Week of Monday, September 18 to Sunday, September 24
Whether you plan to have a lazy evening in front of the telly or want to catch up after a cheeky night out, Digital Spy has your TV viewing schedule covered every week.
Here are all the shows that you absolutely have to watch over the next seven days:
1. Strictly Come Dancing - Saturday at 6.25pm on BBC One
After the weird launch show that doesn't really do anything other than partnering up the celebs, Strictly starts properly next weekend. And for the first time in years, it's not on a Friday, but rather a bumper Saturday edition. No elimination quite yet, as their scores will be carried over for the following weekend. So you'll get at least one more week of Ruth Langsford action.
2. The Child in Time - Sunday at 9pm on BBC One
Who fancies a one-off 90-minute drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch? Based on Ian McEwan's novel of the same name, it follows the life of children's author Stephen Lewis, whose four-year-old daughter Kate disappears at a supermarket. He and wife Julie end up separating over the tragedy, and the story picks up three years later as the couple attempt to carry on with their lives.
3. Liar - Monday at 9pm on ITV
We weren't sure which new crime drama to choose between this and BBC One's Rellik (written by the same team no less), but so far, it's definitely Liar that's gripped us the most. 'The next Broadchurch' continues the mystery surrounding the alleged rape of Laura (Joanne Froggatt) by Andrew (Ioan Gruffudd), and we're still not at all sure which one of them (if either of them) is telling the truth.
4. W1A - Monday at 10pm on BBC Two
The third series of the award-winning comedy set in the BBC is back, and this time the Renewal group, under Head of Values Ian Fletcher, has to identify what the company actually does best, while also facing a Channel 4 documentary alleging the BBC rejected an ex-Premier League footballer as a potential pundit on Match of the Day. Hilariously awkward as ever.
5. First Dates - Monday at 10pm on Channel 4
Directly following The Undateables at 9pm, the nation's favourite dating series is back for a 483rd series. The formula continues to create brilliant TV, and this time we see a young couple with very different views on Brexit, and heartbroken Doreen, whose husband left her after 46 years together.
6. The Detectives - Murder on the Street - Wednesday at 9pm on BBC Two
We honestly can't enough of these enthralling fly-on-the-wall crime documentaries, and here's another one. This four-part series follows a group of murder detectives in Manchester over the course of a year. In the first episode, they look into a burnt body at a homeless camp, while also investigating the case of woman attacked with a petrol bomb in her own home. Grisly, but fascinating.
7. All Star Driving School - Monday at 7.30pm on E4
Sadly no Maureen Rees in sight, but here's a celebrity edition of the classic series in which people attempt to finally pass their driving exam. And by celebrities we mean someone off The Vamps, one of the Tattoo Fixers and Cici the waitress from First Dates.
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Freelancer writer
Sam is an entertainment writer with NCTJ accreditation and a twenty-year career as a film journalist.
Starting out as a staff writer at Total Film, moving up to Deputy Online Editor, Sam was responsible for Total Film’s YouTube channel, where he revolutionised the magazine’s approach to video junkets, creating influential formats that spread to other outlets.
He’s interviewed a wide range of film icons, including directors such as David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, Sofia Coppola, Ridley Scott, Michael Bay and Sam Raimi, as well as actors such as Meryl Streep, Nic Cage, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Anne Hathaway, Margot Robbie, Natalie Portman, Kermit the Frog, all of the Avengers and many more.
Sam has also interviewed several comic creators, including Stan Lee, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and he has a zombie cameo in The Walking Dead comic.
In 2014, Sam went freelance, working directly for film studios including Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox and Disney, as well as covering red carpet events for film marketing company PMA Productions.
Sam is the co-host, producer and editor of the Arrow Video podcast, which has seen year-on-year growth since its creation in 2017, gaining over half a million listens in that time.
His byline has appeared in outlets such as Yahoo, MTV, Dazed, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Good Housekeeping among others.
In 2012, Sam made it to the final of the Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year competition, and went on to become a filmmaker himself, directing three features that have all played major festivals, and secured distribution – starring in two of them.
Jim Carrey once mistook Sam for Johnny Cash, and John Carpenter told him to ‘Keep up the good work.’ He promises to try his best.
