(22-07-2013) TV highlights 22/07/2013 H0us3

Sunday, July 21, 2013

(22-07-2013) TV highlights 22/07/2013 H0us3

TV highlights 22/07/2013 Jul 22nd 2013, 06:00

Live Cricket: England v Australia
10am, Sky Sports Ashes

The opening match of the Ashes series at Trent Bridge will go down in history as one of the most dramatic of all time, with England finally clinching it by a hair's breadth of 14 runs. It's bound to have attracted a host of new fans, but both England and Australia will have looked to make changes to ensure that their fate is in their own hands rather than the cricketing gods. Australia desperately need to even up the series to prevent it becoming the English procession many predicted. David Stubbs

Taliban Child Fighters: Channel 4 Dispatches
8pm, Channel 4

Najibullah Quraishi meets some of the 200-odd underage Taliban prisoners detained in Afghan jails. Some of these kids are unrepentant: 15-year-old Hanan is the son of a Taliban guerrilla and the grandson of a Mujahadeen fighter, and was leading a troop of similarly inclined children when captured. Others were press-ganged: 10-year-old Neaz narrowly escaped being suited up as a suicide bomber. As foreign troops prepare to scale down or leave, a reminder of what Afghanistan may return to. Andrew Mueller

Burton And Taylor
9pm, BBC4

"We're actors about to do a play together," says Richard Burton (Dominic West) at a press conference to announce an appearance alongside Elizabeth Taylor (Helena Bonham Carter) in what will be an ill-starred theatrical production of Noël Coward's Private Lives. Except, of course, nothing involving this duo was ever just about the thesping. Scripted by William Ivory and centred on events in 1983, it's a one-off drama blessed with strong performances; one which finds an unfamiliar angle on a story we think we all know. Jonathan Wright

Long Live Britain
9pm, BBC1

Last May, Britain's biggest ever health screening was carried out among 400 locals and sports fans at Rugby League's Magic Weekend in Manchester. Medics were looking for warning signs of three killer – but preventable – diseases: type two diabetes, liver disease and heart disease. In this two-part special, Julia Bradbury, Phil Hammond and Phil Tufnell attempt some awareness-raising, with the help of notables such as Benidorm star Crissy Rock, EastEnders' Ricky Grover and Edwina Currie. Ali Catterall

Do No Harm
9pm, Watch

Horror meets brain surgery in this tale of Dr Jason Cole (Steven Pasquale), who saves lives by day and turns into a bad, fun-loving monster called Ian at night. It's a suitably silly update on the Jekyll and Hyde problem, with wild nights out, drugs and far too many women in one hot tub. Until now, Jason has kept his inner Ian under control by being knocked out by a serum for 12 hours, but now his magic potion is suddenly failing to work and his alter ego is out to wreck his life. Ridiculous but entertaining. Hannah Verdier

Skins: Pure – Part Two
10pm, E4

The second part of the story charting the continuing adventures of Cassie (Hannah Murray) begins with her visiting Wales, where her boozed-up, grief-stricken, arty dad (Neil Morrissey) is in a bad way. "You're supposed to get your shit together, sorry," points out Cassie's friend Jakob, who's come along for the trip. Back in London, though, Cassie's life is about to change. With a plot rooted in voyeurism, it's a moving and far stranger piece of drama than you might associate with an E4 series, even one as good as Skins. JW

Don't Blame Facebook
10pm, Channel 4

A documentary about when the internet goes wrong. It's sure to make you up your own privacy settings. And burn your computer. Various examples are cited for our amusement/edification, including a troll who didn't know when to stop and someone whose personal photos escaped into the public domain. The prissy title suggests we're to tut at these ignorant plonkers, while treating their downfall as a giant warning triangle flashing red on the hard shoulder of the information superhighway. Know your electronic enemies. Julia Raeside

Coming Up
11.10pm, Channel 4

The showcase for new directors and writers continues. Utopia's Adeel Akhtar is the lovable loser who takes centre stage in Ishy Din's tale of Baz, a man who's reluctant to grow up. Well, he still lives at home and his mum feeds him tandoori chicken while he waits for wife Roxy to give birth. Car nut Baz would much rather get drunk with his best mate than contemplate fatherhood but, as he takes his first steps into management at the local supermarket and his wife gives birth, the drama gently moves from laddy to rather sweet. HV