Below are my picks of the most notable TV shows returning/premiering on UK screens this week...
MONDAY 28th
Tales from Northumberland with Robson Green (ITV, 8.30pm) New series where the actor travels around the county he grew up in. (1/8)PICK OF THE DAY Ripper Street (BBC1, 9pm) Series 2 of the Victorian crime drama. Starring Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg & Myanna Buring. (1/8)
Strike Back: Shadow Warfare (Sky1, 9pm) Series 4 of the action thriller about two secret government agents. Starring Phillip Winchester, Sullivan Stapleton, Robson Green, Dougray Scott & Martin Clunes. (1/10)
OCD Ward (ITV, 9pm) Documentary about four people with severe cases of obsessive compulsive disorder.
Release the Hounds (ITV2, 10pm) Special Halloween-themed gameshow involving locked chests and scary challenges. Hosted by Reggie Yates.
TUESDAY 29th
Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners (Channel 4, 8pm) Series 2 of the show about obsessive cleaners who visit dirty properties around the UK and give them much-needed attention. (1/8)Autumnwatch 2013 (BBC2, 8pm) Return of the wildlife series. (1/4)
PICK OF THE DAY The Escape Artist (BBC1, 9pm) New drama series about a defense barrister who comes to regret helping a London gangster evade justice. Starring David Tennant, Toby Kebbell, Sophie Okonedo & Ashley Jensen. (1/3)
The Mentalist (Channel 5, 9pm) Season 6 of the US crime drama. Starring Simon Baker, Robin Tunney, Tim Kang, Owain Yeoman & Amanda Righetti. (1/22)
Disowned & Disabled (BBC4, 9pm) Documentary two-parter about how the British care system changed after-WWII, to provide a better service for people with disabilities or family issues. (1/2)
Ross Noble: Freewheeling (Dave, 10pm) Twitter-led travelogue with the stand-up comedian. Featuring Eddie Izzard & Mike Skinner. (1/6)
American Horror Story: Coven (Fox, 10pm) Season 3 of the US horror drama, this time focusing on witchcraft in New Orleans. Starring Jessica Lange, Taissa Farmiga, Kathy Bates, Emma Roberts, Frances Conroy & Sarah Paulson. (1/13)
WEDNESDAY 30th
PICK OF THE DAY Mercury Prize Live (More4, 9.30pm) Annual music awards ceremony. Presented by Nick Grimshaw & Lauren Laverne. Featuring Arctic Monkeys, David Bowie, Disclosure, Foals, Jake Bugg & James Blake.HALLOWEEN
Jews on Bikes (Sky Atlantic, 8pm) Documentary about seven unconventional Jews as they embark on a 30-day, 4,000-mile journey through North America. (1/6)The Big Bang Theory (E4, 8.30pm) Season 7 of the US comedy. Starring Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg & Kunal Nayyar. (1/24)
PICK OF THE DAY Dracula (Sky Living, 9pm) Season 1 of the US supernatural drama, putting a twist on Bram Stoker's original story. Starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Nonso Anozie, Jessica Du Gouw, Katie McGrath, Oliver Jackson-Cohen & Matt Barber. (1/10)
This World: World's Biggest Maternity Ward (BBC2, 9pm) Documentary about a maternity ward in Manila that delivers 100 babies on a busy day.
Bedlam (Channel 4, 9pm) Documentary following patients of the South London and Maudsley psychiatric institution. (1/4)
Drifters (E4, 9pm) New comedy about three female graduates trying to find love and careers in Leeds. Starring Jessica Knappett, Lydia Rose Bewley, Lauren O'Rourke, Philip McGinley & Bob Mortimer. (1/6)
FRIDAY 1st
Chris Tarrant Goes Fishing (Channel 5, 7pm) Chris Tarrant goes fishing. (1/4)Off the Beaten Track (ITV, 8pm) New series where Christina Bleakley ventures down some of the country's lesser-travelled roads and pathways. (1/6)
PICK OF THE DAY Stand Up for the Week (Channel 4, 11.05pm) Series 5 of the stand-up comedy event tackling current affairs. Hosted by Paul Chowdhry. Acts include Seann Walsh, Josh Widdicombe, Simon Evans, Romesh Ranganathan & Angela Barnes. (1/8)
SATURDAY 2nd
PICK OF THE DAY Live from the National Theatre: 50 Years on Stage (BBC2, 9pm) Tribute to the National Theatre, 50 years after its birth. Featuring Dame Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Derek Jacobi, Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, James Corden, Nicholas Hytner & Benedict Cumberbath.The Crime Thriller Awards 2013 (ITV3, 9pm) Awards ceremony honouring crime fiction. Hosted by Bradley Walsh.
SUNDAY 3rd
Africa 2013: Countdown to the Rains (BBC2, 8pm) Documentary series reporting from Zambia during the longest dry season for many years. Presented by Kate Humble & Simon King. (1/3)PICK OF THE DAY Richard Hammond Builds a Planet (BBC1, 9pm) Science special looking at what it would take to create an Earth-like planet. Presented by Richard Hammon.
