From gripping crime dramas to comedy shows, fascinating documentaries and much more, there’s no end of brilliant TV to watch live and on demand with Freeview Play. If you’re stuck on what to watch next, we’ve put together a round-up of some of the best shows on TV in the coming week to help you decide.
Friday 26th July
Olympics
Clare Balding previews the next 16 days of incredible sporting action in France and introduces live coverage of a unique opening ceremony held along Paris’s main artery - the Seine.
5.45pm on BBC One
Champions: Full Gallop
Documentary series following the drama on and off the racetrack involving horse racing jockeys, trainers, owners and horses. There are thrills and spills in the race to be the champion Jump jockey - one of them, Sean Bowen, is riding high 30 wins ahead of his nearest rival Harry Cobden when a heavy fall on Boxing Day puts his title aspirations into jeopardy.
9pm on ITV1
The Fugitive
Action adventure film starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. Wrongly convicted of murdering his wife, Richard Kimble escapes from prison and sets out to find the real killer.
10pm on Channel 5
Saturday 27th
High Country
Testing a tip from Damien, Andie rides into danger. Helen finds her muse at the Farm, leaving daughter Kirra to seek her own amusement.
9pm on BBC Two
Deadpool
Ryan Reynolds returns as the potty-mouthed, can of whup-ass opening superhero, and now he's got buddies to help him take on baddie Josh Brolin.
9pm on Channel 4
Piglets
Sitcom set in a fictional police training college. Difficult situations must be diffused to prevent escalation, someone will be expelled if a fellow student reports their misconduct, and there's an unexpected staff sacking.
10pm on ITV1
Sunday 28th July
McDonald and Dodds
Detective drama series. When Ian Andrews gets on at his usual stop, nothing is out of the ordinary - when the bus pulls into the station, Ian is dead. Despite it being the busiest route of the day, there isn't a single eyewitness to his death - McDonald and Dodds face a mammoth challenge as they try to unravel how a man can die in broad daylight, on a busy bus, and not a single person can see it happen.
8.05pm on ITV1
Britain Behind Bars: A Secret History
Rob Rinder explores the story of capital punishment in Britain at Shrewsbury Prison, where the reign of the infamous Pierrepoint family of hangmen began.
9pm on Channel 4
Body Bizarre
A young Brazilian boy was born without eyes, and the family hopes to have prosthetic eyes made. Two brothers in Nebraska suffer a rare bone loss condition.
10pm on Really
Monday 29th July
Olympics
Swimming again takes centre stage on the third evening of competition, with high expectations of British success in the men’s 200m freestyle – one of five finals in the pool.
7pm on BBC One
24 Hours In A&E
This episode meets people who've taken big risks and explores how it's affected their lives. Motorbikers James and Peter are both rushed in. Ex-miner Alfred has severe chest pain.
9pm on Channel 4
Love Island: The Live Final
It has been a hot and sweaty summer in Spain and now we reveal your favourite couple - you are in complete control as ever as we join host Maya Jama for all the drama of the final.
9pm on ITV2
Tuesday 30th July
Cooking With The Stars
Emma Willis and Tom Allen host the celebrity cooking contest where eight stars are mentored by eight world-class chefs as they compete in culinary cooking battles - this edition sees Carol Vorderman, Abbey Clancy, Pasha Kovalev and Harry Pinero go head-to-head as they attempt to deliver standout dinner party dishes in a bid to progress to the next round and avoid the dreaded cook-off.
8pm on ITV1
Kyle: The Gunman Who Divided America
Documentary about one of America's most controversial figures, Kyle Rittenhouse.
9pm on BBC Two
The Body Detectives
A cop and forensics experts re-open cold cases of unidentified bodies from across the UK. Can new technology reveal the hidden story of a man found dead on a London street in 1994?
9pm on Channel 4
Wednesday 31st July
Cumbria: The Lakes and Coast
In Appleby-in-Westmorland, it's milking time for Harriet and Chris McPhee's 300 goats. But Harriett plans to turn today's milk into cheese - if successful it could secure their future on the farm.
8pm on Channel 5
Atomic People
The decision by the United States to drop atomic bombs on two Japanese cities - Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945 and Nagasaki three days later - was one of the most momentous and destructive in world history. Now, nearly 80 years later, this unique film gathers the testimony of some of the last ‘Hibakusha’, survivors of the two atomic bombs, before their voices are lost forever.
9pm on BBC Two
Battle in the Box
Jimmy Carr hosts the game show as Rachel Parris and Guz Khan reach the halfway point in their battle to escape the box against Josh Pugh and Amy Gledhill.
9pm on U&Dave
Thursday 1st August
The Supervet: Noel Fitzpatrick
Noel gives Maine Coon cat Lexie a bilateral hip replacement, while bouncy Border terrier Charlie is struggling to walk and dwarf rabbit Locky has broken his leg.
8pm on Channel 4
Whitstable Pearl
Mike is laid up at home with a broken ankle and gets suspicious of his neighbour's supposed night terrors.
9pm on U&Drama
Sneakerhead
Russell is tasked with moving on the thieving youths who hang around outside. As a newly self-appointed ‘high street elder’, he thinks he can do one better and hires one of them instead. Meanwhile, Amber attempts her first sober day at Sports Depot, and Mulenga deals with a housing crisis.
10pm on BBC Three
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