Yahoo News The best TV to watch and stream from Wild Isles to Paula and Ted Lasso
There's a great week ahead on the telly
On UK TV this week: David Tennant and Baldrick will be encouraging us to dig deep for the Comic Relief fundraiser, while an anniversary is marked on Channel 4 where Gogglebox celebrates a decade of on-the-sofa TV punditry.
Elsewhere, a stark documentary offers a fresh perspective on the life and tragic death of Paula Yates, David Attenborough returns to explore the natural wonders of the UK, and acclaimed sports comedy Ted Lasso is back on the pitch for another season.
Here’s your pick of all that’s tantalising on television over the next seven days...
Saturday, 11 March, 9pm: Gogglebox: Ten Year Anniversary | Channel 4
As a digest of the week’s best television, Gogglebox has become invaluable for those with a fear of missing out on key talking points. But its real appeal lies in the line-up of warm and quirky personalities who offer up critiques from the comfort of their own homes.
Read more: Gogglebox stars reveal 'secret brother'
Over the last decade, many of these armchair pundits have morphed into stars in their own right, most notably Scarlett Moffatt and idiosyncratic couple Giles and Mary. In this nostalgic look back, we get appearances from lots of those who’ve wielded their remote controls, as well as footage of the best telly they reviewed, from prime ministerial appointments to Ed Balls’s Strictly routines.
Sunday, 12 March: Wild Isles, 7pm | BBC One
David Attenborough has spent his decades-long career taking viewers to amazing wildlife habitats in far-flung places. But he’s much closer to home in this latest series, which sees the naturalist exploring British woodland, grassland, freshwater and ocean habitats.
Read more: First trailer for Wild Isles shows stunning UK scenes
Attenborough’s mission over the next five weeks is to explain why the nature to be found in our neighbourhoods is vital when it comes to the continuing existence of species across the planet. And in the opening episode of what’s sure to become must-see Sunday-evening viewing, the focus is on the UK’s natural geology.
Monday 13 March & Tuesday 14 March, 9pm: Paula | Channel 4
Never-before-heard interviews given by Paula Yates following the suicide of her partner Michael Hutchence in 1997 reveal the toll his death took on her mental health.
This moving and candid two-part profile also explores her treatment by a voracious press hungry for any story they could file on the turbulent private life of The Tube and Big Breakfast star.
Among those contributing their thoughts on Yates’s career in the spotlight and untimely demise from an accidental heroin overdose in 2000 are close friend Belinda Brewin, one-time love Terence Trent D’Arby, friend Robbie Williams, hair stylist Nicky Clarke and cultural commentator Grace Dent.
Also on C4/All 4: Nazanin, from Thursday, 15 March
Wednesday, 15 March, 9pm: Christine McGuinness: Unmasking My Autism | BBC1
Back in 2021, the BBC aired the intimate documentary Paddy and Christine McGuinness: Our Family and Autism, in which the pair’s domestic set-up was charted.
Read more: Christine McGuinness opens up about split
But much has altered since that broadcast, the most unfortunate change being, of course, Christine’s separation from partner Paddy. Now, though, she’s set to embark on a journey of self-discovery, with the aim of finding out why it took for her to reach the age of 33 before she was diagnosed as being autistic.
How many others out there have had similar experiences? And can this situation be improved upon or changed?
Also on iPlayer: Chris Packham: Inside Our Autistic Minds
Friday 17 March, 7pm: Comic Relief | BBC One
The hype for this charity’s extravaganza has been focused a single individual: Baldrick (aka Tony Robinson), one-time servant of Edmund Blackadder, who’s back to read viewers a bedtime story.
Read more: Baldrick to return for Comic Relief
But there are other highlights to enjoy too, including a special edition of the BBC’s word-of-mouth hit The Traitors, as well as Kylie Minogue getting to grips with spectral forces with the cast of Ghosts, while performers from the West End production of Mrs Doubtfire take to the stage with songs from the show.
Marshalling the mayhem throughout the night are David Tennant, Zoe Ball, Paddy McGuinness, Joel Dommett and AJ Odudu.
Friday, 17 March, 9pm: Redemption | ITV
If the likes of Beyond Paradise are too mild for your crime drama tastes, then this may prove more satisfying. It’s a more sombre affair, centred around Liverpool-based DI Colette Cunningham (Paula Malcolmson, previously a regular on Ray Donovan) who, in this opener, discovers that her estranged daughter has taken her own life.
With her offspring Stacey having lived in Dublin for the last 20 years, Colette relocates in order to act as guardian to her kids Liam and Cara. But a career in the Dublin Central police service comes with its own problems. And there are questions about Stacey’s death that need answering…
From Wednesday 15 March: Ted Lasso – Season 3 | Apple TV+
Ted Lasso — the most-watched series on Apple TV+ — returns for a third season, still basking in the glow of awards wins for its second, including Emmys for stars Jason Sudeikis and Brett Goldstein.
Read more: Ted Lasso to end with Season 3
And as this latest run of the sports comedy kicks off, things are also on the up for Ted and AFC Richmond, too, thanks to promotion to the Premier League. Not that the upbeat atmosphere is set to last: media reports are predicting that the team will end up in last place, while added tension comes from Nate (Nick Mohammad) having departed to work for Rupert (Anthony Head) over at West Ham United.
Also on Apple TV+: Extrapolations, from Friday, 17 March
Watch a trailer for Ted Lasso S3
