LIFE BEGINS
ITV1, 9pm
This is gently amusing, middle-aged romantic drama week. Like David Nicholls’s Aftersun (BBC One, Friday), the returning Life Begins is the creation of a Cold Feet veteran (Mike Bullen this time), complete with neat little plot twists, wry juxtapositions, reflections on married life and bittersweet humour. Determined to make a new start after their extramarital shenanigans, Maggie (Caroline Quentin) and Phil (Alexander Armstrong) move into a new home with their hormonally charged teenage children, but their new start won’t be complete until they reignite their frozen sex life. Over-friendly new neighbours, a batty promotional scheme at Maggie’s travel agency and Phil’s errant boss Brian provide all the complications you can eat.
DISPATCHES: HOW SAFE IS HEATHROW?
Channel 4, 8pm
This timely programme investigates security flaws at Britain’s largest airport which pre-date last month’s alleged terrorist plots by many years. Months after the 9/11 attacks, organised criminals were able to steal £4.5 million in used notes from a truck on a runway. High-value goods imported through the airport were being stolen so frequently that at least one major company pulled out of the UK altogether, and the Government demanded action.
This film tells the story of the ensuing police operation, and, more worryingly, identifies serious weaknesses in security procedures in the freight-handling areas that could still be exploited by thieves and terrorists.
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9/11: THE MIRACLE OF STAIRWAY B
Channel 4, 9pm
Channel 4’s exhaustive 9/11 coverage continues with a remarkable story that also features prominently in BBC One’s film on Thursday. The south tower, which was hit later, but lower down, collapsed first, killing everyone still alive inside. But when the north tower went down, by some strange quirk of physics, a pocket of stairway B was not pulverised. This is the story of a group of 12 firefighters, several from Ladder 6, and one policeman who happened to be in the only safe place in the building at the crucial moment. The firemen were there only because they were moving down slowly, helping a middle-aged office worker with a bad leg to escape.
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McCARTNEY v McCARTNEY
ITV1, 10pm
The words “hastily” and “assembled” spring to mind for this “story behind the headlines”. At least it provides a useful opportunity for anyone interested in the year’s most spectacular British celebrity divorce to catch up, if they haven’t been following the story in the red-tops.
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The documentary promises to delve into the reasons for the collapse of what once seemed like an intensely romantic marriage (below), evaluating claims that he is “mean and boring” and she is “bossy and controlling”. Various commentators will analyse how what started as an amicable split managed to turn so unpleasant.
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BEST OF THE REST . . .
LOST CITIES OF THE ANCIENTS
BBC Two, 9pm
Part one of a new ancient- history series.
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THE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO L. RON HUBBARD
Channel 4, 11pm
The first in a three-parter explores scientology.
Multichannel choice
LIFE ON MARS
Bravo, 10pm
One of the most original drama series of recent years, Life on Mars deftly combines fantasy with cop-show nostalgia. After a traffic accident, Sam Tyler (John Simm) finds himself back in 1973, starting work at a police station straight out of The Professionals: the cops screech Cortinas round corners and swagger about, and their boss, DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister, left, with Simm), wears a camel coat and favours bully-boy tactics. Back in 2006, Sam is in a coma, but can he get back to his real life? The second series, currently filming in Manchester, is due to air in early 2007 — in the meantime, enjoy this catch-up.
9/11: A TALE OF TWO TOWERS
UKTV Documentary, 7pm/11.20pm
A 9/11 Season begins with this premiere piecing together what happened in the offices of the World Trade Centre during the terrorist attack. It is emotional, horrifying stuff.
HELL’S KITCHEN 2
ITV2, 9pm
The American version of Gordon Ramsay’s cook-off is The Apprentice in aprons. The cameras swoop down on the pumped-up, preening contestants, who share a swanky pad but will back-stab their way to the prize of a job at a new multimillion dollar restaurant. This year it’s the girls versus the boys, and there’s not much between them on the first night — in two hours, only a handful of customers are actually served.
HOW TO FIND A HUSBAND
UKTV Style, 10pm
At last, a dating programme with a sense of humour. Sally Gray, a 37-year-old television presenter, puts 10 weeks aside to find Mr Right with the same single-mindedness she has applied to her career. Will it work? Tune in every week night to find out.
Daytime choice
DARK VICTORY (1939, b/w)
TCM, 1.05pm
A vintage weepie with spoilt socialite Bette Davis finding out that she is terminally ill and vowing to spend her last days living it up with suitors. Can she find true love? Humphrey Bogart also stars. (106min) GABRIELLE STARKEY