Downton Abbey – Sunday 9pm ITV

Downton Abbey provides the ideal Sunday night drama with mystery and intrigue high on its agenda. Set against the backdrop of a magnificent Edwardian House, the all star cast including Dame Maggie Smith take us through the relatively complex life of the Crawley Family within the 18th Century. An onlooker would presume a house such as this to exude wealth and fortune, which evidently would be passed from generation to generation. But what would become of such a house if its rightful heir was unable to accept the property and inheritance? This question is closely examined not only by the Crawley family but also its many servants who live, rest and work within its grounds, arguing  what lengths individuals will go to in order to get their share of the fortune.

Overall, this drama is easy to watch on a late Sunday evening, but the narrative can be slow on occasion.

Previous episodes available on ITV Player

Seven days – Tuesday 10pm Channel 4

Seven days follows the lives of a group of individuals living in Notting Hill, West London. It is an unusual documentary in that it encourages us, as the audience, to comment upon the day to day lives of these individuals through an online forum called “chatnav”, and give advice on potential  problems they may be facing, enabling the programme to become more interactive.

The show provides the ideal opportunity to get us, as the viewers, involved and talking about different topical issues, which we may also be facing, including students and university fees as well as individuals taking over their parents’ businesses. However, its disadvantages are that it comes across as a reality TV  programme and therefore takes away the seriousness of some issues. Overall it is an interesting programme which not only provides advice for the participants, but also allows us as the audience to enter into the lives and vocations of individuals which previously we would have been unaware of.

Catch previous episodes on the BBC iplayer