TV Times top picks for today
What’s on telly tonight? Here the TV Times team of expert reviewers highlight the best shows on Wednesday 18th April
Benidorm, 9pm, ITV
Joyce is not at all happy with Monty for hiring the utterly bonkers Sammy Valentino (a startlingly tanned Shane Richie) and giving him a contract to do two shows a week for a year. She fires her hapless husband but still needs a cunning plan to get rid of Sammy… Elsewhere, Billy and Sheron are over the moon about Robert and Cyd’s engagement, but the thought of possibly becoming grandparents suddenly makes them feel old – so they head off into town to relive the good old days. Finally, Pauline sobers up for just long enough to be horrified at her ‘erotic’ novel. She heads off to tell Aunty Doreen it can never be published, but gets a shock when she meets Doreen’s new boyfriend. Rating: ***
Assassination of Gianni Versace, 9pm, BBC2
Does a tempestuous childhood make you an unhinged adult? It’s certainly suggested this set young Andrew Cunanan on his way to become an adult serial killer. The drama goes back to the 1980s when he was a child living in California with an abusive father, which led to extreme attention-seeking at school and a violent end to his relationship with his dad. The same episode also shows Gianni Versace’s unhappy childhood in 1950s Italy, when he was baited at school for being a sissy. But at least Gianni had an understanding mother, a dressmaker who encouraged him. Definitely an episode for child psychologists to pick over. Rating: ****
Secret Life of the Zoo, 8pm, C4
Narrated again by Olivia Colman, this delightful, BAFTA-nominated series returns with more amazing stories from Chester Zoo. Breeding couple Beagle and Huskie have been brought together in the hope of starting a meerkat mob. But they’re put off by their messy housemates, three aardvarks, and a new honeymoon suite needs to be found! Meanwhile, (surprisingly cute!) vampire crabs Janet and John have trouble breeding, and the zoo’s newly arrived two-horned chameleons are also struggling. Confident Charles is shown his own reflection to put him in the mood, but why is picky Ruby shunning his affections? Rating: ****
More previews tomorrow.
