The week's TV sees a new limited series give the cursed child trope in horror a comedic twist in The Baby, and what is sure to be the sporting event of the summer, the UEFA Women's Euro 2022, kicks off.
The Extraordinary Life of April Ashley
Channel 4
Monday, 10pm
From the slums of wartime Liverpool to London’s high society, this documentary tells the epic tale of April Ashley, the model, dancer and transgender pioneer who changed Britain.
In the late 1950s, April became a dancer at an infamous Parisian nightclub, before travelling to Casablanca to undergo pioneering gender reassignment surgery. Returning to the UK, she modelled for Vogue before being scandalously outed in a tabloid newspaper in 1961. With celebrity friendships and a landmark divorce trial, her life was a rollercoaster, but she died in 2021 with an MBE for services to transgender equality.
Ghislaine Maxwell: Making of a Monster
Channel 4
Tuesday, 10pm
With the former British socialite and sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell recently sentenced to 20 years in jail, this documentary offers a unique insight into who Ghislaine really is.
In the opening episode, director Erica Gornall gathers new testimony on her early life, from her lavish childhood shaped by her tyrannical father Robert Maxwell to her move to New York in the 1990s after her father’s death left the family penniless and ostracised.
Ben Fogle’s New Lives in the Country
Channel 5
Tuesday, 9pm
In this series opener, Ben Fogle spends a year following Paul, Toni and their daughter Harriet who, in a bid to spend more time together as a family, risk it all to buy a rundown pub in a remote village in the Scottish wilds.
Leaving behind their lives in Kent, the family attempt to restore and run the 200-year-old pub in the village of Kilmichael Glassary. However, with no experience in hospitality and the seemingly insurmountable challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the family find themselves facing an increasingly difficult task.
UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 opening game: England v Austria
BBC One
Wednesday, 7pm
One of the biggest sporting events of the summer is finally here, as England hosts the Women’s Euro 2022. The mighty Lionesses kick off proceedings at Old Trafford with an opening game against Austria.
The tournament promises to be a record breaker, with the crowd for the final at Wembley on 31 July expected to be the largest ever for a Women’s Euro game. Every England and Northern Ireland game will be broadcast on BBC One throughout the tournament. TV coverage across the BBC will be led by Gabby Logan, Alex Scott, Reshmin Chowdhury, Eilidh Barbour and Kelly Somers. Come on you Lionesses!
The Baby
Sky Atlantic
Thursday, 9pm
Sky Atlantic’s new horror comedy series The Baby offers a darkly funny, raw examination of motherhood from the perspective of a woman who doesn’t want to be one.
Michelle De Swarte (The Duchess) stars as Natasha, a 38-year-old who is frustrated by the fact that her closest friends are all having babies. When she is unexpectedly landed with a baby of her own, her life violently collapses.
Controlling, manipulative but undeniably cute, the baby turns Natasha’s life into a surreal horror show, and as she learns more of the baby’s murderous supernatural powers, she makes increasingly desperate attempts to get rid of it.
Big Zuu’s Big Eats
Dave
Friday, 10:40pm
Grime artist and TV chef Big Zuu returns alongside schoolfriends Tubsey and Hyder for a third outing of his hit show Big Zuu’s Big Eats. With a brand-new pimped-up food truck, the gang will take over unique hand-picked venues to host celebrity guests, treating them to a themed dining experience like no other.
In the series opener, Big Zuu heads up north to cook for Lancashire comedy legend Johnny Vegas, helping him with the mission of reinventing the humble can of Spam.
