HUGH Fearnley-Whittingstall enjoys a good rammy. Remember his fighting fat programme of last year when he took on the food industry over the sugar levels in products? Before that he was involved in dust ups over chickens, waste, fish, and elephants (he was railing at evil ivory traders, not Dumbo). One way or another, and not that he is asking, I wouldn’t like to go drinking with him in Glasgow on a Saturday night. Can you imagine the carnage in the Central Station taxi queue?

In War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita (BBC1, Monday, 9pm), Hugh was getting himself upset again. At one point, on discovering that tons of the rubbish that diligent Brits had sorted for recycling had simply been shipped to the other side of the world and dumped, it was 50:50 whether he was going to spontaneously combust with fury. Quite right too. The recycling business/racket has long been in need of a hard stare and Mr Fearnley-Fruitandvegstall and co-presenter Anita Rani were just the pair to do it.

Waitrose in waste reduction trial

In the first of what promises to be three illuminating and depressing episodes, the duo discovered that in a single street in Bristol, cupboards held more than 15,000 items made of single-use plastic (amounting to 19.5 billion items if extrapolated across the UK). Time and again it came back to cost and convenience, with supermarkets charging more for loose goods and consumers not wanting to be faffed making an effort. Even those who did were unsure about what could be recycled. Councils, with their myriads of different policies, did not help.

This being a programme fronted by Hugh Fearnley-Farmersmarketstall, the viewer had to endure the chef’s trademark stunts, including dressing up as a hipster to pass ordinary tap water off as posh mineral stuff. But it was when he played it straight, as when visiting a family in Malaysia whose child had nosebleeds due to our rubbish being burned in her backyard, that he was most effective. You don’t need fake beards, mate, when your anger is that genuine.

As for Anita, she managed to persuade Kay the pensioner to buy one large block of cheese rather than plastic-wrapped mini ones. It wasn’t exactly Extinction Rebellion level activism, but baby steps and all that.

Contrary to opinion on Twitter that I’m the heir to Mary Whitehouse, I love a bit of filth and swearing if it is done artfully. Year of the Rabbit (Channel 4, Monday, 10pm), a comedy about coppers in Victorian London, had some top drawer effing and jeffing and lashings of grime.

Damien Love's pick of the week

Matt Berry played DI Rabbit (although in truth, Matt Berry is always just Matt Berry). Rabbit had yet another murder of a young woman to solve, which he did with the aid of wannabe plod Mabel and new sidekick Wilbur. Much silliness and cussing ensued, and though I should really be reading improving literature I’ll be back for more next week.

Hopes were as high as a snake’s eye as the third batch of The Handmaid’s Tale (Channel 4, Sunday, 9pm) arrived. The second series had taken an age to get going, and when it did the soaring levels of violence turned many fans off. The new run got off to a very promising start, however, with June (Elisabeth Moss) turning her eyes on the prize of overthrowing the hated Republic of Gilead theocracy. Who will aid her and who will stand in her way? I’m genuinely intrigued to find out.

Killing Eve (BBC1, 9.15pm), like The Handmaid’s Tale, also confounded the “things aren’t as good as they used to be” crowd with a belter of an opener that began 30 seconds after Eve (Sandra Oh) had stabbed Villanelle (Jodie Comer), only to discover moments later that the couture-loving assassin had managed to flee.

Wholly unbelievable – a knife in the belly is hardly a paper cut – but if you want verite you have come to the wrong place. If you want slick dialogue, a terrific cast, endlessly inventive plotting and an anti-heroine in Villanelle who thinks plastic clogs are the devil’s work, then pull up a chair, you’re at your aunty’s.

Killing Eve's return pulls in viewers

When last seen, Villanelle was dressed in boy’s pyjamas, hiding in a car boot, and heading to Blighty for a showdown with Eve. And yes, she did wear the PJs well.

One to keep an eye on is Wild Bill (ITV, Wednesday, 9pm), starring Rob Lowe as an American cop who moves with his daughter from Miami to Boston, Lincolnshire, to become the area’s chief constable.

An arresting start for Wild Bill?

With his movie star looks and bearing, Lowe looked like a racehorse that had wandered on to the starting line of a donkey derby. Very strange, and the all over the shop tone did not help either. Come episode end that odour in the air was either the sweet smell of success or a whiff of something else.