It’s all about Happy Valley this week as Sally Wainwright’s powerhouse series comes to an end after three gripping series on BBC One – but what will become of Sarah Lancashire’s Catherine Cawood?
Fans will have to wait until Sunday to see the finale of the crime thriller, but luckily there are some strong alternatives to tide you over until then, including ITV’s period drama Hotel Portofino and BBC Two’s gripping documentary Emily Attack: Asking For It ?.
Read more: Sally Wainwright and Sarah Lancashire worried Happy Valley would ‘bomb’
Netflix subscribers won’t want to miss Pamela, A Love Story, which features some fascinating new insights into the life of one of the world’s most famous women, Pamela Anderson.
The best things to watch this week, January 30 – February 5, 2023
Pamela, A Love Story – Netflix – Tuesday
A new documentary about Pamela Anderson lifts the lid on previously untold aspects of her life.
Charting her rise to fame from small-town girl to international sex symbol, it offers surprising insights into the woman so many people think they know.
Emily Attack: You want it? – BBC Two – Tuesday, 9pm
Comedian and former Inbetweeners star Emily Atack explores sexual harassment, something she was a victim of from an astonishingly young age.
She explains how the graphic images and messages she constantly sends on social media are taking a toll on her mental health and questions why she is so often victim-blamed.
Unsolved Forensics: The Murder of Rachel Nickell – ITV – Thursday 9pm
A new true crime docuseries begins with an episode looking back at the investigation into Rachel Nickell’s murder.
Read more: Russell T. Davis blasts ‘trashy’ new TV writers
Nickell was stabbed to death on Wimbledon Common in 1992, but in 2002 the investigation was reopened when it emerged that the wrong person had been convicted.
Forensic scientist Dr. Angela Gallop tells us about the techniques used to finally bring her killer to justice.
Amol Rajan Interviews Bill Gates – BBC Two – Friday 7.30pm
The in-depth Amol Rajan Interviews series is back, with the journalist sitting down with Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
He made his fortune as a technology entrepreneur, but has given away about $30 billion through his charitable foundation to projects working with underprivileged children and climate change.
Gates still has many critics, however, and here Rajan explores his controversies as well as his achievements.
Portofino Hotel – ITV – Friday 9pm
Period drama Hotel Portofino makes its debut on ITV1 and ITVX after previously being broadcast to a more limited audience on BritBox.
Natasha McElhone and Anna Chancellor are just two of the star-studded cast in this series set on the 1920s Italian Riviera about a luxury seaside hotel and the wealthy Brits it caters to, including all sorts of affairs, blackmail and secrets .
The Masked Singer – ITV – Saturday 7pm
As addictive as it is ridiculous, The Masked Singer calls out to almost everyone to shout “get it out!” at their screen on Saturday night.
Last week, Kathryn Ryan was the surprise celebrity behind Pigeon, and previous revelations have included Lulu, Chris Kamara and Martin and Shirley Kemp.
Who will be revealed this week and can you guess the identities of the other contestants?
Happy Valley – BBC One – Sunday, 9pm
It’s a rarity these days that there’s no appointment television at all, never mind the universal appeal of Happy Valley.
But Sally Wainwright’s gritty drama about Sergeant Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) battling Yorkshire’s drug problem, as well as her own feud with criminal Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton), has the nation speculating about what the finale might be.
Multiple endings have apparently been filmed for the latest episode, set to run 10 minutes longer than usual to cover the many loose ends – but whatever the fate of Catherine and Tommy, you won’t want to risk spoilers by skipping this one.