What we're watching on TV

If you’ve never really understood the term ‘snowflake’ (relating to the post-Millennial generation), step right up and witness them in action on Netflix this summer.

Honestly, watching the first two episodes of this reality show made me despair for humanity...while laughing into a glass of red.

The premise is this. Former military folk and all-round outdoor bad asses Joel Graves and Matt Tate have worked with the families of a bunch of people in their late teens and 20s, luring them out into the wilderness under the premise they’re going to be filmed living with one another at a luxury villa.

I suspect they were imagining something akin to Love Island meets Bear Grylls...but without the dirt, hunger or...wild.

Well, how wrong were they?

Even after they’ve been dropped off on a verdant hilltop with their designer luggage, in their designer pants, not one of the group has a clue what’s in store for them.

And when the penny drops, and it does, the ensuing drama is priceless. Remember that episode of I’m A Celebrity when Gemma Collins screamed “I touched a tree”? Snowflake Mountain is littered with similar telly gold.

From Solomon asking if his nail varnish is classed as an ‘essential’, to Deandra raging over needing her Fendi and Gucci, former child protégée Sunny complaining about the ply of the toilet paper, and pre-med drop-out Randy telling the hosts he “never” walks anywhere.

I mean. Who do these people (many of them in their late 20s) think they are? Their parents (despite, let’s face it, being complicit in allowing this behaviour to go on so long) say they can’t cook, won’t clean, don’t work. Liam, from Warwickshire, lives with his gran and expects her to do everything for him.

It’s a wonder how this Instagram generation, who rely so heavily on lives as influencers, will be able to cope in 10 to 20 years’ time, when they’re replaced by people far younger and far far cooler than they.

First challenge for this motley crew is trudging through mud to camp. Not a marble bedecked villa surrounded by bougainvillea and palm trees. Nope. Just a rustic open-sided cook hut, basic plank toilet, cold shower (very trendy that surely), and simplistic bed arrangements.

They’re not happy. Not happy at all. Until the hosts reveal someone will go home with £50,000 at the end of the show... with a caveat that for every member of the group who leaves, £5,000 is taken away from the prize total.

This is, then, a chance for them to actually learn, fundamentally, how to live off their own backs and, crucially, how to play well with others.

Cue survival expert Cat demonstrating how to butcher a deer (Solomon not realising the ribs he eats are actual ribs from an animal), hands-on firewood collecting and more.

It is quite compulsive viewing. And there is one shining light so far, Rae from Kent, who actually, despite being used to the life of Riley, is coming across as fun, grounded, and eager to get stuck in.

But will it continue?

Charlotte Smith-Jarvis

Lauren Laverne, Jack Saunders, Jo Whiley, and Clara Amfo presented this year's Glastonbury highlights, which are available to stream on iPlayer for a month (Image: BBC/Ray Burmiston/Matt Burlem)

Glastonbury highlights, BBC iPlayer

A trip to a festival has been a highlight of my summer since I was a teenager.

Like many music fans, I started out with Reading Festival. Those were the days when I’d pack little more than a sleeping bag, a pair of glittery fairy wings and a bottle of super-strength cider, then would be completely baffled as to why I’d come down with a hideous cold on my return.

Then I got totally spoiled by winning a Radio One competition on Steve Lamacq’s Evening Session by winning a trip to T in the Park in Scotland, where our accommodation for the weekend was a luxury tour bus.

Way nicer than the house share I was living in at the time (it had a master bedroom with an en-suite, slug-free bathroom), Snow Patrol popped by for a visit and looked around with envy.

Of course, I needed to tick Glastonbury off the list – but my trip to Worthy Farm was memorable for the wrong reasons (yes, the infamous mud) and I swore off festivals for a few years.

That was until Latitude pitched up down at the road at Henham Park and was a mainstay of my summer schedule until four nights under canvas got too much for my creaky back and knees.

So what’s the music fan to do when they hit middle age? I now tend to head to a one-day city festival – yes, the surroundings are nowhere near as scenic, but being tucked up in bed at the Premier Inn by midnight is a dream.

And thanks to the BBC’s brilliant blanket coverage of Glastonbury, last weekend I got the perfect front-row view of proceedings, from the comfort of my sofa.

Making a triumphant (and amazingly mud-free) return after two fallow years, the euphoria of the crowd was palpable.

So far I’ve watched sets from Metronomy, Kendrick Lamar, Diana Ross, St Vincent, Foals, Supergrass, Fontaines DC, Self Esteem and Jack White – and my Dad really seemed to appreciate my Saturday night singalong when Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds performed Don’t Look Back In Anger.

And experiencing the festival virtually, there’s no worries about scheduling clashes – thanks to iPlayer, I've still got Paul McCartney, Billie Eilish, Lorde, Pet Shop Boys, Herbie Hancock, Gabriels, Caribou, Jarv Is, Caroline Polachek and many more to look forward to.

Glastonbury once again demonstrated why, when it comes to festivals, it’s in a field of its own.

Emma Lee

This year's Love Island contestants (Image: ITV plc)

Love Island, 9pm ITV2

Summer is here and that can only mean one thing – Love Island is back. A staple of British reality TV, the popular ITV dating show is in its 8th season and once again, has taken the country by storm.

I’m a bit of a fiend for trash TV, and while I usually stick to American shows, the British version of Love Island is unbeaten.

For anyone who doesn’t know the premise (seriously, where have you been?), Love Island basically chucks a bunch of young, sexy singletons into a villa over the summer, with the hopes they can find love. As the years have gone on though, the show has undoubtedly become less about love and more about the contestants finding fame once they leave the villa. Regardless, that still doesn’t make it any less entertaining.

I’ll admit, this season got off to a slightly slow start but within a week, it really picked up as the contestants found their feet and sparks started flying. Spoiler alert, but in just three weeks, we’ve seen one islander leave voluntarily, and two couples already dumped from the islander. Some newbies have been thrown in for good measure – and already brought the drama with them.

My favourite islander so far this season has to be Ekin-Su. She’s ballsy, fiery, brings the drama, and tells it how is. What’s not to love? And my favourite couple at the moment is Indiyah and Dami. I really hope they see it through till the end and win the show – they’re so well-suited and adorable together.

Contestants aside, what really makes Love Island for me are two things - Iain Stirling's sterling commentary and voiceovers during every episode, and the memes that come out when everyone is watching it at the same time on Twitter. Twitter is actually what spurred me on to start watching Love Island, and I haven't looked back.

Love Island usually goes on for a couple more months, so who knows what else is store for the islanders. Bring on the drama, it’s a nice, mind-numbing watch to indulge in every night at 9pm.

Danielle Lett