What’s on TV tonight: Children in Need, Silo, Dune: Part Two, Jake Paul v Mike Tyson, and more

Friday 15 November

Children in Need 2024
BBC One, 7pm
Children in Need returns for another year of putting the fun into fundraising. Tonight’s live three-hour charity extravaganza promises all the classics: questionable comedy sketches, glitzy song-and-dance numbers and an array of heart-wrenching appeals to donate money for vulnerable children. A roster of familiar faces return to host, including presenter Ade Adepitan, comedians Mel Giedroyc and Chris Ramsey, and the 15-year-old actor Lenny Rush.

This year there is a special emphasis on the young people whose lives have been improved by your donations. The BBC Children in Need Choir, for instance, will for the first time feature members who have been supported by Children in Need funded projects. There will also be a chance for those same children to take control of Graham Norton’s big red chair. Elsewhere, Ncuti Gatwa will introduce a preview from the forthcoming Doctor Who Christmas special; there will be a performance from the cast of Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular; a special number from the Strictly Come Dancing pros and sketches involving Gladiators and Dragons’ Den. And it’s all for a very good cause. SK

Silo
Apple TV+
This captivating sci-fi drama is set in a post-apocalyptic future in which the last remnants of mankind live in huge subterranean silos. The first series told the story of Rebecca Ferguson’s Juliette, an engineer who is trying to escape to the surface. This atmospheric series two premiere picks up with her having succeeded, only to learn that her silo is not the only one that exists.

An Almost Christmas Story
Disney+ 
Hollywood film-maker David Lowery directs this gorgeously animated stop-motion short film about a little owl that finds itself trapped in a Christmas tree destined for Rockefeller Plaza in New York. Natasha Lyonne pops up as a wisecracking pigeon, while John C Reilly voices the guitar-strumming narrator.

Doom Patrol
ITVX
Brendan Fraser and Timothy Dalton star in this delightfully meta show about a group of outcast superheroes. The highlight is Alan Tudyk’s fourth-wall breaking supervillain Mr Nobody, who opens the first episode with, “More TV superheroes – just what the world needs!” All four series are available now.

Unreported World
Channel 4, 7.30pm
Unreported World returns tonight with an incredible story of Latin drug gangs who are using submarines to smuggle cocaine into Europe. Reporter Guillermo Galdos follows Spanish customs officials trying to track down these so-called “narco subs”, and meets one Spanish smuggler who claims to have gone from importing tobacco to working directly with Colombia’s cartels.

Gardeners’ World Winter Specials
BBC Two, 8pm
Gardens come alive in summer, but their colour and fragrance are most needed during winter. In tonight’s winter special, the first of a four-part series, Carol Klein visits a garden in Somerset to discover the best shrubs to withstand colder months. Elsewhere, Adam Frost learns about Britain’s rarest trees.

Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story
National Geographic, 8pm
We are introduced to Billy as a man of melancholy. Perhaps, his wife tells us, this is the sadness that comes from never having been a father. But all of that changes the day a wild otter washes up on his jetty in the remote Scottish islands of Shetland. It sounds twee on paper. Silly even. But this is a moving documentary and a moving story beautifully told.

Dune: Part Two (2023) ★★★★
Sky Cinema Premiere, 8pm
The first instalment of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s “unadaptable” (don’t tell David Lynch) 1965 novel was a marvel: cinema at the cutting-edge of technological wizardy, yet still anchored by great, old-fashioned acting. Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Stellan Skarsgård and Charlotte Rampling… it’s the finest cast Hollywood has seen in years. This second film, then, widely anticipated and promising to give Disney actress-turned-generational talent Zendaya more of a starring role, needed to bring the wow factor. Luckily, it did so in spades. Chosen one Paul Atreides (Chalamet) must unite with the Fremen people of the sprawling desert planet Arrakis to wage war against the evil House Harkonnen. The latter’s terrifying new villain, Feyd-Rautha (played by Elvis’s Austin Butler), has other ideas. Who will win in the battle between good and evil? The scenes showing the fearsome “sandworms”, beasts that Paul must learn to manage, are particularly awe-inspiring. Switch to HD on your TV if you can – this one deserves the best. Spin-off TV series Dune: Prophecy is on Sky Atlantic from 18 November.

Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016) ★★★
5STAR, 9pm 
Helen Fielding wasn’t the first writer to mine being unmarried, female and in your 30s for laughs, but Bridget Jones’s endless mortification struck a real chord in the 1990s. In this third film, after breaking up with Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), Bridget (Renée Zellweger) has a one-night fling with Jack Qwant (Patrick Dempsey). She falls pregnant, but who’s the father? The fourth film, Mad About the Boy, will be released on Valentine’s Day.

Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) ★★★★★
BBC One, 10.40pm 
From its F-bomb-laced opening to its tear-jerking use of WH Auden’s Funeral Blues, Richard Curtis’s romcom about nice chaps dithering over pretty girls is a stone-cold British classic. It made a star of Hugh Grant as the bumbling Charles, who, ah, er, can’t tell what’s, um, going on between him and the scrummy Carrie (Andie MacDowell), whom he keeps, gosh, bumping into at weddings. An unexpected box-office hit.

Women Talking (2022) ★★★★
BBC Two, 11.05pm 
There isn’t a barbed-wire-topped wall to be found in Women Talking, but it’s a prison-break film nonetheless. Canadian actress and film-maker Sarah Polley assembles the talents of Rooney Mara, Jessie Buckley and Claire Foy for a dark, glowering tale of women living in a remote Mennonite community who discover they have been being sexually assaulted by the men in their locale – and plot to leave.

