ABC1's blog

7:30pm – Sunday, January 13 on ABC1

Sandford House is one of only two houses north of the UK-Scottish border designed by arts and crafts architect Baillie Scott. It’s a rare survivor and the mystery is how did such a building representing an important moment in British architecture end up in the lowlands of Scotland.

Built as a family home in 1902, it spent half of its life as a three-star hotel. Abandoned, it fell into serious disrepair. Classed as a category B property, the second highest listing for buildings in Scotland, it was in desperate need of help.

Local couple Ralph and Evelyn had known the building for years. It used to be their local pub. As they watched it go downhill, their determination grew to save it. As the restoration starts to ‘eat’ money, an intriguing tale of who built Sandford starts to emerge linking it to Queen Victoria and an international business that operated across the world.

8:20pm – Saturday, January 12 on ABC1

A charming and funny comedy series, written by and starring comedian Jason Cook, and influenced by his own life growing up in the North East of England.

The impetuous and ambitious Jack Pearson left his small home town for the bright city lights, now he’s back for a visit. It’s time he introduced the family to Sarah, the middle class Jewish girl he’s secretly married. As his loving but quirky family rolls out a warm, chaotic welcome for his ‘girlfriend’ – mum Pauline fussing over the food, big-mouth sister Vicki embarrassing him, and his merchant sailor dad Joe asking for help for the first time ever – will Jack ever find the right moment to break the news and deal with their reaction when they find out they’ve missed out on a wedding.

The Geordie answer to Thelma and Louise are on the road as Dot buys Vicky a new car. Sarah attempts to give Jack advice on his interview technique as he tries to find a new job. Jack’s desperate for them to leave the family home, but won’t compromise in the job market especially when he bumps into his old boss from the Hebburn Advertiser. Joe and Pauline would like a little privacy, but at least Sarah’s doing her bit round the house, too much for Vicky and Jack’s liking, she’s making them look bad.

9:00pm – Thursday, January 10 on ABC1

Hector and Marnie host a gathering of friends at their apartment. Racial tension is on the rise across London, a response to the influx of immigrants from the Commonwealth who bring new culture to Britain’s streets, but also division. It’s a subject close to Freddie’s heart and provokes much discussion at the party, but is interrupted when two policemen arrive at the door to arrest Hector on suspicion of beating up Kiki. Hector denies the allegations but is taken away.

The next day Hector’s absence has not gone unnoticed by Randall, and Bel has a tough job to try and keep Hector’s arrest a secret from him. Freddie complicates matters further when he decides to hold a controversial interview with a fascist named Trevor on the same day as a visit from members of the board.

Still in jail, Hector comes to question whether he’s strayed too far from his career and marriage. Can he claw the situation back, or is this one allegation, which he can’t charm his way out of?

8:00pm – Friday, January 11 on ABC1

For the Goodman family, Friday night dinner is just like Sunday lunch: just take two days away, add on an extra course and you’ve pretty much got it.

Adam and his brother, Jonny, view Friday night dinner as a necessary annoyance. Necessary because they get fed, and annoying because, well, they have to spend the evening with Mum and Dad. It’s not that Mum and Dad aren’t wonderful. They really are. But Dad slugs ketchup straight from the bottle, Mum is obsessed with Masterchef and even Grandma likes to wear her new bikini around the house.

Wonderfully played by an ensemble cast, Friday Night Dinner is a truly original series about growing up but not growing away. It marries the ground-breaking with the familiar, and best of all it’s really, really funny.

In this episode when Mum finds out that Dad didn’t throw away his old boxes of science magazines in their clear-out, she goes mad. So Dad builds a bonfire and promises he’ll burn them all. But secretly Dad is only pretending to burn them in the bonfire, instead squirrelling the boxes off to his shed in the garden.

8:30pm – Thursday, January 10 on ABC1

Nigella Lawson’s mission to show how easy it is to bring the spirit of Italy into the kitchen continues as she shares the secrets of her celebratory, yet simple Italian roast chicken, served alongside a sunny saffron orzotto.

Dessert comes courtesy of Nigella’s surprisingly easy coffee ice cream, inspired by lazy days spent in the ice cream parlours of Florence, and an extra treat is presented in the form of a chocolate olive oil cake. There’s also a silky pasta dish with courgettes, which elevates a quick fridge foray into a languorous late night treat.

9:30pm – Tuesday, January 8 on ABC1

Hollywood is the worldwide epicentre of fame and ground zero for every actor’s dreams. But it is also a city that is both tough and uncompromising. Ninety-eight percent of actors who go to Hollywood won’t fulfil their dreams.

Next Stop Hollywood charts all the excitement, frustrations, fears and tears of six Aussie actors as they compete for roles during the frenzied US TV pilot season.

Craig Anderson, 35 (NSW); Michael Clarke-Tokely, 22 (VIC); Alycia Debnam-Carey, 18 (NSW); HaiHa Le, 29 (VIC); Penelope Mitchell, 22 (VIC); and Luke Pegler, 30 (NSW) allow the cameras to follow their every move as they pursue their dreams of fame and fortune. Facing judgement and rejection on a daily basis, these six young actors open their lives and hearts to the cameras.

Some have come to LA fully connected to the industry with representation from agents or managers in place. Others are on the fringe and need to get connected quickly if they are to have a shot. Some are facing their past demons and others are simply staking their claim in a town where it is so easy to be passed over.

From January to April, the US studios cast many of their test TV programs, mainly in LA. This frenzied period is known as pilot season and Hollywood is abuzz with hundreds of roles up for grabs. Thousands of actors line up each day outside casting agents’ doors, hoping for favourable auditions.

Next Stop Hollywood charts the ups and downs of pilot season, and takes a broad swipe at the myth of the overnight success story.

9:30pm – Monday, January 7 on ABC1

Leonardo da Vinci is considered by many to be one of the greatest artists who ever lived. Yet his reputation rests on only a handful of pictures – including the world’s most famous painting, the Mona Lisa.

Fiona Bruce attempts to uncover the story of this enigmatic genius. She begins her journey in Leonardo’s birthplace, the small town of Vinci in Tuscany, and follows in his footsteps to Florence, where he was apprenticed to the master painter Verrocchio.

In Paris, Fiona is given a private view of the Mona Lisa and learns the secret of how Leonardo achieved the extraordinary effect of the picture on generations of art lovers: by meticulously applying layer upon layer of paint thinly mixed with oil to produce a smoky, mysterious finish.

And in New York, she is given an exclusive preview of a sensational discovery: a new Leonardo, thought to have disappeared centuries ago.

10:05pm – Sunday, January 6 on ABC1

In this illuminating and entertaining documentary, narrator and coproducer Keanu Reeves interviews film-industry heavyweights to investigate how the shift from film to digital has changed the way movies are crafted and exhibited.

Reeves talks to directors dedicated to celluloid (such as The Dark Knight’s Christopher Nolan) as well as those who have embraced new technologies – David Lynch, James Cameron and Danny Boyle, to name just a few. He finds actors who miss the breaks dictated by reel changes; producers like Joel Schumacher (who is convinced that actors just use the monitors to check their hair); cinematographers (including Australians Donald McAlpine and Dion Beebe) excited by the possibilities offered by the new generation of cameras; visual effects specialists, editors and colourists.

Everyone in the industry has an opinion – not surprisingly, considering it’s changing everything they do and we see.

9:30pm – Sunday, January 6 on ABC1

Meet the Rev. Adam Smallbone. He’s a Church of England vicar, newly promoted from a sleepy rural parish to the busy, inner-city world of St Saviour’s in Hackney, East London. It’s a world of which he has no experience. And it shows. It really shows…

Reverend Adam (Tom Hollander) is feeling the pressure of trying to fill a rundown London church – that is, until his congregation quadruples overnight. But the sudden influx of worshippers isn’t down to word getting out about his wonderful sermons; there’s a rumour going round that the local church school is about to get a great Ofsted report.

Faced with a bunch of hypocritical parents desperately vying for his attention in the hope he’ll recommend their child, Adam is tempted to trade a school place for the expensive restoration of a broken stained-glass window.

Tom Hollander as Adam, Olivia Colman as Alex, Steve Evets as Colin, Simon McBurney as Archdeacon, Miles Jupp as Nigel, Ellen Thomas as Adoha, Lucy Liemann as Ellie, Hugh Bonneville as Roland Wise, Alexander Armstrong as Patrick Yam, Colin Salmon as Leon.

8:30pm – Sunday, January 6 on ABC1

The glamorous world of 165 Eaton Place is shaken to its core as threats of war, heartbreak and intrigue sweep through the lives of the inhabitants of both up and downstairs.

As 165 Eaton Place reopens its doors, two new arrivals make their mark.

But whilst Sir Hallam’s (Ed Stoppard) forthright aunt Blanche (Alex Kingston) disrupts life upstairs, feisty new maid Beryl (Laura Haddock) struggles to adjust to life in service.

Meanwhile, Lady Agnes’s (Keeley Hawes) concern for her children reveals a dark secret about Mr Pritchard (Adrian Scarborough). Sir Hallam’s preoccupation with burgeoning Nazi Germany leads him into dangerous waters, and a chance meeting with an unexpected face unlocks a hidden desire within.