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WE hope you've got a fresh box of tissues handy because you're likely to make your way through them pretty swiftly as one of the most emotive shows on telly returns.

Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell kick-start their 14th series of Long Lost Family, the show that reunites people with loved ones they've been estranged from for years.

And boy, is the opener a tear-jerker.

Here's TV Mag's picks of the best telly to watch on Monday 8 July 2024...

Long Lost Family (9pm ITV1)

From Wall To Wall ..LONG LOST FAMILY.Ep1 Sr 14.Monday 8th July 2024 on ITV1 and ITVX..Pictured: (l-r) Nicky Campbell with Lyndsey Courtney (searcher Ros Webb’s daughter)..The first episode in the show's 14th series follows Ros Webb - a mother searching for her only child - and Tegan Cornish, an adopted woman looking for a brother separated from her...(C) Wall To Wall ..For further information please contact Peter Gray.Mob 07831460662 / peter.gray@itv.com..This photograph is (C) *** and can only be reproduced for editorial purposes directly in connection with the programme or event mentioned herein...Once made available by ITV plc Picture Desk, this photograph can be reproduced once only up until the transmission [TX] date and no reproduction fee will be charged...Any subsequent usage may incur a fee...This photograph must not be manipulated [excluding basic cropping] in a manner which alters the visual appearance of the person photographed deemed detrimental or inappropriate by ITV plc Picture Desk...This photograph must not be syndicated to any other company, publication or website, or permanently archived, without the express written permission of ITV Picture Desk...Full Terms and conditions are available on the website www.itv.com/presscentre/itvpictures/terms.
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Nicky Campbell with searcher Ros Webb’s daughter Lyndsey

Nicky and Davina are back with more emotional searches and reunions, as LLF returns for a 14th run.

Read more on Long Lost Family

This week we meet Ros, who at 16 had to give up baby Christine for adoption.

Unable to have more children, Ros has never stopped thinking about her loss.

Her daughter, who became Lyndsey, mistakenly thought her birth mother had three other children.

Can the team help Ros and Lindsey have the reunion they’ve both dreamed about?

Meanwhile, Tegan was adopted as a child but always felt lonely.

In her 40s she discovered that she’d had a little brother who was due to join her new family alongside her, but was returned to care then adopted by another family.

Now it's time for Tegan and Kenneth to build the bond they desperately missed as children.

The Great (10pm C4)

Catherine (Elle Fanning)
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Elle Fanning as Catherine in The Great

“We’ve had some difficulties,” says Catherine, Empress of Russia (Elle Fanning) to her marriage counsellor.

“Apparently marriage has challenges,” adds her husband, Peter (Nicholas Hoult).

“There was some bloodshed,” Catherine admits.

“She tried to kill me. With much stabbing,” elaborates Peter.

“He f***ed my mother. With much f***ing!”

Rude, crude and laugh-out-loud funny, this period comedy is back with a bang - but is Catherine any closer to being the leader her people want?

Spent (10pm BBC2)

Spent,1,Mia (MICHELLE de SWARTE),Various Artists Limited,Robert Viglasky
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Former model Michelle launches her new comedy series

Following in the footsteps of Michaela Coel and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, former model turned stand-up comedian Michelle De Swarte is taking centre stage in this brand-new comedy she’s written, produced and is starring in.

Spent introduces viewers to fortysomething Mia, a former catwalk model who has returned home to London without a penny to her name or anywhere to live.

But her dysfunctional family and friends still think she’s living the high life, and she’s quick to keep up that facade – whatever the cost.

A fresh new comedy that has heaps of potential and will keep you coming back for more.

24 Hours In A&E (9pm C4)

MDPXD9 Main entrance to the Queens Medical Centre. The QMC is part of the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust in Nottingham, England, UK.
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Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham is as busy as ever tonight

Motorcycle enthusiast Scott has been rushed to the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham following a high-speed crash at a track event.

Before long, the doctors are concerned that Scott, who’s 53, might have sustained an injury to his spine that could result in long-term damage or even disability.

Meanwhile, 74-year-old Peter has been badly injured after being crushed underneath a static caravan.

Another tough but inspiring episode.

Help! We Bought A Hotel (9pm More4)

Martin & Silvia - Lions View Palazzo
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Martin and Silvia outside Lions View Palazzo in Italy

What does it take to buy, build, renovate and run a hotel?

That’s the crux of this new spin-off from the makers of Help! We Bought A Village.

Cameras follow different groups, including Martin and Silvia who have just five weeks to transform an Italian crumbling palazzo into a luxury, boutique hotel.

Ideal for fans of home renovation shows – but this time on a supersized scale and with the stakes even higher.

Greatest Prison Escapes With Billy Hayes (10pm Sky History)

READ MORE SUN STORIES

Billy Hayes ¿ legendary escape from a Turkish prison was the basis for the Oscar-winning movie MIDNIGHT EXPRESS. Now, with his unique first hand experience Billy takes us into the world of the Greatest Prison Escapes! Through reanactments, we'll experience audacious jail and prison breaks in dramatic form. We'll hear intriguing interviews with the survivors, witnesses, historians, and law enforcement of each event. We'll meet the prisoners. Experience the private hells. The risks, rewards, and failures. We'll probe the effect of each escape and the marks left on the cultures and legal systems of the world, the implications, and the death or glory that sometimes occurs when desperate men and women risk it all, for freedom. One by one, with each dangerous and thrilling step, host Billy Hayes will present to the audience a vivid tour of the Greatest Prison Escapes!
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Shocking jail breaks are explored in this new documentary

After escaping from a Turkish prison in 1975, Hollywood star Billy Hayes is the perfect host of this series exploring some of the most outrageous jail breaks.

Featuring re-enactments and interviews with experts, each episode paints a vivid picture of the events that unfolded, beginning tonight with the 1986 case of American lovers Ron McIntosh and Samantha Dorinda Lopez.

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