TUESDAY 18 JANUARY
Britain’s Banks: Too Big to Save?
BBC Two, 9.00pm
The central frustration for some people of the 2008 financial crisis was that despite the behaviour of the big banks, in assuming risk way beyond what they could safely guarantee, the sums involved meant that they couldn’t be allowed to fail. In this documentary, featuring such high-profile interviewees as Business Secretary Vince Cable (pictured), BBC reporter Robert Peston explains what went wrong, and asks what has been done to prevent it happening again. Though his halting delivery style can be frustrating, Peston is adept at explaining how bankers dreamt up the ever more labyrinthine instruments of their own demise. Quite apart from the sums involved (globally, bailouts were worth £1,400 for every person on Earth), the scariest thing is perhaps how little the public seems to know about the causes of the crisis and how little has been done to fix the underlying problems. The final paradox, as Peston observes, is that Britain still relies heavily on the financial services industry for wealth creation. He examines how the international banking regulators, a little-known and secretive committee that sits in Basel, Switzerland, have repeatedly failed to keep their extravagances in control. There are no easy solutions, but this clear-eyed and intelligent documentary suggests that education might be the best place to start. EC
My Darling Clementine
(1946, b/w)
More4, 11.25am
John Ford’s wistful take on the story of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday is still the one against which all other versions of this Western should be judged. What stands out is Henry Fonda’s performance as Earp, the magnificent setting and inventive and exquisitely staged scenes. SD
Dance Dance Dance
Sky Arts 2/SA2HD, 8.00pm
Arlene Phillips presents six specially commissioned performances of classical ballet and contemporary dance routines for this new series. Renowned dance groups perform in some unusual locations such as the fountains of London’s Somerset House. The English National Ballet performs the dramatic Black Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake, and choreographer Anne-Marie Smalldon’s Ghost Tracks is performed to the backdrop of the Eurostar’s arrivals and departures hall at St Pancras station. RW
Natural World Special: Miracle in the Marshes of Iraq
BBC Two, 8.00pm
Lush and teeming with wildlife, the great Mesopotamian marshes in southern Iraq were long considered the models for the Bible’s vision of Eden. From the Fifties onwards, however, they began to be drained to allow the land to be used for agriculture and oil prospecting – a process accelerated by Saddam Hussein during the Nineties as a means of evicting the Shia Muslims who lived there. By the time of the US-led invasion in 2003, the marshes had been reduced by 90 per cent. Since then, however, Azzam Alwash, a charismatic Iraqi engineer, has been putting together a plan to re-flood the now-arid land. In this documentary, the film-maker David Johnson tracks the project to discover whether this unseen but valuable side to the country can be rehabilitated. EC
The Year Britain Froze
Channel 4, 8.00pm
Given that London lies on the same latitude as the nippy Toronto, it is perplexing that the British people continually seem to be amazed by ice and snow. That said, last month – the coldest December since records began – was undoubtedly chilly. This retrospective documentary relives the “Big Freeze”, mixing heartwarming triumphs over adversity with tragedies of people stranded and dying, as well as looking at the underlying conditions which caused the extreme weather. EC
Piers Morgan Tonight
CNN, 8.00pm
In case you missed it when it went out live (understandable, seeing as that was at two o’clock this morning), here’s a repeat of Piers Morgan making his debut in the interview slot that was Larry King’s for 25 years. It’s a big job for Morgan, and a leap of faith by his employers. His first guest is a chat show host whose success he’d love to match: Oprah Winfrey. SH
Big Fat Gypsy Weddings
Channel 4, 9.00pm
After the success of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, which drew 4.5million viewers last February, Channel 4 commissioned this five-part follow-up series looking at gypsy life through the prism of rites of passage: christenings, funerals, weddings. It is clear why the community makes for such good television: the subjects are charismatic and colourful, but there is also a slight sense that viewers will be tuning in to laugh as much as to learn. Tonight’s opener looks at the occasion of a gypsy woman’s wedding day, in which the bride and her entourage wear eye-popping outfits. EC
Bad Boys (1995)
Five USA, 9.00pm
Towards the end of his career as the cheeky chappy on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Will Smith goes all sweary in Michael Bay’s high-octane action thriller about a major drug bust. The women are leggy and beautiful, the men fast-talking and macho. It’s also very entertaining. Also starring Martin Lawrence. CG
Taggart
ITV1, 9.00pm
