Radio Times TV critic David Butcher picks the programmes to look out for this week – plus a couple to avoid. He celebrates BBC2’s blazing new western The English. He trumpets the return of The Crown with Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki as the Prince and Princess of Wales in the 1990s. He enjoys a stirring football doc called How to Win the World Cup and a film about Manchester’s famous Hacienda club. And sadly, he can’t entirely ignore a certain jungle reality show… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest is the novelist and screenwriter Helen Fielding – most celebrated as the creator of Bridget Jones. 27 years ago, Fielding wrote an anonymous column in The Independent which followed the daily triumphs and tribulations of a thirty-something singleton who smoked too much, drank too much and obsessed endlessly over unavailable men and her calorie intake. Bridget Jones has become a global sensation – with the column becoming four bestselling books and three hit films. In this episode, Fielding talks to me about growing up in the Industrial North, her early days as a TV journalist, how wanting a swimming pool fuelled her ambitions to become a writer – and reveals that she’s hard at work on the next Bridget film.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Radio Times associate editor David Butcher picks out the best TV for the week ahead, including three very different dramas. On BBC1 there’s the origin story of the SAS done Peaky Blinders style. On Amazon Prime there’s a nightmarish thriller with Jessica Raine. And on Sky there’s the return of saucy satire The White Lotus with a new cast and a gorgeous new setting. All this plus documentaries about jazz and high fashion – and as always, one show to miss. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest is Louis Theroux – the godfather of the immersive documentary. Over 24 years of programme making, Louis’ trademark style has remained the same – charming, bookish and, always, direct. In this episode, he talks to Kelly-Anne Taylor about how he wanted to be a sit-com writer, his guilty-secret of watching his own documentaries and why lockdown, and spending more time with his family, has changed his outlook on life.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Radio Times expert David Butcher runs through the TV highlights of the week ahead. They include a new series from Louis Theroux, big-budget sci-fi drama The Peripheral, a raft of programmes celebrating 100 years of the BBC, the return of The Handmaid’s Tale, and a magical documentary about Lionel Messi. Plus, as always – one show to avoid… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest is the actor, screenwriter, scriptwriter, playwright, author, raconteur, and the latest legend to be inducted into the Radio Times Hall of Fame, the one and only Stephen Fry. In this episode, Stephen tells Kelly-Anne Taylor about his life-long love affair with TV, why – of all the programmes he has made in more than 40 years in television – his BBC documentary exploring bipolar disorder is the show he’s most proud of, how he wishes shows like Heartstopper and It’s a Sin were around when he was younger – and how meeting Hugh Laurie was love at first sight.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Radio Times critic David Butcher picks the best TV for the week ahead – shiny new programmes, great returning series and one show to miss. He previews a poignant coming-of-age drama on Channel 4, the return of the most violent saga on television and new ventures from comedians Sue Perkins and Judi Love. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest is the king of the TV conspiracy thriller Jed Mercurio – the brains behind Line of Duty, Bodyguard and most recently, Bloodlands starring James Nesbitt. In this episode, Jed tells Kelly-Anne Taylor about the TV he watched as a young boy growing up in a working-class family in 1970s Staffordshire, why he felt more comfortable flying a plane for the RAF than writing his first script and how his years as a junior doctor gave him his big TV break.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Endlessly flicking through the channels or scrolling through streaming websites? In this episode, Radio Times journalist Kelly-Anne Taylor marks your cards for the week ahead – so you can wade through less content and get stuck into the best shows on the box. Whether you’re looking for a moving documentary, gritty drama or family-friendly film – we’ve got a recommendation for you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our first guest, on this brand new podcast brought to you by Radio Times, is the one and only James May. Once the Captain Slow of BBC’s Top Gear – James and his two amigos, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, now famously travel the globe for Amazon Prime’s The Grand Tour. In this episode, James tells Kelly-Anne Taylor about the TV he watched as a child, the shows that made him the man he is today and how he uses the pause button on his remote to support his local pub. Plus, he gives us the real story of life on the road with Hammond and Clarkson – and he reveals how his uncharacteristically reckless driving in the current series of A Grand Tour landed him in a Scandinavian A&E Department.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices