Below are my picks of the most notable new shows, returning or premiering on UK screens over the next 7 days...
MONDAY 27th
★ Couples Come Dine With Me (Channel 4, 5pm) Series 2 of the reality dining competition, focusing on three couples.TUESDAY 28TH
Kirstie & Phil's Love It or List It? (Channel 4, 8pm) New series where Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer help families frustrated with their homes. (1/6)24 Hours in a Past (BBC1, 9pm) New documentary series where six celebrities experience 19th-century life. Starring Zoe Lucker, Ann Widdecombe, Alistair McGowan, Colin Jackson, Tyger Drew-Honey & Miquita Oliver. (1/4)
Wastemen (BBC2, 9pm) Documentary on the refuse collectors who dispose of the nation's garbage. (1/3)
The Queen's Big Night Out (Channel 4, 9pm) Documentary about a night on 8 May 1945, when the future Queen of England slipped out of Buckingham Palace to experience VE Day on the streets of London.
★ Empire (E4, 9pm) New U.S drama about a music mogul with an illness that means he must decide which of his three sons will inherit his business empire. Starring Terrence Howard, Bryshere Y. Gray, Jussie Smollett, Trai Byers & Taraji P. Henson. (1/12)
WEDNESDAY 29th
Inspector George Gently (BBC1, 8pm) Series 7 of the detective drama. Starring Martin Shaw, Lee Ingleby, Lisa McGrillis & Emily Woof. (1/4)Nick & Margaret: The Trouble With Trains (BBC2, 9pm) Documentary looking at the state of the nation's railway network. Presented by Nick Hewer & Margaret Mountford.
★ Peter Kay's Car Share (BBC1, 9.30pm) New sitcom about two supermarket employees who share a car to work. Starring Peter Kay & Sian Gibson. Continues tomorrow. (1/6)
THURSDAY 30th
★ The Game (BBC2, 9pm) New series about a defecting KGB officer who reveals a Soviet plot to MI5. Starring Tom Hughes, Brian Cox, Paul Ritter, Victoria Hamilton & Jonathan Aris. (1/6)Fraud Squad (ITV, 9pm) Series 3 of the documentary following detectives from the City of London Police. (1/3)
FRIDAY 1st
★ ANZAC Girls (More4, 9pm) New Australian drama series inspired by the real wartime experience of five young women in 1915. Starring Georgia Flood, Antonia Prebble, Laura Brent, Anna McGahan & Caroline Craig. (1/6)SATURDAY 2nd
Nothing. Anyone have a trampoline in their garden?SUNDAY 3rd
Sunday Night at the London Palladium (ITV, 8pm) Series 2 of the variety show. Hosted by Bradley Walsh. Featuring Olly Murs, Madness, Alfie Boe, the cast of the Billy Elliot musical, Jo Brand, and 2012's America's Got Talent winners Olate Dogs. (1/5)★ The C Word (BBC1, 8.30pm) Drama based on the book and blog by Lisa Lynch about a woman diagnosed with breast cancer. Starring Sheridan Smith, Paul Nicholls, Haydn Gwynne & Michael Maloney.
Home Fires (ITV, 9pm) New drama series about the lives of a group of WI members in rural Cheshire during WWII. Starring Francesca Annism, Daisy Badger, Mark Brazeley, Leanne Best & Samantha Bond. (1/6)
8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (Channel 4, 9pm) Series 6 of the gameshow amalgamation. Hosted by Jimmy Carr with captains Sean Lock & Sarah Millican. Guests are Bill Bailey, Paul Foot, Rob Delaney, Romesh Ranganathan & Nina Conti.
For a look at what the rest of the year's going to bring,
why not read and bookmark my TV Calendar?
