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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Andrew Mueller, Jack Seale, Ali Catterall, Ben Arnold, John Robinson, Rachel Aroesti, Phil Harrison and Paul Howlett

Thursday’s best TV: Born Too White; Has Political Correctness Gone Mad?

Oscar Duke visits albino Africans in Born Too White.
Oscar Duke visits albino Africans in Born Too White. Photograph: Sam Clarke/BBC/Dragonfly/Endemol Shine Group

Born Too White
9pm, BBC2

Typically absorbing This World documentary, exploring the shameful plight of albino people in east Africa. Oscar Duke, a doctor previously featured in 24 Hours in A&E and an albino himself, visits Malawi and Tanzania, where albinos are not merely persecuted and shunned but frequently attacked and even killed. Duke meets east Africa’s albinos and – illuminatingly, if enragingly – their tormentors, including a man imprisoned for murder. Andrew Mueller

Has Political Correctness Gone Mad?
9pm, Channel 4

Trevor Phillips delivers another unhelpful polemic. He rehearses the canard that stopping minority groups being demonised has infringed ordinary people’s freedoms; trivial instances of uncertainty or ambiguity are held up as evidence that the effort to curb hate speech has overreached. This mythical suppression is then blamed, to the exclusion of other factors, for Brexit/Trump: he says we gave anti-immigrant views too little attention, not too much. Jack Seale

Madame Tussaud: A Legend in Wax
9pm, BBC4

Madame Tussaud’s official memoir, as Professor Pamela Pilbeam says here, may be “a load of tripe”, but it was the product of a businesswoman who absolutely knew the value of a brand. As evinced by this profile, her real-life story, bound up with the French Reign of Terror, the Industrial Revolution and British royalty, was astonishing (and it’s amusing to discover her original Baker Street exhibit was considered a wee bit pricey, too). Ali Catterall

The Swingers
10pm, Channel 4

This new Dutch drama, based on a best-selling novel by Saskia Noort called – rather less provocatively – New Neighbours, finds writer Peter and pregnant girlfriend Eva embarking on a move to the suburbs. Their new place is opposite that of fitness instructor Rebecca and Steef, a sleazy, corrupt policeman. Soon tragedy strikes. Just because Peter is wearing a Wilco T-shirt, it doesn’t make this any-the-less soapy. It’s going for Scandi noir, but really misses the mark. Ben Arnold

Death in Paradise
9pm, BBC1

The enduringly popular murder-mystery series concludes its sixth season. For those not immediately charmed by the scenery and the gentle pace, new lead Ardal O’Hanlon has proved to be a real incentive to watch, his bemused, quizzical air a good fit with the show’s red-herring-strewn plotlines. In tonight’s finale, a mayoral candidate is murdered while casting his ballot. True to form, DI Jack Mooney discursively uncovers the grudges that all present had against him. John Robinson

Gap Year
9pm, E4

It’s not clear why this comedy drama by Tom Basden – creator of Plebs, writer of Fresh Meat and one quarter of 00s sketch group Cowards – is called Gap Year, seeing as nobody involved is on one. Instead, it follows two mates travelling around China over the summer and the people they meet there. Compared with Basden’s previous work, this opener feels disappointingly pedestrian - barring every word uttered by annoying Brit Greg (the inimitable Tim Key), that is. Rachel Aroesti

Football: A Brief History By Alfie Allen
10pm, History

Given that he played for Arsenal’s youth team and sang backing vocals on his dad Keith’s era-defining ladsploitation anthem Vindaloo, Alfie Allen has modern football covered. But he’s aware that many children of the Premier League are ignorant about what came before. This series sees him revisit a semi-forgotten world of mud, racism, modest wages and community centrality, and pondering what came after. Did we lose more than we gained? Phil Harrison

Jennifer Aniston in Marley & Me.
Jennifer Aniston in Marley & Me. Photograph: REX/20th Century Fox/Everett

Film choice

Marley & Me (David Frankel, 2008), 11pm, 5Star

Adapted from John Grogan’s book of memoirs, this winning canine comedy has Marley the cheeky golden labrador moving in with the Grogans (Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston) when they relocate to Florida. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll pant and scratch in sympathy with Marley’s antics, as a pretty serious account of a sometimes troubled marriage unfolds. Paul Howlett

Live sport

Snooker Shootout Coverage of the opening day’s play at the single-frame tournament, which takes place at the Watford Colosseum. 11.45am, ITV4

Premier League darts Action from the fourth round of the season, including Michael van Gerwen v Adrian Lewis. 7pm, Sky Sports 1

Europa League football: Spurs v Gent Last 32 second-leg clash, held at Wembley Stadium. 7.30pm, BT Sport 2

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