Airplane II: The Sequel (1982) ★★★
Channel 4, 12.10am 
The furiously funny and startling originality of disaster parody Airplane! makes this sequel, which is set in the future and takes place on a lunar shuttle, stick out like a sore thumb, especially since the original team had no involvement. There are, however, some amusing spoofs of Rocky and ET. Look out for cameos from Raymond Burr and William Shatner.

Boxing
Katie Taylor v Amanda Serrano 2
Netflix, 1am
Irish boxer Katie Taylor faces Amanda Serrano in this much-anticipated rematch of their 2022 lightweight classic, which Taylor won on a split decision. Taylor has since had two extraordinary fights with Brit Chantelle Cameron, losing and regaining her six world titles. In the co-main event there’s the bizarre matter of YouTuber Jake Paul fighting geriatric boxing icon Mike Tyson.

Saturday 16 November

Moonflower Murders
BBC One, 9.15pm
Lesley Manville lights up the stage or screen in whatever she’s in – from her current turn in Oedipus to Sherwood and The Crown – and the first series of this terrific whodunit, adapted from Anthony Horowitz’s hit crime novel, was no exception. The cosy English village setting of Midsomer Murders mixed with Vera’s intricate plot lines made for gripping TV, and Magpie Murders was so successful on Britbox that the BBC snapped it up for a primetime slot. Now it’s back for series two – complete with a title change as the action moves on – with Manville, Tim McMullan, Claire Rushbrook and Daniel Mays among the excellent returning cast.

Launching with a double-bill tonight, the action has switched from bucolic rolling fields to the sunny sights of the Greek island of Crete, where Susan Ryeland (Manville) is busy running a hotel with boyfriend Andreas (Alexandros Logothetis). But when an English family show up demanding answers about their missing daughter – answers they insist are hidden in a novel by the author Alan Conway, who, of course, Ryeland used to edit – she finds it impossible not to get stuck in. Boxsetted on iPlayer from today (Saturday 16). PP

Strictly Come Dancing: Blackpool Special
BBC One, 6.45pm
It’s the flagship event of Strictly’s year. Prepare for Pete and Jowita’s Cha Cha Cha to Right Said Fred’s I’m Too Sexy, while Sarah and Vito take on their Couple’s Choice. Pet Shop Boys are on Sunday’s results show (7.20pm).

Boybands night
BBC Two, from 8.15pm
Never Forget the days when Take That, E17 and Westlife dominated the charts. Kicking off a delightfully nostalgic night is clip show Boybands at the BBC, before the main event, Boybands Forever, at 9.15pm. The new series dives into the backstory of Britain’s biggest bands, inviting Robbie Williams et al to spill the beans on the music biz. At 12.05am is a TOTP2 with The Four Tops and The Monkees.

Legends of Comedy with Lenny Henry
Channel 4, 8.15pm
Lenny Henry sets off on a trip down memory lane with his fellow comedy greats, beginning with Paul Whitehouse, who discusses the enduring success of The Fast Show, his current starring role in the West End’s spin on Only Fools and Horses and his long creative partnership with Harry Enfield. The next three episodes follow weekly.

Romesh Ranganathan’s Parents’ Evening
ITV1, 9.15pm
Ranganathan enlists the help of Joel Dommett and reality star Vicky Pattison (plus their families) for the final episode of his raucous game show. Can Dommett’s parents stop their bickering in time to cinch the top spot, or could Pattison’s former party-girl lifestyle lend her the tricks necessary to win?

Ottoman Empire by Train with Alice Roberts
Channel 4, 9.15pm
Alice Roberts continues her Eurasian rail odyssey in the Balkans. Tonight she’s in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia to explore its fascinating Soviet-inspired landscape, before she heads off on another sleeper train to Serbia, where the spooky “Skull Tower” serves as a grim reminder of the country’s past persecution of dissidents.

Princess Anne: The Power Behind the Throne
Channel 5, 9.15pm
The Princess Royal was her mother’s confidante and has been described as the hardest working Royal – and the brains behind the Firm. Here, royal experts discuss her critical role and impact on the King’s decision-making. Beforehand, visit The Castle of Mey in The Queen Mother’s Hideaway at 8.15pm.

Laura (1944, b/w) ★★★★★
BBC Two, 10am 
Otto Preminger, master of film noir, made his name with this adaptation of Vera Caspary’s novel, and, according to some critics, it’s better than Vertigo. A beautiful woman (played by Gene Tierney, though Marlene Dietrich expressed interest in the role) is murdered before the story even begins – yet everyone seems in love with her. A bitter, brilliant thriller that is also an acid-sharp examination of desire.

Inglourious Basterds (2009) ★★★★
Channel 4, 10.20pm 
Quentin Tarantino’s homage to classic war films offers all the hallmarks of the director’s audacious style. It’s bloody, darkly comic and anchored by actors playing thrillingly against type. Christoph Waltz won an Oscar for his incendiary turn as a fearsome SS colonel known as the “Jew Hunter”; Brad Pitt is almost as memorable as the chief Nazi-killer, Aldo “the Apache” Raine. Eli Roth and Mélanie Laurent also star.

