Economists settling old scores over UK finances

By Jonathan Russell, City Diary Editor Published: 10:29PM GMT 19 Feb 2010

Last weekend 20 high-flying economic hawks said "large" and "now" on Friday 50 doves suggested "small" and "later". The interesting thing here are the names.

Leading the hawks we have Tim Besley, professor of economics at the LSE and former Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member.

Ozone hole over Antarctica covered area size of North America Conservationists hunt elusive US earthworm Saving village ponds: bring in the pond rescuers Britain chided by Brussels for ballooning government deficit Ancient lake found on Mars

On the side of the doves we have David Blanchflower, also a professor of economics and another former member of the MPC .

The thing is there"s history between these two. Back in September last year Blanchflower wrote in his New Statesman blog how Besley came to him in 2008 cap, or perhaps calculator, in hand, and admitted he had been wrong about not cutting rates earlier and that Blanchflower"s more dovish stance was right.

Rates were cut and the two were on the same team for a while. Obviously, not any more.

Which leaves us with just one question, who will be writing the valedictory blog this time?

Mr Payne and his licence to drill

The corporate imagination knows no bounds, another mailbox full of crafty company names for you.

I"m informed of a carpet-fitting outfit in Bognor Regis called Easy Lay Carpets; a home-cleaning firm in Sussex called Dunn and Dusted; a hairdressing salon in central London called Ryan Hair (in fact, it"s just outside Telegraph Towers I never realised) and a grocer in Bristol called Melon Cauli. Here"s hoping things have cheered up for them.

And to finish on we have a dentist from Cheshire called Mr Payne, and apparently he in lived in a house called Toothacre.

Sometimes you just have to take this stuff on trust.

Getting to know your limitations

Hats off to the scribblers at stockbroker Charles Stanley for adopting the best headline so far on the Greek financial crisis, "Acropolis Now".

You may have seen it in these pages earlier this week and we"re only too pleased that they"re keen readers.

Shapps" energy rating goes off the scale

The Tories are having a terrible time with numbers. First it was the misplaced decimal point in the teenage pregnancy figures that caused such delight in the Labour Party, and now I understand that Grant Shapps, shadow housing minister, has joined in.

According to a report in Building magazine, sharp Shapps recently wrote to his opposite number John Healey demanding to know what percentage of domestic energy certificates have had an energy rating of "more than 450".

The answer wasn"t too difficult to work out it"s none. The scale only goes to 100.

Lionel Jeffries

Published: 5:48PM GMT 19 Feb 2010

Comments 16 |

Previous of Images Next Photo: JON LYONS/REX Gary Warren, Jenny Agutter and Sally Thomsett in "The Railway Children" Photo: JTAVIN/EVERETT/REX

As an actor, the bald, bewhiskered Jeffries showed a facial mobility and excellent comic delivery that turned him into one of the best-known bumbling figures in British cinema; and however brief his appearances, he was always an asset in films that ranged from The Colditz Story and The Quatermass Xperiment to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Trials of Oscar Wilde.

He gave a fine performance as the Marquess of Queensberrry in the latter film, positively seething with rage when Wilde, played by Peter Finch, replies to his gift of a cauliflower with the line: "Thank you. Whenever I look at it I shall think of you."

Harold Pinter: the most original, stylish and enigmatic writer in post-war British theatre Ric Hardman Trans-Siberian: The greatest train journey in the world Page turner Inkheart makes the big screen EastEnders actor Harry Towb dies

But it was as the director of The Railway Children, one of the most enchanting films ever made for young people, that Jeffries left his mark on the history of cinema; and it was one of his own children who provoked this change of career from acting to direction.

One day his eight-year-old daughter Martha came to him with a book. It was Edith Nesbit"s Edwardian classic, a gentle tale of young Edwardian adventurers round and about a Yorkshire railway line, and as she handed it to him she told her father: "I think that would make a good film."

Jeffries promptly bought for £300 a short option on the film rights. But no producer seemed interested, and for another £300 he extended the option. This time he was backed by the producer Bryan Forbes, who approved the script and agreed that Jeffries should direct.

