What's On the Box this week?

'Take On The Takeaway' (RTE 1, Wednesday, 8.30pm) - This summer, RTE One becomes a battleground for some of the country's most famous chefs as they pit their culinary skills against the nation's best-loved takeaways. Each week, a well-known chef will visit the home of a member of the public who is a self-professed fan of their local takeaway. The celebrity chef will then be challenged to reproduce the most popular take-out meals in a domestic kitchen. In a head-to-head race against the clock with the staff of the local takeaway, the challenger must cook and serve their dish in the time it takes the takeaway to cook and deliver theirs. Both dishes are then blind tasted by the takeaway fan and each dish is awarded marks out of 10 for taste. The celebrity chef must also shop for the ingredients for the dish, ensuring the cost remains less than that of the takeaway equivalent. Among the familiar faces lined up to 'Take On The Takeaway' are Kevin Dundon, Clodagh McKenna, Paul Rankin and Stephen McAllister. They will be operating outside their comfort zone and will have to dig deep if they are to prevail against the country's favourite Chinese, Indian, Thai and Pizza takeaways. ____________________________________________________________ 'Higher Ground' (RTE 1, Wednesday, 8pm) - 'Higher Ground', the rural entrepreneurial series, returns to our screens to select eight budding rural entrepreneurs from across Ireland and help turn their business ideas into lucrative realities. Once again, mentors Paul McCarthy and Peter Young will be advise and coach the candidates as they deal with issues such as marketing, branding, possible business investors, partnership development and also how to run and plan their business but not at the expense of family life. In the first programme, Andrew Davidson and Niall McAllister, both of whom originally moved from Dublin to Sligo two years ago to find the good life and get out of the Big Smoke, have united their skills together to form Quickcrop.ie - a web-based business which provides ready-built vegetable beds for urban dwellers as well as providing instant gardens for people who just don't have the time or the knowledge. Peter and Paul will work with them to bring new products to market but this time instead of concentrating on the web based products they want them to bring their products to the retail. _____________________________________________________________ 'The Private Life Of Chickens' (BBC 2, Thursday, 8pm) - Jimmy Doherty investigates the humble chicken as he continues his series which reveals the hidden lives of the farmyard animals people usually take for granted. Chickens originated in Southeast Asia and were first domesticated around 8,000 years ago. Today, there are more chickens on Earth than any other bird and, since the arrival of intensive farming 60 years ago, they have become an increasingly important part of our diet. Doherty conducts a number of experiments to learn more about our feathered friends: he observes them in their social environment to see how the pecking order is determined, he tests their ability to cope with predators by introducing a hawk and a fox to the flock, and he finds out how intelligent they really are by trying to teach them to discriminate between human symbols. ____________________________________________________________ 'Brian Clough: From Front To Back' (BBC 2, Sunday, 10.40pm) - Charismatic, outspoken and often controversial, the late Brian Clough is widely considered to be the best manager England never had and one of the best English managers the game of football has ever seen. This frank documentary tells the story of an unforgettable career, including heady days with Derby County, unprecedented European success with Nottingham Forest and a notorious 44-day tenure as Leeds United boss, fictionalised in the novel and film 'The Damned United'. For many, his like will never be seen again. Martin O'Neill and Sir Michael Parkinson are among those who remember the man they called 'Cloughie'. _____________________________________________________________ Movie Of The Week: 'Is Anybody There?' (BBC 2, Saturday, 8.30pm) - Edward hates living in the old people's home run by his parents. His only interest is a morbid obsession with ghosts, death and the afterlife. Until, that is, the arrival of reluctant new resident, Clarence - a retired magician with a liberating streak of anarchy. Together, this delightful odd couple overcome their personal drawbacks and learn that you are never too old, or too young, to grow up. Starring Michael Caine, Anne-Marie Duff and David Morrissey, this one's a winner.