Buddy Holly: Rave On
10pm, BBC4
Eighteen months was all it took for a lanky, speccy bloke from Lubbock, Texas to carve an indelible – and impossibly influential mark – on the history of pop, right up until “the day the music died”. The likes of Paul Anka, Hank Marvin and Brian May pay homage here, in this lovely film about this towering catalyst’s life and songs – every note of which, from That’ll Be the Day to the sublime Well All Right, is perfection. Ali Catterall
MasterChef: The Finals
8.30pm, BBC1
Having cooked up five courses of US fare, travelled to Cape Town and taken on Sat Bains’s devilish Chef’s Table in this week, the amateur cooks face their ultimate challenge tonight. Over three hours, the trio must demonstrate that weeks of scrutiny from John and Gregg has not just battered their self-esteem, but also improved their culinary skills. As stress levels rise, expect some dishes to derail, and others to delight. Hannah J Davies
Versailles
9pm, BBC2
The king takes a break from womanising to arrange a war this week, with plans to send his army to the Netherlands. Which he would probably rather be doing than spending any time with his bride, Princess Palatine, who’s left to amuse herself while the palace is fumigated. Chevalier is on the warpath, too, when he notices Philippe’s wandering eye. It’s followed by Inside Versailles, in which Professor Kate Williams and Greg Jenner offer a historians’ perspective. Hannah Verdier
Lethal Weapon
9pm, ITV
When a Texas ranger is gunned down while transporting a powerful underworld type to his murder trial, it falls to Murtaugh and Riggs to figure out whodunnit and recover the absconded fugitive. The evidence points conspicuously to an inside job, but there’s a culture of silence in the sheriff’s department, and soon there’s pressure on their boss Avery from up on high, warning them against getting in too deep. A tad pedestrian this week, in truth. Ben Arnold
The Graham Norton Show
10.35pm, BBC1
Ahead of what looks like a very good new King Arthur film, Guy Ritchie joins Graham on the couch. You didn’t think he was exactly a mine of charisma and good yarns? Well then, you’ll be relieved to know that his leading man, Charlie Hunnam, will be along, too. Rockabilly-turned-divorce rocker Imelda May is up to perform her new single, while fans of the word “excruciating” will enjoy the latest Red Chair stories. John Robinson
Spin
9pm, More4
The French thriller reaches its penultimate episode. It says much about the times that its plot – betrayals, corruption and elites under pressure – doesn’t seem too outlandish when compared with recent political events across the Channel. Tonight, the fallout from Apolline’s investigations affects both government and opposition; Anne-Marie targets her principal rival in impressively venomous fashion; and France faces a new threat. Jonathan Wright
Jamestown
9pm, Sky1
The new world in the 17th century is a sort of feminist year zero in Bill Gallagher’s energetically written drama. Its heroines have been dropped into a society where being female is barely even accepted – being female and answering back to the angry geezers who have awarded themselves religious authority is definitely out. This week, the patriarchy starts throwing around charges of witchcraft. Unsubtle but it’s hard not to cheer and boo when prompted. Jack Seale
Film choice
The Woman on Pier 13 (Robert Stevenson, 1949) 7.50am, Movies4Men
Also known as I Married a Communist, this was RKO boss Howard Hughes’s first rabid assault on communism during the reds-under-the-bed days. Laraine Day is the woman who marries former stevedore-cum-shipping company boss Robert Ryan, but he has an awful secret: he was once a card-carrying party member and now his ruthless former colleagues are out to blackmail him. A near-hysterical melodrama invested with a noir gloss (courtesy of Nick Musuraca’s ace monochrome cinematography), it’s a fascinating product of the McCarthy era.
Billion Dollar Brain (Ken Russell, 1967) 2.40pm, Film4
Michael Caine returns as HM’s special agent ’Arry Palmer, now freelancing and helping Soviet commissar Oscar Homolka stymie US general Ed Begley’s plans for world domination. Len Deighton’s plot flows in a 007 direction, and Harry’s lost some of the idiosyncrasy of The Ipcress File, but it’s directed with restraint by the maverick Ken Russell and is still a classy thriller. Paul Howlett
Live sport
Golf: The Players Championship The second day of the prestigious tournament in Florida. 12.30pm, Sky Sports 4
Premier League football: West Bromwich Albion v Chelsea Chelsea close in on the Premier League title. 7pm, Sky Sports 1
Challenge Cup rugby: Gloucester v Stade Français The final of the tournament from Murrayfield, kickoff 8pm. 7.30pm, BT Sport 2
