TODAY'S pick of what's on the box...

Paul O'Grady's Little Heroes (ITV, 8pm)

OVER the past six years, we've seen Paul O'Grady bonding with the canine residents of Battersea Cats & Dogs Home in his award-winning series, For the Love of Dogs.

So when he started work on his latest project, Paul O'Grady's Little Heroes, which sees him meeting the staff and young patients of Great Ormond Street Hospital, one of his colleagues felt the need to give him a warning about the dangers of getting too attached.

Paul says: "Malcolm, my producer on Radio Two said, 'It's not like Battersea, Paul, you can't take one home with you at the end of the series.'"

But while he hasn't adopted any of the youngsters yet, Paul admits that he did bond with them while filming the run, which began last week.

He says: "All the kids were wonderful. They were just a joy to be with, all of them. I

really looked forward to going in to see them. And I said I wouldn't get attached, but you can't help it.

"You get to know the parents, you're having a cup of tea with them, you're having your dinner with them and you get to know the kids. So even if you're not filming with the kids that day they go past and say, 'Hi Paul.'

He adds: "And you get chatting. By the end of the two months filming I felt like part of the furniture. All the mums and dads knew me, I've never chatted so much."

The presenter isn't just talking though - he's also rolling up his sleeves, whether it's to observe during an operation or to muck in with the dinner ladies. But it seems his most important job is to lift the youngsters' spirits.

Paul says: "I just acted the fool for the kids, to keep them amused. At times I wondered if I was in the way and I spoke to one of the nurses and she said, 'No, far from it, you're a diversion for them, to take their mind off things.'"

And there was one subject in particular the patients wanted to discuss. Paul says: "All the children wanted to talk to me about was animals. 'How many dogs have you got? What

happened to that elephant? Do you remember that baby vulture?' It was a real treat."

Both Paul and the kids should be in their element in this second episode as he sits in on a science lesson at the hospital's school and passes out baby chicks for the youngsters to hold.

He also goes for a scoot around the corridors with eight-year-old Lily, who was rushed to the hospital three months earlier with severe pain in her thigh and was subsequently diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of leukaemia.

Paul then meets Ruth, a GOSH nurse who is currently on maternity leave but has returned to the wards with her baby son Ezra, who requires life-changing surgery on his windpipe.

The presenter also spends time with teenager Louis, who is undergoing tests to find out what is triggering his epileptic seizures - he currently experiences up to eight or nine a day.

Recipes That Made Me: Punjab (BBC2, 8pm)

IT'S no secret that immigration has made a big impact on British cuisine. But how do UK home cooks with their roots in the Indian Subcontinent keep their family recipes and traditions alive? Restaurateur Nisha Katona finds out in this new series, which begins with her travelling to the West Midlands, which has the largest population of Punjabis living in the UK. She learns more about the ingredients and techniques that give Punjabi cuisine its distinctively rich dishes, and discovers that the high-calorie food could be linked to the region's ancient warrior culture. In the second half of the opening double bill, she heads for London to learn why Sri Lankan food is gaining in popularity before receiving a masterclass in making a 'string hopper'.

Orangutan Jungle School (Channel 4, 8pm)

NEW series. Following the lives of orphan orangutans in the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rescue Centre in Borneo, Indonesia, the largest orangutan rehabilitation centre in the world. The programme follows the work of a team of devoted staff as they help orangutans that have been displaced from their habitat or kept as illegal pets learn the skills necessary to survive on their own once they are returned to the wild. In the first episode, the programme introduces some of the big characters in the centre, including 'class clown' Valentino, and 'Big Boy' Beni.

The Real Marigold Hotel (BBC1, 9pm)

BOB, Susan and Selina want to see more of rural Rajasthan and head into the hills to go horse-riding and camping. Meanwhile, Stanley the adventurer re-lives his youth on the back of a motorcycle, and Stephanie explores her inner self her through mediation. Later, a sleeper train takes the group to Navratri, one of India's biggest annual festivals. After attempting to learn a Gujarati folk dance, they get kitted out in traditional costumes and join thousands of worshippers for a night of celebrations for the powerful Hindu Warrior Goddess Durga.

The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco (ITV, 9pm)

AFTER a seemingly innocent man is charged with murder, the women become involved in a tangled suburban tragedy, racing to find both the true killer and the methods before the scent goes cold. Meanwhile, Jean grapples with how to build a new life for herself. Drama set during the social change of the mid-1950s, following four women gifted with extraordinary intelligence, capacity for pattern recognition and decryption. Drama, starring Crystal Balint, Rachael Stirling and Chanelle Peloso. Last in the series.

Don't Tell the Bride (E4,9pm)

BLOKES eh? They put men on the moon; land enormous aircraft every day, and save the lives of millions. Yet in TV land, the thought of them organising a wedding is crazy. That hasn't stopped this series becoming a cult success, and as it returns for a new run, more folks like reluctant groom Lee agrees to plan the big day. He has £13k to play with and three weeks to get it sorted. As bride-to-be Anna has always dreamed of getting married in the family church in Norfolk, it remains to be seen how she reacts to a Vegas-style wedding. The fact Lee blows a quarter of the budget on his stag do might not be too popular either.