Britain at the Bookies (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Monday 3rd August 2015)
Documentary examining the winners and losers in Britain’s gambling revolution. Friday night at Romford dogs is not what it used to be. For independent bookie Doug Tyler, takings are down as more and more punters are betting online. Meanwhile, on the Britwell Estate in Slough, betting giants Coral are opening a brand new shop. Although the high street is a competitive world and 30 shops closed last year, Coral plan to open 40 new ones in locations that promise to be more profitable. Coral’s expansion plans aren’t without critics. When the team tries to open a new branch in Hayes, Middlesex, near a YMCA, local opposition rallies against the plan. Meanwhile, in Slough, customers like Terry struggle to control their gambling. As political pressure about the dangers of gambling mounts, the industry decides to get its own house in order.
Dead Man Cycling (BBC 2 Scotland & BBC iPlayer only | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Tuesday 4th August 2015)
Documentary exploring the life and career struggles faced by gold medal-winning Paralympian David Smith. Born with clubfoot and almost having both feet amputated at birth, David Smith spent his first three years learning to walk in special boots and plaster casts, making his subsequent Olympic achievements all the more remarkable. However, the professional karate champion, athlete, bobsleigh brakeman, rower and now cyclist faces a fight for his life. Nine months prior to competing in the London 2012 Paralympics, he was diagnosed with a rare tumour on his spinal column and battled to regain fitness after life-threatening surgery. Determined to win cycling gold in Rio, he received news that the tumour had returned, prompting another battle against the potentially lethal illness. This documentary follows David over the 18 months before, during and after his second spinal surgery and reveals the inner strength and determination of an athlete fighting to live and ultimately regain fitness.
Coast (BBC 2/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Thursday 6th August 2015)
Coast takes on nature at its most perilous in the wild British waters. Nick Crane travels to the north east coast – one of Britain’s most hazardous – and discovers why it became the ‘cradle of lifesaving’. Mark Horton literally takes the helm of a roll-on roll-off ferry to explore how these beasts of the maritime superhighway cope with stormy seas. He also puts his own body on the line for science to investigate why we suffer seasickness. Miranda Krestovnikoff takes the plunge in Dublin Bay to explore why these wild waters are home to Britain’s most venomous jellyfish. Dick Strawbridge investigates one of the strangest yet most enduring stories of the Second World War. Did the Germans really invade the south coast in 1940 and were they thwarted by a secret weapon that set the sea on fire? Finally on the Farne Islands, wildlife photographer Richard Taylor-Jones captures the moment that eider duck chicks fledge and make for the sea… under the watchful and hungry eyes of herring gulls.
Atlantic: The Wildest Ocean on Earth (BBC 2/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Thursday 6th August 2015)
Three-part documentary about the Atlantic Ocean. In the vast South Atlantic, huge pods of dolphins, massive penguin colonies and the largest gathering of marine mammals on earth pack chains of extraordinary islands, created by powerful volcanic forces far below them. Nutrient-rich upwellings create profusions of life in some areas, whilst extreme isolation and abyssal depths host a world of bizarre creatures in others.
The Last Leg (Channel 4/HD | 10:00pm to 11:10pm | Friday 7th August 2015)
The award-winning show continues the sixth series of unique irreverent satire. Adam Hills and co-hosts Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker tear into the week’s main talking points, joined by a live studio audience and weekly celebrity guest.
All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.