The best UK TV this week from Eurovision to Ten Pound Poms

On UK TV over the next seven days Rebekah Vardy is getting personal on Channel 4 in an interview about her childhood, while Michelle Keegan opts for a new life in Australia in period drama Ten Pound Poms.

Plus TV’s biggest talents get rewarded at the Baftas, while the UK hopes to win big at the Eurovision final – hosted, of course, in Liverpool…

Read more: Everything new on Netflix in May

Here's Yahoo UK's guide to best telly coming to screens this week.

Saturday, 13 May, 8.00pm: The Eurovision Song Contest | BBC1

With the UK hosting Eurovision 2023 on behalf of Ukraine, it’s only fitting that 2022 winners the Kalush Orchestra should be returning as this year’s opening act, their performance kicking off a gala evening hosted by Graham Norton, Alesha Dixon, Hannah Waddingham and Ukrainian singer-songwriter Julia Sanina.

Read more: Everything you need to know about the Eurovision final

Along with the 26 grand finalists, we’re also set to get an appearance in the first interval by the spaceman himself, Sam Ryder, while The Liverpool Songbook will celebrate the contributions to popular music made by the host city down the decades. Graham Norton will, incidentally, also be on commentary duties, though in a tag-team with Mel Giedroyc.

Sunday, 14 May, 7.00pm: The Bafta TV Awards | BBC1

The real winners here are Romesh Ranganathan and Rob Beckett whose successful comedy partnership on Sky has now landed them the Bafta-hosting gig at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London’s Southbank.

Read more: Everything you need to know about the 2023 Bafta TV awards

But as for the nominated shows – well, it’s visceral medical drama This is Going to Hurt and acclaimed police procedural The Responder that lead the pack with six nominations each. And not far behind them are Bad Sisters, The Crown, The English and Slow Horses – all of which have five nods. But which TV highlight from the last 12 months will emerge triumphant on the night?

Sunday, 14 May, 9.00pm: Ten Pound Poms | BBC1

Staking a claim for our affections in the prized Sunday-evening drama slot is this new period drama that follows a group of Brits who leave the gloom of 1956 post-war Britain behind with dreams of a better life in Australia. But the idyll they envisaged won’t be realised, with those who make the trip soon seen struggling with their new identity as immigrants.

Read more: The true story behind BBC’s Ten Pound Poms

Michelle Keegan, Faye Marsay and Warren Brown are among those in the ensemble cast, while the six-parter has been penned by Danny Brocklehurst, whose previous TV hits include Brassic and Ordinary Lies.

Monday, 15 May, 9.00pm: Steeltown Murders | BBC1

This dual timeframe crime drama is set in both 1973 and the early 2000s and is focused on the efforts to bring the killer of three young women in the Port Talbot area to book. In the first case of its kind, the mystery would come to be solved using pioneering DNA evidence – but 30 years after it was originally investigated.

Expect plenty in the way of contrasts between policing methods of the 1970s and the forensics-focused techniques of the early Noughties, as younger and older incarnations of the police officers involved make their breakthroughs. Gareth John Bale, Philip Glenister and Phil Bach Rees star.

Tuesday, 16 May, 10.00pm: Rebekah Vardy: Jehovah’s Witnesses and Me | Channel 4

The Wagatha Christie trial gave Rebekah Vardy huge press attention, but perhaps not of the kind she’d ideally like. But here she’s telling the story of her life and it’s one that will also no doubt result in much discussion.

As she reveals here, Vardy grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness, but says that the religion failed to support her through the sexual abuse she endured as a child. And so, she’s now decided to embark on an investigative journey to discover what happened while exploring the effect all this has had on her.

Wednesday, 17 May, 9.00pm: Matt Willis: Addiction in the Family | BBC1

Busted may be back in business thanks to the band’s reunion tour, but there’s a dark side to this success, as Matt Willis reveals in this exploration of his battle with drugs and alcohol, and his daily struggle to keep himself clean.

Read more: Matt Willis: 'I used six grammes of cocaine a day'

Of his efforts to understand his addictions in this documentary, the musician said recently, “Whilst I live an amazing life and I am hugely grateful for the opportunities I’ve had, when it comes to my mental health I still find myself battling with the ripple effects of my old addictions. I know I’m not alone and I’m determined to discover how others, like myself, can learn to live with this."

Thursday, 18 May: Rolf Harris: Hiding in Plain Sight | ITVX

The double life of artist and entertainer Rolf Harris is revealed in a two-part documentary that asks how he got away with his crimes for so long.

Read more: Rolf Harris ‘very unwell and suffering neck cancer’

This rise-and-fall film documents how Harris managed to hide behind an eccentric public persona, while behind the scenes he’d been sexually abusing children and young women for years. There’s also an exploration of the star’s unrepentant attitude in court, as well as the decision by his wife and daughter to stand by him – despite one of his crimes being to have abused his daughter’s friend when she was just 13 years of age.

Watch: Rolf Harris reportedly unwell