TV Preview: Naked Attraction returns, Invictus Games begins and The Bisexual continues, what to watch this weekend

An eventful week of televisual delights features pert buttocks, pastries, an impressive comedy drama and the Great War

There's another one right behind – Sky Atlantic's 'Sally4Ever' promises much (Sky Atlantic)

You wait since the dawn of the television age for a bisexually themed comedy and then, in the course of a few weeks in 2018, two turn up at once. The Bisexual is halfway through its run on Channel 4, attracting what you might call bi-critical reviews. Now Sky Atlantic brings us Sally4Ever. This stars Julia Davis and will, therefore, be brilliant. Even better, if that were possible, they’ve added more of the finest comedy actors working today, including Catherine Shepherd, as the eponymous bisexual heroine, Julian Barratt (The Mighty Boosh), Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentlemen), Felicity Montagu (Alan Partridge’s PA, Lynn Benfield) and Jane Stanness (Hunderby).

Sally is a rather dull office worker in a rather dull relationship with a rather dull man – until she meets seductress Emma (Davis). She then finds herself in a rather exciting relationship with a rather exciting woman – perhaps a little too exciting, as Emma starts to take over Sally’s life, like a bisexual succubus – at least, I think that’s right. Sean Bean and Lena Headey also do a turn. Sky calls it a “hilarious and unflinching look at love and sex in our confused, obsessive world”. I do hope so.

Reconstructions, narration and archive footage chronicle (BBC)

I suppose the difference between the actual Great War and the centenary celebrations is that, at least this time round we know how it ends, and when. Hence 100 Days to Victory, a two-part documentary on BBC2 that tracks how, after four years of attritional trench warfare, the arrival of tanks and Yanks after 1917 transformed the dynamics of the conflict, and the end came more quickly than anyone thought possible once it became a war of movement. The story is told through the voices of Scottish, Canadian and Australian regiments. Reconstructions, archive footage and straightforward narration place events into vivid context.

By coincidence, you can then catch Blackadder Goes Forth on BBC4 too, in which Field Marshal Haig goes for another bloody big push and Captain Blackadder is placed on trial for killing and eating General Melchett’s carrier pigeon. Don’t worry though, the First World War centenary events will be over by Christmas. Then we can get going on the Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations and the Russian civil war, just like at school.

Talking of the past, Made in Great Britain goes on a tour of British manufacturing industry. Remember British manufacturing industry? You know, the stuff that built an empire and won two world wars, but which has long since fallen out of fashion, lost its self-respect and cleared off to China. Professional northerner Steph McGovern has a poke round Sheffield, which used to make steel and the finest cutlery in the world. Sadly, there are plenty more towns and cities with similar credentials.

Bake Off contestants will reach the semi-final stage on Tuesday (Channel 4)

Contain yourself, you sofa soufflés. Yes, The Great British Bake Off is almost ready to come out of the oven. It reaches its semi-final stage on Tuesday, and it’s patisserie week, during which one of the contestants finds the technical challenge just too much. Noel Fielding and Sandi Toksvig host, with Polly Hollywood and Prue Leith munching through the croissants, as if I need to remind you. Not for the gluten free and lactose intolerant.

Mulling over ‘Naked Attraction’ (Channel 4)

Not quite so tumescent, Naked Attraction makes its pert-buttocked return to our screens, seemingly now an accepted frontier of good taste for digital terrestrial television. I just wonder how much nearer the “Mull of Kintyre” they dare go this time. Actually quite a few of the bits on display aren’t all that firm and pert at all, and you have to feel doubly sorry for the poor lonely souls who go on, discard clothing and dignity, and just get laughed at, basically, by their potential mate. They may as well be a tribe of those baboons you see on the nature documentaries – you know, the ones with the blue faces and bright red backsides – but static. Anna Richardson presents

If you’d like to see where Oswald Mosley was banged up for the duration of the war, where some of Henry’s wives lost their heads, and where the little princes were murdered by Richard III, you can always go Inside the Tower of London, with Channel 5. Royal Mint, prison, zoo, place of lawful – and unlawful – execution, stash for the crown jewels, major tourist attraction, backdrop for modern art installations – it’s seen the lot in 1,000 years of history. If nothing else, it may help anxious viewers place Brexit into a bit of much-needed historical perspective. Plus there’s an interview with the big boss beefeater.

I can cautiously recommend There She Goes, which has the unpromising base of a couple raising a child, Rosie, with severe learning disabilities. It is a kind of comedy drama. Kind of, that is, because at times it’s more raw than the toughest tragedy, albeit punctured with outbreaks of sometimes coarse, dark humour, and a sharp wit. Shaun Pye’s fluent writing reflects some of his family experiences, and is complemented by superlative performances from David Tennant (dad), Jessica Hynes (mum) and, most of all, Miley Locke as Rosie. Congratulations to all.

Comedy or drama? Either way, ‘There She Goes’ impresses (BBC)

Finally, two set-pieces for you. the Invictus Games get going today, beamed in from Australia this time, with Prince Harry and Meghan the centre of some attention, as you’d expect. There’s also the Stand Up to Cancer gig on Channel 4 on Friday night, featuring Adam Hills, Alan Carr, May Jama, the Muppets, some bakers, and Carpool Karaoke with Michael Buble.

Sally4Ever (Sky Atlantic, Thursday 10pm); The Bisexual (Channel 4, Wednesday 10pm); 100 Days to Victory (BBC2, Thursday 8pm); Blackadder Goes Forth (BBC4, Thursday 10pm); Made in Great Britain (BBC2, Friday 9pm); Great British Bake Off (Channel 4, Tuesday 8pm); Naked Attraction (Channel 4, Thursday 10pm); Inside the Tower of London (Channel 5, Tuesday 9.15pm); There She Goes (BBC4, Tuesday 10pm); Invictus Games (BBC1, Saturday 5.25pm); Stand Up To Cancer (Channel 4, Friday 7pm)