TV: Emmy-nominated series celebrates culinary giants
TV WEEK (Wednesday 30th to Tuesday 6th)
TOP SPECIALS
Groomed: A National Scandal (CH4, Wednesday 30th, 9pm)
Award-winning filmmaker Anna Hall examines the explosive issue of UK gang grooming, and the experiences of young women, on camera for the first time, who have suffered grooming, rape and abuse in stories that are by turns harrowing and heartbreaking.
Man Like Mobeen (BBC 3, Thursday 1st, 9pm)
Birmingham’s inner city is the home turf of Mobeen – a former small time drug dealer and now surrogate father to his much younger sister and who is desperately trying to do the right thing by being a good brother, friend and Muslim. Trouble is, his idiotic friends and family are constantly landing him in it. Quirky comedy in its fifth and final series.
Nationwide (RTÉ 1, Friday 2nd, 7pm)
Dublin Port is part of the social heritage of Dublin and generations of families from East Wall and Ringsend have worked on its piers. Today the port continues to have close connections with local communities – 4,000 visitors a week use the new greenway, and the port authority supports clubs and community groups from Clontarf to Sandymount.
10 Years of Darkness: ISIS and The Yazidis (Sky News, Friday 2nd, 8pm)
Special correspondent Alex Crawford delivers an in-depth portrait of a community that has faced unimaginable violence. The documentary chronicles the systematic slaughter of the Yazidi people in Sinjar in 2014, the mass abductions of women and children, and the ensuing humanitarian crisis. Many Yazidi women are still enslaved, 10 years on.
WATCH OF THE WEEK
Protection (Virgin Media 1, Friday 2nd, 9pm)
The always watchable Siobhan Finneran plays DI Liz Nyles in this a six-part thriller about a family living under the witness protection scheme, which 3,000 people in the UK are on at any one time. A cop with a complicated personal life – a troublesome daughter, an unpleasant ex-husband, a dementia suffering father, and an illicit relationship with a married police colleague – she still fights the crime and corruption all around her.
BEST FILMS
High Noon (TG4, Friday 2nd, 9.10pm)
Often remembered for the song ‘Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling’, this Oscar winning Western stars Gary Cooper as a former marshal retiring with his new bride, Grace Kelly, when he learns a dangerous criminal gang are coming to town. Attempting to recruit deputies to fight, he discovers his townfolk turn cowardly when the time comes for a showdown. So he has to face Miller alone.
Midway (Film4, Thursday 1st, 6.15pm)
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a devastating attack on Pearl Harbour. Six months later, the Battle of Midway commenced, on June 4, 1942, as the Japanese navy once again planned a strike against American ships in the Pacific. For the next three days, the US Navy engaged the enemy in one of the most important and decisive battles of World War II.
The Hurt Locker (RTÉ 2, Friday 2nd, 9.35pm)
Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie play members of a bomb-disposal unit in Baghdad in this intense Oscar winning war film from director Katryn Bigelow. As their tour of duty enters its final weeks, the men face a set of increasingly hazardous situations, any of which could end their lives in an explosive instant. Edge of seat action.
A Mistake (Sky Cinema Premiere, from Sunday)
Elizabeth is the only female consultant at her hospital. But while operating on a young woman, something goes horribly wrong, resulting in her colleagues closing ranks against her. As her life is thrown into disarray, can she survive a single mistake?
CLASSIC MOVIE
Cleaner (Sky Cinema Premiere, from Friday)
When radical and extreme activists take 300 hostages at an energy company’s annual gala in a high-rise building, they plan to kill everyone unless their demands are met. The only person in a position to help is a former soldier who now works as a window cleaner – it’s up to her to save the trapped hostages, including her younger brother, with the special combat skills she learned on the frontline. Daisy Ridley and Clive Owen star.
KIDS STUFF
Bush Kids (RTÉ Player)
Survival and bushcraft expert, Tom Bán, takes the Norton family from Sligo deep into the forest to start their Bush Kids adventure. The show follows four different families, each taken to a different habitat to learn how to survive in the wild, with Tom’s help.
Asterix and Obelix: The Big Fight (Netflix)
Rome is desperate to conquer the last independent village in Gaul – the home of Asterix and Obelix. The secret to the Gauls’ battle superiority is a magic potion, but when the potion master loses his memory, the villagers are left to their own devices against the might of Rome.
ON DEMAND
Havoc (Netflix)
Tom Hardy, the actor who might be the next 007, is a bruised detective fighting his way through a criminal underworld threatening to engulf his entire city. In the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong, he ha a number of factions on his tail; a vengeful crime syndicate, a crooked politician, and his fellow cops.
I’m The Man (Disney+)
A fast-paced and sharp-tongued special that showcases Kirson’s searing perspective on everything from TikTok girls to her bizarre time at a trauma centre. Known for her energy and extreme stage presence, this show promises “a wild and unapologetically funny ride”.
Chef’s Table: Legends (Netflix)
The Emmy-nominated series celebrates four culinary giants – Jamie Oliver, José Andrés, Alice Waters and Thomas Keller – who changed how the world eats. It pays tribute to culinary icons who have helped shape the modern world of food coincides with the 10-year anniversary of the ‘Chef’s Table’ franchise.
SPORTS CENTRE
Champions League Live (RTÉ 2, Wednesday 30th, 7.30pm)
Joanne Cantwell presents live coverage of the semi-final, first leg meeting of Barcelona and Inter. Barca are looking to lift the trophy for the first time since 2015, and are a likely bet to do just that. KO 8pm.
Racing From Punchestown (RTÉ 2, Thursday and Friday 1st and 2nd, 4pm)
Ruby Walsh is joined by Barry Geraghty, Davy Russell and Jane Mangan for live coverage from Punchestown, including the Boodles Champion Hurdle. Commentary from Richard Pugh.