Jeffries"s script and direction, along with the acting of Bernard Cribbins, Dinah Sheridan and Jenny Agutter and the homely tone of the whole enterprise, earned the film its place as a minor classic.

With this success behind him, Jeffries was inspired him to make more films in the genre, coming up with The Amazing Mr Blunden (set in 1918, it has a widow and her two children living in a country house haunted by the friendly Mr Blunden); Wombling Free (1977) and The Water Babies (1978). None of these, though, rivalled the warmth, simplicity, charm, and eye for period detail that distinguished The Railway Children.

Jeffries enjoyed making its successors and, undeterred by the indifference of producers to many of his subsequent projects, kept on writing scripts and pestering for their realisation. Eventually he was able to draw only one conclusion: "No one wants family entertainment any more. They want explicit sex."

Lionel Charles Jeffries was born in London on June 10 1926; both his parents were social workers with the Salvation Army.

He was educated at Queen Elizabeth"s Grammar School, Wimborne, Dorset. In 1945 he was commissioned into the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry, serving first in Burma (where he worked for the Rangoon radio station) and later as a captain in the Royal West African Frontier Force.

After leaving the Army, Jeffries went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he was, he said, "the only bald student". He had lost all his hair by the age of 19, later remarking: "Of course I was upset. Tried a toupee once, but it looked like a dead moth on a boiled egg."

Despite this disadvantage, he won Rada"s Kendal Award in 1947, then spent two years in rep at Lichfield.

Work was hard to come by, with one agent informing him: "I can"t see you getting anywhere for at least 10 years. You"ve got a young face but you"re bald meaning you"re too young for character parts and not good-looking enough for leading roles."

None the less, Jeffries quickly won his first West End engagement, as Major ATM Broke-Smith in Dorothy and Campbell Christie"s Carrington VC (1953), with Alec Clunes in the title role. The following season saw him on the London stage as The Father in Peter Hall"s production of Lorca"s Blood Wedding and The Doctor in Jean Giraudoux"s The Enchanted, both at the Arts Theatre.

Jeffries was soon attracted to the cinema, starting his film career in Alfred Hitchcock"s Stage Fright (1949). But he made his first real impression as one of the prisoners-of-war in Guy Hamilton"s The Colditz Story (1954). Jeffries later recalled: "I went to the cast meeting with holes in my shoes, but I was given the third lead to Eric Portman and John Mills."

Offers of work poured in, and in one year alone he acted in nine different films. In 1955 he was a great success in Windfall, and there followed a plethora of successful cameo roles in which he proved capable of summoning up both dry comedy and menace. Among them were an inquisitive reporter in the Quatermass Xperiment (1955); Gelignite Joe, a diamond robber whose schoolgirl niece contrived for him to impersonate a new headmistress in Blue Murder at St Trinian"s (1957); and a sailor charged with trying to prevent the ship"s captain from knowing about all the livestock being carried on board in Up the Creek (1958).

Other parts included Major Proudfoot in Law and Disorder (1958); an army adjutant trying to impose regulations on Anthony Newley"s conscripted pop singer in Idol on Parade (1959); and a prison officer attempting to discipline Peter Sellers and Bernard Cribbins in Two-Way Stretch (1960).

Jeffries continued in this vein for another two decades, samples being The Hellions (1961); The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963); First Men in the Moon (1964); You Must be Joking! (1965); Rocket to the Moon (1967); Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), in which he played Grandpa Potts; and The Prisoner of Zenda (1978). In all he appeared in 70 films between 1949 and 1988.

He once said: "I was constantly rewriting the words of the comedy characters I was given to bring them a comic humanity. Most of the people I played were caught in desperation. In their hearts they knew that they were failures but they would never admit it, even to themselves."

He did not entirely neglect the theatre, treading the boards in the musical Hello Dolly! (1984) and for Ray Cooney"s Theatre of Comedy company in 1985-86 he appeared in three farces, Philip King"s See How They Run, Ben Travers"s Rookery Nook and Cooney"s own Two Into One. In 1987 he was in Shaw"s Pygmalion on Broadway and, back in the West End three seasons later, in Ibsen"s The Wild Duck.

