The Traitors, David and Jay’s Touring Toolshed and Wilderness with Simon Reeve: TV highlights this week

Michael McIntyre’s Big Show (Saturday 20/01/24, BBC1, 6.50pm)

Words by Rachael Popow

If you asked people to name Michael McIntyre’s popular, long-running Saturday night entertainment show, you might be surprised by the answers – and not just because they get it confused with his other series, The Wheel.

It seems that while viewers may enjoy watching Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, they often have a mental block when it comes to the title.

The comedian and host says: “There isn’t a day that goes by without someone telling me how much they love this show, although strangely nobody seems to know what it’s called. It’s either; ‘The one where you take people’s phones’, ‘The one where you wake people up in the night’, ‘The one where the wall falls down’ or ‘The Big Night In’.”

Luckily, he’s not taking it personally – the ratings, and the fact that the Big Show returned for a seventh series last week, prove that the format has been a hit.

That doesn’t mean though that he hasn’t made a few tweaks since it first appeared on our screens in 2015 as a Christmas special.

For a start, there’s the Midnight Gameshow, which was introduced in series three and sees Michael wake someone up in the middle of the night to ask them questions.

It used to feature members of the public, but now that has switched to celebrities – and apparently, there’s a good reason behind the change.

Michael explains: “Celebrities are different because something kicks in where they go, ‘Oh I’m on TV on Saturday night’ and they suddenly start to show off. Whereas, members of the public, not always.

“I mean, there was a man who threw us all out once. And we had another one where he obviously knew that we were coming because he was so prepared. It was hilarious.”

Meanwhile, changes in our communication habits have made Send to All, the feature in which Michael takes a celeb’s phone and uses it to send an embarrassing message, slightly easier.

The comedian says: “It’s now on WhatsApp as apparently people don’t text anymore, which is actually a lot easier because we can group everybody in whereas before we had to frantically text everyone!”

However, there’s still tension when it comes to seeing who responds. “If only you could see how frantic it is in the interval of the show, when we’re just desperately waiting for people to text back.

“Because you know what it’s like if somebody sends you an embarrassing text, sometimes you just sit on it. You take your time to get back to them.

“There’s nothing more annoying than funny replies coming in after the show – or later.”

So, hopefully all of Joe Lycett’s contacts will be quick to respond when he takes part in tonight’s Send to All.

Bradley Walsh is answering the questions in The Midnight Gameshow, Beverley Knight provides the music and a member of the public gets to be the Unexpected Star of the Show with a little help from a mystery guest.

Wilderness with Simon Reeve (Sunday 21/01/24, BBC2, 9pm)

Words by Rachael Popow

Adventurer Simon Reeve doesn’t always make a beeline for exotic locations – in recent years, he’s made documentaries about the Lake District and Cornwall (although to be fair, they aired during the pandemic, when even TV’s most intrepid travellers had their wings clipped).

However, for his latest series, he’s visiting some of the most remote places on Earth, as he discovers that even on our overcrowded planet, there are still places where nature has the upper hand.

Simon says: “These have been the most extraordinary journeys and expeditions I’ve ever undertaken. They were knackering, sweaty, draining, emotional, inspiring and occasionally scary. But always brilliant.”

He added: “Our planet is sublimely beautiful. What an incredible wild home we still have to look after and celebrate. We travelled and trekked deep into some of our last great wilderness areas, to capture their beauty, meet the people who live there, and find some of the most spectacular wildlife on the planet, including giant whale sharks, pumas, and bonobos, perhaps our closest relatives.”

Over the next four weeks, we’ll see him explore the Pacific Ocean’s spectacular Coral Triangle, the sweeping Kalahari desert and the awe-inspiring landscape of Patagonia.

As well as getting up close and personal with the wildlife, he’ll be finding out what we can do to preserve these areas for future generations.

His adventure begins though in the Congo, the second greatest rainforest on Earth. Covering more than a million square miles, it’s home to tens of thousands of plant and animal species, a third of which cannot be found anywhere else.

Simon is making his way across five-hundred miles of the dense jungle, and it’s one of the toughest journeys he’s ever undertaken.

His starting point is the northwest of the Congo basin, where he gets his first insight into the obstacles ahead, which include peat bogs, impenetrable thickets and biting insects.

The presenter makes his way to a village that’s home to the Baka people, who have lived in the Congo for thousands of years. He learns how their unique culture is based on sharing resources and respecting the forest.

Their ancient way of life is now under threat, as loggers and poachers encroach on their home, exposing the Baka to new diseases and decimating the wildlife on which they depend.

From there, Simon heads to a region called Salonga. It’s home to the biggest area of protected forest in Africa, but while the national park may be the size of Belgium, it has no paved roads.

