The Coronation (BBC 1/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Sunday 14th January 2018)
Marking the 65th anniversary of Her Majesty the Queen’s coronation, the Queen shares her memories of the ceremony, as well as that of her father, King George VI, in 1937. Viewing rarely seen film footage and looking at some of the priceless Crown Jewels themselves, Her Majesty the Queen recalls the day when the weight of both the St Edward’s Crown, and the hopes of a nation recovering from war, were placed on her shoulders, as the nation looked to their 27-year-old Queen to lead them into a new era. Exploring the role and symbolic meaning of the Crown Jewels in the centuries-old coronation ceremony, this programme shows these objects of astonishing beauty as they’ve never been seen before. Using the Crown Jewels and the Queen’s recollections as its touchstones, The Coronation tells the inside story of this glittering ceremony.
The Biggest Little Railway in the World (Channel 4/HD | 8:00pm to 9:00pm | Sunday 14th January 2018)
Dick Strawbridge and a team of model railway enthusiasts attempt to build the longest model railway in the world, 71 miles across Scotland, from Fort William to Inverness. As the little train starts the first part of its epic journey, it becomes clear exactly how difficult the challenge will be. The team’s attempt to use the miniature train ferry that they’ve built doesn’t go well, with the train drifting towards a wall of water… Meanwhile, the track teams are battling in rainy and midge-infested conditions to lay more track. And the build team have to work out how to span a 60-metre viaduct by Aberchalder Bridge. It could flood at any point, so they decide to build another viaduct, but the sheer length of it makes it very challenging. And the train is making slow progress, with much more rugged terrain still to come.
Village of the Year (Channel 4/HD | 3:00pm to 4:00pm | Monday 15th January 2018)
In the first of a brand new series, Penelope Keith along with village judges – archaeologist Alex Langlands, garden designer Juliet Sargeant and craft expert Patrick Grant – weighs up four contenders vying for the title of ‘Village of the Year’. This week we are in the western zone made up of some stunning seaside and rural idylls. Penelope is by the seaside in Charmouth, Dorset. In Redbrook, in the Wye Valley Patrick bridges the divide between Wales and England. Juliet uncovers her inner Viking in Lydford, Devon, and Alex learns to thatch on the coast in Aberdaron, Wales.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Monday 15th January 2018)
Michael Portillo embarks on a journey through Britain steered by his Edwardian railway handbook. He begins in the East Yorkshire port of Hull, where he heads for the docks through which millions of migrants passed at the turn of the 20th century and which are today getting a second wind.
The Forest (BBC 1 Scotland/HD & BBC iPlayer only | 7:30pm to 8:00pm | Monday 15th January 2018)
Mark Bonnar narrates a series revealing the hidden world of Galloway Forest, the country’s largest afforested area. In this episode, James Jones sawmill in Lockerbie powers through 20,000 logs a day. But when a six-tonne machine called a crosscut stacker breaks down, a dedicated engineering team must save the day. A decline in salmon numbers in the River Cree near Newton Stewart has led to a tireless effort to restock the river by the Cree Hatchery and Habitat Trust. Archie McNeillie and John Coughtrie from the Forestry Commission’s Recreation Department deal with a rat infestation in a public area caused by an overzealous bird feeder. And at Balloch O’Dee campsite, owner James gets ready to stage a comedy night.
Silent Witness (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Monday 15th January 2018)
Forensic crime drama series. Nikki and Jack continue to deal with their feelings post-Mexico in their own very different ways. Jack is boxing with his sparring partner Naomi Silva when he is called to a crime scene. Nikki examines the body of a young woman, while Jack is surprised to find the SIO on the case turns out to be DCI Naomi Silva. The forensic evidence takes them to a cosmetic clinic where a pregnant Karen had been receiving various treatments seemingly for free. Nikki and Silva are frustrated by the CEO of Hamilton Ashe hospital when he blocks access to Karen’s medical records. However, when a second body is found, he is forced to help the team.
Village of the Year (Channel 4/HD | 3:00pm to 4:00pm | Tuesday 16th January 2018)
Penelope Keith and the Village of the Year team of judges travel the British Isles to report on four villages hoping to be crowned Village of the Year. In Devon, the Lympstone Brass Band puts on a performance for Penelope; Alex Langlands investigates an alien invasion in Llwyngwril, North Wales; Patrick Grant learns about the peculiar art of swede racing in Colwinston, South Wales; and Juliet Sargeant helps spruce up the idyllic village of Porlock.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Tuesday 16th January 2018)
Armed with his Edwardian Bradshaw’s guide, Michael Portillo conducts important research in an historic tea room, built by an Edwardian immigrant to the city of York.
