The Pennine Way
7.30pm, BBC2
This is the sort of handsome, avuncular series the Beeb does really well. Polar adventurer and diver Paul Rose presents a four-part documentary (showing daily) in which he takes on the Pennine Way, a forbidding trek that runs like a spine through the north of England. It was opened in 1965, following resistance from the landed gentry. As well as telling that story, he meets theatre director Barry Rutter, who recalls past literary residents along the route, including Ted Hughes. David Stubbs
BBC: The Secret Files
9pm, BBC4
Caversham, Berkshire is home to a vast archive of BBC correspondence, featuring letters either written by or concerning everyone from President Roosevelt to Ken Dodd. Penelope Keith looks back at letters begging for work from the likes of Arthur Lowe and Kenneth Williams, as well as the corporation’s lofty responses to some who would later become household names. Enid Blyton, it’s revealed, barely appeared on the BBC for 30 years because they thought so little of her. Entertaining, though it would work just as well on the radio. DS
Life In Squares
9pm, BBC2
It’s 1905. The Stephen sisters, later to find fame as painter Vanessa Bell and writer Virginia Woolf (Phoebe Fox and Lydia Leonard), throw away their corsets and help invent bohemianism. So begins a three-part portrait of the Bloomsbury group that, on the evidence of an opener that sees Vanessa marrying well-connected Clive Bell, and artist Duncan Grant bedding writer Lytton Strachey and JM Keynes, promises to be a quietly involving affair – sorry, series of affairs. Jonathan Wright
24 Hours In Police Custody
9pm, Channel 4
Police stations rank with A&E departments as reliable providers of compelling fare for documentary TV: visitors to the facility under scrutiny are by definition enduring a significant life experience and the staff possess the hard-won wisdom that comes of dealing with these, day in and day out. This series embeds itself with Bedfordshire’s police, who, in this episode, are preoccupied with an outbreak of teenage hooliganism near Luton, and a suspect vigorously denying accusations of robbery and assault. Andrew Mueller
Parks And Recreation
8pm, Dave
After an ill-fitting slot on late-night BBC4, Parks And Rec moves to the more suitable surroundings of Dave for its fourth series. In the first of tonight’s opening double bill, Leslie weighs up running for public office, aware that the decision may scupper her romance with Ben. Meanwhile, Tom looks to get his “media conglomerate” Entertainment 720 off the ground, despite not really knowing what a “media conglomerate” does. In the second episode, Ron crosses paths with his terrifying ex-ex-wife Tammy One. Consistently joyous comedy. Gwilym Mumford
The Boy Who Wants His Leg Cut Off
9pm, BBC3
As part of BBC3’s Defying The Label season on youth disability, we meet 11-year-old Dillon Chapman from Somerset, who was born with neurofibromatosis. Although he’s a chirpy lad, his left leg is riddled with tumours, leaving him unable to enjoy the same freedoms as his peers. Dillon is desperate to persuade doctors that amputation is the best course of action. As he and his parents explore treatment options in the UK and US, it’s a journey that’s both heartwrenching and inspirational. Hannah J Davies
Film choice
The Thief Of Bagdad
(Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell And Tim Whelan, 1940) 10.50am, More4
A treasure trove of magical special effects and colourful adventure created by the wizardry of producer Alexander Korda, the Spielberg of his time. Little Sabu stars in the Arabian Nights tale as the thief (“and son of a thief and grandson of a thief…”) who teams up with a genie to confound grand vizier Conrad Veidt. Powell directed most of the Sabu scenes, his first experience of Technicolor. Paul Howlett
From Dusk Till Dawn
(Robert Rodriguez, 1996) 10pm, E4
A trashy, violent, Tex-Mex ghouls-and-gangsters movie, lovingly scripted by Quentin Tarantino and directed with hard-rock energy by Rodriguez. George Clooney and Tarantino are murderous, bank-robbing brothers who kidnap the Rev Harvey Keitel and family (including Juliette Lewis) and turn up at a gruesome Mexican brothel swarming with rancid biker-vampires. Then it’s The Wild Bunch meets The Evil Dead, a gorefest of staggering proportions. PH
Today’s best live sport
ATP Tennis: bet-at-home Open First day of the tournament, held at the Rothenbaum Tennis Centre in Germany. 12.30pm, Sky Sports 3
Diving: World Championships The men’s 1m springboard final from the Aquatics Palace in Kazan, Russia. 1pm, British Eurosport
One Day Cricket: Derbyshire Falcons v Yorkshire Vikings Royal London One-Day Cup Group A encounter. 1.55pm, Sky Sports Ashes
Speedway: Lakeside Hammers v Coventry Bees Elite League action from the Arena Essex Raceway. 7.30pm, Sky Sports 1
