A Syrian Love Story tells an incredible tale of a family torn apart by the Assad regime (10.00pm BBC 4), while Countdown to Life: The Extraordinary Making of You (9.00pm BBC Two) reaches its final episode. The Fear at 10.30pm on RTÉ 2 continues the usual shenanigans, you know yourself.
A Syrian Love Story - Storyville, 10.00pm BBC 4
Made by award-winning director Sean McAllister, A Syrian Love Story tells the poignant story of a family torn apart by the Assad regime. 45-year old Amer, and Raghda, who is 40 met in a Syrian prison cell 15 years ago, when they were placed in neighbouring cells. Throughout months of captivity they communicated through a tiny hole in the wall. They fell in love, and when they were released got married and started a family together. When Sean began filming them in Syria in 2009, Raghda was a political prisoner and Amer was caring for their young sons, Bob and Kaka. Raghda was eventually released, but filmmaker Sean McAllister himself was arrested for filming. The family was forced to flee to Lebanon, and then to France where they were given political asylum in the town of Albi, where they now watch the revolution from afar. In exile, Raghda’s mental health suffered and she battles between being a mother and a revolutionary, before attempting suicide. The film won the 2015 Grand Jury Prize at Sheffield Doc/Fest.
film-maker Sean McAllister and Raghda and Amer's son Bob
Countdown to Life: The Extraordinary Making of You, 9.00pm BBC Two
This last episode journeys through the final months in the womb. For most, this is the time when our cartilage changes to form a skeleton of over 200 bones - but very occasionally this doesn’t go to plan. We meet Jannelly, who was born with no bones and was saved from the brink of death by a drug trial, which made medical history by creating 'manufactured bone' for the first time. Our brains develop at an extraordinary rate by week 27, with an estimated 100 billion new connections every day, creating the foundations for our memory banks. One contributor tonight is Joey whose brain is incapable of forgetting anything he experiences in his lifetime. Exploring this phenomenon, Michael also asks whether children can hear and recall early memories whilst still in the womb. Meanwhile, Lal and Freddie have similar lifestyles but their mothers have had different diets. The programme also investigates if unborn children can be affected by stress.
Countdown to Life: The Extraordinary Making of You
The Fear, 10.30pm, RTÉ2
Storming across Ireland - or creeping furtively across Ireland - with their hidden camera in places like Dublin, Galway, Cork, Laois and Kerry, the new series has already seen the return of some familiar favourites. These interesting quantities include Irinka The Russian Streetwalker who has lost her pussy cat, The Nun and Jimmy who is - scientifically-proven, we assume - the most annoying man in Ireland. There are also some new Fear-some characters, including Naomi the poshest English woman in Ireland and Sergeant Major who questions what the Irish public are made of.
The Fear
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