Friday's TV tips
In theory, Kiri Te Kanawa and Kate Adie are an unlikely pairing.
The former is a New Zealand-born singer, who has become one of the most famous and acclaimed sopranos of her generation, while the latter is a broadcaster and journalist best known for reporting from some of the most dangerous trouble spots in the world.
However, as they meet in front of an audience at the Wales Millennium Centre to mark the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World contest, some surprising similarities begin to emerge.
Shahbaz is selected to transport a fragile art collection worth £15,000 from Leicestershire to Paris. He gets off to a good start, but disaster strikes when his van starts making a strange noise.
Laurie is entusted to move a steel horse sculpture worth £95,000 from Hampshire to London, where it is to be the centrepiece of a display at the Chelsea Flower Show.
Lastly, Raymond and Grant win the job of transporting a classic Canadian canoe from Cheshire to St Andrews in Scotland.
Ahead of the Munster football final, we talk to Gillingham’s player-of-the-year and a famous son of Kerry football, John Egan (pictured).
John’s father, who passed away in 2012, was part of the great Kingdom sides of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, winning six All-Irelands and five All-Star awards.
Despite his Kerry background, John was born and raised in the heart of the Rebel county but will there be divided loyalties come Munster football final day?
Comedic actor David Rawle, AKA Martin Moone in the mega-hit Moone Boy, talks to us about his Gaelic Football heritage in lovely Leitrim’s Carrigallen GAA club. David returns to the hallowed turf once more to relive memories with his friends and former club mates (none of whom are imaginary!). And David also has to finally confront the annoying fact that everyone thinks he’s from Roscommon!
Drugs in the GAA has become a major talking point in recent weeks and we spoke to Irish Times journalist Malachy Clerkin, former Irish athlete David Gillick and leading sports nutritionist Dr. Sharon Madigan to see whether there is a serious issue in the GAA. Expect plenty of heated debate!
When it was first mooted that a mash-up between Channel 4’s longest running programme and one of its most popular comedy shows would be happening, most people thought it was a bonkers if fun idea.
Few thought it would have the legs to run for quite as long as it has.
The first episode aired on January 2, 2012, on a night dedicated to hybrid programmes being broadcast as part of the station’s 30th birthday celebrations. It went down so well that a full series was commissioned – and a further six have followed so far.
As ever, tonight’s edition is hosted by Jimmy Carr and features Countdown stalwarts Susie Dent and Rachel Riley, while Sean Lock and a special guest take charge of the teams.
Image Credit: David Maguire/BBC
BBC Four proves once again that is the home of the best music documentaries with a new series charting the birth of rock ’n’ roll.
The opening episode takes us back to 1950s America, where blues, boogie woogie and vocal harmonies were coming together to create a new sound, nurtured by small independent labels.
As well as profiling such early pioneers as Fats Domino and Little Richard, the programme also looks at the emergence of the man who would later be dubbed the King of Rock ’n’ Roll – Elvis Presley.
(2011) Set in 1917, this gripping martial arts thriller focuses on a craftsman whose violent past raises its ugly head once again when he uses all his high-kicking skills to defend a shopkeeper from two gangsters.
The incident – or at least his abilities – attract the attention of a hard-bitten detective who wants to more about the mystery man, including what he might have got up to in years gone by.
But it’s the criminals from the local underworld who are also keeping an eye on him that he should really be concerned about. Donnie Yen and Takeshi Kaneshiro head the cast of a film that is in Mandarin with subtitles.
(2008) A massive explosion rocks New York and an unspeakable threat sparks a race for survival.
A group of friends who were celebrating at a party at the time of the blast capture the terror on a camcorder as they attempt to make it across the city to rescue a friend. Cloverfield almost lives up to the hype surrounding it - there are impressive set pieces and tense, scary moments, but the script is riddled with implausibilities.
Nevertheless, this cross between Godzilla and The Blair Witch Project should keep most viewers perched on the edge of their seats. Michael Stahl-David, Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas and TJ Miller head the largely unknown cast.
(2011) Labelled an outcast by his brainy family, a bouncer overcomes long odds to lead a team of under-performing misfits to semi-pro hockey glory, beating the crap out of everything that stands in his way.
Starring: Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill
They say all good things must come to an end, and before he sets sail for the summer, Graham introduces a selection of highlights from the latest series of his award-winning chat show.
George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kylie Minogue, Dwayne ’The Rock’ Johnson, Rebel Wilson and Chris Pratt are among those whose conversations are selected for a repeat airing.
No doubt there will also be a second opportunity to witness some members of the audience regale the viewers with their amusing anecdotes – or not as the case may be. Last in the series.
Heavily pregnant model and actress Lily Cole assumes editorial control, analysing the claim of critic Cyril Connolly that ’there is no more sombre enemy of good art than the pram in the hall’.
The work of Barbara Hepworth, who juggled raising four children with her artistic career, is appraised while Lionel Shriver delivers an essay on the joys of childlessness.
Plus, a look at artist Gavin Turk and his wife Deborah Curtis’ project The House of Fairy Tales, which has been delighting youngsters for almost a decade.
