This week’s best telly includes the launch of many a comedy and drama, the return of This Country and another week of Strictly Come Dancing. Here are 7 shows you can’t miss this week...
1. This Country - the Aftermath
Wednesday 10th October from 10am on BBC Three and Saturday 14th October on BBC One
Series 2 of This Country only ended at the start of April this year, but now the hit comedy is back for a one-off special which investigates the fallout from Kerry’s criminality.
During the second series, Kerry’s trusting nature was taken advantage of and she became embroiled in a criminal enterprise with her devious father, Martin. As the police’s net tightened around the Mucklowes, Kerry was left with a direct choice: save her father or save herself.
Eight months on, the crew returns to the Cotswolds to investigate what has happened to both the Mucklowe family and the village community as a whole.
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2. The Bisexual
Wednesday 10th October at 10pm on Channel 4
The Bisexual is the highly anticipated comedy drama from award-winning Iranian-American filmmaker Desiree Akhavan who as well as co-writing the series with Cecilia Frugiuele also directs and stars in it alongside the wonderful Maxine Peake.
The series explores the difference between dating men and women, from the perspective of a person who, for the first time, finds herself doing both.
Akhavan plays New Yorker Leila who lives in London in a seemingly perfect relationship with girlfriend and business partner Sadie, played by Maxine Peake. But Leila has a secret, she's bisexual. Realising that she's living a lie, Leila makes a drastic decision with unexpected consequences.
The series also stars Brian Gleeson, Saskia Chana and Michèlle Guillot and the entire series will be made available on All 4 after the first episode has aired.
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3. Women on the Verge
Thursday 11th October at 10pm on W
If Catastrophe had an Irish spin-off, Women on the Verge would be it. Set in Dublin, the six-part series based on Lorna Martin's critically acclaimed comic memoir, Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, follows the lives of three women in their 30s.
Created by Lorna alongside the wonderful Sharon Horgan (who plays a therapist), the series also stars Kerry Condon, Nina Sosanya and Eileen Walsh as Laura, Katie and Alison. Whilst everyone else is settling down, married with kids, and increasingly in control of their lives, they seem to be moving in the opposite direction.
In the opening episode, Laura decides it is time to take action to stop herself from completely unravelling, whilst Alison is desperate for a baby and single parent Katie finds out some surprising news concerning her ex-husband's new wife Siobhan.
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4. Strictly Come Dancing
Saturday 13th October at 6:40pm and Sunday 14th October at 7:45pm on BBC One
This week Strictly Come Dancing enters its fourth week and with two couples already out of the competition, the pressure is on the remaining 13 couples to continue their race to be crowned 2018 champions.
This week they will be performing a selection of dazzling ballroom and Latin routines in a bid to as ever, impress Shirley Ballas, Dame Darcey Bussell, Bruno Tonioli and Craig Revel Horwood, who will be watching their every move before passing their verdicts.
The voting lines will then open and the viewers' votes will be added to the judges' scores to decide who is in the bottom two. On Sunday night, both couples will reprise their routine in the dreaded dance-off.
Also in Sunday's results show, there's another sensational group number from the professional dancers and legendary boyband Backstreet Boys perform a medley of their greatest hits.
5. The Cry
Sunday 14th October at 9pm on BBC One
Filling the gap left behind by Bodyguard on Sunday nights on BBC One was never going to be easy, but The Cry starring Jenna Coleman has proved a hit with viewers.
In this week's penultimate episode, we flash back to the day that Joanna and Alistair arrived in Australia on the road from Melbourne to Wilde Bay. Distressed, they both try to work out what has happened as we get closer to the truth.
The police investigation begins to focus on Joanna and Alistair as Detective Peter Alexiades and Lorna Jones arrive at Elizabeth’s with a warrant to search the house and the couple’s belongings.
The couple appear in a television interview, recounting the tragic story. Alistair is rattled by the police investigation and Joanna’s increasingly uncontrollable behaviour and goes to the police station to try and uncover what the police know.
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6. Butterfly
Sunday 14th October at 9pm on ITV
Hoping to perform much better than ITV's last Sunday night drama Vanity Fair, is Butterfly which is a heartfelt and sensitive drama about a complex family situation.
Anna Friel and Emmett J. Scanlan play Vicky and Stephen, the separated parents of an 11-year-old, Max, who experiences increasingly distressing feelings around gender.
But with both parents divided, will Max find the courage to identify as a girl and express herself as Maxine? And will her family be able to accept her for who she really is?
In the opening episode, Vicky and Stephen must overcome their differences as Stephen returns to the family home after Max’s distress escalates.
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7. Celebs Go Dating
Sunday 14th October at 9pm on E4
It's all change this year at the dating agency as Eden Blackman is out, Paul Carrick Brunson is in and Nadia Essex will mysteriously disappear at some point later on in the series after being axed for her unacceptable behaviour online.
Thankfully though, Tom Read Wilson is back as he welcomes a new bunch of celebrities to the dating agency; Made in Chelsea star Alik Alfus, Sugababes legend Mutya Buena, Ibiza Weekender's Callum Izzard, Love Island favourites Olivia Attwood and Eyal Booker, TOWIE favourites Vas J Morgan and Chloe Sims, Gogglebox's Amy Tapper and Diversity member Sam Craske.
The series begins with what promises to be the most dramatic singles mixer ever as seven new celebs start their hunt for love.
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