His television credits included the title role in Father Charlie, about an eccentric priest assigned as spiritual adviser to a convent; the sitcom Tom, Dick and Harriet; and the series All for Love, Shillingbury Tales, and (opposite Peggy Ashcroft) Cream in my Coffee.

Lionel Jeffries married, in 1951, Eileen Mary Walsh, who survives him with their son and two daughters.

Ask Gill: portable oxygen concentrators; Australian visas; insurance claims

By Gill Charlton Published: 8:00AM GMT 19 Feb 2010

Previous of Images Next Send your travel queries to askgill@telegraph.co.uk The best places to view polar bears are the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway and around Churchill in Manitoba, Canada Photo: ALAMY

Grounded by airline"s oxygen ban

Susan Moore, Halifax, writesLast November, my husband Russell and I booked flights to Cyprus with Jet2. We had taken Russell"s little portable oxygen concentrator (POCs) on a Jet2 flight last year to help him breathe, so we didn"t expect any problems.

More advice from the experts Contact Gill Ask Gill: two weeks too long for lost bag Ask Gill: shouldn"t my insurer pay more? Ask Gill: who pays for a cancelled flight? More from Gill Charlton

Before booking I had phoned Jet2"s customer services team to ask whether last year"s medical information sheet was still valid. I was told to send it in again with a doctor"s letter.

A month later we received a call to say that we could not take the concentrator "because it"s dangerous". We could only take oxygen bottles. These are heavy and, in my view, much more dangerous.

I spoke to a supervisor who said that the airline had decided last July to refuse all POCs because certain concentrators "use too much oxygen".

We are very upset because we paid £3,000 for the concentrator so that Russell could go somewhere warmer and drier in winter. Can you find out what"s going on?

Gill Charlton replies

I am afraid that Jet2 is proving intransigent. It cited "safety reasons" and "the increasing number of models being introduced, with different standards of oxygen concentration" as its reasons for refusing to allow the use of any POCs. I asked the airline if it would give you a refund because its customer service agent had not alerted you to the change in policy since your previous flight.

Jet2 has also refused to do this and says that passengers with serious health conditions should fill in the medical form and get permission to fly before making a confirmed reservation.

The Civil Aviation Authority, responsible for health and safety on British airlines, says there are no safety problems with using POCs on board aircraft but that it does allow airlines to make their own decision. Jet2 is the only British airline to refuse the use of POCs on board. Austrian Airlines, Alitalia, Qantas, Qatar, MAS and Wizz Air also refuse.

The US Federal Aviation Authority requires airlines to allow the use of POCs and has an approved list of 15 models. It is hoped that the EU will legislate on the issue later this year. Last month, the Pulmonary Hypertension Association published a report on the attitude of airlines that fly from Britain towards passengers who need oxygen during a flight. Its secret shoppers found an abysmal lack of knowledge about POCs among customer-service staff.

The association"s website phassociation.uk.com has a list of airline policies and charges for using oxygen cylinders and POCs. Click on "Living with PH" and then "Travelling with PH".

Australia visa fees

Valerie Carn, Paderne, Portugal, writes

Having read about people making unnecessary payments for authority to enter the US after using commercial websites, I wonder if I was caught last week when obtaining an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) to visit Australia.

I Googled "entry conditions for Australia" and paid £20 for an ETA visa through one of the suggested websites, www.visabureau.com

Gill Charlton replies

You"ve been had. As with the American ESTA system, there are lots of companies trying to make a buck by procuring visitor visas for Australia.

ETA visas are now reserved for non-EU passport-holders and cost £10 to issue.

As an EU citizen you should instead obtain a free "eVisitor" visa. Apply online through the Australian government"s official website: www.immi.gov.au Click on "eVisitor" under "Online Services" on the right.

Ski holiday claim

Philippa Fairburn, London, writes

Over the New Year we took a ski holiday to Borovets in Bulgaria. Unfortunately, there was hardly any snow. We are trying to make a claim for piste closure under our travel insurance with Europ Assistance for £30 per person per day.

