BBC One

Stephen Merchant and Asim Chaudhry to star in Christmas comedy Click & Collect

Stephen Merchant and Asim Chaudhry (Credit: BBC)

Merchant and Chaudry play two mismatched neighbours who drive cross country to collect a toy for a little girl’s Christmas wish.

Andrew Bennet (Merchant) realises on Christmas Eve that he has forgotten the one gift his daughter really wanted, Sparklehoof the Unicorn Princess. Struggling to track one down last minute, his annoying and over-friendly neighbour Dev D’Cruz (Chaudhry) finds the last one in the UK.

Unfortunately, it's 300 miles away in Carlisle and the pair embark on a journey to collect it in time to save Christmas.

Callum Turner and Holliday Grainger to lead BBC One’s The Capture

Callum Turner and Holliday Grainger (Credit: BBC)

War and Peace actor Callum Turner leads as Shaun Emery, the proud British soldier whose conviction for a murder in Afghanistan is overturned due to weak video evidence.

Emery begins again as a free man with his six-year-old daughter, but when new CCTV footage emerges soon after, he must stand trial again for a different incident in London.

The Capture also stars Strike’s Holliday Grainger as investigator Rachel Carey, hired to dissect the reliability of the shocking video.

Emma Thompson to star in Russell T Davies drama Years and Years

Emma Thompson DBE (Credit: BBC)

Set in a Britain rocked by political, economic and technological changes, the six-part drama follows the Lyons family as their busy live converge one night in 2019.

Over the next fifteen years, the drama tracks the twists and turns of everyday life to find out if this ordinary family can change the world.

Starring in the family saga is two-time Oscar winner Emma Thompson (Love Actually) as Vivienne Rook, an outspoken and controversial public figure whose rise to power brings an uncertain future.

Elen Rhys and Julian Looman lead new BBC One daytime crime drama The Mallorca Files

Elen Rhys and Julian Looman (Credit: BBC)

Set on the Spanish Island of Mallorca, introverted British cop Miranda Blake (Rhys) clashes with her German partner Max Winter (Looman) who is unashamedly unconventional and wears his heart on his sleeve.

Their opposing personalities play out in their crime-solving endeavours while the Police Chief Inez Villegas keeps them busy with cases her own team don’t want.

Written by Dan Sefton (The Good Karma Hospital), the new series is directed by Bryn Higgins (Black Mirror).

RTS Midlands launches its first Careers Fair

(Credit: John Bray)

Panel sessions took place throughout the day at the RTS event. “The secrets behind TV sport”, hosted by BBC WM presenter Richard Wilford, featured Sports Personality of the Year deputy editor Michael Jackson, BBC sports news correspondent Natalie Pirks and BBC Sport editor Jo McCusker, who offered advice to budding sports broadcasters.

Casting announced for new BBC One drama Dark Mon£y

(Credit: BBC)

Centred on The Mensahs from North London, Dark Mon£y tells the story of parents Manny (Ceesay) and Sam (Halfpenny) who suffer a horrific shock when their youngest child reveals he was abused by a known filmmaker while filming a Hollywood movie in America.

In an attempt to build anew, the working-class family reluctantly accept a large pay-off for their silence.

Believing themselves to be free of the hardships of pressing charges against a renowned celebrity, The Mensahs are proven wrong as accepting the pay-off leads to dark consequences.

TV picks of the week: 22 October - 28 October

A Woman Captured: Storyville

Monday: BBC Four, 10.00pm

Film-maker Bernadett Tuza-Ritter tells a harrowing story of modern slavery through one woman’s nightmare. Marish is 52, works 12-hour days in a Hungarian factor and has been a domestic slave for ten years.

Consistently abused and forced to live off scraps Marish eventually gathers the courage to plan an escape.

 

TV picks of the week: 15 October – 21 October

Family Cooking Showdown

Monday: BBC Two, 7.00pm

Returning for a brand-new series, Family Cooking Showdown shakes things up with new presenters Celebrity MasterChef 2017 winner Angellica Bell and Michelin-starred chef Tommy Banks.

Competing in the first episode of the new series are the Abimbola-Younges from London, the Stones from Dorset, the Penmans from Lincolnshire and the Whites from Hampshire.

All the families will face challenges that will test their cooking skills, but who will be heading home?