The series starts with the arrival of the first English settlers who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to make their home in the land of opportunity. The documentary shows how Tobacco farming saved the first settlers and how peace was reached with the Native Indians.

Charting the incredible development of the US from those first steps 400 years ago, each of the twelve parts in the series covers an essential era in the rich history of the country.

The series combines brilliant reconstructions and CGI animation, to dramatise moments from the country’s past. These significant events detail how advances in technology have enabled America to become one of the most prosperous and diverse nations in the world.

The series includes the views and perspectives of some of Americas best known intellectuals, businessmen and celebrities, who share their thoughts on American culture and greatest historical events.

The History of the US includes events right up to the modern day, covering consumerism, entertainment, the Millennium and how the country was rocked by the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

America: The History of the US will Premiere in the UK on the History Channel on Monday August 30th at 8pm

The Bill

The final episode of the police drama ‘The Bill’ will be on our screens at the end of the month following the axing of the programme in March due to a fall in ratings.

The finale, which has been given the title ‘Respect’ will be followed by a one-hour special documentary called ‘Farewell The Bill’ outlining the shows history as well as taking a look behind the scenes as the cast and crew film their final acts.

Britain’s longest running police series began on 16th October 1984 and was originally intended as a one-off but was soon commissioned for a one-hour weekly slot.  In 1988, the series was increased to three programmes a week before returning to a weekly one-hour episode ten-years later.

The final episode was filmed in June of this year and is due to be aired on August 31st at 9pm on ITV followed by the special documentary at 10.35pm.

next and hopefully last big fat challenge

Unbelievably the family labelled as Britain’s laziest and fattest return to our screens for a second helping of Lorraine Kelly’s Next Big Fat Challenge at the end of August.

The Chawners came to prominence when daughter Emma appeared in the X Factor auditions and was so awful she was sent packing by Simon Cowell and the other judges, only to be confronted by the head of the family who considered that the experts had no idea when it came to spotting talent.

Luckily I managed to miss the first series as I will again for the new series, it is hard to imagine why anybody would be vaguely interested in seeing a TV company throw money at a family like the Chawners.

Lorraine Kelly has her work cut out in her second attempt at getting this family off their backsides and into work, if you are interested enough the new series premieres on August 24th at 8pm on the Bio Channel.

Lorraine Kelly’s Next Big Fat Challenge – August 24th on Bio at 8pm

Douglas 'Grubby' Grice

Continuing its excellent season of programmes under the banner of  ‘Spirit of 1940′, Yesterday broadcasts the fourth part of the series on Thursday August 12th with the story of the ‘Heroes of Biggin Hill.’

Biggin Hill became the most famous fighter station in the world due to the part that it played in the Battle of Britain and this fascinating documentary tells the story of the bravery and courage shown not just by the pilots, but the local community as a whole.

With its close proximity to London, Biggin Hill was a prime target for Hitler’s air attacks in England and having had some major success against the Luftwaffe the airbase raised itself as a real threat to the German air-force who sent in bombers to blow up the site.

The loss of life was extreme as residents around the area felt the full force of war, long before the London Blitz and the fighter station was all but destroyed.

A clever tactic from Group Captain Grice during the raid was to blow up the remaining hangar on the airfield, convincing the Germans that the base was destroyed. This allowed the Biggin Hill fighters the chance to regroup and comeback with ever more courage and determination as they continued to fight and protect the country from the enemy.

The programme tells the story of the valiant pilots, as well as the community at the base and its environs who kept ‘the few’ flying. Perhaps the most incredible bravery came from three women- Elspeth Henderson, Elizabeth Mortimer and Helen Turner, who continued to man the phones despite being told to go to shelters. They all received the Military Medal; the first women to ever get the honour. Elspeth Green’s daughter gives a heartfelt account of her mother’s story.

Elspeth Henderson

An expert eye is cast across the history of the airbase by historians who have in some cases given their lives to researching Biggin Hill. Haven spoken with veterans for many years their in-depth knowledge gives a true insight into what actually happened all those years ago. Their credible interpretation of events bring to life the Biggin Hill story and celebrates the lives of all that fought there.

Tune in to The Heroes of Biggin Hill exclusively on Yesterday: Sky 537, Virgin 203, Freeview 12 on Thursday 12th August at 10pm. For more information visit the Yesterday website.

Marion falls in with the wrong crowd of animals who are determined to stop humans from celebrating bonfire night forever by making their own plans to emulate Guy Fawkes and blow up the pub. It is left to Nelson to become the hero and save Destiny from certain death.

Destiny is asked to model for a photographer while out walking in the park, only to find that the photographer has different ideas to her about what constitutes glamour, prompting the song ‘Ugly Women Are Beautiful Too.’

And finally Kali has her wings clipped by the over zealous fire warden Nelson and nasty neighbour Vince decides that he is going to eat her. Kali realises that she must keep Vince fed or she will be appearing in her own version of Come Dine With Me.

The final episode in this series of Mongrels can be seen on BBC 3 tonight at 10.30pm.

You can also catch up with the series by visiting the BBC3 website where this episode will be available after transmission tonight.

Here’s your chance to be one of the first to watch Mongrels Uncovered - a documentary all about the on set secrets and behind the scenes challenges. Head to the BBC3 blog to be one of the lucky readers getting a chance to see it first before it’s shown on telly.

In the good old days of Graham Kerr, Keith Floyd and Rick Stein, when a fine wine selection was a pre-requisite to concocting a tasty meal, we had time to try out the recipes that took our fancy with at least a week until the next programme.

These guys were the pioneers for the likes of the Jamie Oliver’s of this world who came along offering some friendly patter while introducing simplicity to the menu.

