Call the Midwife – Page 11 – Gordon Valentine's adventures

Call the Midwife (BBC 1/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Sunday 19th January 2014)

Drama about a group of midwives in 1950s London, based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth. As Jenny struggles to care for exhausted mother Merle Vickers and her two sickly sons, it is Sister Monica Joan who holds the key to the diagnosis of their mystery illness. Meanwhile, Chummy calls on her royal connections for the official opening of the new ante-natal and baby clinic, and Nonnatus House welcomes a new resident, Sister Winifred.

Speed with Guy Martin (Channel 4/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Sunday 19th 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 sets out to break the record for the world’s fastest gravity powered sled. With the help of top sports science engineers, athletes and experts in composite engineering, Guy builds a toboggan to ride on the unforgiving slopes of the Pyrenees as he attempts to claim the record from a group of thrill-seeking Germans who set it three years ago.

Don’t Look Down (Channel 4/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Sunday 19th January 2014)

This documentary explores one of the world’s most dangerous and most terrifying new crazes. Urban free climbers are a new breed of daredevils: young men and women who illegally climb cranes and buildings without any safety equipment, then hang from them, hundreds of metres above the ground, one slip from certain death… Having originated in Eastern Europe, urban free climbing has recently spread to Britain. James Kingston is a 23-year-old who lives with his mother near Southampton.

Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Monday 20th January 2014)

Assisted by his Bradshaw’s guide, Michael Portillo embarks on a new journey from Southampton to Wolverhampton. On this first leg he learns to set table aboard the luxury liner Queen Elizabeth before she sets sail and discovers how Cunard steamers began by transporting post across the Atlantic. He then heads to Netley, where he discovers the remains of an extensive military hospital built by order of Queen Victoria and from there to Basingstoke, where he finds out about a pitched battle between townspeople and the Salvation Army.

Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Tuesday 21st January 2014)

Michael Portillo continues his journey from the Hampshire coast to the West Midlands in a distinctly military vein. At Winchfield, he discovers the vast carriage which carried the Duke of Wellington’s coffin to his state funeral at St Paul’s Cathedral in 1852 and hears how the Duke’s chestnut stallion also received full military honours when he was buried at the Duke’s seat, Stratfield Saye. Michael then heads for Farnborough and the army camp at Aldershot, where he joins the regulars to be put through his paces under military instruction. Sanctuary is not far away in Farnborough North at the Benedictine Monastery of St Michael, where Michael visits the tomb of the French Emperor Napoleon III and his family. He ends this second leg of his journey in Crowthorne, where in the year his Bradshaw’s was published, there opened a notorious new institution: England’s first Asylum for the Criminally Insane, Broadmoor.

Death in Paradise (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Tuesday 21st January 2014)

Detective drama series set on a Caribbean island. When DI Humphrey Goodman and his team are called to investigate a murder on a film set, they are left baffled when they realise the wrong person has been killed. The team have to work fast to solve the case before the murderer strikes again.

Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Wednesday 22nd January 2014)

Steered by his Victorian guidebook, Michael Portillo heads north from the south coast towards the West Midlands. The third leg begins in Wokingham, where Bradshaw’s reports the proprietor of The Times newspaper resided and where he was a great benefactor. Michael finds out how demand from a growing number of rail commuters fuelled the development of the modern printing press and learns how to print on an iron press. He then heads to Newbury, where he encounters a Tudor captain of industry, who manufactured cloth in enormous volumes. Michael’s next destination is Trowbridge, where Sir Isaac Pitman invented his famous shorthand. He ends this leg of the journey in Bradford on Avon, where he hears from a local manufacturer how his Victorian forebears were the first in Britain to be licensed to vulcanise rubber. They supplied springs, buffers and hoses for the locomotive industry and now make rubber suspensions systems for bicycles.

Waterloo Road (BBC 1/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Wednesday 22nd January 2014)

School-based drama. Gabriella sees a chance to drive a wedge between Imogen and Dynasty’s friendship when she offers to take Imogen on a wild night out. Meanwhile, Simon is busy organising an event to promote the Resilience Camp, but he has forgotten to clear it with a preoccupied Christine.

The Restoration Man (Channel 4/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Wednesday 22nd January 2014)

Recession-hit builders Ian and Jayne Hall Edwards have brought a five-and-half-thousand square foot derelict Victorian school in the village of Pencader in Carmarthenshire, with the aim to turn it into both a place of business and their family home. Having failed to win a grant to help finance the build, they are left battling through harsh winters while living in a caravan on site, and with their family business hanging in the balance.

Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Thursday 23rd January 2014)

Michael Portillo continues his journey from Southampton to Wolverhampton beginning today in Chippenham, where at Lacock Abbey he discovers how the world’s first photographic negative was made and learns how to make a print. He travels on to Bristol to visit the Victorian Clifton Zoo, where he finds tigers and polar bears before him also arrived by train. Next stop is Severn Tunnel Junction in Wales, where he explores an extraordinary piece of Victorian engineering with its own pump house pumping out millions of gallons a day to keep it dry. Michael then heads for Gloucester to find out why the station became infamous for lost luggage. At the city’s cathedral, Michael meets a stonemason who bravely invites him to chip away.

Silent Witness (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Thursday 23rd January 2014)

Forensic crime drama series. When the body of a pregnant Northern Irish girl is discovered, the team face the urgent task of finding the baby snatched from her womb. The child’s father, married man Simon, is the prime suspect in DS Sally Kirchner’s eyes. Meanwhile, Thomas uncovers the teenage girl’s connections to a criminal underworld. Nikki and Jack encounter her addict boyfriend Nuri and ruthless drug dealer Bekir, suspected of masterminding the killing of a Drugs Squad cop. The dead detective’s partner, DI John Brooke, is out to avenge his colleague’s murder.

Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Friday 24th January 2014)

On the final leg of his journey from Southampton to Wolverhampton, Michael Portillo’s first destination is the elegant spa town of Cheltenham, where he discovers a very early locomotive carriage which ran not on rails but on the road and is lucky enough to get behind the wheel. His next stop is the medieval town of Tewkesbury, scene of a grisly battle during the Wars of the Roses. Armour-plated and sword at the ready, Michael joins a group of re-enactors for a taste of the action.

Silent Witness (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Friday 24th January 2014)

Forensic crime drama series. Martin, the sole eyewitness in the murder case, is found dead in suspicious circumstances. Threatened by an angry Bekir, Nuri grows increasingly desperate to find the missing drugs, with tragic consequences. Nikki helps grieving William come to terms with his daughter Alice’s death and his missing baby granddaughter. Under pressure from his wife Ellie, DI John Brooke finally comes face-to-face with his nemesis, drug dealer Bekir. However, Jack’s growing frustration over DI Brooke’s meddling in the case unearths a new line of enquiry.

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

The Choir: Sing While You Work (BBC 2/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Sunday 22nd December 2013)

The final of the competition takes place at Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire, where the three remaining choirs perform the world premier of a piece by composer Paul Mealor and lyricist Brendan Graham. The choirs have been practising intensely for six months and are now challenged by choirmaster Gareth Malone to interpret the piece however they wish. This means that, within each choir, the members must agree on their strengths, their style and their stars. Performances, backed by the Ely Cathedral Choir, take place in a packed cathedral. It then falls to the three judges to decide who will be crowned best workplace choir.

Toy Story (BBC 1/HD | 3:15pm to 4:30pm | Monday 23rd December 2013)

Computer-animated fantasy in which a child’s toys come alive whenever he leaves the room. Woody is a pull-string cowboy and is respected by the other toys as their leader and the boy’s number-one toy. But he finds his authority usurped by the arrival of an impressive astronaut figure who goes by the name of Buzz Lightyear. With the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen.

Tales From Northumberland with Robson Green (itv/HD | 8:00pm to 8:30pm | Monday 23rd December 2013)

Robson Green travels around his home county of Northumberland to discover how this region has played a unique role in shaping the Britain we know today. In the final episode of the series, Robson heads to south-west Northumberland to visit three landmarks which have played a key role in Northumbrian and British history. He begins his journey at Hadrian’s Wall and meets local guide Gary Reed, before camping out overnight by the wall and learning how the Romans completely transformed British culture. His next stop is Kielder Water, the biggest man-made lake in northern Europe, where he talks to Jonty Hall. As a nine-year-old boy, Jonty pressed the button that flooded the valley and created the reservoir. Robson’s final stop is his home town of Hexham, where he finds out about Hexham Abbey’s turbulent past and discovers the secrets of its Anglo-Saxon crypts.

Heston’s Great British Food (Channel 4/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Monday 23rd December 2013)

Heston Blumenthal takes an iconic British dish, revealing the secret history behind its evolution and finding inspiration for an incredible culinary tribute of his own. This time it’s the classic British pudding. Heston heads back to the early 1600s, when the way to make a pudding was to stuff the ingredients into an animal’s intestine. Heston tries a rice pudding recipe which looks like a sausage and creates a pudding that looks like a hot dog that includes a white chocolate mousse bun, pastry fried onions, sweet soy sauce and saffron mustard, and featuring a sausage made with chocolate sponge mince and marshmallow pieces. He makes an 17th century pud involving a cow’s udder; attempts a giant sponge pudding from the Victorian era; and then makes some custard, and serves it to a specially invited group of teachers and dinner ladies.

