Channel 4

The Jury: Murder Trial was a gripping TV experiment: would two juries come to the same decision about a restaged trial – and, if they did, would it match the outcome of the real-life case?

Series 1, which played out over the final week of February last year on Channel 4, featured a case in which a man admitted killing his wife, but denied it was murder. It mixed drama – with actors playing the accused, witnesses and barristers in court – and documentary, with scenes in the jury rooms filmed like a reality show, using a fixed camera rig.

The UK risks sliding into “an American news swamp” unless urgent action is taken by British TV news organisations, policy-makers and regulators to future-proof the news they provide for young people. 

That was the stark message in what may have been a career-defining speech by Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon, addressing an eclectic audience of public service broadcasters, content makers, opinion formers, AI specialists and RTS Bursary Scholars.

Beyond Paradise

Friday

BBC One, 9pm

Detectives turn ghostbusters in this festive special of Beyond Paradise, as Humphrey (Kris Marshall) and Esther (Zahra Ahmadi) are called to investigate a haunting.

Everyone Else Burns, which returned for a second series to Channel 4 this autumn, has been called the saviour of the sitcom thanks to its gag-heavy script and warm, likeable characters.

For a leader with a career that has been steeped in commercial broadcasting, most recently at Channel 5 owner Paramount Global — the historic studio that will soon have new owners in David Ellison’s producer-­financier Skydance Media — the musical stylings make more sense than even Rose may care to admit.

When she joined Paramount during the pandemic in 2020 as Chief Operating Officer for the UK, Rose stayed behind the scenes. But in February this year she was named President of Channel 5 and UK Regional Lead – a chief executive role that thrust her firmly into public view. 

Kenneth Law lives in Toronto, and is accused of sending over 1,000 packages of poison around the world to people intent on dying by suicide.

The deaths allegedly connected to Law now number in the hundreds, including 97 in the UK. Due to stand trial for numerous counts of first-degree murder in Canada, a conviction would officially make Law one of the most prolific killers in history.

We always knew that American presidential debates could make or break a candidate. It’s the primetime moment to shine or – in Joe Biden’s case – spectacularly evaporate. Poor Joe. To this day the thought of his incoherent mumbling still makes me wince with embarrassment.

I was there in the journalists’ watch room that night in Atlanta, and I can tell you that on multiple occasions the air fell silent. Reporters stared at each other in stunned disbelief while others blocked their ears.

Now that the threat of privatisation is no longer looming, Alex Mahon can focus on other items in the Channel 4 in-tray: recovering from the economic downturn; accelerating its digital strategy; and coming up with new hits.

In a wide-ranging interview that covered everything from company culture to the channel’s relationship with government and industry partners, Mahon first addressed the struggles of the UK’s indie sector.