BBC

As Call the Midwife still has the nation crying happy tears, the BBC has commissioned two further series.

It means that the heart-warming period drama, which is nearing the end of its 12^th series, will air on the BBC until 2026.

Celebrating the announcement, Heidi Thomas, creator and writer of the series, said: “I’m overjoyed by the news that the doors of Nonnatus House will be open for a few more years! Call the Midwife is the pride and joy of all who work on it, but it’s our fantastic, loyal audience that matters most.

The BBC has announced a release date for new detective comedy drama Beyond Paradise, reviving Death in Paradise character and fan favourite DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall).

The new series explores DI Humphrey's life back in the UK with another familiar face from the original show, Martha Lloyd (Sally Bretton). Martha and Humphrey are now engaged to be married following the emotional climax between the two in Death in Paradise series six. 

From The Likely Lads to Men Behaving Badly, British comedy has long mined male friendship for its comic potential. In 2014, BBC Four’s Detectorists delivered a new and unexpected take on the relationship between a couple of blokes. It upended what used to be a pretty macho world to give audiences something completely different.

Macaques: Monkeys in the Mountains – a Dynasties Special

BBC One, 7.30pm

This special episode of Dynasties takes us to Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, where a macaque called Mac has just become alpha male.

Mayflies

BBC One, 9pm

Martin Compston stars as writer Jimmy, who receives a call from his oldest friend Tully (Tony Curran) with the life-changing news that he has terminal cancer and a final request that will test their 30 year strong friendship.    

Tim Davie, the BBC’s Director-General, has called for urgent action to ensure that British media can prosper into the 2030s. He said the BBC must work together with politicians, policymakers, regulators, and other parts of the sector to secure the future of a world-leading UK media market.

Few novels have excited as much love and devotion as Andrew O’Hagan’s Mayflies, a funny, tender but heart-rending tale of male friendship. Now, only two years after its publication, an adaptation is coming to the BBC, an astonishingly quick turnaround for television drama.

Good morning. Today, 100 years and 23 days after the first BBC broadcast, I want to talk about choices. Choices for us all. 

Choices that have profound consequences for our society; its economic success, its cultural life, its democratic health. Our UK and its essence. Of what we hand to the next generation. Of growth. 

Choices that concern not just the role of the BBC, but something bigger. About whether we want to leave a legacy of a thriving, world leading UK media market or accept, on our watch, a slow decline.  

Written by the multi-RTS-Award winning writer Jack Thorne (Help), the four-part series sees Horgan and Sheen star as the married couple Nicci and Andrew. The pair have two daughters: Katie, played by Alison Oliver (Conversations With Friends), and Marnie, played by Niamh Moriarty (Jack Thorne’s A Christmas Carol).