No Bears (2022) ★★★★
BBC Four, 10.35pm 
Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi was imprisoned in 2022 for six years; in 2010, the authorities banned him from making movies. But despite their best efforts to silence him, his art has prevailed – No Bears even went on to win the special jury prize at Venice. Panahi plays a fictional version of himself; while shooting a film about two lovers held back by the mechanics and agents of power, he begins to understand the meaning of life.

Atonement (2007) ★★★★
BBC One, 11.10pm 
Joe Wright’s grand vision of Ian McEwan’s sweeping wartime novel is everything that his 2005 truncated Pride & Prejudice was not. Atonement benefits from James McAvoy’s subtle performance as the man whose life is wrecked by the foolish fantasy of a child (Saoirse Ronan, delivering a truly scene-stealing turn aged just 12). Keira Knightley delivers her most memorable, emotionally developed performance – and that green dress!

Rugby Union
England v South Africa
TNT Sports 1, 5.15pm (kick-off 5.40pm)
England were subject to another pulsating but agonising defeat last weekend as Australia took victory with the last play of the game. Steve Borthwick’s side must show more staying power as they face world champions South Africa at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium. Back rower Chandler Cunningham-South scored a brace of tries against Australia, as did replacement winger winger Ollie Sleightholme who could be in for a starting berth against the Springboks. Earlier, Scotland face Portugal (TNT Sports 1, 2pm), while France host New Zealand with Olympic sevens hero Antoine Dupont back in the side (TNT Sports 1, 7.45pm).

Golf
DP World Tour Championship
Sky Golf, 7am
The penultimate round of the season’s final event on the European Tour takes place from Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth Course in Dubai. Rory McIlroy looks to claim the Race to Dubai title for a record-equalling sixth time. The final round takes place on Sunday (Sky Golf, 6.30am). Highlights are on BBC Two on Sunday at 7pm.

Tennis
ATP Finals 
Sky Tennis, 11am
The season-ending tournament, featuring the top eight singles players and doubles teams, reaches the semi-finals in Turin. Home favourite Jannick Sinner and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz are among those aiming to win their first ATP Finals title, although Alcaraz lost his opening match to Casper Ruud. The doubles final (1.45pm) and the singles final (5pm) are on Sunday.

Darts
Grand Slam of Darts
Sky Main Event, 5pm
Defending champion Luke Humphries suffered a shock exit after losing to James Wade in the group stage, while Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen made impressive starts. The final takes place tomorrow (Sky Main Event, 7.30pm).

Cricket
England v West Indies
TNT Sports 2, 7.30pm
England claimed victory in their two opening matches of this five match T20 series against West Indies, with captain Jos Buttler returning to the side. This penultimate match takes place in Saint Lucia, ahead of the final on Sunday (Sky Cricket, 6pm).

Sunday 17 November

I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
ITV1, 9pm
Fresh from receiving yet another Best Presenter gong (their 23rd) at the National Television Awards, Ant and Dec introduce series 24 of the nation’s favourite reality show. We’re back Down Under and jungle-loving fans know the drill – celebrities take part in daft bushtucker trials and eating challenges involving crunchy insects and various animals’ private parts to win more desirable foodstuffs and, eventually, the lauded King/Queen of the Jungle crown.

Recent series admittedly included some names that engendered a response of “Who?” – last year’s winner, Made in Chelsea’s Sam Thompson, returns to Australia to co-host the 10.45pm ITV2 spin-off show I’m a Celebrity… Unpacked – but 2024’s roster is strong. It includes Coleen Rooney (rumoured fee to be £1.5 m, the same as Nigel Farage’s alleged pocket-money from last year’s appearance), singer Tulisa Contostavlos, Loose Women’s Jane Moore, podcaster GK Barry, Strictly’s Oti Mabuse, DJs Dean McCullough and Melvin Odoom, Coronation Street actor Alan Halsall, Danny Jones of boyband McFly, and former boxer Barry McGuigan. VL

All Aboard! Scotland’s Poshest Train
Channel 4, 8pm
Alan Cumming – less flamboyantly dressed than on the US version of The Traitors – is our guide in this jolly four-part travelogue aboard the luxurious Royal Scotsman. In this second episode he is treated to some pampering in the onboard spa, before taking in the Isle of Bute and Pitlochry.

Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light
BBC One, 9pm
Yet more machinations, double-crossing and excellent acting from Peter Kosminsky’s historical drama. Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance) discovers that the King’s (Damian Lewis) niece is having an illicit affair with the disgraced Duke of Norfolk’s brother – creating a chance for Cromwell to remove an enemy. Talk of the court, meanwhile, is Jane Seymour (Kate Phillips), now queen; will she give Henry the male heir that he so desperately wants?

Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story
BBC Two, 9pm
This boxsetted docu-series (already shown on Disney+) recounts how, in the midst of the 2009 financial crash, Honda scrapped its Formula 1 team; pit boss Ross Brawn and exec Nick Fry then bought it for £1, renamed it Brawn GP and produced remarkable results. Petrolhead Keanu Reeves is the unlikely but delightfully puppyish reporter.

Tsunami 2004: The Day the Wave Hit
Channel 4, 9pm
As we approach the 20th anniversary of the Boxing Day tsunami, which killed 230,000 people, this two-parter gives a detailed account of the disaster, using news archive, mobile phone footage and interviews. Concludes tomorrow.

