What Happened at Hiroshima, Do You Have ADHD? and 7 Wonders of the Ancient World with Bettany Hughes: TV highlights this week

7 Wonders of the Ancient World with Bettany Hughes (Saturday 02/08/25, 5, 6.30pm)

Words by Damon Smith

Drawing inspiration from her best-selling book, historian and broadcaster Professor Bettany Hughes OBE explores our continued fascination with ancient marvels of human ingenuity including the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus and the Statue of Zeus at Olympia.

Past and present walk hand in hand in the ambitious series, which uses the latest technologies to bring history to life in Turkey, Greece and Egypt. When production was announced on the three-part adventure, Bettany expressed her excitement about the prospect of interacting with state-of-the-art digital reconstructions in the spots where the wonders once proudly stood.

“After years of researching across three continents – through deserts, mountains and on the high seas – my team and I are now able to reveal not only the monumental effort it took to build the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but also what these incredible creations meant to the people of the past, and why they still resonate with us today,” she explained.

“With exclusive access to new digs and discoveries, this series will take us in the footsteps of ancient tourists, warriors, pilgrims, saints and emperors who stood in awe of these magnificent wonders, some of the greatest achievements ever made by human hands. I’m thrilled to be embarking on this adventure of a lifetime.”

The first episode stands in awe of the largest pyramid in Egypt, which was built as the eternal resting place for King Khufu. Bettany travels to the Giza Plateau aboard a traditional felucca wooden sailboat. The king commissioned the pyramid as his final resting place but it only took shape because tens of thousands of labourers slaved in the scorching heat. Archaeologist and Egyptologist Dr Mark Lehner shares his findings about the manpower behind the monument and uncovers evidence of the lost city of the pyramid’s workers.

Professor of Radiology Sahar Saleem, who is a leading expert in mummy scanning, discloses more fascinating secrets about the tomb’s enigmatic occupant. Ground penetrating radar specialist Dr Jan Francke shares his insights about hidden sections beyond the King’s Chamber before Bettany secures exclusive access to venture into the pyramid’s inner tunnels.

She sails up the Nile to recreate the splendour of the next wonder, the Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria. The structure’s dazzling beam was said to be visible for over 30 miles so the historian uses huge, polished mirrors and a blazing fire to recreate the dazzling beacon that guided seafarers to safety. Underwater archaeologist Thomas Faucher ventures beneath the waves to an excavation of the lighthouse’s remains including thousands of submerged blocks. A monumental 13-metre-tall doorway would have been one of the dramatic features of this ancient skyscraper.

Egyptian pharaoh Ptolemy I, who was Alexander the Great’s general and closest friend, originally commissioned the lighthouse. Bettany contemplates his role in the architectural marvel from the vantage point of the Greek Nautical Club on Alexandria’s eastern harbour as she samples a lunch that would have been enjoyed by original settlers. History tastes delicious.

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins (Sunday 03/08/2025, Channel 4, 9pm)

Words by Roger Crow

One May bank holiday evening in 1980, ITV interrupted a TV movie with live coverage of an Iranian Embassy siege in London.

Six armed men had stormed the South Kensington property and took several people hostage. By day six, a captive was killed, and the British Special Air Service took back control of the building in less than an hour. It was one of the most jaw-dropping news stories of that decade, and turned the SAS into iconic heroes.

The movie Who Dares Wins was rushed into production to cash in on their popularity, and 45 years later, there’s little sign of the Special Air Service’s popularity diminishing, as Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins proves.

Fourteen faces from the world of music, entertainment and sport have signed up to push their bodies and minds to the limits in the hopes of winning the latest contest.

For series seven, the likes of ex-footballer and broadcaster Adebayo ‘The Beast’ Akinfenwa; former Premier League footballer Troy Deeney, and professional boxer Conor Benn are put through their paces.

A formidable trio who all stand a chance of winning, but how will TV personalities Louie Spence; Tasha Ghouri and Rebecca Loos cope, alongside singer and actress, Hannah Spearritt, and influencer Chloe Burrows?

Also taking part are drag artist/DJ, Bimini; former drug smuggler Michaella McCollum; Love Island veteran Adam Collard, and musicians Lady Leshurr and Lucy Spraggan.

In case you’ve not seen the latter since her days on The X Factor, Lucy transformed into a ripped icon who wouldn’t look out of place in a superhero movie.

She may have the physical strength to get through the challenges, but Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins is as much about a physical assault course for the mind as well as the body.

