The Code
9pm, BBC4
The Aussie thriller centred on Ned Banks and his brother Jesse – respectively canny reporter and ace hacker – returns. Having landed themselves in trouble with the authorities, the duo now face extradition to the US. Unless, that is, Jesse helps locate a teen about to be “sold” via the dark web. Meantime, in the jungle of West Papua, Jan Roth (Anthony LaPaglia) narrowly escapes being gunned down. Who’s after him, and why? Tense, twisting, terrific. Jonathan Wright
Strictly Come Dancing
6.35pm, BBC1
This year’s Strictly has already had more twists and turns than an out-of-control conga, with the fabulous Tameka Empson’s early exit and Will Young’s decision to depart. Still, the show must go on, and the remaining dancers are once again hoofing for survival. High scores have already been dished out to the likes of Danny “Dodger from Hollyoaks” Mac and Olympic gymnast Claudia Fragapane, but who’ll be in this week’s dance-off? Hannah Verdier
The School That Got Teens Reading
8pm, BBC2
“I don’t do reading,” sneers a schoolboy at the start of this documentary, perhaps unaware that studies show teenagers who read for pleasure do better in the job market. In this inspirational – albeit troubling – programme, comedian Javone Prince and Blue Peter’s Helen Skelton have just three weeks to turn reluctant bibliophiles from a Lancaster state school (some of whom haven’t picked up a book in years) into confident bookworms. Ali Catterall
The Jonathan Ross Show
9.50pm, ITV
The host welcomes stars of the revived comedy-drama Cold Feet. Robert Bathurst and Hermione Norris are perhaps perceived as too posh for chatshows, so here we get James Nesbitt, Faye Ripley and John Thomson – the latter returning from the wilderness with some great performances. The avowedly un-laddish but also strangely unchallenging comedian Joe Lycett is also a guest, with Phil Collins providing music. John Robinson
Artsnight: The Man Booker Prize 2016
10.45pm, BBC2
Doing books justice on television is always difficult. But, as BBC2’s admirable new-found Saturday night commitment to the arts continues, David Baddiel will be giving it a try, announcing this year’s Man Booker shortlist and assessing the merits of the nominated novels. He’ll have some help from journalist Mariella Frostrup, crime writer Val McDermid and poet George Mpanga, who will be meeting some of the authors. Phil Harrison
Bridget And Eamon
11.35pm, Gold
Final episode of the 80s-set sitcom – one of Gold’s best-kept secrets – and the big time is beckoning for at least half of the titular twosome. After dining out on her reputation as the first Irish woman to make a lasagne (pronounced phonetically, of course), Bridget receives a nomination for RTE’s gala housewife of the year contest. But it’ll take some honed housewifery to get one over on the hot favourite from Dublin. Mark Gibbings-Jones
Sam Delaney’s News Thing
10.25pm, RT
Many have wondered why the UK doesn’t have an equivalent of the USA’s Daily Show. Traditionally, the answer was that UK politics wasn’t quite so appallingly absurd. But 2016 has changed that. Enter Sam Delaney, a sort of underfed-looking Al Murray, to pour scorn on the week’s news (episodes are available on YouTube as well as the Kremlin-funded RT). As yet, Delaney lacks gravitas but does a fine Ken Livingstone impersonation. David Stubbs
Film Choice
The Invisible Woman
(Ralph Fiennes, 2013) Saturday, 9pm, BBC2
Claire Tomalin’s book about Charles Dickens’s secret mistress gets a sensitive adaptation from director Fiennes and screenwriter Abi Morgan. Fiennes also stars as Dickens, who finds himself attracted to young actor Nelly Ternan, played luminously by Felicity Jones. It’s told in flashback, with a married Ternan recalling the power of Dickens’s attentions and her torture in starting an affair. It’s beautifully shot and begs the question: is the invisible woman Ternan, or Dickens’s much-wronged wife Catherine? Paul Howlett
Excalibur
(John Boorman, 1981), 10.45pm, TCM
Boorman seems lost in the mists of time with this confusing but bewitching version of the Arthurian legend (the narrative is all but engulfed by whizz-bang visuals). However, the images are often brilliant, with a sense of Camelot magic: savage battles, curious seduction and a Merlin (Nicol Williamson) so dotty he seems to appear from another dimension. PH
Revolutionary Road
(Sam Mendes, 2008), 11.15pm, BBC2
The Titanic twosome, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, are reunited here as Connecticut couple Frank and April Wheeler. The unravelling of their seven-year marriage resonates through a recreation of mid-50s, middle-class suburban USA. Adapted from Richard Yates’s acclaimed 1961 novel, Mendes’s drama is a complex and gripping account of the frustrations lurking beneath blithe social conformity. PH
The Great Beauty
(Paolo Sorrentino, 2013), 1.10am, Channel 4
Sorrentino’s loyal leading man Tony Servillo stars here as the 65-year-old Jep Gambardella, a hedonistic one-time writer given to haunting Rome’s most fashionable parties until news of the death of a woman he once loved plunges him into a poignant reassessment of his life. It’s an elegant, melancholic and utterly captivating portrait of elderly ennui and of a certain stratum of the eternal city. PH
Today’s best live sport
Test Cricket: Bangladesh v England 4.45am, Sky Sports 2 Coverage of the third day at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong.
Premier League Football: Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur 11.30pm, Sky Sports 1 High-flying Spurs visit the south coast for a tasty-looking test.
European Challenge Cup Rugby: Edinburgh v Harlequins 3pm, BT Sport 2 Action from pool 5 at Murrayfield.