So, the journey is about to get even trickier, but Simon hopes it will be worth it as his aim is to glimpse a bonobo, the great ape which can only be found in the Congo.

As Simon learns though, its habitat is at risk from the expanding human population of the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the world’s poorest nations, where many people survive by clearing the forest for farming and firewood.

David and Jay’s Touring Toolshed (Monday 22/01/23, BBC Two, 6.30pm)

Words by Sarah Morgan

TV’s latest odd couple are about to hit our screens in what may turn out to be the most heartwarming show any of us have seen in a while.

Okay, so David and Jay’s Touring Toolshed may sound on paper like something Alan Partridge made up in a desperate attempt to get back on the box (Monkey Tennis anyone?), but its presenters – actor David Jason and The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades – think they’re onto a winner.

It’s been a long time since we saw Sir David act in anything, but he’s keen for this programme to show a whole new side to him.

“It’s great to be back on the nation’s TV screens doing something totally different,” he claims. “I’ve played a lot of roles in my time but, to be myself, show off my creative passion and help the wonderful people we meet along the way resolve their mechanical masterpiece issues is very rewarding.

“I’ve really enjoyed being on the road with Jay, where we have built up a great friendship and had a lot of fun, which I hope the viewers will enjoy watching when it airs.”

“Working with Sir David Jason, a fellow craft enthusiast, is a dream come true,” adds Blades who, after forging a bond with King Charles during a Repair Shop special, has clearly forged a friendship with another beloved national figure. “It has been great to start helping the nations’ makers fix their passion projects. We’ve met brilliant people and this series is going to be a delight for the BBC Daytime and iPlayer audiences.”

As you may have guessed from reading those quotes, the programme is a kind of spin-off from The Repair Shop. It certainly involves skilled people fixing items brought to them by members of the public, but there’s also something of the travelogue about it – each edition of the 15-part run comes from a different place in the UK.

Jason and Blades spent last summer traversing the nation in their Touring Toolshed, parking it up at various air shows, steam rallies, county fairs and vintage festivals, where they met up with crafters, makers and tinkerers who had a chance to show off their skills by helping members of the public resolve problematic projects.

They also visit various home workshops, whose owners reveal how their hobbies have taken over their lives.

“Viewers are in for a real treat with this series,” says Rob Unsworth, the BBC’s head of daytime and early peak commissioning. “We’re thrilled to be bringing together these two much-loved titans of telly, and to be revealing such an unexpected side to Sir David Jason. His repartee with Jay is a joy to watch and we can’t wait to share their adventures and discoveries with the BBC Daytime audience.”

The run begins at the Midlands Air Festival, where two pals can’t wait to show off the artworks they’ve made from discarded plane parts, and a woman hopes to land advice on how to make her mechanical sculptures move in an elaborate fashion.

This week’s programmes also include visits to Cheshire’s Kelsall Steam Festival, the Scottish Traditional Boat Show, and the Royal Three Counties Show in Malvern.

Great British Menu (Tuesday 23/01/24, BBC2, 8pm)

Words by Rachael Popow

The cookery competition is back for its 19th series, as more professional chefs compete for the chance to serve one of their dishes at a prestigious banquet.

When Great British Menu began back in 2006, the feast in question was in honour of Queen Elizabeth II’s 80th birthday. Since then, we’ve had banquets celebrating Comic Relief, the Women’s Institute and 70 years of the NHS, while last year the theme was British animation and illustration.

To be in with a chance of getting one of their creations of the menu, the chefs must come up with something that not only tastes good, but also reflects the brief.

This year, the theme is Olympics and Paralympics (that’s right, Great British Menu has been on air so long, we’re now recycling concepts as this was also the theme in 2012).

Once again, the people who will be deciding who makes the grade are returning judges, former double banquet winner and Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge, restaurateur Nisha Katona, and comedian and host of a popular food podcast, Ed Gamble. Andi Oliver is also back as the show’s presenter.

If you’ve missed the previous 18 runs, then you might be wondering why people who already cook for a living are signing up for a competition where the prize is the chance to slave over a hot stove.

However, there’s a reason that Britain’s chefs are still keen to compete, and that’s because Great British Menu has a reputation for putting its winners on the culinary map.

Tommy Banks, who rustled up a winning fish dish in 2016 and has since returned as one of the show’s ‘veteran’ judges, has said that appearing on the show changed his life – and also considerably boosted the number of customers at his restaurant in Oldstead.

Meanwhile, Richard Bainbridge, who served up a winning trifle in 2015, told The Guardian: “I joke that trifle bought my restaurant five times over. It’s probably true. You still get it now. Customers come in and want pictures with you.”

