The 10 best shows on TV to watch across the four-day Easter weekend
With the weather for the double bank holiday weekend looking something of a mixed bag, you may find yourself stuck on the sofa a lot more than you planned.
To get you through the Easter weekend, here’s our pick of the best TV around…
GOOD FRIDAY
M&S vs Aldi: Who Does Easter Best? One is a longstanding premium brand while the other is a budget supermarket. But when it comes to Easter-themed products, is M&S or Aldi the best? With competition among supermarkets to secure our food-and-drink spending more intense than ever, today’s savvy shoppers are willing to shop around. So from luxury truffle-filled Easter eggs to the juiciest hot cross buns, and chocolate cavapoos to sizzling shoulders of lamb, this programme puts the two shops’ Easter fodder to the test. Dedicated food experts Phillipa Davis and Gavin Wren give their verdicts, while the programme also goes behind the scenes of one of the UK’s biggest hot cross bun factories and tulip processing plants. Plus, we dive into the history of both stores to see how the ways that they sell Easter has evolved over the decades. C5, 7pm
iHostage: In February 2022, a 27-year-old gunman entered Amsterdam’s Apple store, taking its staff and customers hostage. This movie – which you may have thought would find a home on Apple’s streaming service rather than Netflix – recalls the incident from numerous points of view, including that of one of the hostages, a Bulgarian man who had a pivotal role in bringing the siege to a close. Also depicted are the first responders, the attacker and others who were trapped inside, inadvertently playing a part in a moment that gripped those watching events unfold on Dutch TV, as well as the wider world. It’s the latest collaboration between director Bobby Boermans and writer Simon de Waal, who previously worked together on acclaimed 2022 TV series the Golden Hour. Netflix - released today
Gareth Malone’s Messiah: Composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, Messiah is one of the best-known choral works in Western music. The English-language oratorio has deep personal significance for many people, including Gareth Malone, as it was one of the first pieces of classical music he saw performed as a child. But although he has loved and sung Messiah since he was a boy, the choirmaster has never actually conducted the work – until now. This two-part programme follows Gareth as he not only to puts on a concert showcasing Messiah, but also coaches eight people with no experience of classical choral music to sing it alongside the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and its chorus. In tonight’s first episode, Gareth heads to a local cinema on Penarth Pier, with pianist and vocal coach Jane Samuel, to go through hundreds of tape auditions of Scarborough Fair and choose his candidates. BBC1, 10.45am
SATURDAY
An Evening with Elton John and Brandi Carlile: Elton John must be running out of people to collaborate with – he’s performed duets with everyone from Tammy Wynette to Dua Lipa. His latest musical partner is Brandi Carlile, the alt-country/folk rock singer-songwriter who received an Oscar nomination earlier this year alongside Elton for the song Never Too Late, which came from his documentary of the same name. Since then they’ve recorded the album Who Believes in Angels? and last month promoted it with an evening of entertainment at the London Palladium, hosted by their friend, actor and writer Dan Levy; now we’re getting a chance to see it. The show features Elton and Brandi performing tracks from the LP and discussing their lives and careers. ITV1, 9.05pm
Sally Lindsay’s Big Quiz of the 70s: The former Coronation Street star’s love affair with 5 continues. Not content with presenting Posh Weekends for the broadcaster and making such hit dramas as Love Rat and, of course, The Madame Blanc Mysteries, she’s now hosting this lively and entertaining quiz, which is part of the channel’s current 1970s season. Actor John Thomson and comedian Shaparak Khorsandi are the team captains, and will be joined by Sally James, who remains best known as the co-presenter of anarchic children’s TV show Tiswas, Stars in Their Eyes’ frontman-turned-actor Matthew Kelly, Hi-de-Hi! alumnus Su Pollard and Lindsay’s Madame Blanc co-star Steve Edge. They’ll be showing off their knowledge of the decade via various topics, from sitcoms to scary movies. C5, 9pm
EASTER SUNDAY
Grace: When former psychiatrist Hannah Belling is found murdered in her flat, it initially seems like she was the victim of a break-in gone wrong. However, while her phone and laptop have been taken, her credit cards and valuables haven’t been touched, which leads Grace to wonder whether the attack was personal. His hunch seems to have been proven correct when it turns out there are no shortage of suspects, including her ex-husband, an obsessive stalker, her criminal brother, and a mystery lover. Then a test on the blood found in Hannah’s flat takes the case in an unexpected, even more sinister direction with the potential to turn Grace’s world upside down. Meanwhile, Cleo bonds with Bruno, and Cassian and Nick are under pressure to get crime in Brighton under control. ITV1, 8pm
Pilgrimage: The Road Through the Alps: Along with chocolate eggs, the BBC2 series Pilgrimage, which takes a group of celebrities of differing faiths and beliefs and sends them on a spiritual journey, has become something of an Easter tradition. The latest selection of famous faces are tackling a revived medieval Catholic route, travelling from just outside Innsbruck on the Austrian Camino and finishing near Lake Zurich in Switzerland. The 300km trek has some strenuous climbs, but it’s not just going to be physically challenging – it will also be a chance for them to think about their own beliefs and ponder some of life’s big questions. Our pilgrims are Jay McGuiness, Jeff Brazier, Daliso Chaponda, Traitors winner Harry Clark, Stef Reid, Helen Lederer and Nelufar Hedayat. BBC2, 9pm
Safe Harbour: Digital crime pays handsomely in a gritty eight-part crime drama written by Ozark creator Mark Williams. Irish mob members Sloane (Charlie Murphy) and her brother Farrell (Jack Gleeson) track down hackers Tobias and Marco. The siblings need the techno-experts to access the security system that oversees movement of containers at Europe’s largest shipping port in Rotterdam. For a handsome fee, Tobias and Marco break the law to facilitate undetected deliveries of drug shipments into the port. Unfortunately, the hackers attract the attention of the Irish mob’s gun-toting rivals and Tobias and Marco are caught in the crossfire of a bloodthirsty turf war co-starring Colm Meaney. ITVX - released today
EASTER MONDAY
Secrets of Supermarket Buyers: Denise van Outen continues to explore just how a small group of people influence what tens of millions of British shoppers purchase every day. Tonight, she learns a few amazing truths when she goes behind the scenes at German-owned discount retailers Aldi and Lidl, which often come out first and second in price analyses looking for the nation’s cheapest supermarket. Among the products she looks at are wine and wagyu beef, while she also considers the value of special offers and loyalty prizes. C4, 8pm
999: The Critical List: The latest addition to the never-ending list of fly-on-the-ward TV documentaries follows staff at the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital as they juggle urgent life-or-death cases and decide who will go into Theatre 6, the only operating room dedicated to unplanned emergency procedures. In tonight’s first edition, operating theatre co-ordinator Niki is dealing with the busiest month in five years for A&E. Among the patients are Kevin, who has a suspected burst colon, and Tanzeen who has self-inflicted injuries with three needles in his neck. Meanwhile, 11-year-old Deekan is only hours away from potentially losing a testicle, and Freddie has to have a dental abscess removed before any infection spreads. C4, 9pm
