WHAT TO WATCH 24-30 May

Time to head back to the nineties!

This week's best telly includes the return of BBC One's brilliant nineties-set comedy The Power of Parker, BBC One's new Liane Moriarty adaptation,The Last Anniversary and Netflix's new drama Dept. Q.

Elsewhere, Ellie Simmonds returns tom ITV1 with a deeply personal new documentary and Timothy Spall and Gwyneth Keyworth form an unlikely duo for BBC One's new comedy drama Death Valley.

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

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1

 BRAND NEW COMEDY DRAMA

THE LAST ANNIVERSARY

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Saturday 24th May at 9pm on BBC One

Adapted from Liane Moriarty's best-selling novel of the same name, The Last Anniversary is a comedy drama wrapped in a gripping mystery about family, motherhood and the women who define the generations that come after them.

Starring Teresa Palmer, Miranda Richardson and Danielle Macdonald, it's set on Scribbly Gum Island, a place of many secrets. The one that made it famous, the disappearance of a young couple decades ago, might have made the island a destination for true crime tourists, but when it comes to secrets, the three generations of women that call Scribbly Gum home, hold far more.

When Sophie Honeywell inherits a house on the island, left to her by her ex-boyfriend’s great-aunt Connie, it’s the fresh start she’s craving, despite the unwelcome reception she receives on arrival. Single and approaching 40, Sophie is intrigued by something else Connie left her, a promise that she might finally find the man of her dreams…

 6 EPISODES  CONTINUES WEEKLY

 STREAM ON BBC IPLAYER  ALL EPISODES AVAILABLE

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2

 BRAND NEW COMEDY DRAMA

DEATH VALLEY

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Sunday 25th May at 8.15pm on BBC One

Timothy Spall and Gwyneth Keyworth have joined forces for a brand new BBC One series, Death Valley, in which they play a retired actor and a disarming young detective who would make the perfect crime-fighting duo... if only they could get along!

Written and created by Paul Doolan and set in Wales, Death Valley follows the unlikely crime-solving partnership between eccentric national treasure John Chapel, a retired actor and star of hit fictional TV detective show Caesar and disarming Welsh detective sergeant Janie Mallowan.

When John and Janie are not arguing about a case, they’re inevitably up in each other’s personal business. Despite their differences, they soon realise they are the closest thing each other has to a best friend and unwittingly help one another move on from the past.

It also stars Alexandria Riley as Helen Baxter a straight talking pathologist and friend of Janie; Steffan Rhodri as DCI Barry Clarke, Janie’s boss and so-called mentor; Melanie Walters as Yvonne, Janie’s ‘no boundaries’ mother; Remy Beasley as Rhiannon, the picture of perfection and an old adversary from Janie’s past; Mike Bubbins as Tony, the un-self-aware and overly friendly Desk Sergeant and Rithvik Andugula as DC Evan Chaudhry, the eager to please and somewhat naïve junior police officer.

Guest stars throughout the series include Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Sian Gibson, Patricia Hodge, Jim Howick, Karl Johnson, Colin McFarlane, Vicki Pepperdine, Steve Speirs andyoutu Amy Trigg.

 6 EPISODES  CONTINUES WEEKLY

 STREAM ON BBC IPLAYER  ALL EPISODES AVAILABLE

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3

 BRAND NEW DOCUMENTARY

ELLIE SIMMONDS:

SHOULD I HAVE CHILDREN?

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Tuesday 27th May at 9pm on ITV1

Following the success of her earlier documentary, Ellie Simmonds: Finding My Secret Family, Ellie Simmonds is returning to ITV1 this week as she embarks on a new deeply personal journey in Ellie Simmonds: Should I Have Children?

In this revealing documentary, Ellie fearlessly confronts the often difficult and emotionally fraught decisions she would, and expectant parents do, face when they are told that their child may be born with a disability. Asking the questions to help future parents navigate this very emotional journey and what they would do if faced with these life changing decisions.

At the heart of the film is Ellie's personal journey, as she asks, ‘Should I have children and what would that look like?’ For Ellie, this isn't just about what society thinks, but about her own questions, fears, dreams and her belief in equality for Disabled people. Is she fully prepared to navigate a pregnancy?

And what would it mean for a child of hers to be born disabled or non-disabled? Seen through Ellie’s eyes, this raw, intimate and revealing film tackles a subject that we’ve rarely seen on our screens.

Powered by Ellie’s own quest, she explores the choices around prenatal testing, the implications of those decisions for parents and the evolving societal perceptions of disability over the past few decades. The film will show the impact of these decisions through Ellie’s eyes as she meets parents faced with life-changing choices.

Through carefully obtained access to one of the UK's leading Foetal Medicine Units, Ellie gains unprecedented access to families who are navigating the often challenging decision-making process that comes with a prenatal diagnosis of disability. She will explore the possible assumption that a life as a Disabled person is one of limitation and question whether the representation of people like herself in the public eye has brought down barriers.

Ellie meets with doctors, geneticists, cardiologists, midwives and counsellors who guide these families, exploring the emotional weight of the decision and the complexities involved. Decisions that she herself will have to consider in the future if she wants children. And decisions every one of us might one day face ourselves.

 STREAM ON ITVX

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4

 BRAND NEW DRAMA

DEPT. Q

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Thursday 29th May on Netflix

Netflix's new drama, Dept. Q, adapted from Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen's novels of the same name, by Scott Frank, revolves around Carl Morck, played by Matthew Goode, a former top-rated detective in Edinburgh assigned to a new cold case whilst wracked with guilt following an attack that left his partner paralysed and another police officer dead.

DCI Carl Morck is a brilliant cop but a terrible colleague. His razor-sharp sarcasm has made him no friends in Edinburgh police. After a shooting that leaves a young PC dead, and his partner paralysed, he finds himself exiled to the basement and the sole member of Department Q; a newly formed cold case unit.

The department is a PR stunt, there to distract the public from the failures of an under-resourced, failing police force that is glad to see the back of him. But more by accident than design, Carl starts to build a gang of waifs and strays who have everything to prove.

So, when the stone-cold trail of a prominent civil servant who disappeared several years ago starts to heat up, Carl is back doing what he does best, rattling cages and refusing to take no for an answer.

 9 EPISODES

 STREAM ON NETFLIX  ALL EPISODES AVAILABLE

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5

 RETURNING COMEDY

THE POWER OF PARKER

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Friday 30th May at 9pm on BBC One

Sian Gibson and Paul Coleman's brilliantly funny nineties comedy The Power of Parker is back for a second series and this time we've leaped forward from 1990 to 1992 and the Queen isn’t the only one having an annus horribilis.

In Stockport, Kath, Martin and Diane, played by Sian Gibson, Conleth Hill and Rosie Cavaliero, are all trying their best to get along. Martin is down on his luck, Diane is running Parker’s with Sandy Copper, played by Steve Pemberton, and Kath just wants everyone to be happy.

But Kath’s constant interfering changes all of their lives forever. They’ll need to depend on each other now more than ever, but who do they trust?

Read my interview with Sian Gibson on Wednesday.

 6 EPISODES  CONTINUES WEEKLY

 STREAM ON BBC IPLAYER  ALL EPISODES AVAILABLE