What's on the box this week?

'Ryan Confidential' (RTE 1, Thursday 10.15pm) - In this last recorded interview before his untimely death, Gerry Ryan talked to George Hook about the years that led up to his relatively late start in a broadcasting career. He describes his time as a failed businessman - working in the catering industry - when he barely managed to keep one step ahead of his creditors. Book tells Ryan why he believes he was a bad son who neglected his parents at the most critical times of their lives - and a bad husband, who postponed his own wedding so that he could play in a rugby match. He talks about his years spent in the USA, working and living with Ireland's former national coach, Eddie O'Sullivan, and describes how their once close friendship came to sour and disintegrate. This revealing profile of Hook also explains how he has been given a second chance in life but has clearly been given an added poignancy by dint of the fact that it was the last recorded TV show Gerry Ryan did before his sudden death shocked the nation earlier this month. _____________________________________________________________ 'When The Au Pair Comes To Stay' (RTE 1, Friday, 7.30pm) - A four part multicultural series which offers a unique glimpse into Irish family life. With more parents working outside of the home, affordable childcare has become a burning issue for Irish families today. As a result, thousands of parents invite foreign students to live in their homes to mind their children as the family's au pair. But how will each family feel about having a stranger living in their home? By choosing an au pair, each family is opening their lives and home to someone they have spoken to on the phone, chatted to via email and seen photos of. When the relationship works, the au pair can become an asset and a lifelong friend of the family. When it doesn't, an au pair can feel exploited or the parents can find themselves taking care of a homesick young person who needs almost as much minding as their children. The first episode follows 21-year-old Heidi Bartsch as she swaps her rural life in Herborn, Germany, for the Galway home of Ann Lally Leyden and her three children. _____________________________________________________________ 'I'm In A Rock 'n' Roll Band - The Other One' (BBC 2, Saturday, 9.45pm) - The band member that everyone struggles to name in a pub quiz; the out-of-focus guy on the LP sleeve; sometimes a bass player, perhaps on keys, sometimes nobody is quite sure what they do, but they're there alright. The series that examines the anatomy of great rock 'n' roll bands continues with 'The Other One' - the catalyst, the glue holding it all together, the band's secret weapon. Sometimes shunning the limelight, these shadowy group members are not to be underestimated because, at the end of the day, they may be the ones keeping the show on the road or even running it. Tonight's selection of 'other ones' includes the late John Entwistle, bass player with The Who; Ray Manzarek, keyboardist with The Doors; and a man who summed up his band's whole existence, Bez of the Happy Mondays. _____________________________________________________________ 'The South Bank Show' (ITV, Sunday, 10.15pm) - In this, the penultimate film in 'The South Bank Show Revisited' season, Melvyn Bragg meets up with the multi-talented Victoria Wood. In a career already spanning over 30 years, Wood has become one of Britain's most acclaimed comedy writers and performers. Now nearly 15 years since she was first featured on 'The South Bank Show', this is the third film on the diverse comedian, actress, singer and writer. Victoria Wood speaks to Melvyn Bragg about a career that began in the '70s and has grown to take in award-winning sketch comedy, sell-out stand-up tours, musicals and television drama. _____________________________________________________________ 'Baz's Extreme Worlds' (RTE 2, Monday, 10.25pm) - This new series sees Baz Ashmawy immerse himself in very different but extreme and tough worlds. Last week, he travelled to one of America's highest security prisons where, once a year, the prison warden allows prisoners that are on 23-hour lockdown to participate in a real live rodeo within the prison walls. In upcoming shows, Baz spends time with the New York Fire Brigade, goes on board a fishing boat to experience life as an Irish fisherman, delves into the world of cage fighting in the north of Ireland, lives with a survivalist in the snow deserts in the north of Sweden, and travels with the Irish Army to Chad. _____________________________________________________________ Film Of The Week: 'The Alamo' (RTE 2, Friday, 9.55pm) - Dennis Quaid and Billy Bob Thornton star in this updated version of the story of the historic 1836 battle in the Texan War of Independence. Facing 4,000 Mexican troops, 186 Texan soldiers and volunteers - including William Travis, Davy Crockett, and Jim Bowie - retreat within the walls of the Alamo, a Franciscan mission that was converted into a military fort. Not as good as the John Wayne original, but well worth a look all the same.