Contagion! The BBC Four Pandemic
9pm, BBC Four
“I may look and feel perfectly normal, but I’m carrying a potentially lethal disease that I have been spreading around this normally quiet, leafy little town … ” Don’t worry, mathematician Dr Hannah Fry is only engaged in a simulation, discovering what would happen in the case of a UK flu pandemic scare – which the government happily assures us will absolutely happen at some point. Emergency medic Dr Javid Abdelmoneim is on hand with frightening facts and shocking statistics.
Ali Catterall
Big Cats About the House
8pm, BBC Two
Shameless gif-bait, but still compelling. Giles Clark, a keeper at the Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, takes some of his work home with him – specifically, in this episode, a panther cub abandoned by its mother. The practical and ethical dilemmas posed by hand-rearing a wild animal are thoughtfully addressed.
Andrew Mueller
Civilisations
9pm, BBC Two
The latest in this illuminating series sees Mary Beard examine religious art, from the temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the works of Tintoretto housed in Venice to an extraordinary weeping icon of the Virgin Mary in Seville. Beard looks into the controversy and danger these supposedly dogmatic works generate.
David Stubbs
Martin Luther King by Trevor McDonald
9pm, ITV
To mark the coming 50th anniversary of the civil rights leader’s assassination, Sir Trevor aims to tell King’s story – and also to uncover something of his times and his motivations. There are views on MLK from Naomi Campbell and General Colin Powell and a meeting with a former KKK member.
John Robinson
SEAL Team
9pm, Sky1
Elite soldier Jason Hayes (David Boreanaz) is in mandatory therapy following the death of his best friend. He’s estranged from his wife. He really shouldn’t be working, but the war on terror demands he be deployed in Liberia. First episode in a well crafted, if rather jingoistic, new action drama.
Jonathan Wright
Celebrity Juice Live
10pm, ITV2
Keith Lemon and pals indulge in a live episode to launch a new series of the gameshow. As well as regulars Fearne Cotton, Holly Willoughby and Gino D’Acampo, Georgia “Toff” Toffolo joins, who – despite, or maybe thanks to, her friendship with Stanley Johnson – is now a regular primetime rent-a-gob.
Hannah J Davies
TV film
The Drop 9pm, Film4
This angsty tale of Brooklyn crooks stars Tom Hardy as Bob, a quiet guy behind a bar run by cousin Marv (James Gandolfini, in his final role). But Marv is under the thumb of Chechen bad guys and it’s only a matter of time before Bob’s feelings for waitress Nadia (Noomi Rapace) and a cute pitbull puppy lead to bloodletting.
Paul Howlett
Live sport
Cycling: Tour of Catalunya, 2.45pm, Eurosport 1
Stage four, a 170.8km race from Llanars to La Molina.
Darts: Premier League, 7pm, Sky Sports Main Event
Round eight from the SSE Hydro in Glasgow.
Test Cricket: New Zealand v England, 12.30am, Sky Sports Cricket
The second day of the first Test in Auckland.
