This week's best telly includes two fantastic new dramas, each starring fantastic Corrie alumni, the return of a surprise hit on Apple TV+, a new Channel 4 comedy all about sisterhood, belonging and finding your voice plus so much more!
Here are 7 TV shows you can't miss this week...
1. The Pact
Monday 17th May at 9pm on BBC One
I only need to see the name Julie Hesmondhalgh and I'm there. Aside from being one of the nicest people I've ever been fortunate enough to meet, she's also one of our finest actors and BBC One's new thriller, The Pact, in which she stars alongside Laura Fraser, Eiry Thomas and Heledd Gwynn, doesn't disappoint.
They play Nancy, Anna, Louie and Cat, four employees at a brewery in Wales whose lives are changed forever when their young boss is found dead. After a chain of events, they're drawn into a fragile pact of silence, bound by a secret.
Anna's police officer husband Max, played by Jason Hughes, investigates Jack's unexpected death alongside his fierce superior DS Holland, played by Rakie Ayola - unaware that his own wife and her best friends are at the heart of a conspiracy.
While brewery worker Tish, played by Abbie Hern, becomes increasingly suspicious of her co-workers, Jack's estranged father Arwel, played by Eddie Marsan, struggles to conceal dark family secrets. But what really happened that fateful night? And who's to blame?
1/6 Continues weekly. All episodes available at launch
2. Innocent
Monday 17th - Thursday 20th May at 9pm on ITV
Five years on from being accused of brutally murdering a 16-year-old school boy in the quiet Lake District, school teacher Sally Wright, played by Katherine Kelly, is found not guilty and released from prison. But if she didn't kill Matthew Taylor, who did?
It's been three years since the first series of ITV drama Innocent, from writer Chris Lang who's also responsible for the impeccable Unforgotten. But if you haven't seen the first series, it doesn't matter as series two centres around a completely new story and new characters.
The new series opens with Sally in the dock, determined to prove her innocence and that she’s been the victim of a terrible miscarriage of justice. As she waits for the jury to deliver on her appeal, Sally contemplates how she’s lost everything she holds dear; her relationship, home and marriage to Probation Officer, Sam, her job as Head of English at a local comprehensive, her status and good name in the community, and personal contact with her ageing mother who now lives in a care home.
When Sally is found ‘not guilty’ of the crime which has destroyed her life, her first thoughts are for Matty and his parents, John and Maria Taylor, who are still living their nightmare. Hell-bent on reclaiming some of her life, Sally sets out to help the police seek answers and find the real killer.
DCI Michael Braithwaite, returning to work after a period of absence, is charged with re-investigating the case and is determined to discover the true identity of Matty’s killer.
1-4/4 Continues nightly
3. Mare of Easttown
Monday 17th May at 9pm on Sky Atlantic
Ever since the first episode of new HBO drama Mare of Easttown, I've been utterly mesmerised by Kate Winslet's portrayal of small-town detective Mare Sheehan, who is investigating a local murder while her own life falls apart.
The last few weeks have been heavy on twists, turns and possible suspects and as the series gets closer to what promises to be a gripping finale in a couple of weeks, Mare opens up about her family's history with mental health in her mandated therapy.
Lori tries to get to the bottom of her son's outburst at school and Mare meets with a semi-retired source to help find a possible connection to her three cases.
5/7 Continues weekly
4. Inside No.9
Monday 17th May at 9.30pm on BBC Two
The response to last week's episode of Inside No.9 was mixed to say the least - but with an anthology series, it's fine to not enjoy every episode equally. Personally, I preferred this week's upcoming episode, Simon Says much more than I did last week's.
Steve Pemberton stars as Spencer Maguire, a showrunner on a fantasy epic series called The Ninth Circle. Everyone says the season seven finale was disappointing and even Spencer is keen to move on to new projects.
However, not everyone thinks that it has to be the end of the matter. In fact, The Ninth Circle obsessive Simon Smethurst, played by Reece Shearsmith, decides to visit his hero to help put things right. Because that’s what the fans would want.
2/6 Continues weekly
5. Johnny Vegas: Carry on Glamping
Wednesday 19th May at 10pm on Channel 4
Sometimes I stumble upon a TV show I haven't previewed or recommended on the site, and fall in love almost instantly. And that's exactly what happened with Johnny Vegas' wonderful new Channel 4 series, Carry on Glamping, in which we witness a more vulnerable side to the comedian as he wants to create the country's coolest glamping site.
Over four episodes, we follow Johnny, his assistant Bev and a host of vintage bus enthusiasts, as they lovingly bring new life to a collection of old vehicles, turning them in to perfect accommodation for Johnny's new glampsite in Yorkshire.
In this week's episode, the launch is just days away, but Johnny's last-minute design changes for his Maltese bus - named after his late mother, Patricia - drives master craftsman Pauleo to despair.
Meanwhile, Bev is putting the finishing touches to the site before Johnny arrives to inspect the first vehicles, including a converted American school bus with a very special homage to the previous owner and a beautifully restored Morris Minor caravanette which proves love at first sight for Johnny.
3/4 Continues weekly. All episodes available now
6. We Are Lady Parts
Thursday 20th May at 10pm on Channel 4
After a successful pilot in 2018, We Are Lady Parts (then just called Lady Parts) is back for a full six-part series. Written by Nida Manzoor, the comedy follows a Muslim female punk band called Lady Parts, who are on a mission to find a lead guitarist and maybe, just maybe, get a proper gig.
We Are Lady Parts boasts an exciting ensemble cast of new British acting talent and shows the highs and lows of the band as seen through the eyes of Amina, a geeky microbiology PhD student who is recruited to be their unlikely lead guitarist, and in the opening episode, is desperately searching for a husband.
The band's fierce and enigmatic front woman Saira sees something in Amina that the others can't and uses Amina's desperation to find a husband as leverage, offering to set her up with potential matches if she agrees to join the band.
Amina has never, ever met girls like this before, and soon gets swept up in their joyful, anarchic energy and punk spirit. But she's torn between two different worlds, her more strait-laced uni friends and the band, who urge her to find her voice. Will she be the key to the band's success? And will she finally find a husband?
1/6 Continues weekly. All episodes available at launch
7. Trying
Friday 21st May on Apple TV+
One of last year's surprise comedy hits was an Apple TV+ original called Trying, which starred Esther Smith and Rafe Spall as young couple Nikki and Jason who were desperate for a baby. Despite it being the one thing they couldn't have. And now it's back for a second series, with a third series already confirmed.
After deciding to adopt, we met their dysfunctional friends, screwball families and fell in love with their chaotic lives in series one and now as the show returns, they're continuing to navigate the adoption process.
Having been approved by the adoption panel, they now find that matching with a child is not as straightforward as they had hoped. But it seems like children are being snapped up by other couples, and they're somehow being left behind.
And the good news is, that the fantastic Imelda Staunton is back as social worker, Penny!
1/8 Continues weekly