“I hope I have the mental grit to get to the end of the course,” Lucy explains. “I have been through quite a lot in my life, and I’ve done a lot of work to navigate what that left behind, and I really hope that I can apply it to the course, and make it all the way to the end.”

She adds: “What I love about this course is the sheer pressure it puts on a human being, that you will just not get anywhere else in life.”

Fellow contestant Harry Clark, who won the UK version of The Traitors in 2024, is no stranger to physical hardship, having spent almost seven years in the British Army.

“Growing up, I’d watch people close to me be in the SAS, which always inspired me,” he explains. “This show was a different experience to what I had imagined, but I always love a challenge, and it proves you’re always learning new things about yourself.”

Lucy, Harry and the rest of the contestants will be sent to Wales where an elite team, including Chief Instructor Billy Billingham, strip the celebs of their home comforts and instruct them in key survival skills.

Previous winners have included Gareth Gates, Georgia Harrison and Lani Daniels, but it’s anyone’s guess who will dare to win this series.

What Happened at Hiroshima (Monday 04/08/25, BBC1, 8.30pm)

Words by Rachael Popow

In August 1945, the US dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The recorded death tolls are estimates, but it is thought that about 78,000 of Hiroshima’s 350,000 residents were killed instantly, and that at least 40,000 of Nagasaki’s 240,000 citizens died on impact.

The long-term consequences would be harder to measure. The US set up a commission to research the medical effects of the bombings, but it would take decades to discover the toll the bombs had taken on the fertility of the city’s residents as well as their mental and physical health.

A long-running study by the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, a US-Japanese organisation, has tracked over 120,000 individuals, many since the 1950s, and has found increased risks of some cancers. Even many residents who weren’t there at the time of the blast believe they have been affected by the bombings.

Now, to mark the 80th anniversary, award-winning BBC journalist Jordan Dunbar presents the documentary What Happened at Hiroshima which explores what led to the events of August 1945, and speaks to the some of the last survivors.

They include Keiko, Kenji and Mikio, who were all in Hiroshima on that fateful day, and were aged eight, six and 13 respectively. Satoshi wasn’t in the blast zone on 6 August, but he was exposed to radiation – he was still only 18 months old when his mother carried him back to the city so she could look for her missing relatives.

Kyoko was born in Hiroshima three years after the bomb exploded, and left Japan in the 1960s. She now lives in Swansea and for the first time, she’s ready to tell her family about how she has been personally affected by the legacy of Hiroshima.

They talk to Jordan about the misinformation, rumour and fear that followed the bombings, and why they have faced prejudice because they were subjected to the blasts.

However, it isn’t just the 80th anniversary that has got many people thinking about Hiroshima and Nagasaki recently. Conflicts are being fought across the world, and amid the talk of escalation, there are genuine fears about a new nuclear arms race and the increased possibility that bombs could be used again.

The survivors discuss their worries that history could repeat itself, and that even now, leaders are not fully reckoning with the catastrophic damage and loss of life that nuclear weapons can cause.

And as the events of 1945 slip out of living memory, is there a risk that we will forget?

Jordan says: “What happens when that last generation, the last generation of the only people to really have experienced what an atomic bomb is like, are gone?

“How do we get our leaders, how do we get politicians around the world to really understand what it means to push the button?”

Do You Have ADHD? (Tuesday 05/08/25, Channel 4, 8pm)

Words by Damon Smith

An estimated 20 per cent of the world’s population are neurodivergent and have brains that perform differently to what society considers the norm (neurotypical). Some of the most widely known neurodivergences include Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia and Tourette’s Syndrome, and these conditions affect people in different ways and to different extents. In total, around two per cent of people are officially diagnosed. Misinformation and misunderstanding run rife, with potentially harmful consequences for neurodivergent individuals and their families.

An estimated 2.6 million people in the UK have ADHD and the complex neurological condition has become one of the most searched health-related topics. However, medical waiting lists for a formal diagnosis can extend to many years, leaving thousands of children and adults without a clear understanding if they are on the spectrum.

Fronted by medical surgeon and health and science creator Dr Karan Rajan and former GP and nutrition expert Dr Clare Bailey Mosley, an eye-opening one-off documentary invites viewers to separate fact from fiction by following every stage of the diagnosis for ADHD. The medical specialists provide practical advice about the traits of the condition and what they might look like, and share creative tips for living with an ADHD brain

Dr Karan talks to experts in neurodiversity about the challenges that will be faced by children and adults across the country awaiting a formal diagnosis. He also speaks with people among the small percentage that have been formally diagnosed about how their lives are changing now they are armed with the knowledge about how their brains function.

