Countryfile (BBC 1/HD | 6:30pm to 7:30pm | Sunday 11th January 2015)
The team are in Somerset revisiting some of the areas and people hit by 2014’s floods. Matt Baker pays a return visit to farmer Geoff Miller, whose home and business were under water after the floods. Matt discovers whether Geoff’s land is bouncing back and if his cattle are now thriving. Helen Skelton explores the bird life of the area and learns why some birds flourished in the floods while others were left fighting for survival. She also hears about a rescue team whose help during the floods was unprecedented. Anita Rani is in Dawlish to find out about the restoration of the devastated railway line. Adam Henson is on his Cotswolds farm, where he gets to grips with a very large bit of agricultural kit. How homes, businesses and farmland are defended from flooding is a controversial subject. Tom Heap finds out what the victims of floods think about what is being done to keep them dry in the future – and talks to the minister responsible for protecting them.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Monday 12th January 2015)
Michael Portillo embarks on a series of journeys through London. He travels on the capital’s first underground railway, the Metropolitan Line, from Amersham, where he discovers the foundations for modern day suburbia. In Pinner, Michael finds out about a Victorian domestic goddess and whips up a pint of her fanciest ice cream. In Highgate, Michael investigates the terraced catacombs of one of London’s vast 19th-century cemeteries. At Baker Street he comes face to face with Isambard Kingdom Brunel before experiencing a hot wax at first hand. He ends this journey with a trip to the zoo at Regent’s Park.
The Mountain (BBC 1 Scotland/HD & BBC iPlayer only | 7:30pm to 8:00pm | Monday 12th January 2015)
Series charting life around Cairngorm, which lies at the heart of Scotland’s greatest winter wilderness. In this edition, as the first winter storms blow in, the ski patrol work hard to get the resort open as early as possible. Spud the piper plays at a fairy-tale castle. And at La Taverna, the historic bar is ripped out.
Waterloo Road (BBC 3/HD | 8:30pm to 9:30pm | Monday 12th January 2015)
It is the start of Waterloo Road’s new bike bank scheme, which Vaughan hopes will show the school off to the community. But Scott Fairchild has other ideas and it is Kevin who suffers the consequences. Christine and Lorna fight over who should lead the new PTA.
Silent Witness (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Monday 12th January 2015)
Nikki and Jack investigate a man run down and killed by a tube train. When a female vicar is then murdered after being followed on the underground, the team face the difficult prospect of building a case against her distraught husband. Nikki forms a bond with high-flying DI Luke Nelson, impressed by his intelligence and compassion. He asks her to help re-evaluate the details of his father’s murder when he was a child. When a young roofer is stalked and brutally killed on his journey home, Nelson and the Lyell team identify a suspect on the tube cameras who links the murders, and a full-scale manhunt is launched.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Tuesday 13th January 2015)
Michael Portillo is invited aboard the construction locomotive for Crossrail to travel under the Thames and to meet Mary, on whom the project depends. He travels on the capital’s first railway and admires the remarkable brick viaduct on which it was built. He takes a tour underneath its arches with a Victorian map showing the poverty of those who once lived there. The Docklands Light Railway takes him to Greenwich, home to Britain’s most famous tea clipper. And in Woolwich, he discovers the firepower of the British Empire before coming to a sticky end at West Silverton.
Silent Witness (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Tuesday 13th January 2015)
Forensic crime drama series. Tension on the tube network threatens to boil over, and security is stepped up. The accidental verdict in the first death is called into question and the witnesses are brought in for interview. Amongst them is Lana Sutherland, a young hotel worker who has taken in a homeless man, Owen. DI Nelson lets Lana slip through the net before he realises she may be harbouring a dangerous killer. Nikki helps Nelson unearth the mystery of his father’s death, allowing him to confront and resolve the childhood memories that haunt him. He refocuses on the case and, with Jack and Nikki, discovers the missing key that links the victims.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Wednesday 14th January 2015)
Guided by his Bradshaw’s, Michael Portillo takes the high-speed line to Stratford to explore the legacy of the Olympic Park. He hears how an Indian lawyer, who learnt his trade in Victorian London, went on to change the world and explores an area of the city which has been home to wave upon wave of immigrants, Spitalfields. He ends this journey at Victoria Underground Station, where he finds out about the massive makeover currently under way.
The Restoration Man (Channel 4/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Wednesday 14th January 2015)
Jim and Bee Goody see a derelict village school in Essex as their golden ticket to escaping the suburbs and creating their dream home in the country. But unable to sell their own house, they take a heart-stopping gamble in buying the Victorian school on a bridging loan – with weekly interest payments of £400! The only way they can complete the project is for Jim to quit his building job and work alone on the project. At first, Jim and Bee regard some of the listed features of the school as an obstacle to creating the home they want, but as they coax the Tudor revival building back into life, they fall in love with its unique history. Presented by George Clarke.
Life of a Mountain: A Year on Scafell Pike (BBC 4/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Wednesday 14th January 2015)
Documentary following a year in the life of England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike, through the eyes of the farmers who work the valleys and fells, those who climb the mountain for pleasure and those who try to protect its slopes. Filmed over a twelve-month period, it follows the seasons on the mountain from spring lambs through to winter snows. The contributions of the British Mountaineering Council and National Trust volunteers make clear the crucial importance of maintaining the landscape quality of England’s highest peak for future generations.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Thursday 15th January 2015)
Guided by his Victorian Bradshaw’s Guide, Michael Portillo explores London’s theatreland and discovers how 19th-century engineering made for spectacular theatricals. At Charing Cross, Michael learns about the ambitious building programme which saw Trafalgar Square replace streets of slums and comes face to face with George Bradshaw. At one of the busiest stops on the tube, Piccadilly Circus, Michael indulges in some retail therapy at a perfumery patronised by kings, queens and prime ministers. The Bakerloo to Oxford Circus line brings Michael to Soho and a grimmer side of Victorian London, where disease was rife.
Death in Paradise (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Thursday 15th January 2015)
Detective drama series set on a Caribbean island. The team enters the world of surfing when DI Goodman is convinced that there is more to the murder of a surf instructor than meets the eye. Dwayne works hard to impress the new sergeant.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Friday 16th January 2015)
On the last of his journeys in the capital, Michael Portillo explores Albertopolis and reaches dizzying heights inside a Victorian landmark. He meets some of Battersea’s most famous residents and gives one of them a bath! At Vauxhall, Michael learns about the darker side of London’s flower market in Bradshaw’s day. He ends this journey at London Bridge, where two stations are becoming one, and a new concourse is being built.
Doctor Who: The World Tour (BBC 3/HD | 7:00pm to 7:50pm | Friday 16th January 2015)
Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman embark on a global tour to key cities across the world, taking in Cardiff, London, Seoul, Sydney, New York, Mexico City and Rio. They get to know the fans who have made the show what it is, understand why they love the Doctor, and just why the show has such global appeal.
The Last Leg (Channel 4/HD | 10:00pm to 11:05pm | Friday 16th January 2015)
The award-winning gang show returns for a new series, live on Friday nights. Adam Hills and co-hosts Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker review the main talking points of the week with irreverence and satire. Each week they are joined by a live studio audience and in this show, guest Alan Davies. The show sees the return of the all-encompassing question: Is It Ok? Viewers at home and the studio audience are encouraged to ask questions about anything from the week, without fear of judgement. Once again, our three hosts step into the minefield of sometimes difficult and delicate areas to answer the questions with their own inimitable insight.
All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.