Match Of the Day At 50
(BBC One, 10.35pm)

IT is with a heavy heart that I recommend a programme about groin-strains and glory hunting (and it isn’t Game Of Thrones) as the main highlight of another feeble Friday lineup.

Yes, it’s football (again) and we’re celebrating the return of top-flight football, and a golden day in the life of Match of the Day.

Back in 1964, when the first edition aired, Kenneth Wolstenholme (later to find fame with his “they think it’s all over, it is now” moment during the 1966 World Cup final at Wembley) commentated on highlights from just one game – a First Division encounter between Liverpool and Arsenal, which the Anfield side won 3-2. Only 20,000 people tuned in, just half the number of spectators who were at the ground, but few people could receive new channel BBC2 back in the mid-1960s.

A look back at MOTD’s history includes the Hillsborough disaster which was handled with great dignity as events unfolded. Regular viewers such as Lord Sugar, Sue Johnston and Russell Brand discuss their love of the show, and Barry Stoller talks for the first time about composing the famous theme tune.

Also discussing the programme are John Motson, Wayne Rooney, Thierry Henry, Ryan Giggs and the recently-retired Alan Hansen. Over the years, the likes of David Coleman, Jimmy Hill and Des Lynam have hosted the programme; it’s Gary Lineker who sits in the hotseat today. He has every reason to be cheerful, because his beloved Leicester City are back in the top echelons – although he’s anything but optimistic.

Lineker says of his role: “I always look forward to the start of the season. Football is still hugely important to a lot of people in this country and Match of the Day is always an exciting show.”

I do worry that it’ll be another 50 years before we’re discussing a World Cup win.

The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill
(BBC4, 9.10pm)

IN one of the most eagerly-awaited comebacks of pop history, Kate Bush is set to begin a 22-date residency at the Hammersmith Apollo on August 26.

Bush hasn’t performed live regularly since her one and only tour in 1979, and because she’s so elusive, often staying out of the limelight for years at a time before surprising everyone with an album release.

There’s the customary look back at her long career, and interviews with celebrity fans and those who have worked with her, including David Gilmour, the legendary Pink Floyd guitarist who discovered her, Peter Gabriel, Stephen Fry and Elton John.

Then Kate Bush at the BBC, featuring performances between 1978 and 1994, follows at 10.10pm.

Boomers (BBC1, 9pm)

THIS week, Joyce (Alison Steadman) books a table at a trendy gastropub so that the gang can help Trevor (James smith) and Carol (Paula Wilcox) celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.

Unfortunately for them nothing seems to go to plan, from the appearance of Maureen (Stephanie Beacham) and her mother Joan (June Whitfield), who is okay until she has a drink, to an unfortunate announcement from Carol herself.