Silent Witness (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Tuesday 16th January 2018)
Forensic crime drama series. The team wonder if the hack is the only danger as they come under threat. Jack has to decide how to get closure from his experience in Mexico.
Village of the Year (Channel 4/HD | 3:00pm to 4:00pm | Wednesday 17th January 2018)
Penelope Keith and the Village of the Year panel of judges visit four villages going head-to-head in their bid to be crowned Village of the Year. Penelope meets an army of volunteers on the Dorset coast in Burton Bradstock; surf’s up for historian Alex Langlands at the world’s first surfing lake in Dolgarrog; anything goes for Patrick Grant in Llangwm’s museum of everything; and Juliet Sargeant has a real taste of the sea in Mousehole, Cornwall.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Wednesday 17th January 2018)
With his Edwardian railway guidebook tucked under his arm, Michael Portillo is in the steel city of Sheffield, where he discovers an enormous and beautifully preserved early 20th-century steam engine. At 400 tonnes and packing 12,000 horsepower, it produced armour plate for the most feared warship of the Royal Navy.
Village of the Year with Penelope Keith (Channel 4/HD | 3:00pm to 4:00pm | Thursday 18th January 2018)
Travelling the length and breadth of the British Isles, Penelope Keith and her team of judges are looking for the UK’s Village of the Year. In Betws-y-Coed in the heart of Snowdonia, Alex Langlands gets adventurous; Penelope is horsing around in Charlton Horethorne; Juliet Sargeant reels in the catch of the day in Polperro, Cornwall; and on the Gower Peninsula, Patrick Grant is digging for cockles in Penclawdd. Which village woos the judges to become a semi-finalist?
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Thursday 18th January 2018)
Michael Portillo’s Edwardian railway guide takes him to the city of Liverpool, where King Edward VII had recently laid the foundation stone for a grand Anglican cathedral at the top of St James’s Mount. The young winner of a competition to design the building was a Roman Catholic from a family of architects. His name was Giles Gilbert Scott. Michael takes a trip down his own memory lane in Maghull on the outskirts of Liverpool, where he discovers a childhood favourite – a miniature tank engine with three carriages in dark red – made by Frank Hornby.
Death in Paradise (BBC 1/HD | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Thursday 18th January 2018)
Detective drama series set on a Caribbean island. When famous thriller author Frank O’Toole is found stabbed through the heart in the middle of the ocean, Jack and his team are baffled. But as the spotlight turns on Frank’s closest friends and family and secrets are exposed, Jack uncovers a murder plot worthy of one of his novels…
Walks with My Dog (more4 | 9:00pm to 10:00pm | Thursday 18th January 2018)
In the second programme of the new series, actor Angela Griffin is in the Cotswolds, TV presenter and explorer Ben Fogle wanders across Morecambe Bay and chef James Martin explores The New Forest. Angela and her Cavapoo Smith walk from the village of Broadway in the Cotswolds – taking in the romantic folly of Broadway Tower and playing cricket in the village where JM Barrie and a team of legendary literary luminaries once came to face the locals. Ben Fogle and his black Labrador Storm visit a very different landscape – the wide open expanse of Morecambe Bay. Here they dabble in art and meet a man who guides people to safety across the treacherous sands, by Royal Appointment. James Martin is with Cooper, his working cocker spaniel, on a jaunt through the New Forest. They discover the area’s shipbuilding history, learn about its status as an ancient woodland and go for a spin in a vintage car.
Village of the Year with Penelope Keith (Channel 4/HD | 3:00pm to 4:00pm | Friday 19th January 2018)
Penelope Keith and her panel of expert judges investigate four more villages competing to win the title of ‘Village of the Year’. On the Jurassic coast Penelope’s all at sea with Beer’s historic fishing fleet, and Patrick Grant is ‘boule-d’ over in Sherston, Wiltshire. In Devon, Juliet Sargeant meets the Clovelly donkeys, and Alex Langlands goes native in the Welsh village of Llanllyfni.
Great British Railway Journeys (BBC 2/HD | 6:30pm to 7:00pm | Friday 19th January 2018)
With his Edwardian Bradshaw’s railway guide tucked under his arm, Michael Portillo begins the last leg of his journey from Hull to Caernarfon. In picturesque Snowdonia, he braves the fastest zip line in the world – stretching 1,500 feet across a vast slate quarry. He uncovers a bitter industrial dispute between quarrymen and the owner of the pit, Lord Penrhyn, which divided the community at the beginning of the 20th century.
All TV guide information taken from DigiGuide — www.getdigiguide.tv/?p=1&r=15119.