From following the lives of elephants, to uncovering the realities of life as a carer, this week’s TV offers something for everyone.
Mo Gilligan’s All Star Happy Hour
Channel 4
Monday 4th May, 10pm
Comedian Mo Gilligan is the latest star to broadcast his own show from home, with Mo Gilligan’s All Star Happy Hour.
In the four-part series, Gilligan will be entertaining audiences with a mix of comedy, music and unique games, which will see members of the public competing with celebrities in order to win prizes.
The first episode will see appearances from TV personality Sharon Osborne, footballer Jessie Lingard and singer Shaggy.
Isolation Stories
ITV
Monday 4th May – Thursday 7th May
Isolation Stories will explore four different lockdown experiences, with each episode 15 minutes long.
The four dramas are all filmed in line with social distancing and ITV Studios will donate to NHS charities in response.
Mel stars Sheridan Smith as a pregnant woman alone in lockdown. The married father of her child has returned to his family and her own family are giving her the cold shoulder.
Ron and Russell, stars Robert Glenister and Tom Glenister as a father and son struggling with the reopening of old wounds when they are forced to isolate together. This is only made worse when father Ron becomes ill and son Russell has to take care of him.
Mike and Rochelle, starring Darren Boyd and Angela Griffin, follows paranoid hypochondriac Mike who sees his worst fears realised with the onset of the virus.
Unable to cope, he forces his therapist to help him via an online session, but it starts to bring up the question about who is the patient and who is the therapist.
Karen stars David Threlfall, Eddie Marsan, Blue Marsan and Bodhi Marsan as a broken family trying to come together again.
The A Word
BBC One
Tuesday 5th May, 9pm
The third series of The A Word brings about a lot of changes for the Hughes family. Two years have passed and Alison and Paul have divorced, forcing Joe to split his time between his dad in the Lake District and his mum in Manchester.
Joe’s autism doesn’t make the family upheaval any easier and they are all trying to adjust to their new normal.
The main cast are all back with Max Vento playing Joe, Lee Ingleby playing Paul, Morven Christie playing Alison, Christopher Eccleston playing grandfather Maurice, Greg McHugh playing Joe’s uncle Eddie and Molly Wright playing Joe’s half sister Rebecca, who has just found out she is pregnant.
Rhod Gilbert’s Work Experience
BBC Two
Wednesday 6th May, 10pm
The newest series of Rhod Gilbert’s Work Experience returns to screens earlier than planned, to celebrate the unsung heroes that are the nation’s care workers.
The series started ten years ago and since then Gilbert has undertaken a whole host of different jobs, from florist, to bin man, to RAF fighter pilot.
In the first episode of the new series, Gilbert spends a week as a care worker, getting involved in training, spending a few days in a care home in Barry and experiencing a day out in the community.
The episode showcases the selflessness of care workers and just how hard they work to help others.
Brassic
Sky One
Thursday 7th May, 10pm
With the best launch for a Sky Original comedy in seven years, it’s no surprise that Brassic has returned for a second series.
The six-part series is created by Danny Brocklehurst and Joseph Gilgun and series two picks up only a few months after the series one finale.
The main cast returns with Joseph Gilgun playing Vinnie, Michelle Keegan as single mum Erin and Damien Molony as Vinnie’s best friend and Erin’s boyfriend, Dylan.
The rest of the gang include Cardi (Tom Hanson), Ash (Aaron Heffernan), Tommo (Ryan Sampson) and JJ (Parth Thakerar), plus Dominic West plays Vinnie’s blundering GP.
Series one saw Vinnie fake his own death to get away from crime boss Terrance McCann (Ramon Tikaram), at the same time Erin and Dylan’s relationship was in tatters after Jake (Anthony Welsh) proposed to Erin.
Dead To Me
Netflix
Friday 8th May
Delving into the toxicity of secrets, series two of Dead To Me once again joins Jen (Christina Applegate) and Judy (Linda Cardellini) as they try to navigate their friendship, with murder as the dark cloud hanging over and bonding them both.
Series one saw Jen meet Judy, a woman who she thinks is a fellow widow, while attending a grief support group meeting after the recent death of her husband.
Series two of the dark comedy will look at grief, forgiveness and friendship, with a few dark twists along the way.
Walking with Elephants
Channel 4
Sunday 10th May, 9pm
Explorer Levison Wood has been all over the world, from trekking the length of the Nile to navigating the notorious Darien Gap in South America.
In his three-part series, Walking with Elephants, Wood tracks and follows the routes of elephants during their 650-mile migration across Botswana to the Okavango Delta.
Elephants are at risk from poachers and lions, but they can also plunder farmer’s crops when passing through remote villages.