Fry’s back to host gala gig

Winter Wipeout (BBC Two, 6.15pm)

Three years after Total Wipeout made its UK debut, Richard Hammond and Amanda Byram are now fronting this hugely popular variation.

Once more they present the Argentina-based game show in which eclectic members of the public attempt to duck and dive around an increasingly difficult obstacle course.

However, with thousands of pounds at stake, it’s little wonder many of them are willing to go that extra mile – and risk a few more bruises – to seize victory.

Sunday

Bafta Film Awards 2012 (BBC One, 9pm)

The Oscars may still be the biggest awards ceremony on moviedom’s calendar, but the British Academy Film Awards – or Baftas, to you and me – knows how to do glitz and glamour too.

A gaggle of top-class names from Hollywood, Europe and, of course, our own shores are expected on the red carpet outside the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London this evening.

Stephen Fry is back as host.

Monday

Whitechapel (ITV1, 9pm)

It all begins with a fox chasing down a street, carrying a human arm in its mouth.

A torso is then found washed up at Putney Bridge, and both contain traces of the aphrodisiac drug Spanish Fly, leaving the team wondering what kind of killer they’re facing. It certainly puts a dampener on the christening of Miles’s daughter Martha!

Rupert Penry-Jones, who plays DI Joseph Chandler, says: “This story is pretty gory. We had prosthetic bodies made and torsos with legs, arms and heads chopped off and you see it all – I mean it’s pretty hard-core. I don’t know how much of that footage they’re actually going to use but when you first saw it, it was quite shocking.”

Tuesday

Big Fat Gypsy Weddings (Channel 4, 9pm)

With brides primped and preened to within an inch of their young, sheltered lives, dresses that weigh more than a decent-sized fridge-freezer, and girls too young to know their 12-times table parading around in stiletto heels so high they’d probably earn the respect of Victoria Beckham – yes, we’re once again in the company of the travelling community.

Wednesday

Daddy Daycare

(Channel 4, 8pm)

A woman’s work is never done, isn’t that what they say?

Chances are ‘they’ probably weren’t men. However, the group of males in this new series are going to learn – and they’re going to learn the hard way – exactly how much their wives and partners put into keeping their families running.

Thursday

The Great British Countryside (BBC One, 8pm)

Having followed in the footsteps of Alfred Wainwright, and trekked across the UK in Coast To Coast, perennial traveller Julia Bradbury and comedian Hugh Dennis will be journeying across Britain to explore its landscapes and the people who live in them, as well as how they have been shaped by the country’s varied geological history.

Friday

Hustle (BBC One, 9pm)

The escapades of a group of London-based con artists, led by the talented Michael ‘Mickey Bricks’ Stone (Adrian Lester).

In each episode the team picks a ‘mark’ (or victim) and put their dishonest skills to use in a long con, aiming to gain a big payback at the expense of someone else’s misfortune.

Alas, after eight years and more slick crime capers than you can shake a stick at, Mickey and the team are finally hanging up their conman coats for the last episode.

In the swansong offering, Mickey has decided he’s had enough of grifting and wants to settle down to lead a quieter life after one last big score.