Watch phase

MEDDLE with a successful format at your peril. The makers of Autumnwatch have made major changes for the 2009 season and risk upsetting regular viewers.

Out goes the “four nights a week for two weeks” season of shows. Instead, there will be one-hour programmes on Friday nights during the autumn, with Saturday afternoon repeats for families.

For many, following the show throughout the week was one of the big pluses, as the animal antics developed into a continuing story. Now we’ll have to wait a week to see what happens next.

Chris Packham, who took over from Bill Oddie, is back with the other regulars Kate Humble, Simon King, Martin Hughes-Games and Gordon Buchanan.

Packham, Humble and Hughes-Games – sounds a bit like a firm of solicitors – will be in the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, while the others travel to wildlife hotspots each week to report from the field.

They’ll also interact with the audience and provide suggestions on what viewers at home can do to get closer to wildlife.

It’ll be interesting to see how viewers take to the new format.

RETURNING comedy series Benidorm also has a new look. Instead of 30-minute episodes, there’s a whole hour every week. The makers tried it with the summer special and are sticking with it for this third series about Brits abroad.

All the familiar faces are back as the holidaymakers take a free week’s holiday in Benidorm that they received as compensation after being taken hostage by a drug dealer last year.

The Garveys – Mick (Steve Pemberton), Janice (Siobhan Finneran), their kids, Telle (Hannah Hobley) and Michael and Telle’s baby son Coolio – are all back and find themselves right in the middle of the action, courtesy of permatan Madge (Sheila Reid) and Mel (Geoffrey Hutchings).

Good-hearted swingers Donald (Kenny Ireland) and Jacqueline (Janine Duvitski) are back and this time they meet a new friend along the way.

The Oracle (Johnny Vegas) is on a mission to find true love, which takes him to some very interesting places.

Gay couple Gavin (Hugh Sachs) and Troy (Paul Bazely) return and one of them is hiding a huge secret that could tear them apart. There’s one new face as Martin has a new girlfriend, loud Scouser Brandy (Sheridan Smith). Other guest stars turning up during the series are Robin Askwith, Keith Barron, Una Stubbs and Tim Healy.

The show, created and written by Derren Litten, won best comedy at the National TV Awards.

JONATHAN ROSS’ guest has won a fair few awards too. She’s so famous that she gets her name in the title of the show and an earlier time slot than usual for the chat show.

Friday Night With Streisand and Ross finds JR talking to the singer and actress Barbra Streisand in what’s billed as her first UK studio interview since she spoke to Des O’Connor in the Eighties. Was it something Des said that stopped her appearing since then? She doesn’t even do films these days. Playing Dustin Hoffman’s sex therapist wife in Meet The Fockers a couple of years ago was the exception.

Quite what she’ll make of Ross’ interviewing style is anybody’s guess. She will, at the very least, be discussing her work – and there’s a lot to cover. Streisand’s a double Oscar-winning artist, actress of stage and screen, concert performer, film director, movie producer, screenwriter, songwriter and the best album-selling female recording artist ever.

There is a very good reason for her doing the interview – she has a new record to plug. She’ll be performing songs from that album, Love is the Answer, as well as one of her classic hits.

No news whether she’ll ask Ross to sing a duet with her or if she’ll be joined his regular band Four Poofs And A Piano for a number.