THEY said it could never be done. That it was the wrong place at the wrong time. So much for the welcome given to medical drama Maternal (STV, Monday, 9pm/STV Player) which reaches its finale this week.

The gloomy predictions were made before the first episode aired. When it did start, the six-part series about three medics returning from maternity leave became an instant hit.

It has since built a devoted following and deservedly so. Jacqui Honess-Martin’s scripts are fast-paced, shocking, funny, and often moving. Then there are the main characters, each as strong as the others: Catherine (Lara Pulver), the ambitious surgeon trying to bring up a baby on her own; Helen (Lisa McGrillis), whose marriage is imploding; and Maryam (Parminder Nagra), away for two years and struggling to regain confidence in herself.

While the husbands and partners feature less they still have a presence and a part to play, particularly Helen’s husband Guy, who was in the trenches during Covid. There is no word of a second series yet, but here’s hoping.

Wrong place, wrong time: that was also the vibe when the subjects of Women Who Rock (Sky Arts, Friday, 9pm) took to the stage. But they went ahead anyway, pointing the way for the music stars of today to follow. Before there was a Beyonce, a Rihanna, or an Adele there was a Mavis, a Janis, a Nina and the rest of the female rock and roll pioneers.

Not that all those who feature in the first of a four-part history would have recognised themselves as rock goddesses, if they even knew the term rock and roll. For these were the 1920s and 1930s, when women performers were most likely to emerge from gospel choirs and eventually form girl groups, or sing and tour with their families as Mavis Staples did.

Ms Staples is one of many talking heads to grace the films, with Chaka Khan, Norah Jones and Rickie Lee Jones queuing up to praise her as they should. Others interviewed for the series include Tina Weymouth of Taking Heads, Susanna Hoffs, The Bangles, plus Macy Gray and Tori Amos.

From the early days, it is on to the 1950s and 1960s and a look at the role women musicians played in the civil rights movement and in the wider counterculture. Chaka Khan recalls joining the Black Panther party. “But they wouldn’t let me do much” she says, though she sold kisses once to raise funds for the party.

It was tough going for women in the music business then, and not a lot has changed since, says Chaka Khan. “There is no way we are seen as equals in the game, period. With the guys, forget about it. You have to just go through them to get what you want.”.

As if to prove her point along came the Brit Awards this week with not one woman up for best artist. Wise woman, Chaka Khan.

There is plenty more of them in The Women Who Changed Modern Scotland (BBC Scotland, Tuesday, 10pm). This three part series, presented by Kirsty Wark, leads on from 2021’s The Years That Changed Modern Scotland.

The big names you might expect feature among the talking heads, among them Nicola Sturgeon and Elaine C Smith.

But the films do a grand job of looking at the wider history of women in Scotland. So we hear from one of the wave of women who went to university after free tuition was introduced; from victims of domestic violence about the changing response to the crime, and the life-saving work of the early women’s refuges; and from campaigners against period poverty, whose efforts led to Scotland becoming the first country in the world to offer free access to pads and tampons.

All episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer from Tuesday 21 February. Filming took place over spring and summer last year, so there’s no mention of the recent gender recognition row in case you are wondering. The news stops for no filmmaker.

Finally, get your comfiest pyjamas on and open the posh snacks in time for The Bafta Film Awards (BBC1, Sunday, 7pm). This year’s host is Richard E Grant. As a memoirist and actor (and Oscar nominee), Grant has the benefit of being an insider and outsider. It will be fascinating to see how that influences his presenting style. Will he be gossipy and daring, or the portrait of crisp professionalism, moving things along smoothly on the night.

The organisers are yet to settle on a regular host. Stephen Fry and Graham Norton have had a go and gone, Joanna Lumley suffered mixed reviews, and Rebel Wilson, was a touch too edgy. There is an added challenge for the presenter this year: the last four categories, the big ones, will be broadcast live.