What a Performance! Pioneers of Popular Entertainment
9pm, BBC4
Frank Skinner and Suzy Klein present the first in this three-part canter through the history of British entertainment in the time before television. Tonight, they begin with the music-hall tradition, stopping off at Marie Lloyd, Champagne Charlie and comedian Dan Leno – widely believed to be the act copied by silent screen upstarts such as Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel. Skinner and Klein also form their own act to try their hand at old-school showbiz. Julia Raeside
Alex Polizzi’s Italian Islands
8pm, Channel 5
Hotel Inspector Alex Polizzi continues her Italian tour by taking in the beautiful scenery and local cuisine of the small islands in the south. This week, her first stop is the glamorous holiday destination of Capri. Then she’s off to Ischia’s impressive fort, Aragonese Castle, before heading to the remote island of Salina, where she has the tough job of sampling the famous Malvasia wine. Her journey is leisurely, but far-reaching and she has little trouble charming everyone she meets. Hannah Verdier
Doctor in the House
9pm, BBC1
In the series closer, Dr Rangan Chatterjee moves in with Dotti and Russ D’Arcy from Shrewsbury, in an attempt to head off a possible case of type 2 diabetes at the pass. (As in “pass the chips” – the family’s fridge may be pretty bare, but they have a shedload of takeaway chicken on their laps five nights a week). Can the GP convince 20-stone Dotti and smoker Russ to switch to “nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetables”? He will have to address the tragic source of Dotti’s comfort-eating first. Ali Catterall
The Last Kingdom
9pm, BBC2
Things are getting tough for Uhtred (in portentous voice: “Son of Uhtred”). Following his Cornish misadventures, the young warrior is once again in trouble with Alfred. Cue bromantic scenes involving Leofric and the promise of a warrior’s death. Things change abruptly as the Danes invade and Alfred, temporarily king of nothing, is forced to hide out in marshlands. Cakes are burned, plans are hatched and, in one of the show’s themes, Christian and pagan worldviews coexist uneasily. Terrific. Jonathan Wright
Detectorists
10pm, BBC4
What a great show this has been; its late summer vibes, subtle wisdom and inklings of melancholy making it a Nick Drake among sitcoms. As the series closes, Lance, Andy et al have reason to be optimistic. Lance has confined himself to leaving a mere eight messages for his daughter Kate, and Peter the “nighthawk” looks to have been vanquished. All comes to a head at the club rally, but quietly spectacular ensemble performances (especially from Sophie Thompson as Sheila) create a perfectly pitched tone throughout. John Robinson
Scandal
10pm, Sky Living
While Shonda Rhimes has done much for black female representation on TV in recent years, a lot of the US showrunner’s output is so soapy that she might as well set her next series in a detergent factory and be done with it. Tonight’s fifth season opener of her political thriller is a case in point, as White House fixer Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) becomes entangled in the death of a visiting royal. Unfortunately for British viewers, a plainly Princess Diana-inspired plot might seem not merely improbable, but insensitive, too. Hannah J Davies
Rent a Cop
10.30pm, BBC3
As this almost unbelievable observational documentary careers on, Darlington’s top private security mogul Francis has a problem: his protege, Pembo, has proved to be an annoying gasbag. There’s something faintly Tony Soprano-ish about how minor irritation brings out Francis’s ruthless streak. He also uses a flyering blitz for his neighbourhood watch meeting as an excuse to chat up, which for him means physically accost, local women, so it’s cheering when the event is a farce. Then, Francis dresses as an old woman to catch nuisance bikers. Bananas. Jack Seale
Film choice
The Curse of Frankenstein (Terence Fisher, 1957) 11pm, BBC4
Colourful remake that stands up to the standards of the 1931 Karloff classic, and helped to establish Hammer’s reputation for hammy, good-natured thrill-making: a homely House of Horror. Peter Cushing plays the misguided baron, Christopher Lee the creature he creates from odds and ends of various cadavers. Paul Howlett
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Niels Arden Oplev, 2009) 12.25am, Film4
This original Scandinavian adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s bestseller sensibly sticks closely to the all-conquering novel. There are superb performances from Noomie Rapace as the abused punk-cum-brilliant hacker Lisbeth Salander and Michael Nyqvist as the crusading journo she teams up with to exhume old crimes and new horrors. Powerful, gripping stuff. PH
Today’s best live sport
Snooker: UK Championship The last 16 clashes conclude. 1pm, BBC2
Golf: Hero World Challenge Opening day of the tournament, held in the Bahamas and won last year by Jordan Spieth. 5pm, Sky Sports 4
Championship Football: Reading v Queens Park Rangers Football league action from the Madejski Stadium. 7.30pm, Sky Sports 1
American Football: Detroit Lions v Green Bay Packers Ford Field hosts the NFC North encounter. 1.25am, Sky Sports 1
