BBC

BBC Two goes on the frontline with Yorkshire Firefighters

(Credit: BBC)

The four-part series will take viewers onto the frontline with the men and women of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

The West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has 900 firefighters who often put themselves in life-threatening situations to serve and help a population of more than two million people. 

Filmed using the latest technology, viewers will get an in-depth insight into real life emergencies and unprecedented access to the men and women keeping their communities safe during the pandemic.

The cast and creators of Baptiste discuss the upcoming final series

“We didn’t want him to become another police officer… We’ve told big, bold stories that gave [Julien Baptiste] a proper journey – he doesn’t just come in and find out some stuff and go home,” said Jack, the older of the Williams brothers by two years. “It’s about doing the right thing for the show and the characters.”

Jack Williams – plus brother Harry and the actors Tchéky Karyo and Fiona Shaw –were speaking at an RTS event previewing the new series of Baptiste, chaired by the critic and broadcaster Rhianna Dhillon.

Joe Wicks to explore mental health in new BBC documentary

Joe Wicks (Credit: BBC)

Over the past year, Joe Wicks has had a meteoric rise from an Instagram famous health and fitness guru, to a beloved national treasure. 

During the pandemic, Wicks kept millions fit with his online PE classes and won over the country with his positive attitude, enthusiasm and charm. 

However, Wicks did not have an easy start in his life, he grew up with parents who struggled with their mental health. 

His mother experienced acute OCD and his father suffered from heroin addiction.

Making black lives matter in the TV industry

(credit: BlackStageUK)

When Television approached me to assess the success, or otherwise, of the British TV industry policy announcements related to diversity over the past 12 months, I was going to resort to a standard journalistic approach: pick a few of the big announcements, look at what they promised to deliver and then conveniently conclude by saying something like “...but careers take longer than 12 months to build and systemic racism cannot be dismantled in a year. So, it is still a case of ‘wait and see’.”  

BBC commissions music series Rock Of All Ages

Martin Kemp and Lady Leshurr (Credit: BBC)

Kemp and Leshurr will form two bands and mentor them so they are good enough to play at an iconic music festival and fit in with the rest of the musicians. 

The twist is that the musicians forming the band will all be over the age of 65. 

Kemp and Leshurr will search the UK for the best amateur musicians, from singers, to guitarists, to drummers, and will show that talent can shine at any age. 

The mentors will call upon other famous faces to help get advice that will inspire their new recruits. 

Romesh Ranganathan to host new series of Weakest Link

Romesh Ranganathan (Credit: BBC)

The quick-fire general knowledge quiz will put celebrities’ minds to the test, as they battle against each other until only two players remain and a winner is crowned. 

Ranganathan will be taking his own unique presenting style and put the celebrities under pressure, as they attempt to avoid being eliminated and win money for their chosen charity. 

TV Picks: Euro 2020 Group Stages

24 teams will compete across six groups for the top two places to qualify for the knock-outs.

Between the fierce rivalries, revenge-seekers and a hair-raising group of death, there are plenty of tasty ties to sink your teeth into.

However, as most days of the group stages will see three broadcast live on BBC or ITV, to spare you some time we’ve highlighted the round’s most highly-anticipated matches.

You can find the full TV schedule at the bottom of the page.

BBC One announces conspiracy thriller The Trick

Jason Watkins and Victoria Hamilton (Credit: BBC)

Starring Jason Watkins (The Crown), Victoria Hamilton (Life), George MacKay (1917) and Jerome Flynn (Game of Thrones), the thriller will explore how back in 2009 world-renowned Professor Philip Jones, Director of Climate Research at University of East Anglia, was at the centre of an international media storm and the victim of cyberterrorism.

Korea’s technicolour dream shows

Crazy and cool with a K” is a good moniker for the jaw-dropping South Korean entertainment formats delivering jaw-dropping audience figures around the world. In the UK, The Masked Singer, I Can See Your Voice and, most recently, The Masked Dancer have featured celebrities disguised as everything from a bee and an octopus to a sausage, good and bad singers from the great British public hiding in plain sight and dance routines from a llama, chicken and knickerbocker glory.

Strengthening trust in the BBC following the Dyson report

Credit: BBC

It feels like remote history, but it’s true: 27.1 million people watched Boris Johnson announce the first lockdown for the UK on 23 March last year. The sequel in May, announcing the path out of lockdown, attracted an even larger audience of 27.5 million, while the PM’s announcement of a repeat of lockdown in January this year drew a slightly smaller audience – as repeats tend to – of “only” 25.2 million.