BESIDES cornering the market in all things Yorkshire, Channel 5 is the place to go for a snoop inside the nation’s shopping habits. What better way to relax after a hard day’s shopping than going home and watching a documentary about shopping?

Except in these post-pandemic, online times, a day out in the shops is a thing of the past for many people. Maybe that accounts for the popularity of shows such as TK Maxx: How do they do it (Channel 5, Sunday, 7pm). They are a glimpse of how we used to be and, hopefully, will be again.

Like its subject, this hour-long rummage deploys cunning selling ploys to draw the viewer in and keep them watching. We are promised from early doors, for example, the secret codes that identify the best bargains, those designer finds that turn out to be the real deal.

The techniques employed by the stores include having the colour red everywhere (exciting, shouts “bargain”), waxing the clothes rails so hangers glide quietly and don’t squeak (encourages shoppers to keep browsing), and giving the customer a cornucopia of goodies to browse while queuing to pay (prevents them having second thoughts about those impulse purchases, apparently).

TK Maxx arrived in the UK in 1994. As with the parent company in the US, which opened its first shop in 1977, TK Maxx was a product of recessionary times. Even the pandemic has had its upsides, with lots of clothing manufacturers having unsold stock to get rid of courtesy of TK Maxx.

Finally, after hearing from retail analysts, academics, former buyers and current TK Maxx customers including the ubiquitous but always funny Grace Dent, it is time to learn the big secret: the codes. What do those numbers on the price tag mean and which ones should you look out for? Sure to have everyone rushing to TK Maxx to try their luck. Clever old TK Maxx wins again.

The Terror, the tale of a 19th century Arctic expedition gone horrifically wrong, turned out to be one of the drama finds of lockdown. Starring Ciaran Hinds and Jared Harris, the cast was top drawer, the writing tight as a drum and the staging was movie standard, no surprise since Ridley Scott was the executive producer. With HMS Terror stuck in the ice, chills aplenty followed, and not just from the sub-zero setting.

Scott has now followed that first ten-part series with a new tale, The Terror: Infamy (BBC2, Friday, 9pm and 9.50pm). Set in a US internment camp for Japanese-Americans, the story opens in 1941 with, what else, a mysterious death.

When the deceased’s funeral is interrupted by a shocking event, the community begins to wonder if a malign spirit from the old country has followed them to this new land.

“There is something evil, I can feel it,” says one resident. The younger generations, those born in America, feel such notions belong in the past.

Infamy cleverly blends techniques from Japanese and American horror movies into a seamless, handsomely shot whole. This is Scott at his yarn spinning best, with the close of the first episode a masterclass in the art of “show, don’t tell”.

Another lockdown hit returning for more is The Other One (BBC1, Friday, 9.30pm). Written by Holly Walsh (Motherland) and Pippa Brown, the sitcom is that rare creature in television, a comedy centred around women. In the first series, Cath and Cat (Ellie White and Lauren Socha) were the chalk and cheese pair who discovered they shared a father. Now that they and their mothers (the always wonderful Siobhan Finneran and Rebecca Front) have grown close, can it be happy families ever after, or are there more revelations to come?

While there is limited mileage to be had from the story (how busy could one man be?) terrific casting and a decent gag rate combine to make this comedy another Friday night winner for the BBC.

Get out your best PJs and stand by your beds for BBC Elections 2022 (BBC1, Thursday, 11.40pm-6am). As well as being a riveting watch for political anoraks everywhere, the 2022 elections are Laura Kuenssberg’s last gig as BBC political editor before she moves, later in the year, to take over what used to be the Marr slot on Sundays.

Other familiar faces guiding viewers through the night of election losses and holds include Huw Edwards as the lead presenter, with Professor John Curtice of this parish doing his psephological thing as only he can, and Reeta Chakrabarti telling the tale of the night with the help of some whizz-bang graphics.

Will Labour make good on its poll lead over the Conservatives? How hard will Partygate hit the Tory vote? Might Scotland be in for some surprises or will it be political business as usual? See you there. Don't forget the flask and sandwiches.