WHAT TO WATCH 12-18 July

It's a great week if you're looking to get lost in a good drama!

This week's best telly includes three brilliant dramas, including Mark Gatiss' new period detective drama for U&Alibi, BBC Two's new 1989-set Irish-Australian drama romance story Mix Tape, and the return of Channel 4's addictive thriller The Couple Next Door.

Elsewhere, Sara Pascoe returns to host the 11th series of The Great British Sewing Bee and on ITV1, seven celebrities will be challenged to face nature’s most terrifying underwater predator... sharks!

Here are 5 TV shows you can't miss this week...

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1

 BRAND NEW REALITY TV

SHARK! CELEBRITY

INFESTED WATERS

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Monday 14th July at 9pm on ITV1

For ITV1's new reality series, SHARK! Celebrity Infested Waters, seven ocean-fearing celebrities will be challenged to face nature’s most terrifying underwater predator... sharks!

Those taking part are broadcaster Ade Adepitan, comedian Ross Noble, actor Helen George, actor, author and comedian Sir Lenny Henry, actor Lucy Punch, McFly's Dougie Poynter and television presenter Rachel Riley.

Throughout their adrenaline-fueled, challenge-heavy journey in the Bahamas, the shark capital of the world, these celebs will push past their limits to come nose to nose with nature’s villains.’

Their firsthand experiences will provide immeasurable excitement and new perspective; they’ll come to appreciate sharks’ valuable place on the food chain and in our ecosystem, recognising that a world devoid of these notoriously terrifying creatures is downright frightening.

The celebrities will be tasked with diving with a different species of shark, with the breeds getting bigger and more dangerous each time. Bimini, the Bahamas island where the show is filmed, is home to around 7-10 different shark types, including Hammerheads, Bull sharks and Tiger sharks.

And if that isn't enough, the celebrities will also face fear-inducing challenges whilst learning first-hand the important role sharks play in our oceans.

 5 EPISODES  CONTINUES WEEKLY

STREAM ON ITVX  ALL EPISODES AVAILABLE

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2

 RETURNING DRAMA

THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR

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Monday 14th to Wednesday 16th July at 9pm on Channel 4

Channel 4's addictive thriller, The Couple Next Door, returns this week with a brand new story and a brand new cast. But don't worry, Hugh Dennis is back. As we venture back into the claustrophobic world of the cul-de-sac, series two once again explores the fallout of turning your fantasies into reality.

Taking centre stage in this series are married couple, Charlotte Roberts, a brilliant heart surgeon played by Annabel Scholey and Jacob, a consultant anaesthetist played by Sam Palladio. Aggy J Adams plays their mysterious new colleague Mia and Sendhil Ramamurthy plays Charlotte's old flame Leo, whose return sparks a change in Charlotte.

Mia seizes the opportunity to work her way into Jacob and Charlotte's confidence, their street, and eventually their bed, befriending cul-de-sac outcast Alan along the way. But it's not long before Mia's past comes back to haunt her, leading Charlotte and Jacob to question who she really is. One thing is clear: giving in to their desires could have deadly consequences.

 6 EPISODES  CONTINUES WEEKLY

 STREAM ON CHANNEL 4  ALL EPISODES AVAILABLE

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3

 RETURNING TALENT SHOW

THE GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE

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Tuesday 15th July at 9pm on BBC One

Sara Pascoe returns to the sewing room this week with 12 new hopefuls for a brand new series of The Great British Sewing Bee on BBC One.

In week one, judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young challenge the sewers to prove their ability to create shape. First up, the Pattern Challenge sees them crafting a tie-front blouse, using gathers to add volume.

Next, in the 90-minute Transformation Challenge, circle skirts are reimagined into brand-new garments. Finally, the Made-to-Measure challenge tests their skills with pleats as they design a perfectly shaped dress.

One sewer will impress and earn Garment of the Week, but for another, it’s the end of the road as they leave the sewing room for good.

 10 EPISODES  CONTINUES WEEKLY

 STREAM ON BBC IPLAYER 

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4

 BRAND NEW DRAMA

MIX TAPE

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Tuesday 15th July at 9pm on BBC Two

New Irish-Australian drama Mix Tape, arrives in the UK this week on BBC Two. following Daniel and Alison, played by Jim Sturgess and Teresa Palmer, as they move between their teenage romance in 1989 Sheffield and the modern-day reality of their adult relationships living on opposite sides of the world.

The pair reconnect through a song from their shared past and explore their burning curiosity to understand if this is the love and the life they were meant to have. And it has been adapted by Jo Spain from Jane Sanderson's novel of the same name.

 4 EPISODES  CONTINUES WEEKLY

 STREAM ON BBC IPLAYER  ALL EPISODES AVAILABLE

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5

 BRAND NEW DRAMA

BOOKISH

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Wednesday 16th July at 8pm on U&Alibi

Launching on U&Alibi this week is Bookish, a new drama set in London 1946, created by Mark Gatiss, who also stars as the appropriately named Gabriel Book, who owns a bookshop in Archangel Lane. If his War was packed with espionage and secrets, Book’s Peace is just as full of adventure!

Now he helps the police solve the strangest of crimes and the knottiest of murders, but his close association with the force is not without its dangers. Although he is very happily married to his childhood best friend, the captivating Trottie, played by Polly Walker, Book is a gay man living at a time when homosexuality was illegal.

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When Book and Trottie take in Jack, played by Connor Finch, it seems like an act of altruism, a second chance for a young jailbird, and Jack proves a worthy assistant both in the shop and in Book’s murder investigations. It soon becomes clear, however, that Jack’s appointment wasn’t quite as random as it at first appears.

With a complex mystery at the heart of every story, featuring a wealth of well-known guest stars, marrying post-war nostalgia with the reckless and life-affirming atmosphere of the times, Bookish promises to be a stylish period detective drama with a difference.

 6 EPISODES  CONTINUES WEEKLY

 STREAM ON SKY AND NOW  ALL EPISODES AVAILABLE