Thu 18 Jul 2024

 

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What’s on TV tonight: Jenna Coleman plays detective in BBC thriller The Jetty

Also, the Targaryens deal with the fallout of last week's battle on House of the Dragon and Jamie Oliver tells us what to eat this week

Pick of the day: The Jetty

9pm, BBC One

Jenna Coleman’s DC Ember Manning uncovers a dark web of secrets in the sleepy town she calls home. She suspects a predator is targeting girls – it would be refreshing if a crime drama didn’t pursue this depressing storyline. Anyhow, Manning finds herself reflecting on the age difference between herself and her late husband in this serviceable, coming-of-age (sort of) tale.

Britain on Film with Tony Robinson

6.20pm, PBS America

“Untold luxury for a few, mass unemployment for many, Europe in the 1930s was fractured and divided,” maintains Tony Robinson at the start of this docuseries that showcases the films that “home-movie enthusiasts” made, focusing on how people coped in the lead up to the Second World War. Occasionally this isn’t for the squeamish but this episode is also immensely moving.

Jamie: What to Eat this Week

8pm, Channel 4

The chef demonstrates summer recipes from his pukka garden shed, starting with a roast loin of pork with a cheesy bean and fennel gratin. He also makes pea risotto and a rainbow slaw served with griddled chicken in a toasted wrap. Finally, he cooks up some mackerel, served on a bed of sundried tomato couscous.

Police: Suspect No 1

9pm, Channel 5

The bleak documentary returns to chart the work of police officers and detectives during investigations, this time with Humberside CID. In this first slice of grit, workers are left terrified when two men, one armed with a meat cleaver, the other with a kitchen knife, launch separate violent crime sprees robbing store tills for cash, and officers must find both perpetrators before they strike again.

Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon (Photo: HBO/Sky)

House of the Dragon

9pm, Sky Atlantic

It’s not as fun as Game of Thrones, is it? There are certainly less (dark) quips, and less sympathetic characters. However, Emma D’Arcy compels as exiled Princess Rhaenyra and Matt Smith convinces as scheming Daemon in this violent look at the fall of House Targaryen, 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. What repercussions will there be after the spectacular three-way dragon battle? Ewan Mitchell’s Aemond certainly makes a compelling villain.

The Turkish Detective

9pm, BBC Two

The Demir investigation begins to feel like a wild goose chase until wily Cetin Ikmen (Haluk Bilginer) decides to look deeper into the past. Leyla begins to remember things from before her accident and presents Mehmet Suleyman (Ethan Kai) with a clue that could unlock the whole story of what happened to her.

Spent

10pm, BBC Two

“I don’t want to go out and work. It’s not for me, it’s not my destiny. I’m not made for the hustle, babes,” claims Mia (played by Michelle de Swarte, who was excellent in 2022’s horror-comedy The Baby), a former catwalk model who is in a lot of debt and is declared bankrupt in the US, so she moves back to Brixton. Part-based on De Swarte’s own life, Mia is jobless and homeless in this charming and poignant new comedy, which this week sees Mia grab some sleep at her mother’s before going to a disturbing work do with her best pal, Jo (Amanda Wilkin). The fashion industry doesn’t come out terribly well here but De Swarte is a force to be reckoned with.

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