The Teacher

Monday

Channel 5, 9.00pm

The first series of this anthology followed Jenna Garvey (Sheridan Smith, The Railway Children Return), an English teacher accused of having sex with one of her pupils. Now, Kara Tointon (EastEnders) stars as art teacher Dani Osborne. 

After Dani has an affair with colleague Jimmy (Will Mellor) on a school trip, a pupil goes missing. Dani is racked with guilt, and then the boy turns up, dead. A murder investigation follows that will see Dani try to lie her way out of trouble, testing her marriage to its limits.

Waterloo Road

Tuesday

BBC One, 9.00pm

With brat summer firmly behind us, it’s time to head back to school. The new eight-part series will be the fourth since the show was brought back in 2023, after coming off air in 2015. 

In Waterloo Road High School, there’s a new sheriff in town. Jason Manford (8 Out of 10 Cats) plays Steve Savage, the new headmaster who’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants. 

Taskmaster

Thursday

Channel 4, 9.00pm

Greg Davies (The Cleaner) teams up once again with glamorous assistant Alex Horne (8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown). 

Back for an 18th series of Taskmaster, the dysfunctional duo are joined by a mix of new talent and seasoned comedian’s comedians. The likes of Emma Sidi (Ghosts) and Babatunde Aleshe (Live at the Apollo) will be going up against Rosie Jones (Out of Order), Jack Dee (Lead Balloon) and Andy Zaltzman (The News Quiz). 

The Grand Tour: One For The Road

Friday

Prime Video

James May, Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson (Top Gear) head out on one last outing under the Grand Tour banner. The trio explore Zimbabwe, each driving a car they’ve always wanted to own.

In an emotional trailer set to “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, the three ruminate on making car-related TV together for over two decades. However, Clarkson teases that they’ve saved the best for last. 

After they ride off into the sunset, The Grand Tour will continue without them. Whether the trio will work together again remains, for now, in doubt. 

Strictly Come Dancing

Saturday

BBC One, 7.20pm

Strictly is back for a 22nd series, two decades on from series one. This year, celebrity contestants include Montell Douglas (better known to Gladiator fans as Fire), actor Sarah Hadland (Miranda) and Wynne Evans, a broadcaster, opera singer and, yes, the Go Compare man.

Also appearing will be comedian Chris McCausland (8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown), the show’s first blind contestant. As he said when his involvement was announced, “If anybody out there is thinking ‘How the hell is he going to do that?’, then rest assured that I am thinking exactly the same thing.”