Children in Need 2017
7.30pm, BBC One
Only the darkest heart could turn a blind eye to Pudsey and his fundraising chums as they take viewers on the annual rollercoaster of emotions. Tess Daly and Ade Adepitan host and Joanna Lumley honours the king of CiN, Terry Wogan. Former Blue Peter presenters including Anthea Turner and Diane-Louise Jordan try their luck at a little Strictly Come Dancing and the cast of EastEnders flex their vocal chords in an Albert Square medley.
Hannah Verdier
Unreported World
7.30pm, Channel 4
Last year, leaked footage from inside the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre caused uproar in Australia. The images prompted comparisons with the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib, further anguish about the treatment of Indigenous Australians by the country’s justice system, and a royal commission, due to report this month. Sophie Morgan travels to Australia and meets one of the boys at the centre of the scandal. Andrew Mueller
Extreme Wives with Kate Humble
9pm, BBC Two
The Springwatch stalwart continues her journey to meet women in the most challenging parts of the world. Tonight sees Humble visiting Israel to meet women adhering to strict Haredi standards, including a Chabad family containing 15 children and 26 grandchildren. As if looking after such a huge family isn’t enough, passing on orthodox values to her daughters is another task expected of matriarch Miriam.
Mark Gibbings-Jones
Gregory Porter’s Popular Voices
9.50pm, BBC Four
Soul and jazz singer Gregory Porter explores the transcendent power of the popular singing voice in this joyous new series, celebrating everyone from Prince to Whitney, Caruso to Freddie Mercury (if Caruso was an opera singer as big as a rock star, Mercury was an opera singer who fronted a rock band). Includes the wonderful aside from the latter: “I’ll always walk around like a Persian popinjay – and no one’s going to stop me, honey.”
Ali Catterall
Van Morrison Live at Eden
11.50pm, BBC Four
You go to see Van Morrison, you experience a strange disparity: between the weightless, uplifting nature of the music and the surly, unyielding nature of the man. At this Eden Project concert from earlier this year, Van duly serves up some jazz pleasantries from the new record and phones in a smattering of classics from his catalogue. Sure enough, there is a perceptible swaying of affluent fifytysomethings, just not a lot of what we used to call vibes.
John Robinson
American Horror Story, 10pm, Fox
Radical right-wing politics used as fodder for horror? Ryan Murphy didn’t need to sell many people on the plausibility of his seventh season’s premise when episode one aired. The plot has since been overtaken by real-world terrors and tested credulity with flashback reimaginings of counterculture history. Can the finale pull back from the brink of bonkers? Will it even try? Stalwart cast members including Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson ensure it’s fun to watch either way. Ellen E Jones
The Brokenwood Mysteries 8pm, Drama
It is Christmas in Brokenwood, New Zealand’s answer to Midsomer, and the town’s popular mayor is found at his home with his throat cut and wearing a Santa suit, following his annual appearance in the festive parade. Clues are thin on the ground, other than a pair of champagne flutes and a discarded meat pie in the living room. With a re-election race in the offing, eyes are naturally drawn to his four colourful rival candidates. Ben Arnold
Film choices
Super 8 (JJ Abrams, 2011) 9pm, Film4
In Ohio, 1979, a bunch of film-crazy teens (including Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning) are making a zombie movie on a Super 8 camera when a spectacular train crash introduces eerie Roswell-UFO events. Abrams’s beautifully retro, entertaining and suspenseful feature is a throwback to early Spielberg sci-fi hits such as ET and Close Encounters (and Spielberg in fact produces here).
Chicago (Rob Marshall, 2002) 1.05am, ITV3
Marshall’s zestful adaptation of the musical has a hotshot trio at its core: Renée Zellweger’s Roxie, who dreams of being a singing’n’dancing queen; Catherine Zeta-Jones’s starry nightclub dame Velma; and, when both end up in the slammer for the murder of their hubby and lover respectively, Richard Gere’s slick legal eagle Billy Flynn. Paul Howlett
Live sport
Tennis: ATP World Tour Finals 2pm, BBC Two. Coverage of day six from the O2 in London.
Premiership Rugby Union: Gloucester v Saracens 7pm, BT Sport 1. A top-flight encounter at Kingsholm.
Championship Football: Preston North End v Bolton Wanderers 7.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event. A Championship clash from Deepdale.