However, Europ Assistance would like proof of closure and the reason behind it (lack of snow, in this case). I am struggling to provide this as the tourist office in Borovets is not being very helpful. We booked the holiday independently, so we have no tour operator to ask. Can you help?

Gill Charlton replies

As you have discovered, it"s much easier to obtain this sort of written proof in the resort as there"s no incentive for tourist office staff to help once you have left.

Europ Assistance says that if customers are on a package holiday, a letter from their ski rep is sufficient. If they are travelling independently, it must see written confirmation of piste closure from either hotel/chalet hosts or from an official information centre.

Too many clothes

Jackie Marsden, Yorkshire, writes

We are cruising from Southampton to San Francisco, travelling overland across the United States and flying back from New York. My problem is what to pack because we will need warm clothes, summer clothes and formal clothes for more than a month. We don"t really want to lug heavy cases across the US, nor to have to pay the airline"s excess-luggage charges.

Gill Charlton replies

If you travel a lot, you might consider taking one of the new generation of lightweight suitcases with wheels, packing light, and using laundry services. But it sounds as though you like to dress up a bit.

The solution is to use a luggage delivery service to repatriate your cruise suitcase when you disembark in San Francisco. There are two specialist companies. First Luggage (0800 083 5503; firstluggage.com) charges £175 to transport a 30kg suitcase from San Francisco to your home using its door-to-door service. For a similar service, Excess Baggage (0800 082 1985; excess-baggage.com) charges £190.

Looking for polar bears

Rob Green, Cardiff, writes

My wife is 60 this year and we want to do something special to celebrate. She has always wanted to see polar bears in the wild and I wondered if you could advise on destinations and companies that specialise in this sort of trip. My wife is a teacher, so we are limited to school holidays.

Gill Charlton replies

The best places to view polar bears are the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway and around Churchill in Manitoba, Canada. Sightings in Svalbard are not guaranteed but they are most likely between June and August.

Discover the World (01737 218 800; discover-the-world.co.uk) advises taking its 10-day "Around Spitzbergen" cruise; £3,570 per person full board. The ships carry 50-100 passengers and use inflatables to get close to bears.

Churchill in Manitoba is the place to go to be certain of seeing polar bears. About 1,000 bears start migrating north from the town to Hudson Bay in early October, so a visit during the school half term would be perfectly timed. You need to book well ahead as the season is short. If you are experienced travellers you could make your own arrangements, flying via Winnipeg to Churchill, and reserving a room in the Tundra Buggy (tundrabuggy.com), white portable buildings on wheels that follow the migration. Wildlife Worldwide (0845 130 6982; www.wildlife worldwide.com) has an escorted tour this autumn for £3,795 per person, including flights.

Contact Gill

Queries may be sent by email to askgill@telegraph.co.uk

Please provide your full address, daytime telephone number and any booking reference. Readers with complicated complaints may be asked for full documentation. We regret that we are no longer able to answer postal inquiries or deal with telephone calls.

Winter Olympics 2010: Lost in a blizzard of Clare Balding

By Sarah Crompton Published: 5:52PM GMT 19 Feb 2010

Comments 10 | Comment on this article

I have been watching the Winter Olympics or I have been trying to, when the BBC will let me. If you tune into Eurosport, you get what you expect: endless hours of bespectacled skiers slogging across country or plunging downhill at impossible speeds on a small sledge.

If you tune into the BBC, you get... Clare Balding. I love and admire Clare Balding. But I don"t love her nearly as much as someone at the BBC seems to. When I tune in to the men"s luge, I want to watch the men"s luge. I don"t want to watch Clare at the luge track saying, "It"s snowing here." Then she"ll say "Let"s go to the crowds watching on the big screen downtown." No! Let"s not! Let"s go to a mountain where a thrilling race is unfolding. The BBC used to be masters of this. Now they are so obsessed with package, they have forgotten about the sport.

