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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Ali Catterall, Gwilym Mumford, Hannah Verdier, Phil Harrison, Jack Seale and Paul Howlett

Friday’s best TV: Reggae Fever: David Rodigan; Children in Need 2018

David ‘Ram Jam’ Rodigan.
David ‘Ram Jam’ Rodigan. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian

Reggae Fever: David Rodigan
10pm, BBC Four

He’s the German-born, very English DJ, celebrated for his championing of Jamaican music. At 67, Sir David “Ram Jam” Rodigan (MBE and world soundclash king, if you please), whose name was once adopted by a Kingston gangster, is still packing them in by the score; his world-famous soundsystems recently attracting much younger crowds, drawn to his impeccable taste and passion for reggae. Not just a film about an exceptional man, but one about social change in the UK, too. Ali Catterall

Children in Need 2018
7.30pm, BBC One

A slightly bittersweet spectacle these days in the absence of the late Terry Wogan, Children in Need’s charitable impact is still strikingly effective: this year’s telethon is likely to nudge its total raised over the £1bn mark. Treats lined up include a Strictly special and the conclusion of The One Show’s Rickshaw Challenge. Gwilym Mumford

Alone at Home
8pm, Channel 4

What happens when you leave three children home alone for four days? Parents Alison and Andrew are about to find out. Can 12-year-old Lola prove she can be responsible and not just argue with her 10-year-old brother, Travis? Older brother Charlie has Down’s syndrome: will independence give him confidence? Hannah Verdier

Made in Great Britain
9pm, BBC Two

The gentle craft series continues, this week exploring hats. The team are in Luton – or “Strawopolis” as it was apparently once known – to make straw hats using traditional techniques. Their game efforts are intercut with some diverting social history including a potted guide to hats as a signifier of social class. Phil Harrison

Primal Scream: The Lost Memphis Tapes
9pm, BBC Four

Devoid of ideas after Screamadelica, the Scream decamped to Memphis to record follow-up Give Out But Don’t Give Up with the famed Muscle Shoals rhythm section. This lovely doc tells of how those mixes were axed due to not sounding modern enough, but now – 25 years later – have seen a release. GM

Code 37: Sex Crimes
9pm, More4

The season finale of a Belgian drama roughly akin to Law & Order: SVU, which has never reconciled its sensitive subject matter with its desire to provide regular cop-show thrills. As another unpleasant case concludes, Hannah (Veerle Baetens) is once again at odds with her male underlings. Jack Seale

Film choice

Catherine Zeta-Jones and Tom Hanks in The Terminal.
Catherine Zeta-Jones and Tom Hanks in The Terminal. Photograph: DreamWorks/Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar

The Terminal, 9pm, (Steven Spielberg, 2004) Paramount Network
Steven Spielberg’s warmhearted tale of an east European tourist (Tom Hanks) who spends 11 months in the departure lounge of JFK airport after being stranded by a coup back home. It is an absorbing true story of the little guy’s battle against bureaucracy – and of an unlikely romance with air steward Catherine Zeta-Jones. Paul Howlett

Live sport

Tennis: ATP World Tour Finals 2pm, BBC Two. More round-robin action.

Premiership Rugby Union: Gloucester v Leicester Tigers 7pm, BT Sport 1. Kingsholm hosts the top-flight clash.

Uefa Nations League Football: Wales v Denmark 7pm, Sky Sports Main Event. A Wales win ensures they top the group.

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