Channel 4

In pictures: RTS Cambridge Convention 2015

The RTS Cambridge Convention 2015 took place from Wednesday 16 to Friday 18 September, seeing senior leaders from the television industry on both sides of the Atlantic converge on the city. 

The topics covered over the three days ranged from the importance of the BBC worldwide, to a debate about the lessons learnt from the General Election 2015, to the continued challenge that the television industry faces with the rise of video content emerging on digital platforms. 

No laughing matter: how does comedy fight back?

Key industry players provide an insight into the evolution of sitcoms and discuss whether the genre has become more risk averse because of the pressure to land a hit, or simply evolved to meet the changing taste of viewers. We also examine if money is being redirected into genres that are cheaper and easier to make, how BBC Three moving online might affect the development and growth of new comedies, and who is putting their head above the parapet and trying to put scripted comedy back at the heart of TV viewing.

Panel:

This Week’s Top TV: 14-20 September

Monday

Girls Can Code

BBC Three

9pm

Television and radio presenter Alice Levine finds girls who complete computer coding in a male dominant industry. She takes Ellie, Daisy, Neelam, Tolani and Arooj to meet the UK’s most powerful women in technology. The girls are given a five-day task to invent a start up piece of technology. 

Tuesday

Battle of Britain: Return of the Spitfires

Channel 4

8pm

This is England final instalment returns

The eagerly awaited final chapter of This Is England ’90 will return to screens this Sunday. 

Following on from the critically acclaimed This Is England feature film, the final instalment of Shane Meadows’ award-winning series will be set in the 1990s.

Channel 4’s extension, This Is England ’86 focused on the Mod revival, following with Christmas special This Is England ’88.

Set two years after the troubled '80s era, the new series focuses on the heady scenes of '90s raving era.  

This week’s top TV: 7-13

Monday

The Queen’s Longest Reign: Elizabeth & Victoria

BBC Two

9pm

Longest-serving queen Victoria is set to be usurped by her great-great-granddaughter this week. Queen Elizabeth II will seize the accolade of longest-serving monarch in UK history on 9 September. To mark this major milestone, Sophie Raworth’s documentary pays tribute to the extraordinary lives of the two monarchs.   

 

Sky Sports to air Sunday night NFL Matches

Sky Sports has been awarded exclusive rights to the NFL’s Sunday night football games for two years.

Previously broadcast by Channel 4, Sky Sports will now air two early kick-offs on Sunday at 6pm and 9pm culminating with a midnight game.

In addition to this are the Monday Night football games alongside regular Thursday games.

(Picture from Channel 4: Nat Coombs, left, and Mike Carson host Channel 4's NFL coverage)

Viewers will now be able to watch over 100 games each season on Sky Sports with additional digital and On Demand offering.

Dan Brooke’s TV diary

Back to work for a break after a week of bodyboarding, go-karting and Mine-crafting in southern Spain with my kids – Gus, 10, and Fordie, eight. They kept calling me a “nube”.  

I’ve no idea what this means, though urbandictionary.com says it is “someone so pitiful and idiotic that they have not even the meagre skills to be titled a noob”.  

The second top definition is: “The incorrect spelling of noob or newb. Only noobs spell this word as ‘nube’.” Noof said. Lol. Sorry, Lool.

New entertainment format, Hunted, hits Channel 4

If you’ve ever fantasised about throwing away your phone and disappearing without leaving a digital footprint, look away now.

Channel 4’s new series Hunted is set to explore what it’s like to stay concealed in a society where being monitored is a daily reality and questions whether we ever truly can run away from 24/7 surveillance.

Part-documentary and part-thriller, this brand new format sees 14 ordinary participants on the run to evade capture from expert Hunters. Can they escape detection, avoid CCTV and even social media?