Retired GP Dr Clare is keen to understand if some of her own behavioural challenges might be the result of undiagnosed ADHD. She becomes the patient and undergoes the assessment process, lifting the veil on this important process.

Deborah Dunnett, Channel 4’s Commissiong Editor for Lifestyle, was one of the initial champions for the hour-long programme.

“It feels like everyone is talking about ADHD, and chances are most of us will either know somebody with ADHD or be living with the condition ourselves,” she reflected. “But with so much unverified and negative information swirling, it’s becoming harder for people to advocate for themselves and find the support they need. We hope to demystify the diagnosis process and empower viewers to know their own minds.”

In a neat example of complementary programming, Channel 4 premieres Johnny Vegas: Art, ADHD And Me this week on successive nights (tomorrow and Thursday at 9pm). The two-part programme follows the comedian and actor as he returns to his art school roots on a mission to create a striking public art installation in his hometown of St Helens in Merseyside.

As he brainstorms ideas, Johnny receives an ADHD diagnosis and the show organically broadens focus into an honest and heartfelt exploration of neurodiversity, creativity and mental health. He educations himself on the condition and his original artistic vision evolves into a love letter to his hometown that will also embody key themes of tenacity and resilience.

The Fortune Hotel (Wednesday 06/08/25, ITV1, 9pm)

Words by Rachael Popow

Britain’s TV bosses are obviously determined to whisk us away on a summer holiday this year. Just a week after Rob Brydon invited viewers to take a trip to Destination X on BBC1, Stephen Mangan is checking in for a second series of The Fortune Hotel on ITV1.

As you will know if you watched the first run, The Fortune Hotel sees pairs of contestants heading to a Caribbean paradise with their sights firmly set on the ultimate prize: a case packed with £250,000.

Stephen is certainly glad to be back. He says: “It’s so exciting to go back to such a stunning location. I feel incredibly lucky! It’s such an exciting game to be a part of.”

He adds: “It’s brilliant getting a second series, because you can really lean into the stuff that people at home loved in the first series. And there’s more of that – more great challenges, more twists and turns, more drama.”

So, expect, Day Trip challenges filled with surprises and updated Room Service games that now take place around the hotel. It’s all designed to make keeping hold of that coveted case containing the £250,000 even harder, and the holidaymakers will have to be even cannier if they want to avoid an early checkout.

The twists have been added because, as Stephen points out, it’s not just the viewers who are now familiar with the format. He says: “A second series means that all the contestants have already seen the show. It was a brand-new show for the first series, no one had seen it, no one knew what to expect.

“Now they’ve all come with a game plan so our job is to keep throwing them curveballs, so they can never relax and they never know what’s coming.”

And of course, a lot of what makes Fortune Hotel so compelling is seeing how the contestants react to the challenges. Stephen says: “Pressure does funny things to people, people who otherwise might solve a problem within seconds, because their brains are so scrambled they feel under so much pressure that sometimes it really throws them.

“It’s hard to keep a cool head when there’s so much at stake!”

Tonight, we meet the people who will be trying to keep their cool in the Caribbean heat. According to Stephen: “Part of the great joy of the show is that all sorts of people are thrown together from all walks of life, all ages, all parts of the country, and beyond.

“We’re all different, some people are really smart about other people, and can suss out a room, they have a sense of what’s going on with people, who’s feeling nervous, who’s lying. Whereas other people are totally clueless and you could be shouting ‘I’m a liar’ at them and they’d still trust you!”

Will the viewers be able to spot a potential winner in this first episode, as the 11 pairs are faced with their first challenge before they even leave the airport runway – retrieve their keys if they want a room at the hotel?

The Secret Life of Trees (Thursday 07/07/25, 5, 9pm)

Words by Rachael Popow

As the reaction to the illegal felling of the Sycamore Gap tree near Hadrian’s Wall in 2023 proved, people can become very attached to trees, not least because they can stand for centuries.

However, as the last episode in this fascinating series reminds us, whether the lifespan of a tree is a hundred or a thousand years, eventually it will reach the end of its story and die.

So, after the first two episodes of The Secret Life of Trees explored how a seed becomes a sapling and then reaches adulthood, here narrator Michael Palin explores the end of the cycle. If that sounds a bit downbeat though, it turns out the end of one life can mean the beginning of a new one.