1984: The Read with Sacha Dhawan
BBC Four, 9pm
Doctor Who’s Sacha Dhawan narrates George Orwell’s dystopian classic about the individual versus the state. It’s followed at 10pm by Rudolph Cartier’s 1954 television adaptation starring Peter Cushing as Winston Smith.

Dead and Buried
BBC One, 10.30pm & 11.20pm
Annabel Scholey (The Split) stars in this schlocky revenge drama set in Ireland’s border country. When Cathy (Scholey) encounters Michael (Colin Morgan), who murdered her brother 20 years previously and whom she thought was still in prison, her quest for vengeance becomes an obsession.

The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014) ★★★★
BBC Two, 12.05pm 
Lasse Hallström’s culture-clash drama, starring Helen Mirren as a formidable French restaurateur threatened by Indian newcomers, including the headstrong Papa (Om Puri), is a foodie film with bite. Credit goes to socially-minded screenwriter Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders) for ensuring that Hallström doesn’t whitewash the racist graffiti. Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey produce.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) ★★
Channel 4, 2.30pm 
Kids and adults alike have spent three decades being entertained by the Sonic the Hedgehog video games; the little blue hero has become a global icon. His arrival on the big screen, however, shepherded by Jeff Fowler, falls a little flat, despite the starry voice cast (Jim Carrey, James Marsden). The plot plays second fiddle to the nuclear-grade CGI, but it mostly hinges on Sonic battling the evil genius Dr Robotnik.

The Jungle Book (2016) ★★★★
BBC One, 3.15pm 
Forget about your worries and your strife, this Disney reboot of Rudyard Kipling’s famous tale makes perfect sense. Jon Favreau’s beautiful CGI-and-live-action update of the classic story keeps the songs and the fun, but adds fresh emotional weight. Lending their voices are Idris Elba as evil tiger Shere Khan and Bill Murray as kind-hearted bear Baloo. His I Wan’na Be Like You, with Neel Sethi as Mowgli, is an unfettered triumph.

Cromwell (1970) ★★★★
Talking Pictures TV, 6pm 
Ken Hughes (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) turns his hand to the historical biopic. Oliver Cromwell (Richard Harris) is incensed by King Charles I’s (Alec Guinness) policies, so plans to take his family to the New World. However, he is persuaded to stay and ends up at the forefront of the English Civil War. The film was widely criticised for historical inaccuracies, but the acting (Harris, as ever, is brilliant), costume design and score make it work.

Film of the Week: Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger (2024) ★★★★★
BBC Two, 10pm
It’s no exaggeration to say that, without the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, British cinema would not be held in nearly as high regard as it is. Throughout the 20th century, the pair had a multitude of box-office hits, from The Red Shoes to A Matter of Life and Death, that hinged on great storytelling (often complete with a wicked sense of humour), A-list casts and superb artistic direction. This riveting, heartfelt documentary, intended as a celebration of their work and enduring influence, is narrated by none other than Martin Scorsese, who recounts his own vivid memories watching – and falling in love with – their films. Made in England covers the Archers’ masterpieces and, critically, the shameful shunning of Powell in the 1960s by the establishment – after fears about the “moral” message at the heart of his 1960 horror Peeping Tom. Any devotee should watch this; any cinema lover, or fan of British excellence, will find much to enjoy even if the films themselves are new. You can watch The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp on Saturday at 1.30pm, followed by I Know Where I’m Going! at 4.10pm (it’s also on Thursday, on BBC Four at 8.20pm).

Football
England v Republic of Ireland 
ITV1, 4pm (kick-off 5pm)
In their final Nations League group game, England take on Ireland at Wembley. The home side claimed a 2-0 victory when the sides met in Dublin in September, with former Ireland youth players Declan Rice and Jack Grealish bagging the goals. On Saturday, Wales take on Turkey (S4C/iPlayer, 4.30pm), ahead of their final match against Iceland on Tuesday (S4C/iPlayer, 7.15pm). In the Women’s Super League, Spurs host Arsenal on Saturday and Chelsea play Man City later in the day (Sky Premier League, 5pm).

Monday 18 November

Dune: Prophecy
Sky Atlantic, 9pm
A forbidding prospect for newcomers to the Dune universe, this six-part prequel to Denis Villeneuve’s blockbusting cinematic diptych, set over 10,000 years before the birth of Timothée Chalamet’s messianic Paul Atreides, is still a handsome and distinctive series, bringing women to the foreground on and off-screen. Overseen by Altered Carbon’s Alison Schapker, it documents the rise of the outcast Sisterhood on their austere homeworld of Wallach IX with a formidable, mostly British cast who sell it all with total conviction.

Emily Watson stars as Valya Harkonnen, the darkly charismatic figurehead who seeks to use the services of her prized “truthsayers” to infiltrate the galaxy’s various dynasties – notably Mark Strong’s Emperor Corrino – as they jockey for power and the lucrative trade in the narcotic “spice”. Watson’s scenes with her sister Tula (Olivia Williams) provide the series’ most human moments amid the ostentatious spectacle and lore dumps. In its best moments it resembles Game of Thrones in space, grappling effectively with the corrupting potential of faith and power amid ravishing backdrops. GT

Vinnie Jones in the Country
Discovery+
Whether it is Blondie or Wobbly, there is no one in the Vinnie Jones universe who can’t be given a nickname. The former hardman is on engaging form for this second series of life on his estate as he continues to refine his vision for the farm and seeks Paul Whitehouse out for advice on kingfishers.

