TV Weekly: This week’s telly highlights

A look at some of the TV highlights for this weekend and the coming week.

Channel 4

Let’s start with some real-life royal misery.

A story of child cruelty, secret shame and dark, incestuous desires that begins behind palace doors and ends in World War I. Featuring a previously hidden cache of intimate family letters, this documentary reveals the secret childhood of Queen Victoria’s grandson, the future Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was born with a permanently paralysed arm: a disability considered shameful at the time.

His mother wrote that she was ‘haunted’ by the idea of him ‘remaining a cripple’ and insisted he hide his paralysed arm throughout his life. Cruel and crude attempts to ‘cure’ him were made, including regular ‘animal baths’, in which the body of a freshly slaughtered hare was wrapped around his arm, in the belief that its blood would bring life to his limb.

These procedures and childhood experiences helped create a highly dysfunctional relationship between Wilhelm and his mother, poisoned their relationship and helped turn the boy who was born to unite the royal families of Britain and Germany into the man who tore them apart.

As Queen Victoria lay dying, Wilhelm held his grandmother in his arms. Just 13 years later, he led Germany into the First World War.

Queen Victoria and the Crippled Kaiser, Channel 4, tonight at 8 pm

Channel 5

The Wonderful World of Chocolate is more chocolicious than ever before, with exclusive access to chocolate factories, eye-popping sculptures, rivers of molten chocolate and fabulous chocolate treats from around the world.

There are factory visits from Poppets cinema treats to Poundland’s own Twin Peaks. 5’s madcap chocolatiers’ crazy creations include a 50kg spinning chocolate globe, a full Italian feast re-created in chocolate and a gravity-defying chocolate Goddess of the Sea. There’s nostalgia in our history strand covering Milk Tray, Ferrero Rocher and Toblerone. Then there’s the story of Hershey’s own town in Pennsylvania, a chocolate evangelist in New York and a chocolate glamping village in Slovenia. All here to enjoy in The Wonderful World of Chocolate!

This week, there’s an exclusive tour of Whitakers of Skipton, a fifth-generation chocolate business based in Yorkshire, a fashion show of chocolate dresses, chocolate cameos of Jane Austen’s heroines, and designer Paul Smith’s autumn collection hand-painted onto chocolate pumpkins. And the show tells the story of Cadbury’s bars and revisit their most nostalgic ads, humming along to a ‘finger of Fudge…!’

The Wonderful World of Chocolate, Channel 5, Sunday 13 June, 7 pm

Channel 4

It’s the final episode of SAS and time to find out who has what it takes to pass this condensed version of SAS selection.

Over a 48-hour period, the remaining seven recruits go into the most psychologically demanding of all the phases: interrogation. The recruits are hooded and exposed to endless white noise, and face brutal tactical questioning from a specialist team of interrogators.

The few who make it through discover that their plight is far from over. A brutal sickener is waiting for them, on the highest point on the island, and only the physically and mentally elite will pass selection.

SAS: Who Dares Wins, Channel 4, Sunday 13 June, 9 pm

ITVBe

The 13th series of the show following a group of women residing in one of the UK’s most affluent areas, the Golden Triangle of Cheshire continues. Hanna Kinsella, Lauren Simon, Lystra Adams, Nicole Sealey, Rachel Lugo, Seema Malhotra & Tanya Bardsley will all return for the brand new series, along with guest Housewife Ester Dohnalová.

In Monday’s sixth episode as the Housewives return to Cheshire, there’s bad news for the Bardsleys. Meanwhile, Lystra pulls out all the stops at her latest restaurant, Lauren has some home truths to deliver, and Hanna questions why Nicole keeps finding herself in hot water.

The Real Housewives of Cheshire, ITVbe, Monday, June, 13, 9 pm

Channel 5

Helen Skelton and Jules Hudson host a week of live programmes from Cannon Hall Farm in south Yorkshire. The Nicholson family farm near Barnsley is once again the host location for a summer celebration of country life as brothers Rob and Dave are joined by guests live on the farm, including stars Peter Wright and Julian Norton from The Yorkshire Vet and Amanda and Reuben Owen from Our Yorkshire Farm.

In the first episode on Monday as well as following all the live action from the farm, Ch5 catch up with all the stories as the summer unfolds. There’s life and death drama as Rob and Dave pay an emergency visit to The Yorkshire Vet after the birth of a cria, a baby llama called Robert, whose survival is in doubt when he fails to feed from his mother. The boys need a plan to help keep the little one alive.

Amanda Owen from Our Yorkshire Farm takes a trip deep into the wilds of Yorkshire as she seeks out the best summer cooking ingredients, freshly foraged from the stunning countryside. It’s a hive of activity for Rob and Dave, who are buzzing with news about an exciting new venture as they make plans to welcome bees to the farm. Plus there’s advice on how we can all be kinder to the humble but hardworking pollinators.

Popstar and presenter turned farmer JB Gill takes a trip to Dorset to find out more about a vodka that’s made entirely out of grassgrazed cow’s milk. Plus live music from Barnsley Brass, and it’s
the first ever Summer on the Farm: Live Yorkshire Olympics, when Rob and Dave attempt to beat the world record for welly wanging.

