Sunday highlights include the world of deadly jaws, another wander around the globe and put a little love into your weekend.
The second episode of the series explores how the success of 80 Days Around The World opened the door for Michael Palin to tackle an even more ambitious journey for his next series.
In Pole To Pole, Michael would follow the line of 30-degree-east longitude from the North Pole to South, an incredibly challenging route across the USSR, Africa and finally Antarctica. In the Arctic, he meets a solitary trapper who hunts for survival. Then, entering the USSR for the first time, Michael encounters the reality of life and bureaucracy under communism as he visits markets and tries to get a token to allow him to buy vodka.
A detour to Chernobyl gives him a sobering insight into that disaster and its effects, but overall it is the warmth of the Russian and Ukrainian people that is the dominant memory he takes away. Two days after he leaves, there is a coup against Gorbachev and the Soviet system starts to unravel – a truly historical moment.
In Turkey, Michael relaxes with a bath and massage that turns out to be more vigorous than he had bargained for. Then he tackles the biggest challenge of all – Africa. From Egypt, where he spends time with some tourists from his own hometown of Sheffield, Michael travels south, through Sudan, where few tourists ever venture.
Michael Palin: Travels of a Lifetime, episode two, tonight at 8 pm on BBC Two
LOVE YOUR WEEKEND
Joining Alan Titchmarsh to celebrate the great British countryside this week are his Hampshire neighbours Sarah Parish and Phil Spencer.
Alan also meets YouTube gardening sensation Huw Richards and RSPB bird expert Adrian Thomas. Carpenter Vikkie Lee is back with a new upcycling build, and there is more from Clodagh McKenna’s garden at Highclere.
“I’m delighted to have the opportunity to celebrate the British countryside and the people who look after it. It is all too easy to forget the contribution to our daily lives that those who are skilled at country crafts, looking after our landscape, our wildlife and our farm animals make. ‘Love Your Weekend’ is an entertaining celebration of rural life and country matters and I’m chuffed to bits to be presenting it.” -Alan Titchmarsh
Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh, episode six, today at 10am on ITV, STV and UTV
THE BRIDGE
Twelve strangers come together on a lakeside in the beautiful British countryside to try to win a life-changing sum of money. They know nothing about the epic challenge that awaits them or what they’ll need to do to win the cash.
A prize of £100,000 lies on an island in the lake and the 12 must build an 850-foot bridge by hand within 20 days to reach it. It may sound simple, but a series of twists and turns bring moral dilemmas, spark rivalries and test their ability to work together as a team.
In the first episode, the 12 get to know each other and we meet Billie, the daughter of TV presenter Trisha Goddard, Covid-19 survivor Tara, and the oldest member of the team, 60-year-old Sly. The team attempt to come up with a plan to build the bridge, but tempers quickly fray over who should lead the group.
Plumber Luke and hotel entertainer Maura forge an alliance when they’re sent on a secret mission to collect supplies, but their good intentions are tested when they have to choose between helping the whole team by bringing essential bridge-building tools back to camp or secretly stealing a cut of the prize fund.
The Bridge, episode one, tonight at 9 pm on Channel 4
DEADLY HUNTERS
Out in the wild, it’s eat or be eaten, and few escape this one law that governs all. The epic and eternal battle of predator vs. prey has moulded and shaped all life on Earth and resulted in a fierce array of weaponry and masterful set of skills.
Deadliest Hunters takes a closer look at some of the animals that have led the way in refining their skills as masterful huntsmen.
In the first episode, we examine fearsome creatures equipped to maintain their position as apex predators.
From the mega great-white shark and his ability to launch out of the water mid-hunt, the mighty Nile
crocodile who lies in wait, hidden from his unsuspecting prey, to the expert hunting wild dogs who are able to tear up their prey in a matter of split seconds.
Deadly Hunters: Deadly Jaws, episode one, tonight at 7 pm on Sky Nature
