Free Solo
8pm, National Geographic
Resembling Adam Driver, sounding like Bill and Ted, and scaling verticals like Spider-Man, even Alex Honnold’s girlfriend calls him a “weird dude”. This frankly terrifying film – the best documentary winner at this year’s Baftas and Oscars – follows the Californian, regarded as the world’s greatest “free soloist” climber (ie no ropes), as he prepares physically and mentally for his craziest feat yet: clambering up the Yosemite’s El Capitan, an “unfathomably huge” wall of granite. An exhilarating ride. Ali Catterall
Ice Age: Return of the Mammoth
7.30pm, Channel 4
Could herds of woolly mammoth once again roam Siberia? That’s the premise of Nick Clark-Powell’s inquiring feature-length documentary that sees palaeontologist Dr Tori Herridge place ethical concerns (along with recently recovered mammoth DNA) under the microscope. Mike Bradley
Call the Midwife
8pm, BBC One
How anyone can think of CTM as Sunday night comfort TV is baffling, as once again it shreds viewers’ emotions. The last episode of the series is best watched with hankies to hand as Sister Hilda grants a terminally ill patient her last wish. Elsewhere, the Turners are preparing to say goodbye to May, the cute orphan. Hannah Verdier
Race Across the World
9pm, BBC Two
Five pairs of travellers surrender their bank cards and smartphones and embark on a thrilling bid to claim a £20,000 prize for being the first to reach Singapore over land. Each contestant will only have the cash equivalent of an air fare to their next destination, the first of which is the Greek city of Delphi. MB
Traitors
9pm, Channel 4
Who’s fooling who? Bash Doran’s expertly crafted 1945 spy thriller presents a new traitor at every turn, an unrelentingly tense affair that harks back to murdered spook Phillip Jarvis’s initial suspicions. Will ingenue Feef Symonds turn out to be a match for secretly formidable boss Priscilla (and her secrets)? MB
Faithfull: The Marianne Faithfull Story
9.30pm, BBC Four
In the opening scenes of Sandrine Bonnaire’s absorbing film about Faithfull, she seems sad, even fatalistic, as if not expecting to be long for this world. Here she still is, however; voice weathered by the highs of pop success and the lows of addiction. She’s a reluctant yet candid interviewee. David Stubbs
Film choice
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Peter Jackson, 2013) 5.55pm, ITV2
The second instalment of Peter Jackson’s Hobbity LotR follow-up finds Martin Freeman’s laidback Bilbo Baggins and his gang, led by Richard Armitage’s Thorin, fairly speeding along towards the lonely mountain – the lair of Smaug, a dragon that would give Game of Thrones’s Daenerys nightmares. Paul Howlett
Live sport
Cycling: 2019 Track World Championships 1pm, BBC Two. The final day from Poland.
Premiership Rugby Union: Newcastle Falcons v Worcester Warriors 2.30pm, BT Sport 1. From Kingston Park.
Premier League Football: Everton v Liverpool. 4pm, Sky Sports Main Event. The Merseyside derby.
