First Dates Ireland returns for series 10
TV WEEK (Wednesday 8th to Tuesday 14th)
TOP SPECIALS
Patience (Channel 4, Wednesday 8th, 9pm)
Patience Evans is an autistic women who works in the criminal records department of Yorkshire Police, cataloguing and filing the evidence produced during major cases. A brilliant, self-taught criminologist, Patience has an instinctive eye for crime scenes and a passion for problem-solving. All characters in the series are played by neuro-diverse actors.
A League Of Their Own (Sky Max, Thursday 9th, 9pm)
Hosted by Romesh Ranganathan, with team captains Jamie Redknapp and Jill Scott alongside series regular Micah Richards, this series welcomes global sporting superstars such as Tyson Fury, Luke Littler, Sir Andy Murray, Keely Hodgkinson, Ollie Watkins, Anthony Gordon, Alan Carr, Danny Dyer and Kevin Bridges for laughs, revelations and surprises.
Room To Improve (RTÉ 1, Sunday 9.30pm)
Architect Dermot Bannon and quantity surveyor Claire Irwin return with four new designs for four incredible properties – Charlestown in Mayo, Palmerstown in Dublin, Aughris in Sligo and North Strand in Dublin. With soaring costs on materials around the country and budgets being pushed, the pair work harder to make sure they get their dream homes on budget and on time.
Votail (RTÉ 1, Monday 13th, 8pm)
This four-part series takes a look back at Ireland’s love/hate relationship with general elections and the hype of the campaigns. This week’s episode covers three general elections – all fought in just 18 months, where two of the stars of eighties politics battled for supremacy – Charlie Haughey and Garret FitzGerald. Political polar opposites, their televised debates were the first in Irish politics and as vicious as any that have aired since then.
From (Sky Max, Tuesday 14th, 9pm)
Season two is still set in a nightmarish town that traps all those who enter. As the unwilling residents fight to keep a sense of normalcy and search for a way out, they must also survive the threats of the surrounding forest – including the terrifying creatures that come out when the sun goes down. In season two, sees townspeople go on offence against the myriad horrors surrounding them.
WATCH OF THE WEEK
First Dates Ireland (RTÉ 2, Thursday 9th, 9.30pm)
Returning for series 10, the show will also feature its oldest daters yet – all with the hope of finding their forever love. With kind words of encouragement, shoulders to cry on and insightful observations on love and life are table angels Alice and Pete, Neil, the world’s friendliest barman and maître d’ Mateo Saina. The line-up includes former county footballer and Paul Mescal lookalike, Hugh, and ‘curly mullet’ aficionado Aisling.
BEST FILMS
Moulin Rouge (BBC 2, Thursday 9th, 10.40pm)
A celebration of love and creative inspiration takes place in the infamous, gaudy and glamorous Parisian nightclub, at the cusp of the 20th century, when a young poet (Ewan McGregor), is plunged into that heady world and begins a passionate affair with the club’s most notorious and beautiful star (Nicole Kidman).
Get Away (Sky Cinema Premiere, from Friday)
The Smith family’s much-needed vacation to the remote Swedish island of Svalta takes a dark turn when they arrive during preparations for a mysterious local festival that celebrates a dark history. Unsettled by the unfriendly locals and strange rituals, they try to make the best of their trip, stubbornly enjoying the island’s isolation and natural beauty.
Slingshot (Sky Cinema Premiere, from Saturday)
A psychological thriller starring Casey Affleck and Laurence Fishburne, Slinsghot follows an elite trio of astronauts aboard a compromised mission to Saturn’s moon Titan that could well catapult them into deep space. As the tension increases, it becomes increasingly difficult for one astronaut to maintain his grip on reality.
CLASSIC MOVIE
Little Fockers (Channel 4, Friday 10th, 11.05pm)
After 10 years of marriage and two children, it seems that Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) has finally earned a place in the “circle of trust” of his uptight father-in-law, Jack (Robert De Niro). As two clans descend on the scene of the young twins’ birthday party, Greg has to find a way through myriad misunderstandings to prove to Jack – once and for all – that he is worthy of being the next family patriarch.
KIDS STUFF
Winston Churchill’s War (Sky History, Thursday 9th, 2pm)
The groundbreaking documentary unpicks the character of this great war leader who helped to defeat Hitler and the Nazis and kept the British public going during the darkest days of World War II. What’s revealed is a complex figure with many demons and flaws – but all of which made this great man tick.
Garth and Bev (RTÉjr, Friday 10th, 3.30pm)
Garth and Bev little in the beautiful village of Ballybeg surrounded by nature. With a little druid magic from their grandfather Lir, they travel through the ‘time spiral’ on amazing adventures to find out that behind every great idea.
ON DEMAND
Bandidos (Netflix)
The series tells the story of a crew of bounty hunters on a quest for the biggest treasure in human history, hidden centuries before by King Aj Took. Misfits Miguel and Lilí begin their journey to the Gulf of Mexico, to retrieve the riches submerged within a Spanish galleon – a plan that takes a dangerous turn when they realise their rivals are also vying for the same Mayan treasure.
Severance Season 2 (Apple TV)
Mark Scout leads a team at Lumon Industries, whose employees have undergone a severance procedure that surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives. This daring experiment in ‘work-life balance’ is called into question as Mark finds himself at the centre of a mystery that will force him to confront the true nature of his work and of himself.
Alpha Males Season 3 (Netflix)
The Alpha Males are going to discover about new anti-feminist ideas like incels and the manosphere. While Raúl copes with Luz’s romantic anarchy and adjusting to the new religious customs in his life, Luis has to cope with his parents’ divorce and Pedro learns he is going to be a father.
SPORTS CENTRE
Live DP World Tour Golf (Sky Sports, Friday 10th to Sunday 12th, 7am)
The competition returns to Abu Dhabi, following a thrilling competition in 2023 when Molinari captained Continental Europe to a 14½ -10½ victory over a Tommy Fleetwood-led Great Britain and Ireland.