Women, wear your wrinkles with pride Clare Balding in remission from cancer Barbers Shop misses Cheltenham Festival prep race because of heavy ground BBC iPlayer choices - Monday 30 March Other TV Highlights: Wednesday 11 March Triathlon: pleasure and pain to the power of three

TV highlights

By Toby Clements, Simon Horsford, Alec Lom and Patrick Smith Published: 2:00PM GMT 19 Mar 2010

FRIDAY 19 MARCH

CRITIC"S CHOICE: Sport Relief 2010

BBC One, 7.00pm & 10.35pm; BBC Two, 10.00pm

Charity begins at home goes the proverb, and the BBC certainly hopes so. Beeb bosses will want the fifth Sport Relief extravaganza not only to raise millions for worthy causes but lift the mood around the Corporation, under siege lately thanks to its controversial strategy document. Tonight is the biannual fundraisers live centrepiece, so Auntie is duly wheeling out her big names and franchises. Match of the Days anchorman Gary Lineker, Top Gears Richard Hammond, Strictly Come Dancings Claudia Winkleman and Big Brothers Davina McCall all take turns at hosting the event and introducing various highlights of the recent celebrity challenges that have been attempted. Blue Peters Helen Skelton proved her courage and adventurous spirit by canoeing 2,000 miles down the Amazon, The One Shows Christine Bleakley plucked up the courage to try to become the first woman to water-ski across the Channel and a convoy of stars got saddle-sore on the Million Pound Bike Ride from John OGroats to Lands End. Theres a mini-episode of Ashes to Ashes, with slap-happy, wise-cracking DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister) investigating the theft of the trophy at a golf tournament. The Outnumbered family pop up, preparing to take part in the Sport Relief Mile. The night also includes specials of MasterChef and A Question of Sport, featuring its host, former tennis champion Sue Barker. MH

Sacred Music

BBC Four, 7.30pm

Actor and former chorister Simon Russell Beale travels to Paris and the South of France in the second episode of his documentary series in which he explores the flowering of Western sacred music. Tonight Russell Beale investigates two of sacred musics more idiosycratic composers, the agnostic Gabriel Faur and the fashionable Francis Poulenc. AL

Dom Joly and the Black Island

Channel 4, 7.30pm

Comedian Dom Joly was obsessed with the Tintin comics as a boy and this endearingly indulgent documentary sees him retrace the steps of the intrepid Belgian reporters sole British adventure. Joly dresses as his hero, complete with dyed ginger hair, to visit creator Hergs Brussels studio, searches for (OK, steals) a terrier sidekick like Snowy and tries to catch a Captain Haddock-esque seaman. Finally, hes off by ferry, train and plane to the Outer Hebridean isle of Barra, where legend has it Black Island Castle can be found. MH

Marley and Me (2008)

Sky Movies Premiere/SMPHD, 8.00pm

Based on John Grogans best-selling memoir, this comedy drama stars three doe-eyed blondes Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston and an adorable labrador puppy (although 22 puppies were actually used during the filming). The film charts how Grogan, after moving to West Palm Beach, became a successful newspaper columnist, thanks to his musings on his boisterous puppy. CM

The Mentalist

Five, 9.00pm

The Californian cognitive crime series continues, with the murder of an architect thrown from the window of his remote mansion. When their investigation uncovers ghostly goings-on and hidden treasure, however, Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) and the team set up a cunning sting to draw out the killer. MH

Mastercrafts

BBC Two, 9.00pm

In the last of whats been a charming series, Monty Don reveals the secrets of stonemasonry. In the grounds of the Derbyshire stately home Hardwick Hall three keen amateurs have just six weeks to learn the craft, from quarrying their own stone to intricate carving a training process that would normally take five years. Meanwhile, Don explores the role of stonemasonry in British history: from the Middle Ages when it was a key mastercraft to its decline because of the destruction of stone buildings by Second World War bombs and role today in restoration projects. MH

Michael Winners Dining Stars

ITV1, 9.00pm; not STV

It might occasionally betray its daytime roots and has hardly been a ratings hit, but weve enjoyed this four-part foodie oddity. Tonight is the final, which means that Michael Winners two favourites mother Justine, who moved him to tears, and glamorous gourmet Jane get whisked off to a Cornish castle to cook for our hard-to-please host and the locals. The victory prize? Being asked to be Winners chef as he throws a lavish dinner party for an eclectic guest list of some of his famous friends, including The One Show presenter Christine Bleakley, Andrew Neil, the journalist, and former 007 Sir Roger Moore. All this is demented but also somehow compelling. MH

