Penelope Keith’s Hidden Villages (Channel 4/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Saturday 27th February 2016)
Penelope travels through Royal Deeside, a remote and mountainous part of Aberdeenshire. It’s a land of enormous estates served by tiny communities, with just five people for every square kilometre. Penelope explores how important Queen Victoria was in shaping modern Deeside. Her journey largely runs alongside the River Dee. The first stop is the village of Aboyne, where she takes to the sky in a glider. She then explores the royal link by visiting Ballater station, the terminus of the railway built for Queen Victoria in the 1860s. She then moves on to Balmoral, where she discovers the secrets of the present Queen’s vegetable patch. Penelope then heads to Finzean, where she’s out amongst the gorse and heather with the local gamekeeper. Her final village is Braemar, nestled deep in the Highlands, where she experiences the Highland Games.
Call the Midwife (BBC 1/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Sunday 28th February 2016)
Drama about a group of midwives in 1960s London. With autumn on its way, the appetite for change is rife across Poplar. As Dr Turner shares his excitement about the impending release of the contraceptive pill, not all of his counterparts at Nonnatus House are as keen for the social change it may bring. Meanwhile, Patsy realises that change isn’t always for the best as she struggles to help a transient Bargee woman, who is determined to give birth among her own community, rather than the modern comforts of the maternity home. As a huge storm threatens Poplar, Nurse Crane is called upon to assist a new mother in a post-natal emergency, the danger bringing a once-distant young couple closer as a result. As the storm subsides, it brings with it the welcome return of Sister Evangelina, herself changed by the time she has spent away from Nonnatus House.
The X Files (Channel 5 | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Monday 29th February 2016)
Drama series about two FBI agents who investigate UFOs and the supernatural. While Scully sits by her dying mother’s bedside in Washington, Mulder investigates one of the most repulsive creatures he has ever encountered – a giant garbage monster who tears apart enemies of the homeless with his bare hands.
The Secret Life of the Zoo (Channel 4/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Tuesday 1st March 2016)
Chester Zoo’s four new fledgling Humboldt penguins are being brought up apart from the main colony until they’re old enough to compete for fish in the main pool. They’re keen to make a break for it and join the adults, but when they’re finally free to go they have other ideas. Niall the chimp keeper has known chimp Boris for 44 years and has developed a special relationship with him. When Boris captures a moorhen chick Niall must use all his powers of persuasion to negotiate the safe release of his hostage. Sunda gharial crocodile François recently arrived at Chester from France along with his partner Françoise.
Inside Buckingham Palace (Channel 5 | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Wednesday 2nd March 2016)
This two-part series explores one of the most famous buildings in the world, and its roles as a family home, the official office of the Queen as Head of State and a stage for pomp and ceremony. With the help of previously unseen documents including secret letters to the former Edward VIII, personal memoirs and first-hand accounts from people such as Margaret Rhodes, the Queen’s cousin, this episode looks at some of the stormier years experienced at the Palace including the war years.
Ugly House to Lovely House with George Clarke (Channel 4/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Thursday 3rd March 2016)
In this new Channel 4 series, George Clarke shows that even the ugliest house can be transformed into a home to be proud of. Rachel and James bought their Berkshire home nine years ago for £220,000 – but with two young sons, they’re fast outgrowing the property and can’t afford to move. What’s more, the classic 60s kitchen diner layout doesn’t work for family living and there’s no direct access from the hallway to the kitchen, meaning the living room has become a corridor. The couple tried to rectify the situation by extending to the side of the house but this addition failed to alleviate their problems.
Best Walks with a View with Julia Bradbury (itv/HD | 8:00pm to 8:30pm | Friday 4th March 2016)
Julia Bradbury chooses some of her favourite and most accessible family treks from across the UK, in search of the perfect walk with a view suitable for all experience levels. The series explores coastal, mountain, valley and river walks and features accessible route maps, pub and picnic options and stunning aerial perspectives. Julia goes on a three-hill walk that starts with the distinctive Colmer’s Hill in Symondsbury, a near-conical sandstone ridge topped by pine trees. The walk ends at the top of Golden Cap – the highest point on England’s south coast – where there are spectacular views of the Jurassic Coast, itself a World Heritage Site.
Shetland (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Friday 4th March 2016)
As the investigation reaches its final stages, Detective Inspector Perez and his team discover the person responsible for the deaths of Robbie Morton and Michael Thompson is closer to home than any of them thought.
Walks Around Britain (Community Channel | 9:00pm to 9:30pm | Friday 4th March 2016)
Series featuring inspirational walks from around Britain. Andrew White walks from Banavie to Gairlocky and around the Ribblehead Viaduct.
The Last Leg (Channel 4/HD | 10:00pm to 11:05pm | Friday 4th March 2016)
The critically acclaimed award-winning show continues with its unique brand of irreverent satire for a seventh series. Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker tear into the weird and wonderful talking points of the week. A celebrity guest joins the team each week in front of a live studio audience.
All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.