No doubt the chefs featured in this opening episode will also be hoping to serve up a dish that looks so mouth-watering, viewers feel compelled to book a table and try it for themselves.

We’re beginning with the North East heat, which covers Yorkshire and Northumberland.

Cal Byerley from Newcastle, and Huddersfield-born Samira Effa make their return to compete alongside two newcomers, Teeside’s Scott John-Hodgson, and Adam Degg, who has made Yorkshire his home.

Only two of them will make it through to the judges’ chamber on Thursday, so they need to impress veteran Aktar Islam.

He starts by tasting their canapes, which are not scored, although the ranking will be used in the event of the tie.

Then it’s on the vegan starters, which include a Jerusalem artichoke ‘winner’s medal’, while the fish course includes kohlrabi white rose with brill and champagne sauce as a tribute to Yorkshire’s Olympians.

But whoever scores the lowest will be going home at the end of the episode.

Johnny Vegas: Carry on Glamping (Wednesday 24/01/24, Channel 4, 9pm)

Words by Sarah Morgan

Johnny Vegas is a lot of things – potter, comedian, actor and director are just some of his skills – but tourism entrepreneur?

Even his most ardent fan would probably have struggled to imagine that would be something he could add to his already packed CV, but that became the case in 2019 when he decided to set up a glamping site, complete with renovated and repurposed vintage vehicles.

The idea came after he purchased, one drunken evening, an old Maltese bus from a famous auction site and tasked his long-suffering assistant Bev with having it shipped over to the UK.

“I bought a bus online,” says Johnny. “Not because it’s what showbiz folk do, but because my camping van got nicked and it had been my wee bit of creative space heaven.

“After a number of pub chats, misadventures, an art school virus to create beauty as and when you can, plus a deep desire to save these gorgeous machines from a scrap heap, suddenly (I was) trying to turn a ‘What if?’ into a ‘Well, why not?’”

Thankfully Channel 4 decided to follow his progress, and the result became Johnny Vegas: Carry on Glamping, a surprisingly heartfelt and touching series that debuted in 2021. It introduced viewers to skilled craftspeople who specialise in turning rundown vehicles of all shapes and sizes into desirable holiday lets, and saw Johnny set up his site on a farm near Harrogate.

Bookings since lockdown have been high, but planning restrictions mean that the business can’t be expanded, so the new run charts Johnny and Bev’s efforts to find a new, larger home for Patricia (the Maltese bus, which is lovingly named after the comic’s late mum) and her cohorts.

“Following Johnny’s journey to open his glampsite was a rollercoaster of emotions, funny, heartfelt, perilous and poignant,” says Channel 4’s Jonny Rothery. “I’m so pleased Johnny and Bev are back to do it all again.”

“It blew both Bev and I away how lovingly received Carry on Glamping was – I still think it should’ve been called ‘What Can Go Wrong Will Go Wrong’,” adds the comic. “Still, the success of our wee field and the joy every vehicle brought to so many was heart-warming. It gave me the bug for rescuing more vehicles in need of a loving home.

“My bank manager, accountant and, of course, Bev, are all thrilled that we we’re not stopping at just one Maltese bus. We will dearly miss our field and friends in Yorkshire, but the search for a new home to park our dreams upon has indeed begun.”

As Johnny alludes to in his quote, he’s added to his collection of vehicles; he’s particularly proud of now being the owner of a Puma helicopter, which saw action in Chile and Sierra Leone.

But, as we catch up with him again, the battle is on to find it a home. He and Bev begin their quest in Suffolk at Jimmy Doherty’s Farm and Wildlife Park, and despite his enthusiasm, it soon becomes clear that not everyone is impressed with Johnny’s business acumen.

Grantchester (Thursday 25/01/24, ITV1, 9pm)

Words by Richard Jones

Although Grantchester fans have fallen in love with leads Geordie Keating (Robson Green), Will Davenport (Tom Brittney) and Sidney Chambers (James Norton) over the years, in many people’s eyes, the drama’s most likeable and interesting character is Leonard Finch (Al Weaver).

In 2024, no one blinks an eye when encountering a homosexual person – or at least they shouldn’t.

But as a gay man in 1950s Britain, Leonard is essentially illegal, and he has been faced with two daunting choices.

He could either come out and potentially go to jail, or he can stay in the closet and pretend to be someone who he is not.

In season six, fans’ nightmares came true when the curate was arrested, before pleading guilty to charges of deviancy and being sent to prison.

Although his early release was a comfort to some, the whole situation was upsetting to see, although it did show how far, thankfully, times have changed.