SATURDAY 20 FEBRUARY

CRITICS CHOICE:The Virtual Revolution

BBC Two, 8.15pm; Scotland, 7.15pm; Wales, 9.15pm

This is the final episode of the gratifyingly intelligent documentary series about the transformative effects of the internet, and presenter Dr Aleks Krotoski trains her spotlight on the mass of humanity now living with the net as a regular if not a dominant part of their daily lives. What effect is it having on our relationships? Will it eventually frazzle our brains and leave us capable of speaking only in 140-character Twitter haikus? "Im going to plunge into the fear and the hype," says Krotoski and so off she goes, starting in the worlds "most wired nation", South Korea, where 62 per cent of three- to five-year-olds regularly use the net, and internet addiction is a widespread, state-recognised problem. This is grist to the mill of Baroness Susan Greenfield, a neuroscientist at Oxford, who believes that the internet distorts childrens sense of reality and can leave its users in an "infantilised state"; but its not all naysaying, with Twitter founder Biz Stone extolling the empathetic qualities of the network while Stephen Fry argues that "we have the knowledge of the ages gathered for us to browse in our pockets, and if we seriously think thats a bad thing, then… we really deserve a slapping". PN

My Life

BBC Two, 11.30am

Following the lives of several extraordinary children from across Britain, this new six-part documentary series from CBBC kicks off today with a film about three 12-year-old boys Jordan, Daniel and Sam from Coventry who are determined to complete the brutal Tough Guy assault course in Wolverhampton, which includes obstacles with such sensitively chosen names as "Somme Surprise" and the "The Killing Fields". The result is touching the boys have each gone through difficult times, from disease to the death of a parent, and are thus keen to prove their mettle. But it is also excessively gung-ho, with a lot of misplaced narration about "separating the men from the boys". PN

Winter Olympics

BBC Two, from 12.00noon

Olympic programming starts at 12.00noon today with highlights of last nights events, including the skeleton, some comparatively sedate curling and the "Ice Dance" figure skating event, in which British skaters Sinead and John Kerr are aiming for a medal. Then, from 5.45pm, Clare Balding presents live coverage of the Womens Super G, in which British ski pin-up Chemmy Alcott is competing. PN

EastEnders 25th Anniversary Specials

Watch, from 1.40pm

EastEnders for those of you whove so far missed the BBCs flag waving, ribbon draping and bell ringing on the subject turns 25 this month, and Watch, keen not to miss out on the party, is broadcasting three back-to-back documentary specials this afternoon, focusing respectively on Albert Square weddings, feuds and Christmas fall-outs. PN

Lets Dance for Sport Relief

BBC One, 6.30pm

Steve Jones and Claudia Winkleman return to present this years four-week run of light-hearted, heavy-footed, fund-raising celebrity dance routines. Confirmed contestants so far include Katy Brand, Jenny Eclair, Willie Thorne and Rufus Hound. All will be hoping to match Robert Webbs success last year with his hilarious version of What a Feeling from Flashdance. PN

A Taste of True Blood

FX, 10.00pm

True Blood, a sexually charged US drama about the co-existence of humans and vampires in a small town in Louisiana, began on FX last summer before transferring to Channel 4 in the autumn and was a cult hit on both channels. Season two begins this Friday on FX and so, being no strangers to self-publicity, the digital channel is broadcasting this short documentary to drum up excitement. Featuring behind-the-scenes footage, cast and crew interviews and a complimentary look forward to season two which series creator Alan Ball promises will be "scarier, funnier [and] weirder" it swiftly fails the Jeremy Paxman impartiality test, but will serve as a useful primer for True Blood newcomers. PN

Law & Order

Five, 10.25pm

American crime dramas, like the Duracell bunny, have an uncanny ability to keep on running, notching up hundreds of episodes while their sitcom or reality TV counterparts are mercilessly canned. Top of the pile in terms of longevity is the New York-based crime procedural Law & Order, which began in 1990 and whose 16th season starts on Five tonight with a tense episode in which detectives Green (Jesse L Martin) and Fontana (Dennis Farina) attempt to rescue a five-year-old girl from a pair of desperate kidnappers. PN

