Tonight’s TV tips
Dermot O'Leary hosts highlights from a celebration of the Irish music tradition and its dialogue with Britain in the presence of the president of Ireland and the Prince and Princess Michael of Kent at the Royal Albert Hall on BBC4 at 8pm.
Catchphrase is back! Stephen Mulhern will be asking contestants and audiences to ‘say what they see’ as he hosts the second series of the much-loved game show.
Players compete to guess the familiar phrases hidden in animated clues. And one lucky contestant will go through to the Super Catchphrase for the chance to win fifty thousand pounds.
Since his breakout role in Withnail and I in 1987, Richard E Grant has had a hard time topping that unforgettable performance.
However, as he has plenty of other strings to his bow, a fine writer, director and presenter to name but three, he’s rarely out of work.
In this show, the self-confessed curio hunter is on the continent where he delves into the world of those who spend their days rifling through the barns, cowsheds and French farm attics, looking for pre-war treasures to bring back home.
Giving a fresh spin on the Bargain Hunt/Cash in the Attic format, REG sheds light on the world of professional antique hunters and dealers who seek out hidden treasures at flea markets and antique shops all over France; hoping to find curios like absinthe glasses, horse linen and vintage traffic lights that will sell like wildfire in the UK.
But can these dealers actually make a living from their weekend of treasure hunting?
We know what you’re thinking: ’It’s Sunday night, I can’t stand Antiques Roadshow or golf.
Where, oh where, can I find an event paying tribute to Irish music, preferably at a leading London venue?’
Well you’re in luck dear reader, because BBC4 has just the show for you.
Marking Irish President Michael D Higgins’ first state visit to the UK, this show features the cream of musical, acting and presenting talent.
Among the artists performing during the evening of music, spoken word and dance are that king of foot-tapping, though provoking, controversial pop Elvis Costello; Dublin’s own Rockabilly force of nature Imelda May; fellow Dubliners Glen Hansard (of The Commitments and acclaimed film/stage show Once fame) and revered novelist Joseph O’Connor; County Tyrone singer-songwriter Paul Brady, and County Cork actress Fiona Shaw.
Your host is Dermot O’Leary, who will be dialling down his usual X Factor-style patter.
Half way through the series, the Dragons have really settled in the Den and are ready to do battle with each other if they see a pitch they want. This week however, the Dragons have to separate their hearts from their heads when a number of pitchers capture their imagination with their personal stories.
Married couple Joe and Nicola McGrath came from the entertainment industry but after the downturn struck decided to set up a gourmet popcorn business. Will the Dragons agree that their move was a good one?
Dubliner Mark Cheevers believes he has come up with an innovative way of helping people to paint and draw, and he’s got something up his sleeve that might grab Gavin Duffy’s attention.
With over 25 years experience in the food sector before starting ‘The Mad Food Company’ Brendan Cleary certainly has the right credentials, but will his reinvention of the humble white pudding prove a step too mad for the Dragons?
Former construction workers Ray Wilkins and Darren Kavanagh decided to turn their passion for sports into a new business after being made redundant. But will their passion, and more importantly their figures, convince the Dragons to invest?
And one hopeful certainly makes Peter Casey and Barry O’Sullivan sit up and take notice, could there be a battle in the Den?
A hot-headed swordsman and his quest to join the King of France’s royal guard.
He hits it off with a trio of former members who have fallen into disgrace, and they all join up to defeat a plot to overthrow the king by an English lord who’s built a deadly war airship.
After decades of movies and TV versions (latest of which having only recently wrapped up on the BBC), few people were crying out for yet another version of Alexandre Dumas’ swashbuckling saga, but director Paul WS Anderson pressed on regardless.
The unique selling point in this version is airships, which gives a new level to the thrust and parry of the drama.
The special effects alone are worth tuning in for and the film stays brilliantly slick and stylish right up until the end credits roll. Logan Lerman is the one to watch in this version.
Logan Lerman, Milla Jovovich, Matthew Macfadyen, Ray Stevenson, Luke Evans
24%
A Texan hunter stumbles across the site of drug deal gone disastrously wrong – and decides to help himself to a briefcase full of cash.
Realising that the rightful owners will probably want it back, he goes on the run, but doesn’t count on being trailed by a sadistic hit man who will stop at nothing to get the job done.
Can a world-weary sheriff make sense of the carnage before more innocent people pay the price for getting in the killer’s way?
After the disappointing Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers, the Coen Brothers made a dazzling return to form with this Oscar-winning thriller.
At times, it’s almost unbearably tense, and some of the credit for that has to go to Oscar-winner Javier Bardem who manages to be downright terrifying despite being burdened with a ridiculous haircut.
Although he steals the film, the rest of the cast are excellent too – and Kelly Macdonald’s American accent is mighty impressive.
Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Kelly Macdonald, Woody Harrelson, Garret Dillahunt, Tess Harper, Barry Corbin
94%
