hundreds of extra lives every year. The first regional 'major trauma network' to become fully operational opens its doors to Life Savers, to capture the complete story of patients' journeys from the roadside, through life-saving surgery, to recovery.
9.00pm The Most Dangerous Tudor Man in Britain BBC2 - Melvyn Bragg explores the dramatic story of William Tyndale and his mission to translate the Bible into English. Melvyn reveals the story of a man whose life and legacy have been hidden from history but whose impact on Christianity in Britain and on the English language endures today. His radical translation of the Bible into English made him a profound threat to the authority of the church and state, and set him on a fateful collision course with Henry VIII's heretic hunters and those of the pope.
9.00pm David Walliams: Snapshot in Time ITV - David Walliams explains how a photograph of him when he was 11, while making his stage debut, has captured a defining moment in his life. The photograph was taken when David was at his Surrey grammar school in a production of All the King's Men, in which he played Queen Henrietta Maria. He believes that this was the point that marked his start on a path that would ultimately lead to him becoming one of Britain's most successful and popular entertainers. Now he sets out to find his old school friends who were pictured alongside him playing the queen's ladies in waiting, and to find out what has happened to them in the 30 years since the photo was taken. His journey takes him into the past, to his childhood, his old home and his old school as he attempts to reunite his old mates, discover their stories and finally to recreate that famous image in the present day.
10.00pm The Alps Murders Channel 4 - A British family from a quiet suburban village on a caravanning holiday near Annecy in the French Alps, gunned down in broad daylight. Miraculously, the family's two young daughters survived. The investigation into the apparently motiveless killings of three members of the Al-Hilli family and French cyclist Sylvan Mollier has involved British, French, Swiss, Swedish and Spanish agencies.
Friday
8.00pm Four Rooms Channel 4 - Brand new Four Rooms comes to Friday nights as members of the public attempt to sell their curious collectables for life-changing sums of money. Some of Britain's top wheeler dealers wait in four separate rooms, each prepared to spend their own personal fortunes if an item they desire comes through their door. Each seller must remember the golden rule: if they turn down a deal, they can never return to that room. In this episode the four dealers - Alex Proud, Gordon Watson, Celia Sawyer and Johnny Elichaoff - are tempted by, amongst other things, a textbook signed by Diana, the Princess of Wales, vintage ski posters, and jewels said to found in the tomb of the Buddha.
9.00pm Britain's Secret Homes ITV - Michael Buerk and Bettany Hughes present a new five-part series which reveals the remarkable and compelling stories of the people and houses that have changed the history of Britain and the world.
9.00pm Channel 4's Comedy Gala Channel 4 - Channel 4's Comedy Gala in aid of Great Ormond St Hospital is back with an unrivalled all-star cast from the world of comedy. Tune in for a top quality night of stand-up and performances, kicked off by some unlikely dance cameos from Alan Carr, Miranda Hart and Warwick Davis who join dance troupe Diversity to showcase their own style of fancy footwork. Other famous faces taking to London's O2 Arena include; Adam Hills, Jason Byrne, Jo Brand, Jonathan Ross, Josh Widdicombe, Jon Richardson, Jack Dee, Lee Evans, Nina Conti, Rhod Gilbert, Paul Chowdry, Paddy McGuinness, Seann Walsh, Tom Stade, plus VTs from Noel Fielding, Keith Lemon, Terry Mynott and Jack Whitehall. Kevin Bridges explains that in Scotland dogging and truanting actually mean the same thing; Michael McIntyre gives the cameraman a workout by skipping about the stage, while Russell Brand gets up close and personal with the audience.

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