Landman
Paramount+
The latest instalment in Taylor Sheridan’s line of neo-Westerns replicates Yellowstone’s muscular storytelling, salty dialogue and men doing man things, but with the crucial addition of a fully engaged Billy Bob Thornton as a fixer for Texan oil barons (notably Jon Hamm’s slick operator), equally at home negotiating with dynastic JR wannabes or Mexican drug kingpins. His son Cooper (Jacob Lofland), meanwhile, is a rig worker struggling to earn the respect of his colleagues (Michael Peña among them). Demi Moore co-stars.

MasterChef: The Professionals
BBC One, 9pm
The final heats begin with pan-fried plaice and lamb neck, to be turned around with intimidating speed, before the signature challenge will determine the next quarter-finalists.

Immigration: How British Politics Failed
BBC Two, 9pm
Nigel Farage and David Cameron are among those examining the fallout from the Brexit campaign and its focus on immigration.

Tsunami 2004: The Day the Wave Hit
Channel 4, 9pm
Alex Nikolic-Dunlop’s profoundly impactful two-part documentary about the 2004 tsunami, which destroyed towns and villages across the Indian Ocean and killed 230,00 people, concludes with further testimony from survivors. Much of it, of course, is deeply harrowing – such as a woman who witnessed the death of her son – but the way that they tell their personal stories is quite clearly essential for them to reckon with such unthinkable tragedy.

Jason Watkins & Lady Jane Grey: A Tower of London Special
Channel 5, 9pm
One of the faces and voices of Channel 5, Jason Watkins goes on a tour of the Tower of London (he narrates the broadcaster’s equivalent docusoap) to seek confirmation of his suspicion that he is related to the courtier who imprisoned Lady Jane Grey. The ensuing wild revelations go above and beyond his expectations.

Widow Clicquot (2023) ★★★
Sky Cinema Premiere, 3.55pm
Joe Wright (Atonement) swapped the epic battles of the Great War for the equally ferocious conflicts between French wine-making dynasties in this handsome biopic. Haley Bennett is Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, widowed and forced to prove to her father-in-law (Ben Miles) that she’s capable of running the estate; meanwhile, the rival Moët family are hungrily willing her to fail.

Military Wives (2019) ★★★
Film4, 9pm 
This tear-jerking British comedy-drama tells the true story of a group of military wives who form a choir while their partners are serving in the war in Afghanistan, before finding fame at the heart of a global movement. It has few surprises to offer, but delivers a well-rounded, human story designed to tug on the heartstrings. Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan star, and both give admirably unsentimental turns.

The Krays (1990) ★★★★
ITV1, 10pm 
Long before Tom Hardy decided to take on the roles of both Kray twins by himself (in Legend), Spandau Ballet brothers Martin and Gary Kemp filled the sharp suits of London’s most notorious gangsters. Peter Medak’s biopic, written by playwright Philip Ridley, isn’t always a success, but the New Romantic crooners are menacing, while Billie Whitelaw has presence as Violet, their domineering mother.

Tuesday 19 November

The Listeners
BBC One, 9pm
One for those who like their drama deep, and just a little bit unknowable. Adapted from London-based Canadian author Jordan Tannahill’s intriguing novel, this four-part drama stars Rebecca Hall as Claire, a popular English teacher, wife and mother, who, one evening, starts to become aware of a low persistent noise that no one else, it seems, can hear. Unable to find a source for it, or stop hearing it, but affected by it to the point of experiencing headaches and nosebleeds, she finds medicine and therapy unable to offer either answers or consolation and her ordered life begins to unravel. Then she discovers another person, then a group of people, who can also hear “the hum”.

Tannahill’s premise offers an imaginative sideways route into exploring the seductive, isolating and maddening appeal of conspiracy theories, cults or the inexplicably transcendent spiritual experiences of others – situations in which one person’s beliefs begin to cleave away from those around them until it becomes unbearable. It is also beautifully produced and exquisitely acted; it continues weekly or can be boxset binged on iPlayer (from Tuesday 19). GO

Interior Chinatown
Disney+
An entertaining 10-part adaptation of Charles Yu’s inventive (it won the National Book Award for fiction in 2020) novel about living on the cultural sidelines in the US. Jimmy O Yang is perfect as Willis, an Asian-American actor condemned to play generic stereotypes and clichés – in work as in life – until he finds a way to shine.

Paddy: The Ride of My Life
BBC One, 8pm
Celebrating the 300-mile “ultra-endurance cycle challenge” in which TV and radio presenter Paddy McGuinness cycled through three nations over five days (from Wrexham to Glasgow) to raise money for last week’s BBC Children in Need appeal.

The Great British Bake Off
Channel 4, 8pm
Not just the semi-final, it’s patisserie week as well – traditionally one of the toughest. To make it to the final the remaining bakers must dazzle judges Paul and Prue with breakfast pastries in the Signature, get perfectly precise with a theatrical Technical, and create a multi-layered, multi-textured fruit entremet for their Showstopper. It’s sure to be tasty.

Cheaters
BBC One, 9.45pm
Series two of the contemporary romcom picks up with Josh (Joshua McGuire) and Fola’s (Susan Wokoma) relationship blossoming (or is it?) while their exes Zack (Jack Fox) and Esther (Callie Cooke) are in very different places emotionally. Tonight’s three short portions straddle the News (10pm), with a boxset on iPlayer for those who can’t wait.

