The Handmaid’s Tale, Malpractice and Dead Man Walking: Dan Walker on Death Row - TV highlights this week

The Handmaid’s Tale (Saturday 03/05/25, Channel 4, 9pm)

Words by Sarah Morgan

If it’s fun, laughs and bonhomie you’re looking for, don’t expect to find it while watching The Handmaid’s Tale. However, if you fancy something hard-hitting that holds up a disturbing mirror to our times, then you’re in the right place.

The drama may have been inspired by Margaret Atwood’s much-admired dystopian novel of the same name, but its storyline, involving an American theocracy, seems more prescient than ever. Now the show is returning for its sixth and final run, although its co-showrunner and executive producer, Yahlin Chang, promises it won’t all be doom and gloom – she claims there will be some ‘feelgood’ episodes.

During TV industry event PaleyFest, held in LA in March, she claimed the writers wanted the last instalments to be “a love letter to the fans,” who have “really stuck with us through thick and thin,” before adding: “I only want to end with victory and feelings of hope and triumph and uplift.”

For star Elisabeth Moss, who plays heroine June, one of the few fertile females around, season six has a particular resonance because before filming began, she became a first-time mother herself.

“It was incredibly meaningful to be able to end this show as a mom,” Moss told The Hollywood Reporter during an interview published last month. “I think I didn’t even realise it until I saw different points in the show as we went through.

“Like in the beginning of episode one, the first image is of June on the train sitting there holding a baby. Then the end of episode one, the reunion with the mom… I’m really glad that I got to have this last season playing June with a little bit more of a visceral emotional experience of some of the things that June is talking about or fighting for.”

The run was important for Moss for another reason too – she made her directorial debut during filming; she was behind the camera for the first two episodes, and the last two, describing the experience, at PaleyFest, as “incredibly fulfilling… I love acting so much. It’s my first love. But after doing it for so long, you do need to kind of grow as an artist.”

One person who, it could be argued, has not grown during the lifetime of the series is Moss’s on-screen alter ego. June remains as resolute as ever, determined to get her daughter back (“It’s constant in June’s life and always will be, until it’s over,” says the actress) and to break down the oppression caused by the Republic of Gilead regime. While Luke and Moira join the resistance, Serena tries to reform Gilead from within. Plus, as Nick faces a test of character, Commander Lawrence and Aunt Lydia are about to come face-to-face with the monster they have created…

Yvonne Strahovski, Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd, Bradley Whitford and O-T Fagbenle are among those returning; watch out too for The Good Wife and Dead Poet’s Society star Josh Charles, who joins the cast as a High Commander who also happens to be Nick’s father-in-law.

Malpractice (Sunday 04/05/25, ITV1, 9pm)

Words by Sarah Morgan

Is the British medical drama in rude health, or is it in need of a booster shot?

Over the years we’ve certainly had some good ones, from Medics and Bodies to Call the Midwife and the big daddy of them all, Casualty.

Then, two years ago, the first run of Malpractice made a huge splash. It followed the story of Dr Lucinda Edwards (Niamh Algar), an experienced medical professional implicated in the death of Edith Owusu, a patient admitted due to an opioid overdose whose father, a knight of the realm, ordered an investigation into Lucinda’s conduct.

It was a standalone story, so this week, when the programme returns, its focus is on an entirely different character, although Dr George Adjei (Jordan Kouamé) and Dr Norma Callahan (Helen Behan), members of the Medical Investigation Unit (MIU), will be back to take charge of a new case.

Once again, the scripts have been written by former NHS doctor Grace Ofori-Attah, who created the series, and who brings a wealth of experience – not to mention plenty of authenticity – to the proceedings.

“I’ve always been interested in storytelling, and medicine is a career that’s full of stories,” says Ofori-Attah. “The first time you meet a patient, whether it’s in A&E or on a psychiatric ward, you are getting their history, their story. And you are trying to figure out what are the key details. What are the most important reasons why they are here today and how is that relevant to the treatment and the outcome?

“As I progressed through my career and was doing psychiatry, that story and its relevance became all the more important. Psychiatry is the black sheep of the medical family, but I feel that mental health is present in every part of medicine. And mental health discussions are becoming more relevant today.”

Psychiatry is also at the centre of the new run, the first three episodes of which are broadcasting on consecutive evenings.

“Grace has delved even deeper into her personal history as a Consultant Psychiatrist to deliver both a brilliant thriller and a timely look at a critical area of the NHS,” adds Simon Heath, CEO of the show’s makers, World Productions. “Her great writing has once again attracted a stellar cast to join Helen and Jordan to tell this new story.”