Cameras take us to Scotland, where Tony Kirkham explores a collection of yew trees, the UK’s longest-living species. As well as creating cathedral-like caves under their canopies, Tony reveals how the yew’s sprawling branches can allow it to ‘walk’ across the ground and re-root when the original trunk dies.

While in Scotland, Tony also visits a grove of money puzzle trees. These prickly beauties are famous for their unusual, scale-like leaves and the presenter explains that this adaptation was to protect the species from hungry dinosaurs.

There may not be any trees left standing that were around at the same time as Jurassic beasts, but there are trees on Earth that are nearly 5,000 years old and some of Britain’s forests have ancient origins. In north-west Wales, Kylie Jones-Mattock shows viewers the lush beauty of a temperate rainforest, an ancient habitat where unique flora and fauna are able to thrive.

Staying in Wales, we meet Professor Mary Gagen from Swansea University studies tree rings, the circular patterns that develop inside a trunk as it grows. She demonstrates how these rings can offer an insight into a tree’s life story as well as showing that, like humans, trees can experience trauma – and hopefully ‘learn’ from it.

But while trees may sometimes have hard lives, age doesn’t necessarily slow them down. Antonio Antico, whose family have farmed olives for many generations, reveals why his seemingly ancient specimens may look twisted but are producing more than ever.

However, even if they literally have a ripe old age, eventually a tree will reach the end, but how do they die?

Disease is often a factor, but that can sometimes be prevented, as Kerry Pickett and Peter Small in Brighton talk about why they are among the people fighting to save local elm trees from Dutch Elm disease.

Finally, this episode takes us to Betchworth Estate in Surrey to meet earth scientist Cecilia Reed as she looks for trees that have died. It turns out they can leave an amazing legacy behind as they provide food and habitat for many creatures.

Some 40 per cent of our woodland wildlife depends on dead wood to survive, but that’s not the only way trees continue to sustain life, even after they die. Left to decompose, they will break down and eventually restore their nutrients back into the soil, providing the perfect environment for the next generation of trees to grow and thrive.

Here We Go (Friday 08/08/25, BBC One, 9pm)

Words by Damon Smith

Amy Jessop, supermodel? It seems unlikely that Here We Go’s dry-witted eldest child would strut defiantly down a catwalk but she is spotted by a modelling agency talent scout in this week’s episode of the popular BBC One comedy series, shot from the perspective of her camera-crazy brother Sam.

Freya Parks, who plays Amy, is glad her character’s dry wit continues to cut through the chaos as her alter ego embraces being a university student who hasn’t quite got to grips with adulthood yet.

“I think she’s learning more about the consequences that come with her actions, discovering more about her and Maya’s relationship too,” explains Parks. “Other than that, she’s pretty much the same gal, the Amy we know and love but with much longer hair!”

Here We Go is the beautiful, bouncing brainchild of Tom Basden, who wears three different hats as the show’s creator, writer and cast member. He loves thinking up new storylines for the family as the show barrels through its third series and happily imagines how co-stars will react to each freshly conceived mishap and misadventure.

“My favourite part of the process is when the cast read the scripts as we have a big read-through together, and everyone sees what we’ve got in store for the next series,” he confesses. “Particularly the scenes shot in the house, we get to really play around with that and even though we don’t always have much time, and it can be tiring filming, we do manage to have a lot of fun and find a lot of extra comedy as we go along.”

It has been almost five years since the show’s pilot episode and viewers now know the Jessops almost as well as Basden. That familiarity gives him freedom to think further outside the box and imagine storylines the audience will enjoy as much as the actors will get a kick from performing them together on set.

In terms of his own character, uncle Robin, he is attempting to be a positive role model for his son Atlas and shake off some of the trappings of a man-child. Behaving responsibly is easier said than done, especially when Basden needs to mine situations for laughs.

“He still collects football stickers, and he still does quite stupid things, particularly that Cherry doesn’t always know about,” he acknowledges. “I would say he’s somewhere between a 13-year-old boy and a 30-year-old man.”

Alison Steadman, who plays grandmother Sue, might struggle to open a jar of gherkins on screen but she quickly identifies why Here We Go continues to resonate with viewers.

“With the world the way it is, just to be able to switch off and actually find a bit of warmth and fun in the world is very important, and I think that’s what Tom gives us with the series,” she warmly reflects.

There is a little piece of the Jessops in all of us.