Storyville: Agent of Happiness
BBC Four, 10pm
Can happiness be measured? This gentle film follows a group of government agents in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, travelling door-to-door to assess the state of national happiness using a list of 148 questions. “Do you own a mobile phone? A goat? When did you last cry?”

The Winter King
ITV1, 11.05pm; not NI/STV
Previously aired on ITVX – and cancelled after one season – this 10-part (boxsetted) adaptation of Bernard Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles trilogy was aimed at fans of his Anglo-Saxon series The Last Kingdom but failed to hit the mark. Largely because the set-up is too long and the characters stunted, with Arthur (Iain De Caestecker) remaining weirdly elusive in the opening episodes.

Vera Cruz (1954, b/w) ★★★★
Great! Action, 1pm 
This classic Western, which influenced future films such as The Magnificent Seven and The Wild Bunch with its shocking violence, stars the ever-excellent Burt Lancaster and Gary Cooper. The tale is set around the Mexican Revolution of 1866; the duo play a pair of rival mercenaries who team up to fight for the highest bidder. Director Robert Aldrich dispenses with clear-cut “goodies” and “baddies”, while Sara Montiel smoulders away.

Creed (2015) ★★★★
ITV4, 9pm 
A hulking Michael B Jordan plays the son of Sylvester Stallone’s original challenger, Apollo Creed, in this return to the series, which pumps new blood into the whole formula (and spawned two sequels). Oscar-nominated Stallone is on redoubtable form, but it’s the showmanship of director Ryan Coogler (Black Panther) that’ll get you whooping and fistpumping from the sofa. Creed II is on Wednesday at 9pm.

The Good Liar (2019) ★★★
BBC One, 11.10pm 
Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren, who had never previously appeared on screen together, play lonely pensioners with dark secrets who meet on a dating site. Their burgeoning relationship is a con game – but in which direction? Alas, the more Bill Condon’s film turns into a thriller, the less it thrills: flashbacks to Nazi Germany weigh it down, and it’s far too gory. It’s based on the 2015 novel by Nicholas Searle.

Wednesday 20 November

After the Party
Channel 4, 9pm
Every now and then, New Zealand produces a corking television drama – Top of the Lake, say, or (with caveats) Outrageous Fortune and The Luminaries. After the Party could just be the best one yet, pivoting on a beautifully nuanced he said/she said scenario and a very fine central performance. It concerns Wellington teacher Penny Wilding (Robyn Malcolm), who is respected, unorthodox and straight-talking, without falling into the clichéd traps of those traits. Her description of online pornography before a classroom of teenagers could be essential viewing for concerned parents everywhere.

She is as stunned as her daughter (Tara Canton) is thrilled by the unexpected return of her ex-husband Philip (Peter Mullan, typically jovial and dangerous), five years after he left in the wake of a transgression at the titular drunken, multi-generational party which gradually comes into focus. Provocative and exasperating, Malcolm’s layered, complex performance is reminiscent of Kate Winslet’s in Mare of Easttown, currying no favour with the audience yet commanding our attention throughout. Continuing tomorrow and boxsetted online (from Wednesday 20), this is television made for bingeing. GT

Our Oceans
Netflix
Barack Obama narrates this visually glorious five-parter embracing the largest concepts (the “conveyer belt” system of moving currents) and tiniest organisms to offer both a celebration of ocean life and a warning that so much of it is at a tipping point.

Fungi: The Web of Life
BBC Four, 8pm
Narrated by Björk and presented by biologist Merlin Sheldrake, this concise introduction to a hidden world trots the globe for examples of how essential fungi are to the health of the planet and, indeed, of humankind.

Shetland
BBC One, 9pm
As this no-frills but very watchable policier continues, Calder (Ashley Jensen, terrific) and Tosh’s (Alison O’Donnell) investigation into Annie’s mysterious death takes another turn when Noah (Jacob Ferguson) drops a bombshell about the night it could have happened.

Britain’s Nuclear Bomb Scandal: Our Story
BBC Two, 9pm
It ranks alongside the scandals involving the Post Office or infected blood. The failure of the Ministry of Defence to compensate or seriously address the damage caused to those affected by Britain’s nuclear-testing programme between 1952 and 1963 is keenly felt by military veterans, indigenous peoples and the ecologies of the Pacific islands and Australian outback. Carefully laying out the lack of care and responsibility, Simon Rawles’s documentary is a powerful call to arms. All that is missing is Toby Jones (oddly, something of a doppelganger for radiation monitor John Foulkes) in an ITV drama.

My Brilliant Friend
Sky Atlantic, 9pm
Launching its fourth and final series with a double bill, the excellent adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s awe-inspiring Neapolitan novels joins Elena (Alba Rohrwacher) and Lila (Irene Maiorino) in the late 1980s, the long-time frenemies back in each other’s orbits but with wounds still raw and adulthood presenting further complications. Expertly acted; this is TV at its most intelligent.

Young, British and Anti-Abortion
BBC One, 10.40pm; Wales, 11.10pm
It is not just in the US that the pushback against hard-won abortion rights is gathering pace; film-maker Poppy Jay meets a number of young people campaigning on university campuses and protesting on the streets to turn the clock back on women’s reproductive rights.