Tom Hughes takes the role of Dr James Ford, whose personal life is a mess, while his colleagues at a North Yorkshire hospital regard him as arrogant. However, one thing they can’t fault him on is his dedication to his vulnerable patients – or so they thought.

During one particularly fraught day, the Psychiatric Registrar feels torn between attending to an anxious new mother who has a routine postnatal check-up appointment, and sectioning a psychotic woman during a busy on-call shift. Nobody could predict the traumatic events that unfold, leading to a full-on MIU investigation.

George and Norma arrive to find the hospital in total disarray. James, meanwhile, is determined to protect his position – does that mean he has a God complex, or is he a victim of wider issues?

Anna Haugh’s Big Irish Food Tour (Monday 05/05/25, BBC2, 6.30pm)

Words by Rachael Popow

Celebrity chef Anna Haugh hails from Tallaght, Dublin, and is a proud cheerleader for Irish produce, so really, who better to take viewers on a culinary journey around the island?

She certainly didn’t have to think too long when she was approached about presenting this series, especially when she discovered she would have a variety of travel companions.

Anna says: “I’m passionate about food. I’m passionate about everything that comes from Ireland, from the culture to the produce and the people. And when the production company, Below the Radar TV, came to me and asked, ‘Would I like to travel around Ireland with amazing people like Katherine Ryan and Dennis Taylor?’ How could I say no?”

However, while she may sound like an expert guide, Anna admits she learned a thing or two herself during the making of the 15-part series, which now comes to BBC2 after previously airing on BBC One in Northern Ireland.

She says: “I’ve learned a lot about my culture, and I feel even more proud and strongly about the beautiful landscapes and the wonderful produce that we have.

“And viewers can expect to learn lots of things about Ireland. You’ll see the most amazing produce and get to know the celebrities who are on tour with me a little bit more.”

As Anna explains, she’s also picked up some new skills: “I learned how to fish and how to milk a sheep. I essentially could become a mussel farmer now as Angela Scanlon and I had a crash course working on a mussel farm. And I also learned how to box with Carl Frampton!”

Her tour of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland also took her to some new places, even if they felt familiar. Anna says: “I’ve never been to Belfast before, and when I arrived in the city, I just felt like I was returning home, even though I’d never been there before.”

In fact, the only drawback to the series may have been the weather. Anna laughs: “What you probably won’t be able to tell when you watch the programme is the battle I had with the wind. I was constantly using things like baking trays and chopping boards when I was cooking outdoors, and somehow had to try and stop the gale force winds blowing out the gas so I could actually cook!”

Hopefully, her celeb travel companions, who also include presenter Vanessa Feltz, Father Ted actor Pauline McLynn, wildlife broadcaster Liz Bonnin, rugby legend Bundee Aki, the Saturdays popstar Una Healy, and Derry Girls actor Ian McElhinney, were willing to lend her a hand.

The first famous face to join Anna though is comedian Katherine Ryan. The stand-up admits that her grandmother’s ‘over-boiled and under-seasoned’ dinners haven’t given her the best impression of Irish cooking, but hopefully exploring Cork, aka as the foodie capital of Ireland, will change her mind.

Their first destination is the world-renowned Ballymaloe Cookery School, where Anna’s own culinary journey began, and they follow that up with a visit to one of the oldest food markets in Europe.

You Be the Judge: Crime & Punishment (Tuesday 06/05/25, 5, 9pm)

Words by Rachael Popow

The VE Day 80th anniversary celebrations are dominating the BBC schedules this week, but you may have noticed a different theme to 5’s programmes.

The channel is bringing us a mini-season of shows dedicated to the always contentious theme of law and order. As 5’s chief content officer Ben Frow points out, it will be addressing some very big issues about why people are so worried about crime: “Throughout this series of programmes, we seek to ask why that is and how we can begin to take back control. Do we have the right measures in place? Is the length of sentencing appropriate? What can we do about prison overcrowding? Are our prisons fit for purpose? Are our police forces across the country well-equipped to fulfil the increasing demands on their limited resources?”

On Monday, we got the documentary Wandsworth Prison: Out of Control, and on Wednesday, there’s a look at the stark realities of capital punishment in Dead Man Walking: Dan Walker on Death Row. There’s also a one-off drama, The Trial, on Thursday, set in a future where parents are held criminally responsible for the actions of their children.

Perhaps the most intriguing programme though is You Be the Judge: Crime & Punishment.

Hosted by Anne Robinson, who is making a welcome return to our screens, it tackles the subject of sentencing.

