For some people, the Olympics are the pinnacle of years of hard training. A lifelong dream. A moment to display your incredible athleticism. For Digital Spy it's a chance to sit on our bums and watch even more telly.
To help guide you through the weeks ahead, we'll be producing weekly Olympics TV guides, picking out the best of the sporting coverage on the box. Week one includes some ice skating, some comedy and a potentially bonkers Opening Ceremony.
Dancing on Ice Goes Gold - Sunday, July 22, 8pm on ITV1
ITV have deliberately muddled up their Winter and Summer Olympics to allow them to produce a cash-in one-off special of their ice-skating reality series. Torvill and Dean will once again dust off their skates for a routine, while judge Robin Cousins will also venture out on the slippy stuff for the first time in 12 years to perform a solo routine.
A gaggle of ex-Olympians will be swapping their tracksuits for sequins to add a competitive element to the show, but the programme will primarily act as a warm-up exercise for those who enjoy flag-waving and a bit of old-fashioned patriotism.
Absolutely Fabulous - Monday, July 23 at 9.30pm on BBC One
Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley return for one final special episode of the sitcom (until the next reunion anyway), with Patsy and Eddy getting truly into the Olympic spirit. Olympians Dame Kelly Holmes and Tanni Grey-Thompson are guest starring, while the sporting theme of the episode provides the "sweeties" with plenty of excuses to wear ridiculous outfits. Only the best designer tracksuits darling.
Tom Daley: Diving for Britain - Monday, July 23 at 10.35pm on BBC One
The rather dashing Tom Daley will have the expectations of an entire nation on his shoulders when he steps out on the board at the Olympic pool. But after years of media glare, Daley is used to pressure and this brilliant Beeb documentary displays how the young chap copes with his intense training, press attention and the everyday problems of being a teenager. Even if he doesn't win gold at the Games, we can safely say that Daley is one of the most charming Olympians who will be competing in London.
Bad Boy Olympian - Tuesday, July 24 at 9pm on BBC Three
BBC Three has been doing some brilliant Olympic warm-up docs ahead of the games and this examination of British judo medal hope Ashley McKenzie is probably the best of the lot. The ADHD sufferer is a compelling character with plenty to say for himself and even if you don't warm to his personality, nobody can claim he's boring telly. How he blends his brash attitude with such a disciplined sport makes fascinating viewing.
Twenty Twelve - Tuesday, July 24 at 10pm on BBC One
The saddest part of the Olympics starting is that it means we can't have any more Twenty Twelve - without question, the funniest show on TV right now. Can somebody please book us in for another major sporting event pronto, so we can have even more of the hilariously dim Deliverance Committee. Hugh Bonneville and Olivia Colman (and their silent romance) are brilliant throughout, but it is Jessica Hynes's PR-babbler Siobhan Sharpe who steals the show every time for us.
Bert and Dickie - Wednesday, July 25 at 8.30pm on BBC One
Matt Smith takes a break from the TARDIS to get in a row boat and re-tell the story of Bert Bushnell and Dickie Burnell, two gold medal-winning sculls rowers from the 1948 Olympics. Sam Hoare and Smith play the two leads and if you're a soppy sort, you'll probably be in floods of tears come the end of this moving drama from writer William Ivory.
Olympics Opening Ceremony - Friday, July 27 on BBC One
After years of build-up, it is finally here. The London 2012 Olympics kick off proper with a healthy six and a half hours of wall-to-wall coverage for the Opening Ceremony. Danny Boyle is the man in charge of the spectacle and the promise of some "real sheep" being involved is surely reason enough to tune in. We're unlikely to match the brilliance of the Beijing ceremony four years ago (blooming show-offs), but we're sure there'll be a British charm amid the bombast and parade of a billion flags. Gary Lineker and Huw Edwards will be among the hosts to guide us through the evening.