The Gambler (1980) ★★★
5Action, 11.45am 
It’s hard to imagine now, but in decades past even the brightest of musical legends weren’t above shooting a straight-to-TV movie: just look at Elvis Presley, Kris Kristofferson and, in The Gambler’s case, Kenny Rogers. Named for the country superstar’s 1978 hit song, Rogers plays a man obsessed with gambling and tracking down his wayward son (Ronnie Scribner). The film was a huge hit, and spawned four sequels. Dick Lowry directs.

The Man in the White Suit (1951, b/w) ★★★★★
Film4, 12.55pm 
Alec Guinness flees the forces of capitalism in this thoughtful Ealing comedy. He stars as Sidney Stratton, an eccentric chemist who invents a fabric that won’t wear out or get dirty, but has to make an escape from his mill when a trio of unscrupulous textiles heavies, including a sinister Ernest Thesiger, try to trick him. Guinness charms in the recurring Ealing theme of the “everyman against the Establishment”.

Now You See Me (2013) ★★★
Sky Cinema Greats, 6pm 
A group of illusionists (Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg and Dave Franco) are encouraged to carry out a string of heists by a mysterious figure, while remaining a step ahead of FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo), who’s desperate to bring them in. Louis Leterrier tries to mimic the complex plots of films such as Inception; he has limited success, though it’s reasonably entertaining.

Thursday 21 November

Only Child
BBC Scotland/iPlayer, 10pm 
There is an effortless ease to this new six-part Scottish comedy (all available today on BBC iPlayer and airing tomorrow on BBC One). It stars Greg McHugh as Richard, a bit-part actor who returns from London to his childhood home in the Highlands for a long-overdue visit to see his father Ken (Gregor Fisher). It is classic odd couple stuff – the straight man, the colourful foil – but is heightened here by the comedic whirlwind that is Fisher, best known for his portrayal of 1990s icon Rab C Nesbitt.

To Robert’s dismay, Ken is equally no-nonsense. He is an ageing technophobe stuck in his ways; a strong-willed eccentric who always seems to have a pasty in his pocket. Their back-and-forth dynamic is superbly performed, while the scripts of relatively new writer Bryce Hart are full of warmth and wit. In that regard, Only Child feels like a natural successor to fellow Scottish comedy Two Doors Down. In one scene tonight, Robert asks why his father has dragged him to the funeral of a man he couldn’t stand. “Well it’s a social contract,” he says. “You go to someone’s funeral, they come to yours.” Richard looks perplexed. “Not if they’re dead!” SK

A Man on the Inside
Netflix
Ted Danson stars in this eight-part comedy caper about a retired professor who is hired to infiltrate a corrupt nursing home. It is written by The Good Place creator Michael Schur, who is a whizz at balancing sentimentality with laughs. Case in point: a delightful montage involving pensioners auditioning for the job of a spy.

Inside the Tower of London
Channel 5, 8pm
After 13 years as the Tower of London’s Ravenmaster, Christopher Skaife has given himself the chop. Tonight he passes the unusual role to his successor Barney Chandler, who must ensure the ravens never abandon us to ruin.

Ambulance
BBC One/BBC Two Wales, 9pm
Tireless paramedics can rarely afford the luxury of reflection. Yet in tonight’s series finale, a roadside collision brings back traumatic memories for Gary, who was first on the scene during the 2017 London Bridge terror attacks. “The amount of patients outweighed what I could offer,” he says, which meant, “walking past patients who are dying but beyond help”.

Hunting Mr Nice: The Cannabis Kingpin 
BBC Two/BBC One Wales, 9pm
This lively two-part documentary charts the rise, fall and curious celebrity afterlife of Howard Marks, one of the world’s most prolific cannabis smugglers. Tonight’s first episode explores the makings of his criminal empire and the wider context of America and the UK’s “war on drugs” policies in the 1980s.

The Colosseum: The Arena of Death with Dan Snow
Channel 5, 9pm
The Colosseum was – and still is – the wonder of Rome. In this timely two-part documentary, which coincides with the release of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, historian Dan Snow explores why it was built; what it was like to attend the games and the truth behind its celebrity gladiators.

Dark Winds
U&Alibi, 10pm
The first series of this atmospheric detective drama, based on a novel series by Tony Hillerman, introduced us to Zahn McClarnon’s long-suffering Joe, a Native American police officer working the Navajo Nation beat in the 1970s. McClarnon’s brooding screen presence remains the highlight of this compelling second series, which tasks the lawman with tracking down a vicious assassin.

Anzio (1968) ★★★
Film4, 1.50pm 
Adapted from BBC war correspondent Wynford Vaughan-Thomas’s book about the Second World War’s “Operation Shingle”, one of its bloodiest battles. It’s 1944 and the Allied forces are preparing to smash through German and Italian coastal defences off Anzio; Peter Falk and Robert Ryan lead as the swaggering army chiefs, while Robert Mitchum plays journalist Dick Ennis, a fictional version of Vaughan-Thomas.

We Bought a Zoo (2011) ★★★
Film4, 4.15pm 
This sunny production from Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous) confirms that, alas, living in a zoo may in fact be a childhood dream better kept that way. The film skips along merrily, as father-of-two Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) attempts to rebuild his life following the death of his wife, and buys a new home in a wildlife park on the brink of closure. Scarlett Johansson plays the head zookeeper, who, surprise, surprise, he falls for.