Surveys have shown that 71 per cent of British people believe that sentences are currently too lenient. But what punishments do the public think should be handed out?

This social experiment finds out by reconstructing four actual sentencing hearings – a key part of the trial system that juries are absent from.

Viewers can then decide what sentence they would give to someone who stabbed his ex-girlfriend 13 times and then tried to clean up the murder scene, and if it would be harsher than the punishment they’d hand out to someone convicted of causing the death of a pregnant mother by dangerous driving.

Does intent matter? Or remorse? And what mitigating and aggravating factors should be taken into account?

The programme-makers have also gathered together four groups to offer their opinions – retired judges, former inmates, retired police officers and relatives of crime victims.

So, the viewers will be able to compare their own sentences to the panel’s opinions as well as the punishments that were ultimately handed down by the judge in the real trial.

In the process, the show raises some bigger questions about the justice system, while also asking about the practicalities of introducing longer jail sentences in an overcrowded prison system that it already struggling to cope.

Anne Robinson believes it will make for eye-opening viewing, saying: “Why is the sentencing of criminals so widely inconsistent? Why does a protester who climbs up a bridge to stop the traffic spend more time in prison than someone who punches an innocent man who dies as a result?

“This programme tells a jaw-dropping story. The government needs to watch it.”

Dead Man Walking: Dan Walker on Death Row (Wednesday 07/05/25, 5, 9pm)

Words by Rachael Popow

The last executions in the United Kingdom took place in 1964, and capital punishment for murder was then formally abolished five years later. (It technically remained legal for certain other offences, including treason, until 1998.)

However, the debate over the possible reinstatement of the death penalty has never gone away and tends to intensify in the wake of high-profile murder convictions.

So, to find out more about the issues surrounding capital punishment, presenter Dan Walker heads to the US in this feature-length documentary.

He’s travelling to the place that’s been dubbed the execution capital of the world, Huntsville, Texas. It’s certainly home to the most active and prolific death chamber in the United States, which has seen nearly 600 executions since 1982.

It also houses some of the most dangerous inmates in the country, including a prisoner who has been awaiting his fate on death row for over 20 years after being convicted of the brutal killings of his ex-girlfriend and her new partner.

Dan meets the inmate, but also speaks to the son of his victim, who explains why he believes death is the only appropriate punishment.

The presenter wants to learn more about state-sanctioned executions are carried out, and witnesses the final conversations between a convicted killer who is just days away from death and his spiritual advisor.

Dan also speaks to the prison guards about the hours leading up to the execution, the famed ‘last meal’, and the words that are said to the inmate as they enter the chamber.

The journalist gains a further insight into the process when he is allowed access to a death row execution chamber – he enters the small, dimly lit room containing the gurney where inmates are strapped down, and the room where witnesses observe the final moments. This prompts him to think about how we would feel when faced with the reality of the procedure in the UK.

For many people, one of the major objections to capital punishment is the possibility of an innocent person being put to death.

To find out more about miscarriages of justice, Dan meets a man who spent almost 30 years on death row before being acquitted of the crime and released. How does it feel to spend decades waiting to die, all the while knowing you are innocent, and a year on from his release, has the former inmate managed to adapt back into society?

And will Dan’s investigations affect his own views on this deeply contentious issue?

Speaking about the documentary, Dan Walker said: “I have always been fascinated by the American justice system and the arguments around the death penalty. Staring into the eyes of a convicted murderer, speaking to someone who was innocent but spent nearly 30 years on death row, and meeting those directly affected by these cases was a real eye-opener.

“I hope viewers see that this issue isn’t as black and white as it may seem from afar and understand why it remains such a thorny and divisive topic.”

VE Day 80: A Celebration to Remember (Thursday 08/05/2025, BBC One, 8pm)

Words by Richard Jones

May 8, 1945 was a day of huge celebration in Britain.

The streets were packed with people singing and dancing, although the festivities were bittersweet for many who had lost loved ones in the Second World War or were waiting for their safe return.

Today marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day, when the Allies formally accepted Germany’s unconditional surrender, bringing the conflict in Europe to an end.

While many of the UK’s community celebrations took place on Bank Holiday Monday, today is the official VE Day anniversary, so there are a number of special events taking place throughout the country and on the BBC.

The finale of this week’s festivities is tonight’s live concert from Horse Guards Parade in London presented by Zoe Ball.

Alongside stars of stage and screen who will perform, veterans will also tell their stories of love, loss and resilience, as they share their unique experiences of the day when they could finally smile again.

