Countryfile (BBC1/HD | 8pm to 9pm | Sunday 14th July 2013)
Ellie Harrison and Adam Henson head for the Shetlands, the most northerly inhabited place in the UK. Ellie meets the islanders farming seaweed to eat, tries her hand at an ancient Viking version of chess and goes in search of one of the UK’s rarest birds – the red necked phalarope. Adam gets up close to rare native Shetland cattle and sheep, then takes a twirl with a dancing pony. And Tom Heap reports on how a new approach to animal inspections is helping improve welfare on farms.
Top Gear (BBC2/HD | 8pm to 9pm | Sunday 14th July 2013)
Motoring magazine. Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May visit Spain, with Clarkson in a McLaren 12C Spider, Hammond driving a Ferrari 458 Spider and May using an Audi R8 V10 Spyder. Over the course of their travels the three presenters and their mid-range convertible supercars encounter mountain passes, ghost towns and an incredible abandoned airport, before building their own street circuit in the deserted developments of Madrid. Also in this show, Sherlock and Star Trek actor Benedict Cumberbatch is the star in the Reasonably Priced Car.
The Cycle Show (itv4 | 8pm to 9pm | Monday 15th July 2013)
The cycling magazine show with regular presenter Graham Little including special guests and items and features on all aspects of bike riding.
Undercover Boss (Channel4/HD | 9pm to 10pm | Monday 15th July 2013)
Company director Ray Pope steps out from his cosy office and into very unfamiliar territory by going undercover on the shopfloor of multi million pound car giant Hyundai. Having tripled car sales in only four years, the boss is worried that the business might be creaking under the strain. After years behind a desk, he’s finally getting his hands dirty, but unearths sales staff struggling to perform, mechanics so demoralised that they’re leaving the company, and valets frustrated at unachievable targets. And when the boss heads to the company’s largest operation, Tilbury docks, where they import 2,500 cars a week, he’s shocked to discover dozens of cars are going missing.
The Route Masters: Running London’s Roads: Gateway to London. Episode 5 (BBC2/HD | 9pm to 10pm | Tuesday 16th July 2013)
In the last decade, Victoria Coach Station has been transformed. London’s only coach station has in effect become a new border, for thousands of migrants coming to Britain from Eastern Europe and elsewhere. Cheap coach fares have resulted in a 25 per cent increase in passengers in the last five years alone. So the Transport for London staff running the coach station must now work flat-out to cope with the demand. Customer service assistant Hayley, a former bodyguard and stuntwoman, has worked out her own special technique for charming the coach drivers. Jack speaks Polish, which helps when he has to deal with hundreds of Poles departing and arriving every day. And Sergeant Shaun Doyle is on patrol, coping with everything from a missing teenager who turns up at the coach station to illegal immigrants and stowaways. This is the story of how one of the oldest parts of London’s transport infrastructure has become the busiest, thanks to the way London has changed.
Hebrides: Islands on the Edge (BBC2/HD | 9pm to 10pm | Thursday 18th July 2013)
Ewan McGregor narrates a landmark nature series focusing on the wildlife struggling to survive on the Hebridean Islands. Cameras follow white-tailed eagles, harbour seals, hares, pine martens and short-eared owls as they struggle to raise their families whilst dealing with the biggest storm ever to hit the islands in living memory. And as the wild weather passes, the seas warm to welcome the arrival of Scotland’s ocean juggernauts, basking sharks.
The One Show (BBC1/HD | 7pm to 7:30pm | Friday 19th July 2013)
Larry Lamb and Lucy Siegle visit the seaside town of Oban to present a selection of some of the best reports from the One Show. Highlights include Mike Dilger’s search for killer whales off the coast of Scotland, a feature on the humble origins of the James Bond theme and the engineering secrets behind a new bridge over Nottingham’s railway station.
All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.