SUNDAY 21 FEBRUARY

CRITICS CHOICE: The British Academy Film Awards

BBC One, 9.00pm

It must be boom time for flashbulb makers, Brasso and Moss Bros, because awards season is certainly in full swing. The latest sees Jonathan Ross host the star-studded "British Oscars", live from the Royal Opera House in Londons Covent Garden. Critically acclaimed Sixties romance An Education, with its rising star Carey Mulligan, is this years main home-grown hope, along with Kristin Scott Thomas and Anne-Marie Duff for their supporting roles in John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy. As at the forthcoming Academy Awards, however, the battle for the big categories has an intriguing divorce-based twist as James Cameron, the mastermind behind record-breaking 3D blockbuster Avatar, comes up against his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow, director of Iraq war thriller The Hurt Locker. Other talking points will include Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (will they arrive? And, if they do, will they appear on the red carpet together?), whether host Ross will be demob happy as he works out his BBC contract, plus of course the A-list fashion parade. Additional frock-watching and backstage build-up can be found over on BBC Three, an hour and a half ahead of this main broadcast. MH

Winter Olympics

BBC Two, from 12.00noon

Day 10 of the Vancouver Winter Games starts with a look back at last night, when Great Britains womens curling team took on the USA. The evenings live action sees mens skiing take centre stage, with the ski cross final and giant slalom. The late-night show then focuses on figure skating, as Brit siblings Sinead and John Kerr perform a cowboy-themed dance to the strains of Johnny Cash. Theres also the Canada v USA ice hockey grudge clash and more curling, with our mens team taking on the Americans. MH

Pineapple Dance Studios

Sky 1/Sky1HD, 6.00pm

Pineapple Studios in Londons Covent Garden is renowned in the dance world as the place where performers are put through rigorous routines before taking to the stage. Madonna, Beyonc and Kylie have all attended classes as have the cast of Dirty Dancing and Chicago. This new fly-on-the-wall documentary is all about the hard work and dedication of the camp and cut-throat world of professional dancing. And the shows characters soon make themselves known: queen bee of the studio and its founder Debbie Moore, flamboyant artistic director Louie Spence, who acts as a series guide, and self-assured "ready-made popstar" Andrew Stone. SH

Dancing on Ice

ITV1, 6.45pm & 9.30pm

The celebrity skating contest glides gracefully past its halfway point. One major talking point might have gone recently when Heather Mills was voted off, but wraparound-grinned judge Jason Gardiner picked up the controversy baton nicely, thanks to his vindictive verdicts. Tonight, the eight remaining couples take to the rink, bidding to avoid the 9.30pm skate-off and elimination. MH

The Bible: a History

Channel 4, 6.55pm

Irish republican leader Gerry Adams fronts the latest film in this series in which prominent figures explore the Bibles significance. The Sinn Fein president looks at Jesuss pivotal role, pondering the contradictions between his teachings and the involvement of Christians in conflict the world over. He meets not just scholars, but victims from both sides of the Northern Irish sectarian divide. Adams might be a controversial figure to give a prime-time platform to, but hes well placed to offer insight into reconciling religion with the support of political violence. MH

Banded Brothers: the Mongoose Mob

BBC Two, 7.00pm; Wales, 5.00pm

Are mongooses the new meerkats, at least in TV nature films? Quite possibly, judging by this new series about a mini-mafia family of banded mongooses living in Ugandas Queen Elizabeth National Park. British scientists have been studying them for a decade and found some fascinating behaviour. In tonights opener, we witness their unique breeding cycle, which means all pregnant females give birth on the same day, then the fight to protect the pups from rival families, giant monitor lizards and deadly snakes. MH

Monsters Inside Me

Discovery, 9.00pm

Its not the beast you can see that concerns this documentary but the critters that are invisible to the naked eye. Microscopic parasites that remain in their host, silently feeding on the victim. The opening episode focuses on sleeper cell parasites, such as the one that invaded the organs and lymph glands of a Vietnam vet, secretly eating away at his body for 20 years. Best not watched during supper. SH

