Sunday Night: May 25

Never thought I would be using the words ‘Dannii Minogue’ and ‘North Korea’ in the one sentence but that’s what we get this weekend on Sunday Night when she escorts X Factor winner Dami Im to her home country.

Meanwhile Denham Hitchcock reports on UFC.

Dami and Dannii in North Korea

When Dami Im won The X Factor last year it was the ultimate success story against all the odds. When the awkward and shy piano teacher from Brisbane came to Australia from Korea aged nine, she was unable to speak a word of English. She was bullied at school and struggled to fit in. But the day she sang her audition for The X Factor in front of Dannii Minogue was the day her life changed forever. But there is another side to the outgoing and quirky songstress — for the first time since her victory, Dami returns to Seoul to discover the family she has never met. In her first guest reporting role, former mentor Dannii Minogue escorts Dami, along with her mother and grandmother, to the most militarized border in the world. Under heavy guard they cross into North Korea in search of answers. It’s highly charged and highly emotional must see TV. There is so much more to Dami Im than anyone could believe. We explore this remarkable singer’s musical roots and the story behind her marriage to the love of her life in Australia.

UFC
It’s the fastest growing sport on the planet. It’s brutal and violent, bloodshed is celebrated, and it’s marketed as family entertainment. UFC – or cage fighting – is taking off in Australia just like it has in the US, but in this special report Denham Hitchcock raises serious concerns about what it’s doing to our kids. In California, on an Indian reservation outside of the law, promoters stage bare knuckle fights between children as young as eight – including boys taking on girls. Parents scream for their son or daughter to punch, kick or strangle their opponent. It’s raw and confronting – and there are calls for the parents to be arrested. Further into the desert in Vegas, professional UFC fight nights draw huge crowds to gladiator style arenas. Denham meets the blonde and beautiful women’s champion who hits back at the critics – but admits she’s tried to kill her opponent in the ring. Is UFC programming a generation of kids to be violent? Watch and decide.

7.40pm Sunday on Seven.