Harry Potter: A History of Magic
9pm, BBC2
To coincide with a British Library exhibition celebrating 20 years since The Philosopher’s Stone, this doc investigates the texts and artefacts that fed JK Rowling’s imagination. Jo-Ro herself is present to witness the unrolling of a 17th-century guide to alchemy, and to reveal how many of her spells and potions were based on research. If you’re half as big a Harry fan as the visitors who keep popping up to cast spells, you’ll be rapt. Jack Seale
Strictly Come Dancing
6.35pm, BBC1
Themed weeks are generally tiresome, but Strictly’s annual Halloween special is one exception. Disturbing costumes, gloriously over-the-top makeup and cringe-inducing behind-the-scenes clips involving spiders and skeletons are guaranteed as the dancers hit the floor. By the end of the weekend, only 10 couples will have survived fright night. And stay tuned: retro pop stars Steps perform on Sunday night’s results show. Hannah Verdier
When Harry Met Meghan: A Royal Romance
9pm, Channel 4
Meghan Markle must be mad. She’s a successful and independent woman who, for the love of Prince Harry, is apparently on the verge of condemning herself to a lifetime of this sort of thing: namely, documentaries exploring her life, character and family history in minute, almost forensic detail. Expect testimony from friends, film industry insiders and, that most masochistic branch of the journalistic fraternity, royal watchers. Phil Harrison
Gunpowder
9.10pm, BBC1
“My name is Guy Fawkes,” menaced Tom Cullen at the end of the last episode. And while there’s probably no way of introducing the gunpowder plotter with any degree of subtlety, Kit Harington and Ronan Bennett’s three-parter continues grimly (some burned-alive Jews this week) and unburdened by excessive nuance. Catesby assembles his dirty half-dozen intent on parliamentary demolition, while Mark Gatiss’s oily Cecil plots with the Spanish. It’s blunt, but to the point. Ben Arnold
The Jonathan Ross Show
10.20pm, ITV
The veteran gabsmith welcomes a fresh phalanx of guests to his studio, including R&B superstar Tina Turner, who recently returned from retirement to work on the musical biopic of her life, which is set to open next year. Also set to sample the green room buffet are controversy courting UFC combatant-cum-professional boxer Conor McGregor, presenter Clare Balding and Spider-Man Andrew Garfield. Plan B brings the tunes. Mark Gibbings-Jones
Walking with Giraffes
8pm, Nat Geo Wild
Remember Marius? He was the healthy young giraffe deemed expendable by Copenhagen Zoo because his genes were over-represented in their breeding programme. The debate sparked by the culling and public autopsy of poor Marius is one of the touchstones of this illuminating film, a safari through the fractious world of giraffe conservation where healthy overall numbers can obscure the crises facing various sub-species. Graeme Virtue
Most Haunted
10pm, Really
This may be a new episode of the ghost-hunting series, but all the same, Yorkshire pubs related to sheep have historically been excellent hunting grounds for the show. Following a trip to York, the team head to The Fleece in Elland, West Yorkshire. It’s a charming building from the outside but inside there are darker presences about. A persistent bloodstain. A headless ghost. Then there’s some poltergeist activity that almost sends Yvette Fielding packing. John Robinson
Film choice
Flying Blind, (Katarzyna Klimkiewicz, 2012), 11.50pm, BBC2
Helen McCrory, the smouldering matriarch of TV’s Peaky Blinders, is the highlight of Katarzyna Klimkiewicz’s implausible thriller. Her Bristol-based engineering lecturer, Frankie, falls for handsome student Kahil (Najib Oudghiri) who, apart from the rampant sex, is suspiciously interested in her drone-design expertise. Paul Howlett
A Field in England, (Ben Wheatley, 2013), 1.10am (GMT), Film4
Free Fire director Ben Wheatley’s psychedelic English civil war drama is a weird and creepy thing. Shot in monochrome and set entirely in that field, a bunch of deserters fall under the spell of Michael Smiley’s saturnine sorcerer, and of dreadful magic mushrooms. It’s a period drama like no other. Paul Howlett
Untouchable, (Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano, 2011), 1.15am, BBC2
Based lightly on a true story, this seductive, emotionally loaded French film survives its cliches thanks to the two charismatic leads. François Cluzet is Philippe, a millionaire paralysed from the neck down, who takes on the young, streetwise African Driss (Omar Sy) as his new carer. The irreverent Driss’s effect on Philippe and his stuffy household is hugely enjoyable – although it’s clear our affections are being shamelessly manipulated. Paul Howlett
Live sport
Premier League Football: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur Can Kane and co conquer Old Trafford? 11.30am, Sky Sports Main Event
Premiership Rugby: Northampton Saints v Wasps Action from Franklin’s Gardens. 2.30pm, BT Sport 2
World Heavyweight Boxing: Anthony Joshua v Carlos Takam The UK’s premier pugilist defends the crown he won in April. 6pm, Sky Sports Box Office