Actor Weaver, 43, who has played Leonard since the show’s inception and also appeared in Mike Bartlett’s drama Press back in 2018, explains why he enjoys the role.

“I feel very privileged and honoured,” he says. “It’s changed my life playing him, just made me a better person, to think that this guy who faces such adversity still wants to devote his life to helping others.

“He’s always got good intentions. Hopefully when people watch him, if they’re in a difficult situation, they can get some strength or inspiration from Leonard’s story.

“That’s what great television does. Leonard’s got this great levity and great gravity as well and always seems to find a way to overcome the obstacles put in front of him. I admire him enormously. Also, Leonard is so fun to play and I never get bored of him.”

When the eighth season began a fortnight ago, Leonard welcomed a new resident to his latest venture – a halfway house for ex-convicts.

“He still wants to do his duty and be of service to others, but without that tag of religion,” Weaver, who also directs tonight’s episode, adds.

“He’s trying his best, but it’s chaos! Daniel’s helping, but they need help.

“Leonard also faces discrimination from some of their new neighbours who don’t like alcoholics and ex-cons moving in.”

Last week, we saw Elliot take steps to close down the halfway house, while Leonard and the residents faced harassment from the police.

And tonight, Leonard begins to think he may have bitten off more than he can chew as he finds managing the halfway house harder than anticipated.

He clearly enjoys the challenge, but it is coming at the expense of his private life.

And although Daniel (Oliver Dimsdale) encourages Leonard to consider hiring some extra help, Leonard refuses.

Also tonight, an art exhibition at the university seems like a good way to cheer up Will.

Bonnie is away and Cathy can see that he is still struggling to forget the recent accident and his responsibility for the death of a fellow man.

However, the drinks reception is disrupted by a protest, which all seems harmless high jinks at first, until it becomes apparent that a valuable painting has been stolen.

Then, a little later, one of the college porters is found murdered.

Is the killing linked to the protest, the art theft, or is it something completely different?

The Traitors (Friday 26/01/24, BBC One, 9pm)

Words by Richard Jones

The first series was a nationwide sensation when it hit our screens the build-up to Christmas 2022.

Not since the early days of Big Brother, and subsequently Love Island, has a reality show caught the public’s attention like The Traitors.

And given its huge viewership, it came as no surprise that another run of the word-of-mouth hit was commissioned last year.

But with the novelty factor naturally wearing off, would the second season live up to the substantial hype and be as good as the first?

The answer to that is a resounding “yes”, as over the past few weeks, millions of us have again been gripped by dramatic events at the spooky castle in the Scottish Highlands.

However, host Claudia Winkleman said she was so taken aback by the success of the first series that she was initially apprehensive about donning her tweed, roll-neck jumpers and fingerless gloves again for the show, which is based on Dutch series De Verraders.

“The success of the first series literally winded us,” she says.

“I said to lovely Studio Lambert (the production company) and the BBC ‘Let’s just leave it. This thing happened, this magical thing happened. Enough!’

“The head of the BBC said she wanted to take my temperature.

“What happened never happens. It was overwhelming for all of us. When Kathy Burke, who is a hero of mine, and Russell T Davies, when they tweeted, I was amazed with the whole experience.

“It felt like some sort of magical dust and I just don’t want people’s expectations to be so high.”

Assessing what makes the show so popular, she says: “The people who make it are extraordinary and the game is compelling.

“And I also think it taps into… I don’t know about you, but I’ve been told that all my life – trust your gut.

“When you meet somebody and you fall in love, or you think you’ve fallen in love, or you get asked to do a job, trust your gut.

“But it turns out you can’t. Your gut can tell you absolutely nothing, you have no idea what you’re doing and other people are lying to us.”

It’s been three and a bit weeks since the first episode introduced us to a new batch of 22 contestants, with Claudia reminding them “you are sharing marmalade… with murderers” over breakfast.

Now, after 11 hours of strategy, suspicion and shocks, the series draws to a close.

In tonight’s final, the players contest the biggest mission yet in an attempt to give the prize fund one last boost, while the Faithfuls attempt to identify the Traitors before they nab all the cash.

After this evening’s nail-biting events, Ed Gamble presents his podcast show The Traitors: Uncloaked (BBC Two, 10.10pm), as the Faithfuls and Traitors who have been banished or murdered have their say.

Life isn’t going to be the same for Traitors fans when the show ends tonight.

But the good news is that a third run, complete with Claudia and the highly trained owl Barry, has already been announced, with applications for aspiring contestants now open.

The poster for the second season teased that ‘betrayal is back in season’, and it seems like the smash-hit show could be everyone’s winter treat for years to come.