ITV HD can now be viewed on Sky+ HD boxes, thanks to Sky's new EPG and operating system, currently in the process of being rolled out to Thomson, Pace, Samsung and Amstrad HD boxes.

The channel has to be added manually, so check out our Step-by-Step Guide to adding ITV HD to your Sky+ HD box.

There aren't many programmes – let's face it, the channel is a complete waste of bandwidth most of the time – but with Champions League, FA Cup and England's World Cup qualifying matches, plus the likes of Law and Order, Lewis and Moving Wallpaper (OK, forget I mentioned that last one) it's certainly worth making the effort.

Maxwell Caulfield plays Mark Wylde in Emmerdale, and what a great comedy character he's turning out to be.  If we're not playing “spot the join,” a new game that involves pointing out where his toupee starts and ends (we know you're going bald so that wig isn't fooling anyone Maxwell), we're laughing heartily at his cringe-worthy acting.

Tonight's episode summed up his complete lack of acting skills to a tee.  In the clip, watch out for his comedy double-take, his funny walk into Home Farm, the excruciating effort at despair – at least we think that's what he's trying to convey – and then all the staggering around.  When an actor can't even walk convincingly, then you know you've got problems.

Maxwell Caulfield's credits include Grease 2 (dreadful movie), The Colbys (dreadful Dynasty spin-off) and now the run of form continues in Emmerdale, with some dreadful acting.  Perhaps he was chosen as the only person who could make Kim Thomson look good.  She'll be playing the mystery woman in the car, in case you were wondering.

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Maxwell Caulfield stops off in Emmerdale on his way to remedial acting class.

The Adios Max commercial is a good lesson in how to make a memorable advert, all you have to do is get a hot model to dance around in her knickers.

Of course, the end result also happens to be that you've completely missed your target audience, most of whom are women too fat to get out of bed let alone dance down the street, and not guys like the one in the advert or the ones watching at home, who just happen to appreciate a nice bum in some stripy pants.

Adios is supposed to be the UK's best-selling slimming tablet “helping women everywhere to say 'Adios' to weight they don't want!” Who knew that the side-effects would be the attentions of a nosey old woman and the unfortunate habit of forgetting to wear your skirt when you go out.  Whoops!

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Take Adios Max and risk dancing down the street in your knickers. It must be the Adios effect!

Doctors, the BBC's Birmingham-based afternoon soap opera, made its début in high definition today with an episode entitled 'Defining Happy', marking a first for the BBC, their first HD soap.

I already know what you're thinking... why Doctors?  Yes, there are far preferable and more deserving subjects of the HD treatment, for example, the BBC's HD sport output is woeful and a few more movies wouldn't hurt, but in reality Doctors has been produced in high definition for some time, it just hasn't been broadcast in HD – another one of those weird things the BBC do – so moving the programme onto the HD channel won't have had any real impact on the production budget.  Additional good news, as you can hopefully tell from our example clip, is that the image quality is actually of a really high standard with lots of bold, saturated colours and almost completely free of noise.  HD standards at the BBC are improving of late and this is a good illustration of that.

This is series ten of Doctors and the current cast includes veterans of the programme Stirling Gallacher and Diane Keen, but some return viewers hoping for a feast of high definition loveliness will be disappointed to learn that both Sarah Manners and Corrinne Wicks (aka Dr. Norks, currently touring in The Holly and The Ivy) have left the show - in 2001 and 2005 and respectively.

Doctors is often described as “comfort television”, the sort of thing you'd only usually watch if you're at home sick, unemployed or a student.  Because there are a couple of new stories every day and a lot of guest performers, the show doesn't have the greatest reputation for its acting, but in fairness some of the issues they tackle are sensitively treated and there's none of the gratuitous blood and guts you'll see in Holby City or Casualty.

Because the regular 1:45pm slot on BBC One is outside BBC HD's broadcasting hours, Doctors is being shown in HD at 6pm (with a late night repeat).  Whether it'll hold an early evening audience remains to be seen, although the HD showing of Hollyoaks on Channel 4 HD immediately after might help.

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Doctors, the BBC soap set in Birmingham, makes its début in high definition.

Pace Sky+ HD receivers are being recalled by Sky.  Customers who own certain revisions of the Pace TDS850NB are being contacted directly by Sky with regards to a potential fault uncovered during testing, that may manifest itself in the future.

When I spoke to a member of the Sky Technical team earlier today, he would not divulge the details of what the fault might involve, but did assure me that it was not a matter of health and safety, and that it did not involve any issues of a hazardous nature (early suggestions are that it is hard-disk related).  Neither could he reveal which specific batch of Pace Sky HD boxes are being recalled, although according to our own initial research, many of them appear to have been purchased through the recent Tesco promotion and are version 9F3002 or 9F3003, 1.614.

For those with boxes that are affected, and reports suggest the number may be in excess of seven thousand, Sky are offering an engineer visit to install a replacement, together with a new twelve month guarantee and three free months of Sky HD subscription.  Unfortunately, Sky are not able to say whether the replacement box will be a Thomson, Samsung, Amstrad or another Pace, or whether it will be a refurbished item.

This puts owners of affected Pace Sky+ HD receivers in an awkward position; either hang onto a (currently) fully-functioning box knowing that it might develop a fault of unknown nature in the future, or arrange a replacement for what might turn out to have lip-sync or noise issues or perhaps worse still, a refurbished Thomson. The box swap is optional, not mandatory.

If you don't know what brand of HD receiver you own or what revision it is, those details can be determined via “Services” -> “System Setup” -> “System Details” from the on-screen menus.

Given that many consider the Pace to be one of the better Sky+ HD boxes, this recall will come a something of a surprise, although confidence in the build quality of previous Sky HD boxes has never been particularly high.

Important Update 15/02/2009

Four days after we broke this story, Sky have finally provided an official announcement that helps clarify the situation. All the information we originally posted was correct, but the news is worse than we originally thought.  Ninety thousand Pace Sky+ HD receivers are being recalled over a period of approximately twelve weeks.  They are all those produced as part of the first batch: versions 9F3001, 9F3002, 9F3003 and 9F3004. As we initially suspected, some of those who have already had engineer visits have been offered Thomson Sky+HD boxes as replacements.

The Sky statement explains that: “The issue relates to the way in which some of the boxes in the batch were assembled. In particular, it involves the internal cabling and the quality of the connections between components. This means that the build quality of the box may not meet Sky’s standards. The assembly flaw does not involve a faulty component, such as a hard drive, or a software problem. Importantly, Pace has confirmed that the assembly flaw does not pose a safety risk.”

The full text of the Sky statement can be found at: Pace Sky+ HD boxes

Iggy Pop advertising Swiftcover.com has to be the most off-putting thing on television at the moment.  Just when you're enjoying a relaxing evening of cricket, or are embroiled in the latest scandal to hit Emmerdale, up pops Iggy, who at 61, already looks like a hideous mediaeval gargoyle that someone has dunked in a vat of chip fat.  It's enough to make you spit out your tea and grab for the remote.

According to studies, the most effective advertising is often the most annoying, those commercials we just love to hate, but I wonder what market penetration an advert has when it's so visually offensive as to have everyone hitting the “off” button?

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Two versions of Iggy Pop's Swiftcover.com commercial.  One is usually more than we can stomach.  Do us all a favour and put your shirt on granddad!