Simplicity isn’t something that Heston Blumenthal brings to the TV, particularly on Channel 4’s Heston’s Feasts 2. Having only recently caught up with the series I was amazed at the lengths this ‘little chef’ goes to to recreate the tastes of the seventies, his own childhood era.

Obviously blissfully unaware of the celebrity chefs on TV at that time, Heston admits that he did not grow up eating lobster and caviar, in fact as a child he loved the ‘taste’ of powdered snacks like Cup a Soup and Pot Noodles.

And so he sets out to re invent those snacks for a more discerning palate, admitting that he is more excited about the ritual of making the noodles than the actual flavour.

Blumenthal manages to concoct noodles using seaweed and gelatine and makes this into noodles by putting it through a Play Doh toy machine from the 70’s era. The mixture is put into the toy and squeezed out in thin strips that make up the noodles.

Finished off with his own chicken and mushroom mix, the product is served up to his celebrity guests. I have to say I have enjoyed this series mainly for the inventiveness of the celebrity chef, who has not only re invented Pot Noodles but also re-creations of seventies and eighties iconic treats such as the Zoom ice lolly and of course Soda Stream drinks.

In addition, on 31 July, Superpole will be live at 3pm, before the Superstock 600 race gets underway at 6pm.

On race day, live coverage will start at 10.25am, with Fogarty returning to the studio after appearing earlier this year during round four from Assen. This round produced two all-British podiums and riders and fans will be hoping for more of the same at Silverstone.

Both races will be available in high definition on Eurosport HD from 4.15pm while the World Supersport race will be live on Eurosport HD at 1pm.

Commentators Jack Burnicle and James Whitham will be on-site at the Northamptonshire track throughout the weekend, guiding viewers through the busy race schedule.

Online subscribers can also follow the weekend’s racing on the Eurosport Player where live coverage and commentary-free video on demand will be available.

Saturday 31 July
1500-1600 LIVE Superpole on British Eurosport 2
1800-1830 LIVE Superstock 600 on British Eurosport 2

Sunday 1 August
1025-1630 LIVE WSBK race day, including both WSBK races & WSS on British Eurosport 2
1300-1400 LIVE World Supersport race on Eurosport HD
1615-1700 Race one on Eurosport HD
1700-1745 Race two on Eurosport HD
2200-2330 Highlights on British Eurosport 2

Despite being totally disgusting, because Sandra is on heat Nelson believes that she is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. Thankfully Marion has still got his senses and attempts to stop Nelson from making a decision that he would end up regretting.

Afghan hound Destiny persuades her owner Gary to enter her into the local dog show, at last. But when she gets infected with boorish fleas who delight in quoting comedy catchphrases, she struggles with her preparations for the canine intelligence round. Destiny decides to pull out until the fleas persuade her that they have the brains to help her win.

Pigeon Kali decides to protest against the new anti-pigeon spikes that Gary has put down to reduce vermin, by throwing herself upon them. Finding Kali impaled, Gary looks after her, and feeds her up to several times her normal size.

Check it out on BBC3 tonight (July 27th) at 10.30pm or watch it online at the BBC3 website.

For anyone unfamiliar with this incredible death defying championship, here is a short video introduction:

If you like your motor sport thrills and spills to be bumpy, spectacular, bruise-inducing and adrenaline-pumped then you are surely in for a rare treat as the twelve best riders in the world battle over six unique courses in a bid to win the ultimate prize of becoming the Red Bull X-Fighter World Champion.

With events in Russia, Spain and finally Italy throughout the season, there is also the little matter of the UK leg of the tour. Dave will be showing this event as-live from the Battersea Power Station in August, and if last year’s event is anything to go by it will be a scorcher!

Current World Champion Nate Adams will be challenged all the way this season as the competitors draw on all their resources to produce some of the most jaw dropping and rudest stunts in an attempt to take the crown.

With Moscow falling foul to rain, the first show on the X-Fighters circuit comes from Egypt where 10,000 fans gathered in front of the Great Sphinx of Giza. The best FMX athletes in the world faced desert winds, sand and temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius which pushed man and machine to the limit.

Watch the Red Bull X-Fighters action packed championship race exclusively on Dave TV starting July 28th at 8pm.

The show centres around five animal characters who reside in the backyard of an inner city pub and tells the story of the everyday goings on in the neighbourhood.

Starring Nelson, a metrosexual fox; Destiny, a pretentious pedigree It-bitch Afghan hound; Marion, a freshly-neutered wannabe tomcat; Kali, a deeply cynical pigeon; and Vince, the neighbourhood sociopath.

In episode five Nelson’s effete French penfriend Christian arrives for a visit and starts behaving uncharacteristically badly, exhibiting mood swings and frothing at the mouth. Yes, it seems Christian has rabies. Nelson and Marion must contain the disease and save their friends.

Destiny discovers that her gorgeous new boyfriend Archie is in fact a pimp organised by her owner Gary to get Destiny to produce some pedigree pups. Destiny decides to teach Gary a lesson.

When Kali is caught up in a pigeon cull, she resolves to take over the world and take revenge on humankind by creating the pigeox- half pigeon, half fox. All she needs to bring her invention to life is a bit of help from a passing fox, like Nelson, or, failing that, his vicious friend Vince.

Radio One DJ Scott Mills makes a special appearance as can be seen in the clips above, the series is created by Adam Miller, developed by Jon Brown, Adam Miller and Daniel Peak, written by Jon Brown and Daniel Peak, and featuring the voices of Rufus Jones, Lucy Montgomery, Dan Tetsell, Katy Brand, Paul Kaye and Ruth Bratt. Puppets created by Talk to the Hand.

You can watch episode five of Mongrels on BBC iPlayer on the BBC website or if you have it, on Catch Up TV.

Mongrels is broadcast on BBC3 on Tuesday nights at 10.30pm.