Another case in the immortal crime series. Will Ramsey, a shipworker’s union activist, is shot dead leaving a meeting, while his boss Cam Beattie is wounded. DCI Burke (Alex Norton) and DS Reid (Blythe Duff) initially suspect a corporate killing, but the truth is even more unsettling. Gritty and taut, but there’s little new. EC
True Stories: The Nurture Room
More4, 10.00pm
The importance of nurturing children and giving them experiences they might be missing in their family environment is brought home in Matt Pinder’s observational documentary. Filmed in Glasgow, it follows troubled primary school children in special learning programmes, or “nurture rooms”, small classrooms where teachers can spend more time with children with behavioural problems. As the film makes clear, the nurture room is all about making children from troubled backgrounds feel accepted and wanted. SH
American History X (1998)
ITV4, 10.15pm
Compellingly violent and brutal examination of white supremacism in America. Edward Norton is both mesmerising and terrifying as the neo-Nazi who murders the black youths who break into his car. After a stint in prison, he’s reformed but returns to find his brother (Edward Furlong) on the same track. PS
Kara Tointon: Don’t Call Me Stupid
BBC One, 10.35pm; NI, 11.15pm; Wales, 11.05pm
A welcome repeat of this informative documentary, presumably because of Kara Tointon’s success in the recent series of Strictly Come Dancing. Previously shown on BBC Three in November last year, this brave film on dyslexia follows the ex-EastEnders actress as she embarks on coaching lessons that she hopes will make her job easier. Tointon has struggled with dyslexia all her life but says she has always avoided confronting her condition. She comes across as warm and open and remains upbeat throughout the various tests, related well to the viewer through graphics to show what goes through her head when she processes information. RW
Trust the Man (2006)
BBC One, 11.35pm; not NI; Wales, 12.05pm
This romcom is disappointing, despite the presence of four normally interesting actors. Two couples (David Duchovny and Julianne Moore, and Maggie Gyllenhaal and Billy Crudup) are going through difficulties, and so embark on high-jinks to try to repair things. EC
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WEDNESDAY 19 JANUARY
CRITIC'S CHOICE: Hattie
BBC Four, 9.00pm
The Carry On star and much-loved comic actress Hattie Jacques might have often been cast as a stern matron, a battle-axe even, but Stephen Russell’s bittersweet drama reveals a lustier, naughtier side to her character. There are elements of artistic licence in his storyline and Hattie might have benefited if it had offered a broader spectrum to Jacques’s life, but this tightly focused film is driven by an exquisite performance by Ruth Jones.
The story details the clandestine affair Hattie embarked on during her marriage to the actor John Le Mesurier (Robert Bathurst) at a time when she was at the height of her popularity. Jacques might have hated being overweight (she longed to be a ballerina), but her size merely seems to fuel her desire as she is readily seduced by the young John Schofield (Aidan Turner) – a handsome, rough and ready used car dealer. Desperate to avoid any kind of scandal (“You British never forgive people who like a lot of sex,” says her lover), Jacques, not wanting to lose either man, tries to keep the affair a secret. When Schofield becomes a lodger in the Le Mesurier household, she’s forced to divide her time between her tolerant husband – who is portrayed, perhaps a little unkindly, as being lovably hapless and never far from a drink – two children and demanding lover.
It’s a beautifully observed production with a sharp script, but the highlight is an astute characterisation of a fragile, highly sexed Jacques. SH
Live FA Cup Football: Leeds United v Arsenal
ITV1, 7.30pm; not STV
Arsenal were spared blushes after Cesc Fábregas’s stoppage time penalty earned them a draw with Leeds in the original tie at the Emirates Stadium. Now they head to Elland Road for the first time in seven years for this third-round replay. It is thought that Gunners’ boss Arsène Wenger will field a strong side to try to overcome the team currently 22 places below them in the league. But first they have to contain in-form winger Robert Snodgrass (above) whose goal almost took Leeds into the fourth round last time. Adrian Chiles presents. CM
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
BBC One, 8.00pm; not Scotland
If only Steven Spielberg had left this as his final Indiana film and not made the woeful 2008 follow-up. Not only do we meet the young Indiana here, played by River Phoenix, but Indy’s father turns out to be Sean Connery (right). There are nail-biting action sequences too. SD
Michel Roux’s Service
BBC Two, 8.00pm
Michel Roux continues to mould his trainees into sleek waiters in this uplifting reality series. Tonight they’re introduced to the world of Wags and businessman at an upmarket Alderley Edge brasserie, where customers such as Wayne Rooney expect the highest level of service, we’re told. Roux urges his novices to look for opportunities to delight guests, known in waiter parlance as “finding moments of magic”. Some could start with cracking a smile. VP
Will My Crash Diet Kill Me?
