Week 19 highlights 2012

25 April 2012

More Sex Please, We're British

 

Here are the best programmes on Channel 4 for week 18, Saturday 5th - Friday 11th May.

Here is some extra information to help you with your research.

Phil Spencer, presenter of Phil Spencer: Secret Agent, is not actually a secret agent. He's a TV presenter.

Before he became a film star, Bruce Willis (Die Hard, Saturday) ran a detective agency with Cybill Shepherd.

Before the London 2012 Paralympic Games begin later this year, there is a spin-off event, known as the Olympic Games (or ‘Olympics').

 

Saturday 05/05/2012
1:20pm
Road to London 2012: That Paralympic Show
Rick Edwards, Ade Adepitan MBE and Iwan Thomas MBE present the fourth series of the show, with the London 2012 Paralympic games now just around the corner. This first episode is dedicated to swimming, as Rick, Ade and Iwan head to Ponds Forge in Sheffield for the British International Disability Swimming Championships. The event is the second Paralympic swimming trial, and the final opportunity for our elite swimmers to achieve the qualifying time for London 2012 and win a place in the British squad.

 

Saturday 05/05/2012
9:30pm
Die Hard
The classic 80s action thriller directed by John McTiernan. New York City cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) rides to the rescue when arch criminal Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and his gang hold a group of executives (including McClane's wife) hostage in a tower block as Christmas approaches. Reginald VelJohnson ably supports as Sgt Al Powell, McClane's eyes and ears on the ground, who helps him out despite orders from above.

 

 

Sunday, 06/05/2012
9pm
Homeland 12/12: Marine One
As the first series of Homeland reaches its devastating conclusion, Carrie is near catatonic and confined to bed while events swirl around her. Meanwhile, Walker secures a perch for his mission, Brody makes his final preparations for the Vice President's policy summit at the State Department, and Saul continues to investigate the unsettling implications of Carrie's timeline. The pieces of a deadly puzzle are falling into place, but as she musters the energy to do what she needs to, Carrie may be too late to put it all together.

 

Monday, 07/05/2012
8pm
Foxes Live: Wild in the City 2/4
A brand new live interactive natural history event carrying out the biggest ever nationwide study into urban foxes in the UK. Using cutting-edge technology, this ambitious project will assemble footage from state-of-the-art tracking technology, camera rigs and user-generated content to provide a fox-eye view of our cities. Every move will be followed with the help of CCTV cameras, GPS tags and mini fox cams that will follow the foxes' movements; from under garden sheds where they sleep to the industrial estates where they mate. The second episode discusses public attitudes towards the urban fox and examines if they can safely co-exist alongside our pets. Further editions air this week on Tuesday and Wednesday evening.

 

Tuesday 08/05/2012
9pm
Hidden Talent 3/6
How far can natural talent really go and what if it could change your life? Hidden Talent discovers people with extraordinary hidden talents they never dreamed they had. Hundreds of randomly selected people are put through a series of tests to identify those with hidden abilities and nine participants discover if they can go from being a total novice to a top-class performer in record time.Hosted by Richard Bacon.

 

Tuesday 08/05/2012
10pm
More Sex Please, We're British
The UK sex toy market is worth an estimated £250 million. And with retailers such as Boots, Tesco and Superdrug now stocking erotic toys, the market is set to grow and grow. More Sex Please, We're British goes behind the scenes of one of the UK's most successful online sex toy businesses - Lovehoney, a thriving operation that brings sexual pleasure to the women and men of Britain through the click of a button. Funny, frank, and a little naughty, this one-off documentary sheds new light on the sex lives of Britain, and those who help it happen.

 

Wednesday 09/05/2012
9pm
Edward VIII: The Plot to Topple a King
A revelatory film about the extraordinary archbishop, Cosmo Gordon Lang, who was at the centre of a group of establishment big-wigs and grandees who came together in 1936 to oust King Edward VIII. The archbishop believed that Edward's love for twice-divorced Wallis Simpson made a mockery of all that he stood for and threatened the Crown - and the Church of England. Based on a large archive of unpublished diaries, personal notes and Lang's own secret account of the abdication, the film reveals for the first time the machinations that went on behind the scenes to remove the King.

 

Wednesday 09/05/2012
10pm
The Killing 2/13: My Lucky Day
The US crime drama continues its second series. Sarah retraces Richmond's steps on the night of Rosie's murder and is surprised by what she discovers. The Larsen family are stunned to receive an ominous delivery in the form of Rosie's old backpack. The kids are frightened and Stan is quickly losing faith in the ability of the police to keep his family safe. Sensing that something is amiss in the investigation, Holder attempts to get in touch with Sarah, but she no longer trusts him.

 

Thursday, 10/05/2012
8pm
Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 1/5
In this five-part peak-time series, Phil travels across the country trying to get offers on houses that haven't been selling. Phil tackles two hard-to-sell homes in each episode. He goes undercover, secretly investigating properties, as well as researching the local area and housing market, before helping buyers to face some hard-hitting home truths on what he thinks they need to do in order to sell their home. Phil then seeks out potential buyers, confident that he can shift even the hardest-to-sell houses.

 

Thursday, 10/05/2012
9pm
The Hoarder Next Door 2/4
The Hoarder Next Door is a brand new series about Britain's growing number of extreme hoarders and their quest to cure themselves with the help of friends and family. Tricia , once an actress in Coronation Street, is now too embarrassed to have friends round as her hoard of bric-a-brac and junk has buried her dining room table and become host to an infestation of rats. Psychotherapist Stelios Kiosses sets out to prove that in only six weeks he can use his special mix of therapies to help Tricia sort out the clutter in both her home and her mind.

 

Friday, 11/05/2012
7:35pm
Unreported World 4/8: Congo: Magic, Gangs & Wrestlers
Reporter Seyi Rhodes and director Wael Dabbous travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo and enter the extraordinary world of professional wrestling. In the capital, Kinshasa, they find some of the superstars of the sport practicing 'black magic', and uncover allegations that many fighters are involved in gang violence and political intimidation.

 

Friday, 11/05/2012
9:30pm
Very Important People 3/6
Very Important People is the new celebrity impression show that mocks our beloved stars and satirises a culture bamboozled by trivia, gossip and regurgitated ideas. Starring Morgana Robinson and Terry Mynott, as well as a cherry-picked ensemble cast, Very Important People is about to reinvigorate the world of impressions. Keeping things ultra-fresh each show also features a topical sketch recorded in the week of transmission.
An interview with Morgana and Terry is available here.