TV highlights Sat 26 January - Fri 1 February

Top Gear (Sun, 8pm, BBC2)
Lock up your Mexicans/Indians/gay people: the ‘Top Gear’ boys are back. By this stage in the show’s career (this is the start of series 19) you’ll already have decided if you find Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard ‘The Hamster’ Hammond deliciously politically incorrect company, a bit like the funniest bloke in the golf club who always has the best dirty jokes, or a trio of boorish man-children. To kick off a new run, Clarkson tries to build a car smaller than even the famous Peel P50, and then has an even tougher challenge when he runs it past the entrepreneurs from ‘Dragon’s Den’. May drives the Bentley Continental GT Speed and Hammond the Pagani Huayra hypercar. The Stig will take that one for a spin, and then it’s over to this week’s Star In A Reasonably Priced Car: ‘Homeland’ hot property Damian Lewis.

The Secret Life Of Dogs (Thu, 9pm, ITV)
Martin Clunes, with his kindly, jowly face, is one of those fellows who really ends up looking like the pet he loves: in this case, dogs. He made a brilliant two-part documentary in 2008 about our canine pals, and is now back to narrate this excellent one-off programme that explains the science behind the way dogs see, smell and hear the world. It explains why they bark, why they pant and whether they dream, before moving on to some great stories of man’s best friend helping out. Sentimental but sweet stories about Labrador puppies on their journey to being guide dogs, a search-and-rescue dog called Max who recently saved the life of a confused pensioner, and even a dog who smelled the tumour in his owner’s breast long before medical science, allowing her to get the cancer cut out in time. Tissues at the ready for us dog lovers, there’s some really tear-jerkers in here.

The Big Reunion (Thu, 9pm, ITV2)
On the theme of dumb but loveable animals, here’s the pop band 5ive. They are one of six groups from yesteryear who are reforming for a comeback extravaganza. Also featuring are Atomic Kitten, 5IVE, B*witched, Liberty X, 911 and Honeyz. All of them sold a lot of records in the 1990s and 2000s, and all of them have been on the skids for a long time since, meaning that this reunion is both a chance to relive former glories and open up old wounds. “On stage we were the best ever, off stage we were a train wreck,” says Scott from 5ive, which is an interesting use of the term “best ever”. He talks about having a breakdown, while Kevin from Liberty X tells of vodka for breakfast to get through it all. War stories aside, the groups have two weeks rehearsals to get ready for a comeback gig, so old tensions come rising to the surface. Splendid car crash viewing.

Wonders Of Life (Sun, 9pm, BBC2)
Boy, once you get in with the BBC there really is no limit to the amount of work they’ll throw your way. The shiniest new bulb on Auntie’s documentary tree in recent years has been the physicist with the popstar looks, Professor Brian Cox, and all the signs are that he is being groomed for even greater things: successor to the great David Attenborough. Here the Prof turns his attention from the stars to nature, revealing how science shaped the natural world, starting with the volcanoes of South East Asia and swimming with jellyfish, who take their energy from the sun. And then to Borneo, where study of the orang-utan (a creature who shares 97 per cent of our DNA) offers a map back through the history of the planet. First of a five-part series. Brian may be the pretender to the natural history TV throne, but the king is still making great series: David Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities (Tue, 8pm, Eden) is a five-parter about evolutionary anomalies.

Dallas (Tue, 9pm, C5)
“Houston, we have a problem,” must have been the thought for makers of the much-loved Texas soap over the last year or so. With the show’s iconic star Larry Hagman Jr ill with throat cancer, how could they fit in filming around him and get as much JR on screen as possible? As it happens, he was able to work enough to appear in six episodes of this season, and episode eight will feature the funeral of the JR character. Elsewhere, Christopher and John Ross are at loggerheads over the future of the company, and Christopher is fighting on two fronts, his divorce from Rebecca also taking up his time. Ann is blackmailed by her ex-husband Harris, but a revelation causes the whole family to put their differences aside. Well, almost the whole family. It’ll be interesting later this season to see if they can make the show watchable without Hagman – perhaps another star from the 1980s could be roped back in?

Also this week
The Mary Berry Story (Tue, 8pm, BBC2) is a two-part biographical programme about the flavour of the TV cooking month. There’s a new series of Great British Menu (Mon-Fri, 7.30pm, BBC2) as chefs vie for the chance to cook at the Comic Relief 25th anniversary banquet. Weight Watchers – How They Make Their Money (Mon, 8pm, ITV) is an investigation into the diet firm in the big month of the year for those companies. No diet concerns in Hairy Bikers’ Everyday Gourmets (Wed, 8pm, BBC2). Ricky Gervais’s dubious taste comedy about a mentally handicapped care-worker gets a full series in Derek (Wed, 10pm, C4). They’re doing some good stuff on BBC daytime at the moment, including a series of stand-alone dramas Moving On (Mon, 2.15pm, BBC1). Matthew Kelly is excellent in the first one. And there’s a great insight into British culture on Eyes Down! The Story Of Bingo (Wed, 9pm, BBC4). House!