Channel 4, 8.00pm
It’s January, so chances are you’re on a diet. If it’s one of the extreme kind involving milkshakes, cabbage soup or something equally unpalatable, it may be doing you more harm than good. In the first of a two-part series, Dr Anu Bhatia meets six people who have chosen to go on a crash diet and explains which diets work and which are damaging. VP
Edwardian Farm
BBC Two, 9.00pm
This entertaining series finishes with our trio of would-be Edwardians rounding up a year of toil on the Devon farm with the oat harvest. A handmade weather vane is commissioned to help them predict a dry spell in which to cut and dry the grain. This segues nicely into segments showing us the lost arts of copper-beating, iron-smelting and charcoal-making. It’s been another terrific series in which the cheery presenters have taught us much about life on the farm a century ago: in a nutshell, that it was a lot of hard graft. VP
Mary Portas: Secret Shopper
Channel 4, 9.00pm
The Daily Telegraph’s retail guru Mary Portas returns with a four-part series. Portas’s mission: to tackle what she perceives as the shoddy customer service offered by the big retailers. Portas takes her campaign to Oxford Street, using a megaphone to issue a new mantra for shop staff: “Smile, speak, serve!” And she tries to improve service at the fashion chain Pilot, where staff training appears to consist of a set of rules stuck to the lavatory door. For a feature by Portas, click here. VP
Pulp Fiction (1994)
BBC Three, 10.00pm
Sixteen years since the hype that greeted its release, Quentin Tarantino’s mish-mash of genres and film-geek references remains exciting and witty. The plot is a cat’s cradle of storylines; among them we find two hit men (Samuel L Jackson and John Travolta) hunting for a briefcase, and a boxer trying to recover a valuable watch. MD
The Joy of Teen Sex
Channel 4, 10.00pm
As Britain has the highest rate of sexually transmitted diseases and teenage pregnancy in Europe, encouraging young people to have safer sex makes sense. This four-part series welcomes adolescents to a mocked-up clinic at which experts dole out advice – topics range from birth control to the best positions for lesbian love-making. Beware that graphic video illustrations may make this uncomfortable family viewing. But clients are treated sensitively by presenters Dr Rachael Jones and social worker Ruth Corden, the sister of Gavin & Stacey star James. VP
Grey’s Anatomy
Living, 10.00pm
The seventh series of the US sex-and-scalpels series continues with the doctors at Seattle Grace-Mercy West still trying to come to terms with the after-effects of the gunman’s dramatic rampage through the hospital. Tonight, Chief Webber tries to help Karev when he notices that he’s refusing to use the elevators after his near-fatal shooting; Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) receives an unexpected visit from his estranged sister (guest star Caterina Scorsone); and Meredith and Derek continue their efforts to ease Cristina back into working in surgery. CM
Film 2011 with Claudia Winkleman
BBC One, 10.45pm; NI/Wales, 11.15pm
The second in a new series as host Claudia Winkleman and Danny Leigh discuss new cinema releases. Following the announcement of Sunday night’s Golden Globe winners and yesterday’s Bafta nominations, it’s an exciting time for film. The duo review Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thriller about the relationship between a veteran ballet dancer and one of her rivals. Star Natalie Portman scooped Best Actress at the Globes and is up for the same award at the Baftas, with the film nominated in 11 other categories. They also review Morning Glory, a comedy drama about a failing American morning news show (strangely called DayBreak) from director Roger Mitchell (Venus), which stars Harrison Ford, Rachel McAdams and Diane Keaton. RW
Amistad (1997)
BBC One, 11.25pm; Wales, 11.55pm; not Northern Ireland
Steven Spielberg tackles the slave trade with this period epic telling the true story of an 1839 slave ship mutiny. Djimon Hounsou (right) plays one of the slaves on-board; Morgan Freeman is a former slave who defends him in the subsequent trial. A gripping story, satisfyingly told. PS
Ma Nuit Chez Maud (1969, b/w)
Sky Arts 2/SA2HD, 12.00midnight
This droll comedy drama is set in a snow-covered Clermont-Ferrand.It centres on a 34-year-old unnamed Catholic engineer (Jean-Louis Trintignant) whose faith is restored when he spends an evening with the recent divorcee Maud (Françoise Fabian). In French with subtitles. PS
Telegraph previewers: Anne Billson, Ed Cumming, Toby Dantzic, Serena Davies, Michael Deacon, Catherine Gee, Chris Harvey, Michael Hogan, Simon Horsford, Lucy Jones, Clive Morgan, Pete Naughton, Andrew Pettie, Ceri Radford, Sam Richards, Tim Robey, Patrick Smith and Rachel Ward