Scott of the Antarctic (1948, b/w) ★★★
Talking Pictures TV, 11.10pm 
Directed by Charles Frend, Ealing Studios’ lavish drama tells the story of Captain Robert Falcon Scott (played here with rugged charm by John Mills) and his doomed 1910-12 expedition to the South Pole. The fact that the denouement is already known does somewhat take away from the drama, but the hostile Antarctic environment and Scott’s charisma ensures it is still gripping.

Friday 22 November

Return to Paradise
BBC One, 8pm
Following the success of Beyond Paradise, the Devonian Death in Paradise spin-off, another new variation on the theme arrives, this time from sunny Australia. Okay, so it’s not the Caribbean, and it has almost nothing whatsoever – apart from a few cameos involving Ardal O’Hanlon – to do with its Saint Marie-set predecessor. But in most other respects it satisfies the basic franchise formula of fish-out-of-water turns up out of the blue from London and sets about solving unlikely murder mysteries against a tropically sunny seaside backdrop – and ending invariably with a cosy group chat and a killer in handcuffs.

In this case, the fish is DI Mackenzie Clarke (Anna Samson), an awkward-but-brilliant Australian detective on leave from her job with the Met, who arrives back in her idyllic home town of Dolphin Cove just as a leading estate agent is washed up on the beach with a kitchen knife in his back. Cue Clarke’s efforts to aid an investigation by bumbling local plod, a troubled past and awkward encounters with an old flame (Colin from Accounts’ Tai Hara), and you’ve got everything you need for an unchallenging night in. GO

Bread & Roses
Apple TV+
When the Taliban retook Afghanistan in 2021, millions of Afghan women lost their basic civil rights to work, study or even walk in the street without a chaperone. Sahra Mani’s viscerally powerful documentary follows three courageous women – Zahra, Taranom and Sharifa ­– as they film their efforts to build political resistance.

Unreported World
Channel 4, 7.30pm
Symeon Brown reports from Brazil on how, with just one per cent of the population owning almost half of Brazil’s wealth of agricultural land, Marxism-inspired rural workers are trying to take over large tracts of farmland. With landowners responding with increasing violence, it’s a conflict in serious danger of boiling over.

Gardeners’ World Winter Specials
BBC Two, 8pm
The second of this year’s winter specials finds Adam Frost taking stock in his garden, and fellow presenters Rachel de Thame, Toby Buckland and Joe Swift harvesting horticultural ideas from inspirational gardens around the country. Plus, tips for cultivating out-of-season vegetables.

Loaded: Lads, Mags and Mayhem
BBC Two, 9pm
“In 1994 magazines were the internet,” says one contributor to this pell-mell documentary charting the rise and fall of lad culture in the 1990s, as seen through the eyes of its leading magazine Loaded and the crew of upstarts, led by editor James Brown, who produced it. Other cheerleaders include Miranda Sawyer, David Baddiel, Gail Porter and Katie Puckrick.

Untethered
Sky Documentaries, 10.30pm
Back in August, multiple Paralympic medal-winner Melanie Barratt became the first blind woman to successfully swim the English Channel. This affecting documentary, one of 10 films commissioned under a new Sky diversity initiative, follows Barratt over the two years of intensive training she undertook ahead of the challenge.

The Graham Norton Show
BBC One, 10.40pm; NI, 11.10pm
Regardless of where he finishes in the contest, comedian (and Telegraph diarist) Chris McCausland has already received a huge popularity boost from this year’s Strictly Come Dancing. He takes a seat on Norton’s famous red sofa tonight, alongside actors Nicole Kidman and James Norton, and Wicked star Cynthia Erivo.

Blitz (2024) ★★★★★
Apple TV+ 
When was the last time a war film, made by a British director, was this awe-inspiringly magnificent? Steve McQueen’s Second World War odyssey holds its own against the mighty likes of Dunkirk and The Dam Busters, as it tells the story of nine-year-old evacuee Oliver’s (newcomer Elliott Heffernan) hunt to find his mother (Saoirse Ronan) after he’s sent off on a train to safety. Stephen Graham and Kathy Burke are superb in support.

The Piano Lesson (2024) ★★★
Netflix 
The latest Hollywood adaptation of an August Wilson play – following Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – stars Samuel L Jackson and Till’s Danielle Deadwyler. The simple premise – the Charles family must decide what to do with their prized family heirloom, a grand piano – masks knottier themes of generational trauma. Malcolm Washington directs; his brother John David co-stars, while father Denzel produces.

Joy (2024) ★★
Netflix 
The true-life tale of the world’s first IVF baby is directed by Ben Taylor and written by playwright Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child). Joy follows a trio of scientists – Thomasin McKenzie, Bill Nighy and James Norton – as they make breakthroughs in IVF research in the 1960s, against growing backlash from conservative British society. The period details are well thought-out; the emotional depth, on the other hand, is less evident.

IF (2024) ★★★★
Sky Cinema Premiere, 8pm 
John Krasinski swaps laughs (in The Office) and terror (A Quiet Place) for family friendly wonder in this tale about a girl who can see other people’s imaginary friends. Bea (Cailey Fleming) is the girl in question, possessed with a Sixth Sense-like knack also shared by her neighbour Cal (Ryan Reynolds). Animation Spellbound – featuring Rachel Zegler and Nicole Kidman in the voice cast – is also on Netflix.

Television previewers

Stephen Kelly (SK), Veronica Lee (VL), Gerard O’Donovan (GO), Poppie Platt (PP) and Gabriel Tate (GT)