Luisa Omielan’s What Would Beyoncé Do?!
11.25pm, BBC1
Body-positive, sex-positive comic Omielan spent five years working on her standup special inspired by one Mrs Knowles-Carter. The result is this programme, filmed in January, in which she interpolates the hits of Beyoncé (and Alanis and Adele) into a narrative that swings from toilet humour and cellulite to eating disorders, failed relationships and her brother’s depression. A fantastic show, for Single Ladies and beyond. Hannah J Davies
Count Arthur Strong
8.30pm, BBC1
A return series for the cult comic creation, and working definition of the phrase “acquired taste”. (Sceptics may feel they have endured funnier colonoscopies.) Tonight, Rory Kinnear’s long-suffering foil Michael accidentally invites the amateur spiritualist and full-time lush to perform an exorcism in his agent’s purportedly haunted house armed with a Most Haunted-style camera crew and a bottle of crème de menthe. AJC
Versailles
9pm, BBC2
For all the headlines about five-in-a-bed orgies, season two of this fairly truthful take on Louis XIV (historians Kate Williams and Greg Jenner shade the gaps in Inside Versailles afterwards) hasn’t had a surfeit of sex. This is an era of toxic plots and impotent machismo, which combine tonight as the embattled king sneakily spies on his courtiers. The cockroach in the croquembouche, Gaston (Harry Hadden-Patton), maintains the recent record of an exciting death a week. JS
Lethal Weapon
9pm, ITV
Indigestion or evidence of further heart problems? When Roger Murtaugh gets chest pains at breakfast, he’s keen to play down the significance of what’s just occurred. After all, he’s got a bracing day with Martin Riggs ahead of him, investigating crime in an exciting fashion. Which the duo duly do, as they work a case that draws Trish Murtaugh, in attorney mode, into their professional orbit. A kind of tail-waggy, puppy-like version of the movie franchise; great fun. JW
The Last Leg
10pm, Channel 4
The return of the topical satire series featuring Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker. From certain perspectives, the state of current affairs makes one want to weep in quiet despair rather than chortle but for those who can still find it in them to laugh, the team are joined by guest Armando Iannucci as they round up the biggest and most entertaining stories of the week, with particular emphasis, naturally, on the impending general election. DS
Bridget & Eamon
11pm, Gold
Equal parts Terry and June and Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, this barbed Irish sitcom is so committed to its 1980s setting and VHS aesthetic that you half expect Simon Bates to pop up explaining BBFC ratings. Bridget (Jennifer Zamparelli) is a perma-smoking social climber. Eamon (Bernard O’Shea) is an indolent grouch. As season two begins with a double bill, the quarrelsome couple try to expand their social circle and get dragged into local politics. GV
In the Name of the Gene
9pm, PBS America
Fascinating and enraging documentary looking at how advances in genetics have been hijacked by the stupid and/or malicious, determined to deploy this astounding new knowledge in the service of ignorance – and worse. As has been the case in other arenas, various charlatans, enabled by social media, have created a bastardised reality that serves their wretched agendas – and the facts struggle to keep pace. AM
Film choice
Enigma (Michael Apted, 2001) 1pm, Movies4Men
Adapted from Robert Harris’s bestseller, this well-staged wartime thriller is set among the code-breaking nerds and swots of Bletchley Park as they rack their brains to crack the Germans’ Enigma machine and uncover their U-boat activity. Dougray Scott is decently low-key as brilliant boffin Tom Jericho, wrestling with inner demons, infatuated with Saffron Burrows’s glamorous Claire, and helped out by Kate Winslet’s plucky Hester. Apted recreates a convincingly dreary wartime Britain.
Live sport
Cycling: Giro d’Italia 12noon, Eurosport 1
The 13th stage of the Grand Tour race, from Reggio Emilia to Tortona.
IPL Cricket 3pm, Sky Sports 1
More T20 action from India as another qualifying play-off takes place.
Pro-12 Rugby Union: Leinster v Scarlets 7.30pm, Sky Sports 1
The climax of the season approaches as the play-offs continue.
- This article was corrected on 19 May 2017. Due to an error during the editing process, we originally published next week’s TV previews.
