This week's best telly includes the 2022 BAFTA TV Awards, ITV's revival of The Games, the UK premiere of How I Met Your Father, a moving documentary from Will Young and Apple TV+'s newest drama, The Essex Serpent.
Here are 5 TV shows you can't miss this week...
1. The British Academy Television Awards 2022
Sunday 8th May at 6pm on BBC One
The Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards are one of the biggest nights in the TV calendar and with Richard Ayoade back as host and It's A Sin leading this year's nominations it promises to be an exciting night celebrating the great and good of television.
Confirmed to be attending the ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall are; Adjana Vasan, Allison Hammond, Ant & Dec, Big Zuu, cast of It’s A Sin, Dermot O’Leary, Emily Mortimer, Emily Watson, Giovanni Pernice, Jodie Comer, Judi Love, Mo Gilligan,Nicola Coughlan, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Sharon Horgan, Stephen Graham, Steve McQueen and Suranne Jones.
With presenters on the night including Aimee Lou Wood, Camille Cottin, Chris McCausland, Helen George, Joe Locke, Katie Piper, Lee Mack, Lennie James, Lorraine Kelly, Martin Freeman, Michelle Keegan, Munya Chawawa, Ncuti Gatwa, Olivia Colman, Rochelle Humes, Ross Kemp, Suranne Jones, Tom Daley and Yung Filly.
Walking away with this year's prestigious BAFTA Fellowship will be iconic comedian, actor, artist, writer, musician and presenter, Sir Billy Connolly. The Fellowship is the highest accolade bestowed by BAFTA in recognition of an individual’s outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, television or games across their career.
See the full list of nominations here.
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2. The Games
Monday 9th - Friday 13th May at 9pm on ITV
ITV's revival of Channel 4's The Games, finally arrives onto our screens this week, two years after its supposed 2020 start to coincide with the Summer Olympics. The five-part series sees twelve super-fit celebrities battle it out in a sporting spectacular event across a week of live programmes.
Hosted live by Holly Willoughby and Freddie Flintoff, The Games will also see former professional footballer and presenter Alex Scott as trackside reporter and former professional football player and presenter Chris Kamara as commentator.
The 12 familiar faces have undergone weeks of intensive training ready to go head-to-head in a range of sporting challenges, across a week of live shows amidst fierce competition. All have been pulled out of their comfort zones to be coached as athletes, swimmers and cyclists, to compete in the hope of coming top of the medals table and being crowned the winner of the competition.
Going head-to-head in a range of sporting challenges are; TV presenter Olivia Attwood, influencer and model Phoenix Brown, ex-Strictly pro and leading man Kevin Clifton, pop star Max George, song writer Chelcee Grimes, Harry Potter actor Josh Herdman, author, model and autism ambassador Christine McGuinness, Coronation Street actor Colson Smith, newsreader Lucrezia Millarini, musician and TV star Wes Nelson, Emmerdale actor Rebecca Sarker and actor Ryan Thomas.
The six male and six female competitors will battle it out in the athletics arena, the swimming pool, gymnasium and velodrome. Each will put their sporting prowess to the test in events from the 100-meter sprint to diving, racking up points on the medals table.
As well as live coverage of the events, each episode will feature the celebrities' preparation as they’re taught the sports from scratch by some of the UK’s top coaches. Following their gruelling training programme leading up to the competition, as they aim to reach their peak physical condition.
As the leader board takes shape with each night, the series will culminate in an exhilarating final showdown in which one male champion and one female champion will be crowned.
1-5/5 Continues nightly
3. Will Young: Losing my Twin Rupert
Tuesday 10th May at 10.05pm on Channel 4
In this hour-long authored film, singer Will Young speaks for the first time about living with his twin brother Rupert’s alcoholism for over 20 years, until Rupert’s untimely death in July 2020.
In Will Young: Losing my Twin Rupert, Will opens up knowing he can’t be alone in this, and that others will know the pain of having an alcoholic in the family. There are an estimated 1.6 million people who are alcohol dependent and of those who need specialist treatment, just 18% are getting it.
Rupert was Will’s best friend as well as his brother, but his twin’s drinking problems went unnoticed at first. And whilst Will and his parents recall happier times with Rupert, this sensitive and affecting documentary will also look at the stigma surrounding addiction, the difficulty in getting long-term treatment on the NHS, the tireless process of rehabilitation and the constant worry of relapse.
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4. How I Met Your Father
Wednesday 11th May on Disney+
Having launched earlier this year in the US, How I Met Your Father, the spin-off to How I Met Your Mother, finally comes to the UK as Hilary Duff plays Sophie, who in the near future tells her son the story of how she met his father.
It's a story that catapults us back to the year 2021 where Sophie and her close-knit group of friends are in the midst of figuring out who they are, what they want out of life, and how to fall in love in the age of dating apps and limitless options.
1-10/10 All episodes available at launch
5. The Essex Serpent
Friday on Apple TV+
Apple TV+ are continuing to launch new dramas almost every single week of 2022 and their hit rate really is to be admired. This week, it's the launch of The Essex Serpent starring Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston.
Set in Victorian England, The Essex Serpent is based on Sarah Perry's bestselling novel of the same name and follows London widow Cora Seaborne who moves to Essex to investigate reports of a mythical serpent. She forms a surprising bond of science and skepticism with the local pastor, but when tragedy strikes, locals accuse her of attracting the creature.
The series also stars Frank Dillane, Clémence Poésy and Hayley Squires.
1-2/6 Continues weekly