MONDAY 22 MARCH

CRITIC"S CHOICE: Trust in Politics

BBC Two, 7.00pm; Wales, 11.20pm

In the wake of the shocking parliamentary expenses scandal and the current widespread decline in public confidence regarding the integrity, honesty and even relevance of the traditional political process, heres what might be considered the perfect series to air in the run-up to a general election. Presented by the eminent historian, political biographer, broadcaster and Master of Wellington College, Professor Anthony Seldon, its a four-part investigation into what steps can be taken to restore the trust of disenchanted voters in their elected representatives and, indeed, the entire system of parliamentary democracy in Britain. Its a subject Seldon is very much expert in, having penned a couple of biographies of Tony Blair as well as volumes on the premierships of Margaret Thatcher and John Major. In his most recent book Trust, Seldon offered a powerful analysis of how with the economy in tatters and many of our highest social institutions under attack for greed, corruption and incompetence we have never had a greater need for trust in public life. But how to go about healing the rift? Happily, Seldon is never short on suggestions and here with the help of people at home in the corridors of power as well as members of the public eager to see things improve he offers a personal manifesto for change, suggesting ways in which the forthcoming election could mark a positive turning-point in our attitude to politics. GO

Auction Party

ITV1, 3.00pm

Auctioneer Tom Keane presents this new series in which people conduct auctions in their own front rooms. Its not a question of recession-forced flog-offs of family jewels but a Bargain Hunt-style challenge in which enthusiastic amateurs get £500 to go bag some antiques bargains, hoping to make a profit at home later by selling them on to gullib… er, enthusiastic friends, neighbours and passers-by. Today, an Uckfield resident hopes her 20th-century collectables will go down well with bidders. GO

Raymond Blanc: Kitchen Secrets

BBC Two, 8.30pm

Game and mushrooms are the subject of the chefs masterclass this week. Among the delights he conjures up are a delicate cep tortellini, a French pasty filled with pheasant, chestnuts and dried fruits, a salt-crust baked pigeon, and a simple but flavour-packed fricassee of wild mushrooms. GO

Forces Reunited

Sky Real Lives/SRLHD, 8.30pm

Human interest stories from those involved in the Armed Forces are reeled out in this moving new series, presented by Fiona Phillips, which runs throughout the week. The first is of a family awaiting the return of husband and father serving in Afghanistan, while the second unites an airman shot down over Belgium during the Second World War with the daughter of the family who hid his parachute from the Nazis. SH

A Band for Britain

BBC Two, 9.00pm

Its tears, tantrums and more toughest-tests-yet as Sue Perkins brings her terrific series about a struggling brass band to a resounding climax. Despite the triumph of a third-place at the Hardraw Scar competition last week, theres dissent among the ranks over whether winning or having fun is more important to the members of the Dinnington Colliery Band. Faced with a revolt, Perkins has some motivational tricks up her sleeve, including a half-time gig at a Twickenham rugby international and the heady prospect of performing alongside their all-time heroes, the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. GO

FlashForward

Five, 9.00pm & 10.00pm

Its all right, you didnt experience a three-month blackout. This silly sci-fi drama starring Jack Davenport did actually disappear from the television schedules for 14 weeks while its producers and US network ABC wrangled over its bad ratings in America. Now its returning for the remainder of its 23-part run, picking up where it left off with a double episode. If, like everyone else, youve already forgotten what happened (the whole world experienced a communal mental blackout and the only person they could find to do anything about it was wimpy Joseph Fiennes), theres a useful four-minute "starter kit" recap on Fives website (www.five.tv ). GO

Alfie (2004)

Channel 4, 11.00pm

An anodyne, updated remake of the Michael Caine Sixties classic with an impossibly pretty Jude Law as the heartless womaniser, whose chauvinistic habits seem even more unacceptable in the context of Nineties London. Notable for being the set on which Law met Sienna Miller, before his own womanising ways undermined that relationship. SD

Click here for full TV and radio listings