Toy Story 2 (BBC 1/HD | 3:40pm to 5:10pm | Tuesday 24th December 2013)

Animated comedy sequel following the adventures of a group of toys who come to life when their owner has left the room. When Woody is kidnapped by a toy collector, Buzz Lightyear and the other toys set out in hot pursuit, but soon discover that Woody’s new life and new friends are tempting the cowboy to remain in his new world.

The Snowman and the Snowdog (Channel 4/HD | 7:30pm to 8:05pn | Tuesday 24th December 2013)

A charming animated sequel to Raymond Briggs’s classic The Snowman. When a young boy, Billy, and his mother move house, he discovers a box hidden under the floorboards of his bedroom. In the box, he finds a hat, scarf, some lumps of coal and a shrivelled tangerine – it’s a snowman-making kit! When it begins to snow the child builds a Snowman and, with some spare snow, a Snowdog. That night, at the stroke of midnight, the Snowman and the Snowdog magically come to life! Billy awakes and joins them on an amazing adventure, flying over London and onwards to the North Pole, where they join Snowmen and Snowwomen from around the world.

Toy Story 3 (BBC 1/HD | 3:20pm to 5:00pm | Wednesday 25th December 2013)

Family animation. With their owner Andy leaving home for university, the toys fear for their future. Escaping being accidentally thrown away as rubbish, Buzz and the gang hope to find new playmates at a child care centre. However, they are subject to a sinister system which forces them to suffer at the hands of the most careless kids.

Call the Midwife (BBC 1/HD | 6:15pm to 7:30pm | Wednesday 25th December 2013)

Festive instalment of the period drama. 1958 is drawing to a close as the residents of Poplar prepare for Christmas. Festivities are thrown into chaos when an unexploded bomb is discovered close to Nonnatus House, causing mayhem among the nuns, midwives and residents of Poplar just days before Christmas. Everyone is evacuated from their homes, and the midwives of Nonnatus House are tasked with overseeing the rescue centre until the bomb is made safe. Jenny Lee finds herself drawn into the lives of young couple Yvonne and Alan Bridges, who are expecting their first child. Since fighting in the Korean War, Alan has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and Jenny, with the help of Trixie, becomes instrumental in helping him to overcome his fears. Elsewhere, Shelagh Mannion, formerly Sister Bernadette, and Dr Turner prepare for their understated wedding. But when Timothy is struck down with a potentially fatal illness, their plans are put on hold while they keep vigil at his bedside.

Doctor Who (BBC 1/HD | 7:30pm to 8:30pm | Wednesday 25th December 2013)

Sci-fi drama. Orbiting a quiet backwater planet, the massed forces of the universe’s deadliest species gather, drawn to a mysterious message that echoes out to the stars. And amongst them, the Doctor. Rescuing Clara from a family Christmas dinner, the Time Lord and his best friend must learn what this enigmatic signal means for his own fate and that of the universe.

Still Open All Hours (BBC 1 /HD | 7:45pm to 8:15pm | Thursday 26th December 2013)

One-off special edition of the much-loved sitcom set in a grocer’s shop. Granville has inherited the shop from his beloved Uncle Arkwright, and now he is assisted by his son Leroy, a good-looking lad with more female admirers than Granville ever had. But if times have changed, some of the customers haven’t, and (retired) Nurse Gladys Emmanuel and the Black Widow are still regulars. As Granville attempts to get a date with old flame Mavis without her terrifying sister Madge finding out, Leroy shuns the old delivery bike and finds a more attractive way to deliver the orders, and a sneaky new plan to shift a lot of anchovy paste has some rather surprising side effects.

Queer as Pop: From the Gay Scene to the Mainstream (Channel 4/HD | 10:55pm to 11:55pm | Friday 27th December 2013)

The first of three programmes tonight around the theme of the importance of the gay scene and its musical icons in pop culture. This documentary charts the men, music and moments that have brought pop music out of the closet and changed the world along the way. Queer as Pop details how the gay clubs and scene have inspired and affected the music mainstream over the last 40 years. This fascinating documentary shows how music has been influenced by the political and social liberation of gay men, charting key events from the repealing of laws banning homosexuality, through to the emergence of the disco era and the David Bowie-inspired New Romantics. Chic’s Nile Rodgers, DJ Paul Oakenfold, Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters and Erasure’s Andy Bell discuss the evolutionary music scene spanning disco, New Romantics and house, through to Lady Gaga and beyond.

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

UK TV programmes to watch this week : 18/01/2014

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