Judi Dench goes in search of her family connection to Shakespear; another chance to see The Banshees of Inisherin, and a look back at Live Aid - here's your top telly for Saturday . . .
Judi Dench: Shakespeare, My Family and Me, Channel 4, 9.00pm
Oscar-winning star Judi Dench, whose mother, Eleanora Olave, hailed from Dublin, turns history detective to solve a great mystery in her family’s past - did one of her ancestors actually meet her hero, William Shakespeare?
She follows the clues buried deep in the Danish archives to find out if her eight times great-grandfather may have met the Bard in 1606, the year he wrote three of his greatest plays, plague returned to England and Londoners were reeling from the Gunpowder Plot.
Having played nearly every key female part in the Bard’s canon, the Dame will look back on the special place the words and worlds of Shakespeare have had throughout her career on stage and screen.
"It has been such an adventure to explore the possibility that an ancestor of mine might just have got within touching distance of my hero William Shakespeare," she says. "All the years I've spent playing Shakespeare and feeling a genuine, genuine passion for him and his work, to be on a journey where you might be stepping closer to him, it's beyond my wildest dreams."
The Banshees of Inisherin, RTÉ One, 9.40pm
14 years after first pairing them together in In Bruges, director Martin McDonagh reunites the dream team of Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell for this macabre tale of the end of a friendship between two pals on a windswept isle during the Irish Civil War. They play drinking buddies Colm (Gleeson) and Pádraic (Farrell) until one day, seemingly out of the blue, the older man decides to sever all ties (and a lot else as well).
Watch our interview with Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell
It leads to a bizarre game of tit-for-tat and self-destruction that is both bleakly funny and terribly moving. The excellent cast also includes Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan, Pat Shortt, Jon Kenny, David Pearse, and Gary Lydon. Half western, half spooked Irish fable and all gruesome, this is a much-watch. Read our full review,
Live Aid at 40, Virgin Media One, 10.00pm
Two venues, two billion viewers and, as pomp rockers Queen, who pretty much stole the whole show, would say - one vision. Last July marked the fortieth anniversary of Live Aid, the biggest concerts in history, which took place in Wembley Stadium in London and John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia. It was the global jukebox that just for one day united the world in an effort to help the starving peoples of Ethiopia and Eritrea. This documentary looks back at that momentous event and features new interviews with all the key players.
Neven's Christmas in Limerick, RTÉ Player
In this two-part special, Neven Maguire visits the Treaty City and meets local food producers and chefs. He prepares smoked salmon galettes, glazed rack of pork with creamy roast potatoes, and no bake chocolate tart. In the second episode, he rustles up saffron orzo with mussels nduja, slow roasted shoulder of lamb and bulgur wheat; and cinnamon and mincemeat swirls.
Elvis, BBC One, 7.45pm
A mix of celebration and tragedy, this lavish biopic enhances the legend of The King while leaving audiences in no doubt about just how much Elvis' genius owed to African American artists. If music biopics are your own greatest hits, you'll have the best seat in the house. And what a setlist...
Watch our interview with Austin Butler
Powered by a star-making performance from Austin Butler and with Tom Hanks cast against type as Elvis' manager/arch manipulator Colonel Tom Parker, Luhrmann's go-big study of artistic freedom and the gilded cage crams a lot into two and a half hours and leaves a hunger for more - particularly when it comes to the screen time given to Elvis' relationship with wife Priscilla (Olivia DeJonge). Although you know how the story ends, you're still hoping for a different outcome. Harry Guerin Read our full review
Full TV listings here
