Monday

Storm Troupers: the Fight to Forecast the Weather

BBC Four

9pm

Alok Jha presents a look at Britain’s favourite topic of conversation: the weather. In this new three-part series, Jha charts the history of weather forecasting from its origins in the early 19th century, looking at how it evolved from military tool to a crucial part of everyday culture. In this episode, he returns to the beginning of weather forecasting, and learns how it was developed to save lives at sea.

 

Tuesday

Rovers

Sky1

10pm

Royale Family stars Craig Cash and Sue Johnston reunite for a new comedy following the fans of a lower-league football team.  Johnston plays Doreen, the club’s dotty matriarch who we find this week training the new barmaid and raffling off a meat platter of questionable quality. Meanwhile, die-hard Redbridge Rovers fan and loveable loser Pete (Cash) gets locked in the club’s toilet cubicle with little hope of escape.

 

Wednesday

Secret Life of the Human Pups

Channel 4

10pm

Channel 4 gets under the skin of the growing phenomenon of human puppy play. There are now an estimated 10,000 people in the UK who spend thousands of pounds on elaborate dog suits to emulate man’s best friend. This documentary looks at what drives people to this unusual subculture, and asks what impact it has on their friends and loved ones.

 

Thursday

Dan Cruickshank: at Home with the British

BBC Four

9pm

Dan Cruickshank heads to Toxteth, Liverpool, to explore the British love affair with terraced housing. Toxteth reached the headlines during the 1980s after it was ripped apart by violence, but Cruickshank shows that it has a far richer and more varied history than that incident. During Liverpool’s Victorian building boom, 100,000 terraces were erected to house its growing workforces, and Toxteth’s share even won the 2015 Turner Prize for their 21st century regeneration.

 

Friday

The World’s Biggest Flower Market

BBC Two

9pm

Flowers are big business. From celebratory wedding bouquets to funeral wreaths, this year it is predicted that we will spend £2.2 billion on flowers. Journalist Cherry Healey and Simon Healey, florist to the Royal Palaces, head to Holland to visit the Aalsmeer Flower Auction, which supplies blooms to florists and supermarkets across the globe. The duo will follow the journey of three of Britain’s favourite flowers –the rose, the tulip and the lily- from root to vase, and learn about the impressive logistics of the multibillion-pound industry.

 

Saturday

Britain’s Got Talent

ITV

7.30pm

Following the live semi-finals this week, Saturday sees Britain choose the latest act to perform in front of the royal family at this year’s Royal Variety Performance. After the shock exit of Kathleen Jenkins last weekend, we could be in for some more surprises yet.

 

Sunday

Top Gear

BBC Two

8pm

After months of speculation, rumours and furore, Top Gear finally returns to our tellies this weekend with a brand new line up. The team, headed up by Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc, has spent over eight months travelling over 7,500 miles through nine countries. So where better for Evans and LeBlanc to test some Reliant Rialtos than rainy Blackpool?