With a live orchestra, the concert, which will be attended by 12,500 people, will channel the spirit of what was the ultimate feelgood party, and no VE Day concert would be complete without special performances of The White Cliffs of Dover and We’ll Meet Again.

“I’m truly honoured to play a small role in the celebrations of such a momentous occasion,” Zoe says.

“My dear Dad Johnny Ball was six years old on VE Day, his memories of that time are incredible.

“Our great grandparents, and grandparents, our families, our nation went through so much.

“The bravery and sacrifices of so many for our freedom, we must always remember and this will be a very special night with some magnificent performances.”

Throughout this week, BBC Breakfast has been putting veterans at the heart of its coverage with interviews, stories and a 100th-birthday celebration.

And Charlie Stayt kicks off this special day with VE-themed programme from outside Westminster Abbey, before Gethin Jones and Michelle Ackerley present more special features in Morning Live.

The celebrations continue in VE Day 80: The Nation Remembers (BBC One, 10.45am).

This service of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey pays tribute to the service and sacrifice of the Second World War generation, with Petroc Trelawny providing commentary.

Meanwhile, over at the BBC’s studio in St James’s Park, Sophie Raworth is joined by special guests who talk about their experiences of the war years.

Sophie, who will still be at St James’s Park during tonight’s concert, says: “VE Day is the moment in which we can reflect on the whole war effort, not just those who fought abroad, but also those who served on the Home Front.

“Many people still remember the day itself, the celebrations on the streets hearing the news that Germany had surrendered and the relief felt by millions that air raids were over.”

Finally, before the live coverage switches to events at Horse Guards Parade, tonight’s The One Show is a special ‘One Big Thank You’ episode as Alex Jones and Roman Kemp pull out all the stops to surprise a veteran.

Understandably, today’s VE celebrations may not be as passionate and jubilant as those which took place 80 years ago.

But after most of 75th-anniversary events were cancelled due to Covid, we surely owe it to the last surviving Second World War veterans who fought so bravely for our way of life to party like it’s 1945.

Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr (Friday 09/05/2025, BBC One, 8pm)

Words by Richard Jones

They say variety is the spice of life, and so far we have seen this year’s budding Interior Design Masters demonstrate their signature style on YHA bunk rooms in the Lake District, transform shipping containers into offices in Bristol, work their magic on luxury retirement apartments in Portsmouth, and create a home from home for dogs at Battersea.

And according to host Alan Carr, the variety of tasks is one of the things that makes IDM, now in its sixth series, a success.

“We’ve really pushed the envelope when it comes to the location and spaces they needed to do up, so lots and lots of memorable moments,” he says.

“We still had our regulars like shops and office spaces, but we introduced real exciting curve balls like luxury retirement homes, comedy clubs, the room rescue dogs go to before they find their forever home, interesting design challenges that will inspire and hopefully get the viewers at home saying, ‘how the hell are they going to make this work’.”

Presenting Interior Design Masters is clearly a joy for Carr, and he thinks the popular programme ties in well with his Italian and Spanish Job renovation series which he makes with his good pal Amanda Holden.

“I love the show basically,” the 48-year-old comedian and presenter admits.

“It is so much fun to film, there is never a dull moment. I think people are really getting to understand the power of design.

“People are becoming such homebodies, people are spending more and more time at home they’re ordering in food, streaming movies from their sofas and they want their homes to feel special.

“Since doing my show with Amanda Holden, where we do up houses abroad, I can appreciate the challenges the designers face, budgets, time restraints and making design choices under pressure.

“I can really empathise with them, and I know the joy you feel when even the tiniest or gloomiest spaces has been transformed with lighting, wallpaper or a bold lick of paint.

“I’ve become such a convert to interior design – Michelle Ogundehin would be proud.”

And speaking of Michelle, who co-hosts the show with Alan, she is also enjoying setting different types of tasks for the contestants.

The magazine editor and interiors guru says: “The challenges are designed to test our aspiring designers in many ways so from week to week you can never predict what might happen. Or who might do well. That’s what makes it so exciting.

“Every series has its high and low points, but as the designers get more talented every series, now even the ‘disasters’ can have some merit.”

For their fifth challenge tonight, the designers head to Allianz Stadium Twickenham, the iconic home of England Rugby.

They have to create a premium hospitality experience for die-hard rugby fans by constructing a swanky bar for serving pre-match drinks as well as a stylish dining area for putting on a generous spread.

Restaurateur Nisha Katona, the CEO, executive chef and development chef of Mowgli Street Food restaurants, helps Michelle decide who has impressed tackling the rugby-themed challenge and earned a place in the quarter final. And also, who has, unfortunately, dropped the ball.