The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs
9pm, BBC1
Is it possible that, despite their proven scientific efficacy, we take too many prescribed pills? Dr Chris van Tulleken certainly thinks so and, while holding up huge bags of tablets to camera and saying “Gosh, isn’t that a lot?” isn’t exactly incontrovertible, he may be on to something in this series. Van Tulleken believes alternative therapies, including exercise and even swimming in freezing water, might be more helpful than pills whose effect may be placebo. David Stubbs
Careless Killings?: Tonight
7.30pm, ITV
With the NHS being modernised by the government in much the same way a lion would modernise a gazelle, provisions for mental health are stretched further than ever, and services are increasingly under strain to provide adequate care for those in need. Aasmah Mir investigates whether a lack of appropriate assistance could be a contributory factor in a number of murders, serious crimes and other incidents involving those with mental health problems. Mark Gibbings-Jones
Best Album of the Year 2016: Mercury Prize Live
9pm, BBC4
Lauren Laverne presents live coverage of the 25th Mercury prize, where the current, credible shortlist of a dozen artists will by scythed down to six finalists – including, for the first time, one voted for by the public. Will that be enough to nudge Bowie’s Blackstar to final victory? In any case, the person whose job it is to engrave the album title on the trophy is probably hoping verbose poppers the 1975 don’t sneak a win. Graeme Virtue
Absolutely Fashion: Inside British Vogue
9pm, BBC2
Part two of a disappointing look behind the scenes at the superlative fashion mag. Faced with an uncooperative interviewee in editor Alexandra Shulman, and studiously avoiding any insight into fashion, journalism or print media, documentarian Richard Macer opts to narrate pedestrian office machinations with the kind of pace and faux wide-eyed wonderment you might employ if you were reading a bedtime story to a two-year-old child. Rachel Aroesti
Inside Scotland Yard With Trevor McDonald
9pm, ITV
Concluding his trawl through the history of the Metropolitan Police, Trevor McDonald considers the “challenges” the force has faced – and continues to face. Guns, we learn, aren’t just a problem today, but were back in 1911, the year of the blood-soaked Sidney Street siege. We also hear from the Teale brothers, associates of the Krays (“the biggest bullies in the world”), and the inspiring Norwell Roberts, who battled racism as the Met’s first black officer. Jonathan Wright
My Floating Home
9pm, More4
The increasing implausibility of buying property on land will have prompted many to consider living in (or ideally on) one of Britain’s waterways. The first edition of this series is not about any mere houseboat but an actual house that floats. Mark Evans meets Mark and Holly from Chichester, who are commissioning such a structure. The result is an interesting model for modern living but the process is somewhat less enthralling; much of it is best viewed on fast-forward. Andrew Mueller
The Night Of
9pm, Sky Atlantic
What could have been a straight remake of British whodunnit Criminal Justice has been turned into a thing of magnificence by co-writers Richard Price and Steven Zaillian, a slow tour of the corridors of the US criminal justice system through the eyes of accused Muslim novice Naz. Tonight, he fatefully encounters Freddy (Omar from The Wire) at Riker’s Island, who makes him an offer, while lawyer Jack Stone raises the awkward issue of fees with Naz’s parents. David Stubbs
Film choice
Harry Brown (Daniel Barber, 2009) 10.05pm, 5STAR
This might have been just another vigilante movie were it not for the dignified presence of Michael Caine. His Harry Brown – a former Royal Marine living a lonely life on a London estate, who takes up arms against a gang of drug dealers after they attack his old mucker Len (David Bradley) – was his best role in years. Spoiler alert: the violent finale is daft but Caine’s HB is an affecting portrait of an old-school diamond geezer.
Rabbit Hole (John Cameron Mitchell, 2010) 11.45pm, BBC1
Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart are the once happily married Corbetts, a couple whose lives have been shattered by the death of their young son. No longer able to communicate, they are both in therapy and seeking solace in other relationships. It’s a sensitive, perceptive drama, with compelling central performances.
Live sport
Paralympics 2016 Day eight of the Games in Rio, featuring a number of athletics, canoe and swimming events. 1pm, Channel 4
Women’s Euro 2017 Qualifier: England v Estonia Jacqui Oatley presents coverage of the Group I encounter at Meadow Lane, Nottingham. 7pm, BBC2
Europa League: Southampton v Sparta Prague Coverage of the matchday one Group K fixture at St Mary’s Stadium. 7.45pm, BT Sport 2
