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Pick of the week Return to Paradise BBC One, 8pm The last time we saw DS Mackenzie Clarke, she was dealing with the bombshell that her ex-fiance, Glenn, still had feelings for her, despite his impending wedding to Daisy. Now, as the Australia-set Death in Paradise spin-off returns for a second season, the detective has more than just Glenn’s shocking confession to deal with. She also has her hands full investigating all manner of mysteries in and around Dolphin Cove, including the chemical poisoning of a man at sea, which kicks off the new series. However, the love triangle between Mackenzie, Glenn and Daisy will no doubt keep rearing its head, as Anna Samson, who plays the cop, explains: “She’s kind of shell-shocked,” says the actor. “It’s one thing to suspect someone has feelings for you, but actually hearing it from them is something else entirely. I’m sure part of her is thrilled, but it’s by no means a happy moment. Confronting matters of the heart is Mackenzie’s blind spot. All I can say is it’s not simple, and far from smooth sailing.” Pick of the day Lár Stáitse 2025 TG4, 5.30pm A live show featuring competitors and winners from the under-18 competitions at Oireachtas na Samhna in Belfast. Presented by Niamh Ní Chróinín. Imelda May: Amhráin na nGael RTÉ One, 8.30pm Imelda arrives in Cork to meet relatives of Elizabeth (Bess) Cronin, who was visited and recorded by prominent song collectors Alan Lomax and Séamus Ennis. Further west in Kerry, she meets accordionist Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich. BBC Two, 9pm Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen play four members of a book club whose lives change in unexpected ways. RTÉ2, 9.35pm Life comes full circle for former heavyweight champion Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) when he’s called upon to mentor and train Adonis (Michael B Jordan), the son of his old adversary and friend Apollo Creed. Witches: Truth Behind the Trials Disney+, streaming now It’s from NatGeo, so expect dramatic slowmos and too many talking heads – but the recounts of satanic witch parties in Scotland, complete with exhumation and excarnation, are genuinely wild. Aileen: Queen of The Serial Killers Netflix, streaming now Between 1989 and 1990, Aileen Wuornos killed seven men in Florida, leading to her execution in 2002. This documentary revisits her life – from childhood abuse to death-row revelations – through audio interviews and rare footage. Down Cemetery Road AppleTV+, streaming now After a house explosion in Oxford, a girl vanishes. Sarah Tucker (Ruth Wilson) pulls in PI Zoë Boehm (Emma Thompson), and a missing person case quickly unravels into something far darker. Meanwhile, after a short stint in selected theatres (we’re talking a week), Ben Stiller tells the story of his parents through Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost. Ballad of a Small Player Netflix, streaming now Meet Doyle. Sometimes Lord Doyle, sometimes Mr Riley. In Macau’s high-stakes casinos, a “nice, working-class Irish boy, in way over his head” gets tangled in debts, secrets, and enigmatic gamblers. From the director of Conclave, it’s a beautiful role tailor-made for Colin Farrell. Selling Sunset Netflix, streaming now Honestly, I’d only watch for Chrishell – she was one of the few decent souls from The Traitors US. I’d also entertain the salubrious properties, but what is a bit of a turn-off is the level of highly tweaked female faces gunning for each other. Just a bit of a laugh though, innit. Physical: Asia Netflix, streaming now It’s late October, and the hour is set to go back. So, be kind to yourself. We have many, many looooong months of inhospitable weather afoot. As such, there’s no need to push yourself to the physical limit – particularly when Netflix has rounded up 48 supremely fit athletes to fight it out on the global stage for us. To answer your question, yes, this is indeed the third season of Physical 100. This time, however, producers have gone beyond South Korea, inviting seven neighbouring(ish) nations to compete, with only one country team being crowned the winner. As for those countries, we have the expected (Korea, Japan, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Mongolia and the Philippines) and the not-so-expected (Turkey... well, it does call itself the “gateway to Asia”, and if the Australians can be in Eurovision, then I shouldn’t really quibble). How will it work? Well, if one team member fails, the entire team goes down, making this a pulse-thundering survival fight. Nightmares of Nature Netflix, streaming now From the director of The Purge (yep, these nature documentaries mean business) comes a nature doc with bite: a young opossum, newborn iguana, and feisty jumping spider fight to survive the jungle – until they stumble on a long-abandoned lab. Things get grim fast. Prime Video, streaming now Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Sydney Sweeney, Vanessa Kirby and Daniel Brühl lead this true story of outsiders on a remote island, where the real danger isn’t nature, but each other. If you prefer hedonism in more decadent settings, then Hedda has landed. A House of Dynamite Netflix, streaming now When a single, unattributed missile is on track to hit the US, it triggers a frantic hunt for answers and retaliation. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, it’s a quaint depiction of a White House and Pentagon of yore.
