Alex Against the Rock for Sport Relief (BBC 1/HD | 3:15pm to 3:45pm | Sunday 23rd March 2014)
The full story of Alex Jones’ attempt to climb Utah’s Moonlight Buttress, a sheer sandstone cliff taller than the Shard in London, for Sport Relief. The One Show presenter spends two nights and three days, including her birthday, on the face struggling against fatigue and her fear of heights.
Harry’s South Pole Heroes (itv/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Sunday 23rd March 2014)
Conclusion of the two-part documentary about the Walking with the Wounded-organised South Pole Allied Challenge 2013. The three teams of wounded soldiers, representing the United Kingdom – with expedition patron Prince Harry – the United States and the Commonwealth face the challenge of racing more than 200 km across the harsh frozen wastes of the Antarctic Plateau. In the very first hours, the extreme conditions start to take a severe toll on all the teams. Over the next few days, wounded and non-wounded alike succumb to frostbite, altitude sickness and exhaustion. The race element is abandoned and what was a competition becomes a band of comrades, united in their determination to reach the South Pole together.
Bang Goes the Theory (BBC 1/HD | 7:30pm to 8:00pm | Monday 24th March 2014)
Series presenting the science behind the headlines, and looking at the issues that have a real impact on all our lives. With the technology we use every day beginning to share, store and analyse our data, the team look at how the use of our information now known as big data will change the world in ways unimaginable. Liz Bonnin looks at how big data monitors Rolls Royce jet engines dozens of times a second wherever they are in the world, and how that same system of analytics can automatically detect secondary brain injury in intensive care units. Jem Stansfield creates a low-tech computer and storage system with hacksaw blades and magnets. And with the government about to allow private companies access to our medical data, Maggie Philbin examines the dark side of big data: privacy. Just how much information on each and every one of us is out there, and how easy is it to find?
Shetland (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Tuesday 25th March 2014)
Crime drama set on the remote Scottish islands. When an old acquaintance of Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez dies in a suspicious car accident on the island, he wonders whether his journalist friend had uncovered a story that cost him his life.
Keeping Britain Safe 24/7 (BBC 1/HD | 10:35pm to 11:35pm | Tuesday 25th March 2014)
The series following the everyday heroes who keep Britain safe, battling the unexpected challenges that unfold with each passing season, goes behind the scenes with the safety teams at the world’s busiest runway and the world’s busiest shipping lane as they are overrun by holidaymakers. As tented villages the size of towns pop up all over the country, the police as try to control the festival crowds. Plus, when the party’s over in Notting Hill, the country’s biggest street carnival, an army of workers are left to clean up the mess.
W1A (BBC 2/HD | 10:00pm to 10:30pm | Wednesday 26th March 2014)
Comedy sequel to Twenty Twelve. BBC Head of Values Ian Fletcher has only been in the job a few weeks and already finds himself at the centre of a media storm. Spotlight South West presenter Sally Wingate believes she has been discriminated against because of her age, so Ian’s mission is to take the sting out of what has become known as ‘Wingategate’. As he journeys North to Salford for his first big live interview in the job, he finds himself unhelpfully joined by brand consultant Siobhan Sharpe, who is in serious tweeting mode. Meanwhile, things are getting complicated for the Britain’s Tastiest Village production team. Having wooed and won Carol Vorderman as Clare Balding’s replacement, they have discovered at the very last minute that Clare Balding is unexpectedly available and keen to do the show. The problem is that no-one has told Clare that they were moving on and she unhelpfully turns up for her first production meeting at the same time as Carol Vorderman is leaving.
Mayday: The Passenger Who Landed a Plane (Channel 4/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Thursday 27th March 2014)
On an early evening last October, 77-year-old great-grandfather John Wildey was being flown home by his pilot friend after a day out in north Lincolnshire. The pilot suddenly started to feel unwell. Ten minutes later he had collapsed at the controls, 1500 feet up in the air. John had no flying experience, and it was starting to get dark. This documentary tells the story of how, against all the odds, he managed to land the plane in pitch darkness, with help from a small team who were scrambled to provide instructions from the ground and air. John’s ordeal lasted for over an hour, and was made far harder because he couldn’t find the switch for the lights inside the cockpit. He made four attempts to land: his first was on a short, unlit runway that was so dark, he had to abort at the last second.
All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.
