Speed with Guy Martin (Channel 4/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Sunday 12th January 2014)

Motorcycle racer and lorry mechanic Guy Martin loves pushing the boundaries of speed in search of a buzz. He claims that nothing can match the adrenaline rush he gets when he’s racing on public roads around the Isle of Man TT course at 200mph. Now he wants to see if he can find anything that can give him the same kick. In this new series, he creates four-speed based challenges, exploring the boundaries of physics and learning about the science of speed. Guy is on a mission to do the seemingly impossible: fly using muscle power alone. He wants to build the world’s fastest human powered aircraft: a plane without an engine that Guy will cycle into the air. He heads to Southampton University where, on 9 November 1961, Derek Piggot became the first man to fly under his own power. Forty two years later, Guy is ready to break into the history books with another team from the university.

Sherlock (BBC 1/HD | 8:30pm to 10:00pm | Sunday 12th January 2014)

Contemporary crime drama, based on the stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes encounters Charles Augustus Magnussen, the one man he truly hates, through a case of stolen letters. How will he tackle an enemy who specialises in blackmail and knows the personal weakness of every eminent person in the Western world?

Operation Grand Canyon with Dan Snow (BBC 2/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Sunday 12th January 2014)

Dan Snow and his team continue down the Grand Canyon in antique wooden boats as they rediscover one of the Wild West’s great adventures.

Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Monday 13th January 2014)

Michael Portillo embarks on a new journey guided by his Bradshaw’s Handbook from London’s Euston station to Leeds. In this first leg, he finds out what happened to the once proud Euston Arch then braves the watery depths under Camden Town to see how goods were transported by rail, road and canal. Clad in his old school blazer, Michael heads north to explore the Harrow of his childhood and remembers the tragic rail disaster of 1952. At the country estate of one of the world’s wealthiest banking families in Tring, he discovers an exotic collection in need of special attention before alighting at Cheddington, scene of the Great Train Robbery.

Dogs: Their Secret Lives (Channel 4/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Monday 13th January 2014)

Following the public response to his original programme, vet Mark Evans looks again at how our lives and those of our dogs have radically changed in the last 50 years. Man’s best friend is spending more and more time home alone. Using hidden cameras, a ground-breaking study from the world’s leading dog scientists and the results of an extensive viewer survey, this updated documentary reveals what our dogs get up to while we’re out. Footage from dozens of homes shows sleepy, active, howling and fretful dogs. Infrared cameras reveal what’s happening inside Bruno the boxer/Rottweiler cross’s head, while a dog vocalisation expert analyses Max the Alsatian’s howling to understand what he’s trying to communicate. Evans, the former chief vet at the RSPCA, catches up with the treatment of these dogs’ separation issues. He discovers whether new technology allowing dogs to make phone calls and watch TV is the key to keeping our canine companions happy in the modern British home.

Go Hard or Go Home (Channel 5 | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Monday 13th January 2014)

Adventure challenge series in which transatlantic yachtswoman Hannah White prepares ordinary members of the public for some of the world’s most extreme endurance races. In this episode, four GPs must train for The Bonebreaker, a 127-mile bicycle race across the towering peaks of the Pyrenees, twice crossing the border of France and Spain. The event has around 8,000 entrants, all of whom train 12 months a year and consider themselves to be amongst the best cyclists in the world.

Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Tuesday 14th January 2014)

Michael Portillo is guided by his Bradshaw’s Handbook on a journey from London’s Euston station to Leeds, on Robert Stephenson’s first inter-city railway line from the capital. Along the line at Bletchley he meets one of the Second World War’s most secret agents, discovers a poet in Olney whose words are still sung today and explores the first purpose-built railway town at Wolverton. Michael’s last stop on this leg is Newport Pagnell, where he learns the ancient craft of vellum making.

Death in Paradise (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Tuesday 14th January 2014)

Detective drama series. A university reunion party that DI Richard Poole is attending is brought to an abrupt halt when one of the group is murdered with an ice pick. With the case proving particularly sensitive, a new British detective, DI Humphrey Goodman, arrives on the island to help the team get to the bottom of the mysterious case. As the station’s newest recruit with his own set of methods, will Humphrey be able to adjust to his new team and surroundings?

Underage and Over the Limit (BBC 3/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Tuesday 14th January 2014)

Documentary which follows Phil Tye, a youth worker on the frontline fighting against the underage drink epidemic in the north east of England. The region has the country’s highest percentage of 11 to 15-year-olds drinking alcohol and it also has double the national average of under-18s in treatment for drink-related problems. The film also asks teenagers why they start so early and drink so much.

Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Wednesday 15th January 2014)

Michael Portillo is guided by his Bradshaw’s Handbook on a journey from London’s Euston station to Leeds, on Robert Stephenson’s first inter-city railway line from the capital. Heading north, Michael stops in Northampton, the land of shoemakers, where Victorian ‘clickers’ have been making shoes for more than 130 years. In Rugby, Michael discovers the legacy of Dr Thomas Arnold and trains with the school’s 1st XV before heading to Coventry, where he finds out how the city’s craftsmen learned to adapt to survive. Michael ends this leg of his journey in Nuneaton, birthplace of an author whose identity was once a closely guarded secret.

The Restoration Man (Channel 4/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Wednesday 15th January 2014)

Having never lived together before, architect Neil Worrell and his partner Jackie Robinson decided to cement their relationship by purchasing a forgotten church in the picture perfect fishing town of Brixham in Devon. What began as a project that would bring them closer together, becomes the ultimate test as the restoration pushes them to their limits. George Clarke brings his own design expertise to the project to help them realise their dream; and at the same time discovers the rich history that links this church directly to Brixham’s celebrated fishing community.

Waterloo Road (BBC 1/HD | 8:30pm to 9:30pm | Wednesday 15th January 2014)

School-based drama. In an attempt to resolve her money worries, Carol gets a temporary job in the school kitchen, until George gets in the way. Meanwhile, Nikki considers the future of her relationship with Vix, and George and Christine go on a date to the theatre.

Britain’s Oldest Family Businesses (BBC 4/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm)

Series of three documentaries following the bosses of three of Britain’s oldest family businesses as they go on a journey into their remarkable pasts. Richard Balson’s family have been butchers for almost 500 years, since Henry VIII was on the throne. He goes back through centuries of butchery, to the origin of the British high street. Along the way he discovers how the Balsons have stayed in the butchery business despite scandal and tragedy.

Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Thursday 16th January 2014)

Michael Portillo is guided by his Bradshaw’s Handbook on a journey from London’s Euston station to Leeds, on Robert Stephenson’s first inter-city railway line from the capital. He begins this leg in Leicester, where he picks up the trail of ‘the famous crook-backed King Richard III’, who Bradshaw’s informs him was buried at the Grey Priory. Michael finds out about the hunt for the king’s remains and how scientists managed to prove that the skeleton found under a car park was him. From Rothley, Michael works his passage on the Great Central Railway to Loughborough, where the bells have been tolling since 1839.

Silent Witness (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Thursday 16th January 2014)

Forensic crime drama series. Nikki and Jack head to Scotland to help earnest rural detective DS Jason Ross investigate the chilling murder of a lap dancer found in a remote forest. In their search to find a suspect, the team clash with rogue city detectives DS Mike MacNeil and DI Simon Laing. But as more human remains are unearthed in the forest, it becomes horrifyingly apparent that a dangerous serial killer is at large. News of the murders unsettles new mother Sarah, who is harbouring a dark secret from her partner Steve.

Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Friday 17th January 2014)

Michael Portillo is guided by his Bradshaw’s Handbook on a journey from London’s Euston station to Leeds, on Robert Stephenson’s first inter-city railway line from the capital. On the final leg of his journey, Michael Portillo rediscovers a once-famous poet in Nottingham. In Mansfield he travels on a railway line resurrected by popular demand after falling victim to Beeching’s cuts, then heads to Worksop, where he learns about the burrowing activities of an eccentric Duke. Michael’s next stop is ‘railway city’ Doncaster, where in the nineteenth century thousands laboured to build trains and where in the twentieth century, rail workers shaped British political history. His last stop on this journey is Leeds, where he auditions at the Venus and Venice of Variety on the stage at Britain’s oldest continuously working music hall.

Silent Witness (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Friday 17th January 2014)

Forensic crime drama series. Nikki, Jack and DS Ross find themselves under pressure to urgently close the net on a serial killer abducting young women. Concerns grow over missing Sarah, and solving her mysterious disappearance becomes an urgent priority for Nikki and Jack. Local huntsman Niall Wallacemakes a surprising admission under questioning from DS MacNeil. However, Nikki’s confidence in the detectives is diminished when she suspects a cover-up in the past case of a murdered prostitute and her pimp.

All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.