Does Britain still have talent? It's time to find out!
This week's best telly includes two gripping new dramas, the return of Britain's Got Talent, a new dating show and a travelogue with two well-known comedians.
Here are 5 TV shows you can't miss this week...
1. Britain's Got Talent
Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st April at 7.30pm and 7.40pm on ITV1
RETURNING ENTERTAINMENT
This weekend sees Britain’s Got Talent return to ITV1 for its 17th series with Ant & Dec back as hosts and Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli all back on the judging panel.
As the search for Britain’s next talented superstar begins, a number of brave contestants brace the stage in the hope of impressing the judges enough to progress to the semi-finals and ultimately bag a life-changing £250,000 cash prize and a spot on the bill of the Royal Variety Performance.
And with a record-breaking number of ‘golden’ moments sprinkled throughout the series,it promises to be be bigger and better than ever.
1-2/ Continues weekly
2. Red Eye
Sunday 21st April at 9pm on ITV1
BRAND NEW DRAMA
ITV's new six-part thriller starring Jing Lusi, Richard Armitage and Lesley Sharp, Red Eye is set between an all-night plane flight from London to Beijing and the corridors of power within Whitehall. Whilst escorting a doctor being renditioned, an incident on-board leads DC Hana Li to uncover a wider conspiracy.
In thee first episode, a drunk and disoriented Dr. Matthew Nolan races through the streets of Beijing and crashes his car. Wounded, he catches a flight home to the UK, only to be detained at the airport and accused of murder.
DC Hana Li is assigned to escort Nolan back to Beijing on the next North China Air flight and when a group of Nolan’s colleagues land at Heathrow, they’re asked to return and give witness statements.
Leading the investigation is MI5 director Madeleine Delaney who keeps close communication with Chinese Minister Tang and the British Prime Minister. But she must tread carefully as a Chinese-British nuclear deal could be at risk. CIA officer Mike Maxwell is also helping on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Nolan tries to escape police custody at the airport and videos of him publicly declaring his innocence go viral. Hana’s sister and aspiring reporter Jess Li sees the video and jumps at the opportunity of a story. On the flight, an incident onboard shakes everyone. Nolan believes he’s being framed.
1/6 Continues weekly. All episodes available at launch on ITVX
3. Love Triangle
Tuesday 23rd to Thursday 25th April at 9pm on E4
BRAND NEW REALITY TV
E4’s newest dating show, Love Triangle, sees six singles, known as pickers, choose between just two handpicked partners, known as suitors, based only on a connection made by texting.
The single and their chosen match then meet on a blind date before taking the extraordinary step of moving in together, in the hope of fast-tracking their relationship.
What the singles don’t know, is that the pursuit of a ‘happy ever after’ comes with an explosive twist, when the rejected match arrives looking for love.
1-3/10 Continues weekly
4. The Red King
Wednesday 24th April at 9pm on Alibi
BRAND NEW DRAMA
Anjli Mohindra leads Alibi's new six-part drama The Red King, playing Sergeant Grace Narayan who's smart, capable and by the book and flying high in her inner-city police station. That is until her rigid principles lead her to be ostracised by her precinct and she has no choice but to take a punishment posting on the remote Welsh island of St Jory, a rural community with an eerie, hidden religion, known as the True Way.
Grace is determined to implement order on people who have long ‘policed themselves’ but the year-old cold case of a missing teenage boy, CAI, threatens to unearth well-buried secrets. Secrets that may be rooted in its unspoken traditions.
Dismissed by the islanders as a ‘tourist attraction’, the True Way was created in response to Spanish flu one-hundred years ago. St Jory closed its borders and survived the plague that decimated the world. But left to its own devices, a new way of thinking took hold, a true way, worshipping four Gods, none more revered than The Red King.
As Grace digs into the island's mysterious history and locals, she finds there is more to St Jory than meets the eye and many of its inhabitants know more than they say. When confronted by the forgotten and unsolved case of missing teenage boy Cai, she quickly discovers that she must overcome scarce evidence, extraordinary local characters, and the island’s eerie past devotion to a pagan called the Red King and the cult of the True Way in order to uncover the truth.
With lies exposed and deadly truths forced to the surface, Grace is set on a disorientating, ever-twisting investigation that could unravel the very fabric of the community she is charged with protecting.
The drama also stars Adjoa Andoh as Lady Heather Nancarrow, Marc Warren as Dr Ian Prideaux, Mark Lewis Jones as Gruffudd Prosser, Sam Swainsbury as Father Douglas Carrisford, Jill Halfpenny as Ann Fletcher and Lu Corfield as Lowri Bain.
Read my interview with Anjli Mohindra on Monday.
1/6 Continues weekly. All episodes available at launch
5. Joe & Katherine's Bargain Holidays
Thursday 25th April at 10pm on Channel 4
BRAND NEW TRAVELOGUE
In Channel 4’s new travelogue, Joe and Katherine’s Bargain Holidays, comedians Joe Wilkinson and Katherine Ryan are joining forces to show the Great British public how to have a fantastic holiday for a next to nothing price.
Joe loves a bargain and is dedicated to making as many savings as possible on holiday, whilst Katherine loves to lap it up in luxury. But if she can live the champagne lifestyle on a lemonade budget, then she’s all ears.
Together, they’ll embark on a relentless pursuit of bargainous getaways, both in the UK and further afield, showcasing a different type of holiday in each episode.
Whether it’s the ultimate couple’s break on a shoestring budget, a wellness retreat that won’t break the bank, or a family seaside stay that won’t drain your pockets, Joe and Katherine have tons of ideas for cut-price holiday.
Together, they’ll visit the best undiscovered resorts, road-testing and reviewing the most value-for-money restaurants and activities in each destination, finding the best tips, tricks and hacks as they compile the ultimate bargain-packed itinerary.
1/6 Continues weekly