Proof, were it needed, that the best television ideas are the simplest lies in Freddie Mercury: a Life in Ten Pictures (BBC2, Saturday/iPlayer). Each week, ten photos are chosen that uncover new truths about a subject, or add to accepted notions, and through them the story of a life unfolds.

It is not a new concept. STV viewers will remember My Life in Ten Pictures, hosted by Angus Simpson.

In this new six-part series on BBC2, the other subjects profiled through photographs are Elizabeth Taylor and John Lennon.

Mercury’s first picture is of him as a baby in Zanzibar in 1946. There sits the infant Farrokh Balsara in a huge pram. He is watched over by a nanny, the family’s well do do status clear.

Next comes a snap of boarding school days in Panchgani, India, where Farrokh became known as Freddie, and so on to college, London, fame with Queen, and the legendary Live Aid performance of 1985.

The best pictures are the more personal ones, each one described and put in the context of the time by interviewees. These are not just any talking heads, either. Rose Rose (then known as Rose Pearson), Mercury’s first serious girlfriend, covers the art school years in Ealing, London; Lesley Anne Jones, his biographer, talks about Freddie the rock star; and we hear from his godson, Freddie Mack.

Peter Freestone, Mercury’s friend and personal assistant to the end, offers many a moving insight, particularly on the star’s last days in London, where he died in 1991. He was 45.

The impression given is of a much loved man who in turn was loyal and caring to those closest to him.

It is not all fond memories and commendations, however. One of the pictures is of Mercury arriving at Heathrow in 1996. The Sun’s cruel headline of the time was, “Do I look like I’m dying of Aids?” The band’s controversial appearance at Sun City in South Africa during apartheid is touched upon, too.

Courtesy of documentaries such as this, and the four Oscar-winning movie Bohemian Rhapsody, what remains of Mercury is much love, and solid admiration for that towering talent.

Anyone missing Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr can dry those eyes and crack open the moderately priced fizz. Scotland’s Home of the Year (BBC Scotland, Wednesday, 8pm) is back to satisfy viewers’ apparently insatiable desire to have a nosey round other people’s homes.

The show, known as SHOTY to fans, has been one of the new channel’s biggest ratings earners. So expect the same winning formula as returning judges Anna Campbell Jones, interior designer, architect Michael Angus, and blogger Kate Spiers tour Scotland in search of houses that hit the right notes for design, style, and architecture.

First stop is the Borders, where the three chosen properties include The Blue House, a 1903 converted village hall in Biggar; The Wave, a newbuild near Peebles; and Spottes Mill in Castle Douglas. From there it is on to Aberdeenshire, the east and west coasts, central Scotland, and Orkney and Shetland. The winner from each of the nine heats makes it into the final which is held, where else, at Glasgow’s House for an Art Lover.

Also returning, this one for an amazing 35th series, is Location, Location, Location (Channel 4, Wednesday, 8pm). Location and SHOTY share a connection in that both are made by Glasgow and London-based IWC.

Social distancing and all the other Covid-restrictions are observed, marking this series out as a product of the pandemic times.

But otherwise all is cosy and familiar as the Sherlock and Watson of the property game sniff out possible homes for two couples in the East Midlands.

With animal welfare charities bemoaning the number of dogs being abandoned now the end of the lockdown nears, it could hardly be a better time for the return of Paul O’Grady: for the Love of Dogs (ITV, Wednesday, 8pm).

Sure enough, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home has had many new arrivals, most of whom, going by previous series, O’Grady will be tempted to take home himself. Show him a puppy, or an old dog, and he crumbles. Equally, confronted with neglect or cruelty, his rage is magnificent to behold. There are frequently tears before bedtime, most of them shed by O’Grady, but there is a lot of joy and kindness here besides. It is a great advertisement, not just for Battersea but for pets in general.

The take away message as dogs are matched to new owners is always the same: a dog is for life, not Christmas or lockdown, and it should be seen as a privilege to have them, not a right. Public info message over, enjoy the furry charmers.