Doctor Who (BBC 1/HD | 8:20pm to 9:10pm | Saturday 17th October 2015)
Captured by Vikings, the Doctor and Clara must help protect their village from space warriors from the future, the Mire. Outnumbered and outgunned, their fate seems inevitable. So why is the Doctor preoccupied with a single Viking girl?
Britain’s Ultimate Pilots: Inside the RAF (BBC 2/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Sunday 18th October 2015)
Action-packed series looking at the Red Arrows and the RAF’s finest aerial display teams. The summer flying season for Britain’s world class pilots is well underway and tensions are running high. At the UK’s largest air show in Gloucestershire, the Red Arrows are battling with the weather. Recreating an 18-plane World War II scramble is putting the RAF Hurricane Pilots through their paces. And to salute the Battle of Britain veterans, the Typhoon Fighter jet pilot has a very special ace up its sleeve… an emotionally charged synchro with a Spitfire.
The Secret Life of Midges (BBC 1 Scotland/HD & BBC iPlayer only | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Monday 19th October 2015)
Documentary in which Dr James Logan of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine explores the secret life of the midge. The Scottish midge is one of the few flies in the British Isles that feeds on human blood, causing havoc for anyone who has to live and work among them. Dr Logan attempts to discover how best to cope with it and whether some people might have their own natural midge repellent.
Building Cars Live (BBC 2/HD | 7:30pm to 9:00pm | Tuesday 20th October 2015)
James May, Kate Humble and Ant Anstead go live behind the scenes at the MINI Plant in Oxford to bring us the modern miracle of car production in real time. Over two nights they will reveal the science, engineering and people that keep us all on the road, and see a car built from start to finish in a little over 24 hours. In the first episode, James makes friends with an army of diligent robots and busts the myth that British manufacturing is dead. Kate heads to Norway to discover why the electric car is king of the Norwegian road and Ant explores the history and heritage of one of the most iconic cars ever built. With access all areas live on the factory floor, the team will see exactly how a car is born – a car that tomorrow will be driven off the line ready for life on the open road.
The Naked Choir with Gareth Malone (BBC 2/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Tuesday 20th October 2015)
Gareth Malone presents the search for the nation’s best amateur a cappella group. It’s the semi-final of Gareth Malone’s contest to find the nation’s most entertaining amateur a cappella group. To earn their place in the grand final, the four groups left standing must rise to a unique challenge – combine vocals, choreography and a killer concept to create a video with the potential to become an internet hit. Before the cameras even roll, one group has to contend with losing their leader, while a bizarre take on rapping threatens to derail another. Once in the can, the videos will be screened to a live audience and a jury of a cappella experts. Their votes will decide who goes through to the final and which group will leave the contest for good.
Building Cars Live (BBC 2/HD | 7:30pm to 9:00pm | Wednesday 21st October 2015)
James May, Kate Humble and Ant Anstead go live behind the scenes at the MINI Plant in Oxford to bring us the modern miracle of car production in real time. Over two nights they will reveal the science, engineering and people that keep us all on the road, and see a car built from start to finish in a little over 24 hours. James races against the clock on the production line and embraces the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen. Kate gets to the bottom of how manufacturers test car seats for mass production and Ant heads to Germany to put his faith in a driverless car on the autobahn. Inside the factory, the team reveal what it takes to build a thousand different cars a day, and are live as a car that started being built yesterday drives off the production line for the very first time.
DIY SOS (BBC 1/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Wednesday 21st October 2015)
In the second episode of a two-part special, Nick Knowles and the DIY SOS team continue with their most ambitious build ever – an attempt to regenerate a rundown community in Manchester. The team are aiming to transform an entire street, turning empty properties into homes for war veterans and building a support centre to help other veterans find homes and jobs. The plan is to redo the fronts of all the houses and put in new utilities – but with late nights and delays, it is looking like the team might not meet their deadlines.
Grand Designs (Channel 4/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Wednesday 21st October 2015)
So what kind of house should you build when you move to a new place, that’s traditional and architecturally conservative? Surely something that fits in, that’s similar to the houses of the new neighbours you want to impress? Not if you’re Stephen Yeoman and Anita Findlay. They want to put up a cutting edge, post-industrial house that’s covered in bright orange rusty metal. Not only that, their plot is one of the most prominent in their new home town in the South Downs – so everyone will be watching. Having to deal with an incredibly tight riverside plot, cash flow problems that threaten to bring work to a halt, and news of a first child on the way, Stephen and Anita’s project proves a real roller coaster ride. And that’s all before the fitting of their controversial rusty steel cladding starts to go badly wrong.
George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces (Channel 4/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Thursday 22nd October 2015)
George meets a young couple desperate to get onto the housing ladder who’ve come up with a radical plan – to build a home made almost entirely from scrap with a budget of zero pounds. There’s also a woman putting together a garden retreat out of reclaimed copper. The problem is she has no design experience, no building experience, and suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. In George’s road trip across Germany, he visits a high design houseboat, and is even allowed to take it out for a spin. And, as George and Will’s floating beach hut nears completion, there’s drama in the workshop.
Chris Tarrant: Extreme Railway Journeys (Channel 5 | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Thursday 22nd October 2015)
Documentary series in which Chris Tarrant explores the world’s most extreme railway lines. Chris attempts to cross the length of Cuba, the only island in the Caribbean to boast an extensive railway network, from Havana in the west to the far east of the island. Given old and battered trains that often fail to run, this proves rather more of a challenge than he had anticipated.
TFI Friday (Channel 4/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Friday 23rd October 2015)
Following the triumphant return of TFI Friday earlier this year, Chris Evans’ seminal cult entertainment show is back with a new series. Broadcasting from a new home in central London, there are brand new features and raucous stunts. Tonight’s guests include Justin Bieber, Dawn French, Macklemore and Lewis, Nicholas Hoult and Hurts. TFI is once again set to be a key part of the Friday night schedule.
All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.