Watch this: the best television of the week

Murphy and O'Kane Do . . . Donegal (Tuesday, BBC One, 10.35pm)
Comedian Colin Murphy has a daunting task in store for his fellow comedian Jake O'Kane. He must spend the weekend in a very scary place: Donegal. Murphy loves Donegal. O'Kane, however, doesn't see the attraction, and so Murphy has just a couple of days to introduce him to the county's attractions in Murphy and O'Kane Do . . . Donegal. The pair stay at a popular caravan park, surf Donegal's waves and attend a country music festival. When all else fails, it's time to try to meet the county's most beloved son, Daniel O'Donnell.

50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy (Tuesday, Sky 1, 9pm)
Just what does it take to top your ma? Having tried in vain to send his poor, sainted mother to her doom, Baz Ashmawy sets her on another round of life-threatening tasks. Mam Nancy has previously jumped out of an aircraft and wrestled alligators, so Baz has to come up with new and more dangerous ways to help mammy meet her maker - and Nancy proves herself well up to the daredevil tasks ahead. In the first episode, Baz and Nancy travel to the Philippines and spend time in a maximum security prison with 700 killers and drug dealers. She has a close encounter with three Burmese pythons, rides the terrifying Edge Coaster, which circles the country's tallest hotel, and co-pilots a seaplane through a typhoon. Will Nancy find the reserves of strength to make it through to series three? We'd never doubt her.

Irish Defence Forces. Recruits (Monday and Tuesday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm)
You think Nancy Ashmawy has a tough time? Try going through 17 weeks of gruelling training to join the Irish Defence Forces. Recruits follows the fortunes of these wannabe soldiers as they are put through the mill and pushed to the very edge.

Garda Down Under (Wednesday, RTÉ One, 8.30pm)
Western Australia is the world's biggest police district – and they need cops. Many gardaí answered the recruitment call and are now living and working in this vast, sunny place on the other side of the world. Garda Down Under looks at how these gardaí and their families are adapting to their new lives, and gets an insight into the day-to-day challenges facing law enforcement officers in urban centres such as Perth and remote places such as Kununurra.

The Ascent of Woman (Wednesday, BBC Two, 9pm)
History books have tended to overlook women – unless they're Helen of Troy or Joan of Arc. The Ascent of Woman attempts to redress the imbalance by focusing on the roles played by women in the growth of modern civilisation. In the first of this four-part series, Dr Amanda Foreman discovers the origins of patriarchy and uncovers the earliest laws designed to keep women in a subordinate position.

Van Morrison – Up On Cyprus Avenue (Friday, BBC One, 10.35pm)
Van Morrison turns 70 this week, and to celebrate he's returning to Cyprus Avenue in Belfast to perform a special concert as part of the city's EastSide Arts Festival. Van Morrison – Up On Cyprus Avenue features highlight's from this historic gig, on the tree-lined street made immortal in Morrison's album Astral Weeks.