After recent headlines about the Big Yin’s imminent demise, it’s reassuring to see him here, older and frailer for sure, but emanating the charisma that made him a global comedy hero. In his hometown, Glasgow, he reminisces on its intertwined drinking culture and sense of humour, of life at the shipyards, and of his early career moves. It’s like spending precious time with a dear relative who prizes above all else, a good laugh.

FOOD LAB BY BEN MILBOURNE

Series return  ★★★½

Weeknights from Monday (March 18), 5pm, SBS Food Network

Ben Milbourne and Joel Gilmore (pictured) are worlds – or at least a country – apart. The former looks and sounds as if he just wandered in from a surf, all laidback charm as he assembles a potato bake in Tasmania. The latter demonstrates how to make the perfect caramel brie with the precision of a neurosurgeon at the University of Queensland. This is highly accessible male-centric cooking tuition.

BONDI RESCUE

 ★★★½

Wednesday (March 13), 7.30pm, Ten

Summer may have departed but it gifted many a dramatic rescue for this exceedingly well-produced surf lifesaving series. Here, the dreaded bluebottle invades en masse. Naturally, the swarm heads straight for the nearest Brit on their first holiday in Bondi, who, in this unfortunate case, a young lad. Elsewhere, another boy in trouble proves a nasty shock for the lifesaver affectionately known as “Singlets”.

PEN15

★★★½

Stan.com.au

Middle school. Lord, is there a more awful time to be alive? Raging hormones, mean girls, bad hair, excruciating social faux pas. It’s all captured here and it’s a credit to creators Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle that this trip down memory lane (all the way back to 2000 – don’t even) is still so charming. It helps that this isn’t just a string of cheap gags – it’s grounded in real emotion. Also that 13-year-old Maya and Anna are played without self-consciousness by their adult selves. MH