Sunday Mercury

Sandra's Big Day

- PAGE 10 Portrait of a wannabe - PAGE 2

Computers and Crime

NEW Midsomer Murders star Kirsty Dillon was delighted to win her regular role on the series - but her family were even more pleased. Kirsty plays Gail Stephens, who in this week's episode is promoted out of uniform to become a detective constable on the sleuthing team, alongside DCI Tom Barnaby (John Nettles) and DS Ben Jones (Jason Hughes).

7 to Watch Pick of the Flicks

SUNDAY: Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr Hunter S Thompson - BBC2, 10.30pm). Johnny Depp narrates the story of a larger-thanlife writer who believed his savage pen could make a difference in the fight for truth and justice. Thompson was also someone who though that when the time was right, he'd shoot himself. MONDAY: The Escapist (Film4, 9pm). Brian Cox plans to break out of prison so that he can be with his daughter. You'll be glad to escape the growing sense of claustrophobia at the end.

Funny Game ; 7 Heaventreat of the Week

WE LIVE in a celebrity culture where almost anyone can become famous for 15 minutes, where wannabes are desperate to cash in on magazine deals and talentless people are shot to fame, then discarded. That's the subject of the one-off 90-minute drama Whatever It Takes, starring Shane Richie which poses questions about the price of instant fame.

Face the Truth

On Byron's Tail

Old Man River

Music 7 to Watch

CLASSIC GOLDIE, BBC2, Friday, 9pm: The drum and bass pioneer and Wolverhampton graffiti artist impressed on the reality show Maestro, though he eventually lost out to Sue Perkins. He was fascinated enough by the new world of classical music to accept another challenge - to create an orchestral work to be performed at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the Proms season. He has no classical music education, but with the help of his Maestro mentor Ivor Setterfield and composer Anna Meredith, he se...

Sport 7 to Watch

SUNDAY: Formula 1: The Hungarian Grand Prix (BB1, 12.10pm). Jake Humphrey introduces live coverage of the 10th round of the season, staged at the Hungaroring in Budapest, which was won last year by Heikki Kovalainen. MONDAY: Live Twenty20 Cup Cricket (SS1, 5.30pm). This evening's coverage features back-toback quarter-final action, beginning with Kent Spitfires against Durham Dynamos at the County Ground in Canterbury.

Kate Finds Family Heroes ; 7 Things You Never Knew About ...

1Born December 12 1968 in Wimbledon, Kate grew up wanting to be an actress because she was "appallingly precocious". When she failed to get in to the National Youth Theatre, she went travelling in Africa - waitressing, driving safari trucks and working on a crocodile farm - and then tried TV production. 2She worked her way up to becoming a researcher on Animal Hospital and then Holiday. Within 24 hours of her joining the travel show, they asked her to be a reporter, and she presented a se-rie...

Rich & Poor

THERE are almost four million children living below the povery line in the UK. Made by the team behind Secret Millionaire, this new three-part series follows a wealthy family as they try to help one less well- off, offering money and support.

Silver Years

Kevin V Harry

Old Friends

Double Dates

Kevin's Kisses

P Oor, Shy Rosie, You're [ ... ] ; Coronation Street the One to Watch

POOR, shy Rosie, you're such a shrinking violet, aren't you? The last thing you want is for people to look at you. That's why you've bought a ridiculous expensive sports car, which you can't even drive, and why you dress up like a hooker.

This Week

home & away WHEN will they learn! Any trip away from the Bay ends in disaster. Jai and Annie get lost on a trek into the bush and Jai collapses. They are eventually found but the rest of the students have to get back on a bus which Trey has wired to blow up!

Emmerdale

VAL is determined to stop Diane getting back together with Rodney, even if it means seducing him herself! She dolls herself up and tells him she's still in love with him. He's stunned and rebuts her advances, then finally gives in to her kiss. At which point Val pulls away, triumphant at having proved he is not serious about Diane. A baffled Rodney tells her they had already decided to only be friends, then threatens to let everyone know she was willing to cheat on her husband and ruin her si...

Eastenders

WELL, it didn't take Ronnie long to move on from Jack, did it? One minute he's the love of her life and the father of her future children, the next she's back from holiday and doesn't want to see him again. But she's clearly still quite fragile, mentally, especially when she discovers Archie is back and living with Roxy.