On your marks, get set and it will soon be go for the Games

TV’s Biggest Blockbusters (ITV1, 8.35pm)

This countdown of the most-watched programmes in British television history should be well worth a look.

The results are divided into four categories – entertainment, live events, drama and soaps, and comedy.

You can bet that sport and royal weddings will dominate the live events rundown and Simon Cowell entertainment juggernauts The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent should feature.

The Who Shot JR? episode of Dallas will be there, but who knew that Bill Maynard’s sitcom Oh No It’s Selwyn Froggitt would also make an appearance?

Sunday

Dancing On Ice Goes Gold (ITV1, 8pm)

Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill are back with an Olympic special featuring former medallists.

The line-up consists of GB stars Colin Jackson, Tessa Sanderson, Pippa Wilson, Jamie Baulch, Steve Williams and Gail Emms but the presence of gymnast Olga Korbut, who won gold for Russia in 1972, should give the show more of an international flavour.

Monday 23/07/12

Absolutely Fabulous (BBC One, 9.30pm)

If you’ve been watching Absolutely Fabulous since it first hit our screens in 1992, then you were probably under the impression that Patsy and Edina’s idea of exercise involved staggering to the fridge for another bottle of champagne.

But as Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders return for the last of three specials celebrating Ab Fab’s 20th anniversary – the first two aired over Christmas – it seems even chain-smoking, wine-swilling fashionistas aren’t immune from Olympic fever.

The duo crash a reception for the likes of Tanni Grey-Thompson, Kelly Holmes, and Stella McCartney. Let’s hope no 2012 medal contenders are involved – just breathing in the same air as Patsy and Eddy could seriously derail their training.

Tuesday

Jon Richardson: A Little Bit OCD (Channel 4, 10pm)

Have you ever gone back to the house to double-check you really did lock the front door, and then joked it was down to your obsessive compulsive disorder?

And if so, did you then wonder why this particular form of illness has somehow become a laughing matter?

It’s a subject that’s been bothering comedian and 8 Out of 10 Cats regular Jon Richardson. Over the past decade, his life has been driven by the quest for perfection, which has shaped everything from his eating habits to his relationships.

But he doesn’t believe he has OCD, and wonders why people are so comfortable using the term.

It’s a quest that takes him to meet some of the million sufferers around the UK, whose cases range from mild to severe.

Wednesday

Bert and Dickie 
(BBC One, 8.30pm)

The story of chalk and cheese rowers Bert Bushnell and Dickie Burnell, thrown together just a few weeks before the last London Games in 1948 to form a scratch partnership for the double sculls.

Matt ‘Dr Who’ Smith is the big name star in an inspiring tale of two men who learned to work together in an attempt to bag gold for Great Britain.

Thursday

The Churchills 
(Channel 4, 8pm)

Historian David Starkey examines the links between wartime leader Winston Churchill and his ancestor John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough.

Friday

Olympics 2012 Opening Ceremony (BBC One, 9pm)

You may not even like sport, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be tuning in just to see what this showcase has to offer as the Games finally get under way. Danny Boyle, it’s showtime!