Summer on the Farm: Live, Channel 5, Monday June 13 – Friday June 18, 8 pm

BBC Four

Portrait and fashion photography icon Rankin is searching for an exciting new name in British photography, as six talented photographers from across the UK embark on the challenge of a lifetime. In the climactic final episode of the series, the pressure is on as the contestants seek to impress Rankin for the final time.

This week the photographers are given a chance to go off-piste to create a shot that showcases their personality and development in the Wildcard challenge – allowing them to flex their creative flair.

In Glencoe, they face a dramatic landscape challenge, led by photographer and The Glasgow School Of Art professor Thomas Joshua Cooper, who tasks the six creatives with capturing the beauty and majesty of the place, using a large format camera which allows them to take just a single shot. Plus, the photographers must click with two emerging Scottish music acts – Walt Disco and Ninth Wave – to produce a distinctive new band shot in the Music challenge.

Returning from their travels, it’s time for the six photographers to face their final task: to plan, mount and present a unique portfolio of their work, which they hope will reflect their signature style and individual way of seeing the world to Rankin and the judges. It’s at this exhibition that the winner of the Great British Photography Challenge will be crowned.

Great British Photography Challenge, BBC Four, Monday, June 13, 9 pm

Channel 4

The second of three episodes featuring Emilia Fox and leading criminologist Professor David Wilson continues on Wednesday as they investigate famous unsolved murder cases. Together they use the latest forensic science and criminological research to shed new light on these troubling crimes and look for new leads that the original investigations may have missed.

Emilia and David investigate the disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh, a successful young estate agent who had her whole life ahead of her when she vanished from a London street after making an appointment with a client in July 1986.

Despite the case’s high profile, nobody has ever been charged with Lamplugh’s abduction and murder but, following a series of tantalising and often chilling clues, Emilia and David narrow the field of suspects down to just one man. Will he reveal the truth?

In The Footsteps of Killers, Channel 4, Wednesday 16 June, 10 pm

Channel 5

This is the story of Britain’s biggest retailer, from its origins on a market stall to the supermarket giant it has become today. During perhaps the most difficult time in Tesco’s 101-year history, this series looks behind the scenes in some of its 3,627 stores as the company opens its doors to TV cameras for the first time in two decades.

From its humble beginnings, this series examines the resilience of a brand that’s been part of British life for over a century. From the birth of the brand on an East End market stall in London in 1919 up to World War II, this first of three programmes tells the story of the past against behind-the-scenes filming during 2020. As Britain’s biggest supermarket retailer, Tesco was in the eye of the storm during the pandemic.

From the shop floor to the CEO, interviews with staff give first-hand accounts from key workers in retail who kept the country fed. Throughout the programme, parallels are drawn between the milestones of the past and the business of today. It all began in 1919, when Jack Cohen came home from World War I and staked everything he had on some army surplus goods and a market stall. His new venture was a risky business, but Jack was a natural-born retailer and he hit upon a mantra that would last a lifetime – pile it high, sell it cheap.

Within five years, Jack had moved into wholesale. But he could never have imagined anything on today’s scale. Tesco has 23 distribution centres that operate 24/7. The one at Daventry is 12 million square feet with its own railway line, bringing in 12,000 freight containers of stock a week. In 1929, Jack opened his first shop. Customers queued at the counter for an assistant to get their shopping. In 2020, things had come full circle with the unprecedented demand for online shopping.

During the first lockdown, Tesco increased deliveries from 600,000 a week to 1.5 million. When war broke out, Jack Cohen had almost 100 shops. He was asked to join the Food Trade Emergency Committee. In just 20 years, the market trader had become a government advisor: Whitechapel to Westminster was a long way to have come.

Inside Tesco, Channel 5, Wednesday, 16 June, 7 pm

Sky One

Alan Carr continues the fourth series of Sky original entertainment show, There’s Something About Movies. Confirmed guests for the upcoming series include Rob Brydon, Richard E Grant, David Tennant, Nathalie Emmanuel and Kevin Bridges amongst others.

The fan-favourite end games, where the celebrity panels are challenged to recreate iconic scenes from the big screen, will make a welcome return, taking on classics including Psycho, Godfather and American Werewolf in London.

Join Alan for episode 6 this week.

There’s Something About Movies, Sky One, Thursday 17 June, 9 pm

ITV2

Iain Stirling’s CelebAbility, continues its fifth series on ITV2. The show continues in its quest to discover more unique skills and abilities possessed by celebrities. Joining Iain Stirling will be his trusted adjudicator Marek Larwood and team captain Scarlett Moffatt.

Hoping to win an array of exciting prizes, each week a group of friends will go head to head with celebrities in a series of uniquely crazy games. All of which are based on the unusual skill or ability that the celebrities say they naturally possess.

This week Iain welcomes AJ Odudu, Sam Thompson, Pete Wicks and Stephen Bailey.

Iain Stirling’s CelebAbility, ITV2, Thursday, June 17, 10 pm

BBC Three

Brought to you from across the UK by Channel X North, Little Wander, North East Comedy Hot House, and Peggy Pictures, Laugh Lessons showcase a host of original sketches from some of the most exciting new comedy talent on the scene.

From how to start your own podcast to becoming a social media star, these life hacks have got you covered.

Laugh Lessons, arrives on BBC Three from Thursday 17 June