Child Genius
8pm, Channel 4
As our nation lurches between farce and crisis, it feels as if our collective IQ is in steep decline. Thank goodness, then, for Richard Osman, championing our youngest generation by yet again seeking to crown the biggest eight- to 12-year-old brainbox of all. Every night this week he will chip away at an initial intake of 19 young hopefuls until an elite swot team of just five finalists remain. Tonight’s opening skirmishes involve a high-stakes spelling bee and a crash-course in Old English, which seemeth rathær cruelle. Graeme Virtue
Warren
9pm, BBC One
Is it 1980, again? You could certainly be forgiven for thinking so on the evidence of this dire new sitcom from writer Jimmy Donny Cosgrove, which stars Martin Clunes as Warren, a permanently harassed driving instructor. The strangest comedy hors d’oeuvre for a new Alan Partridge show you will ever see. Mike Bradley
Long Lost Family Special: Born Without Trace
9pm, ITV
Where did I come from? This is the question faced by foundlings – children abandoned as babies who grow up wondering who their parents were. In this special, Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell help solve those problems for three individuals with the aid of DNA technology. MB
Around the World By Train With Tony Robinson
9pm, Channel 5
A slight but engaging travelogue in which Tony Robinson explores the quirky minutiae of the cities he visits by train. Tonight, he pokes around the backstreets of Paris, meets nudists in Munich, gets drunk on a sleeper train in Hungary and goes fishing in Istanbul. Phil Harrison
True Detective
9pm, Sky Atlantic
This has been a fine third season, with an undercurrent of racial tension sometimes airbrushed from procedural drama. The way the series has crossed timelines has been deft, producing its own revelations, but tonight we finally get to the truth about the Purcell case as Wayne struggles to maintain his grip on reality. David Stubbs
This Time With Alan Partridge
9.30pm, BBC One
Norfolk’s notorious broadcaster is back on primetime TV, standing in as guest presenter on BBC One magazine show This Time. Little do the showrunners know how much damage one Partridge can do. Cue “erotic hand-washing” and a cringe-inducing interview with a “hacktivist”. MB
Film choice
There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007) 12.50am, AMC from BT
A powerhouse performance from Daniel Day-Lewis is at the dark heart of this tale of blood, sweat and black gold in 1900s California from Paul Thomas Anderson. His Daniel Plainview, a silver prospector-turned-oil tycoon, is part violent, obsessive monster, part loving father, in an American epic of a movie. Paul Howlett
Today’s best live sport
ODI Cricket: West Indies v England 1pm, Sky Sports Main Event. Third match in the series.
Championship Football: Nottingham Forest v Derby 7.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event. Promotion-chasing rivals face off.
WTA Tennis: Abierto Mexicano Telcel 10pm, BT Sport 1. Day one of the women’s tour event, held down in Acapulco.
