The Great Pottery Throw Down
8pm, BBC2
Sara Cox hosts a new series of the clay-based contest. Making like Demi Moore at the wheel (if Ghost were based in Stoke-on-Trent), 10 home potters – such as pub landlord Richard, who also likes to re-enact English civil war battles – aim to throw and decorate an identical 16-piece dinner set before the keen eyes of judges Keith Brymer-Jones and Kate Malone. Then it’s time for the fiendish “wiring off” challenge. Ali Catterall
The Secret Life of Five-Year-Olds
8pm, Channel 4
The highly entertaining – if curiously intermittent – pop psychology series returns for another two-parter, this time using its camera-rigged nursery and arsenal of social experiments to observe differences in the behaviour of boys and girls. Accompanying the usual silliness is some rather dispiriting proof that the crudest and most extreme gender stereotypes seem to be deeply ingrained in children by the time they start school. Rachel Aroesti
Natural World: Cheetahs – Growing Up Fast
9pm, BBC2
A mother training her cubs to survive alone is a familiar story in nature docs, but it’s lent greater intimacy here by cameraman Kim Wolhuter: he appears on screen to recall how a cheetah family in Zimbabwe allowed him much closer access than animals in the wild normally would. Thus the emotional peaks and furrows – an education in hunting impala, the death of several cubs – are sharper and more poignant. David Attenborough narrates. Jack Seale
Unforgotten
9pm, ITV
The second series of this British cold-case drama, starring the always-good Nicola Walker, continues. Unforgotten is often a mixed bag, and tonight is no exception: as the investigation into David Walker’s background becomes progressively darker, there are solid performances by some dependable actors. Still, as original as the series can sometimes be, the mood is often spoiled by dialogue that wasn’t exactly baked fresh this morning. John Robinson
Parenting for Idiots
10pm, Channel 4
New series in which celebs tell nightmarish and perhaps exaggerated tales of raising children. Among those spilling stories of projectile defecation, trips to A&E and reluctant eating are Danny Dyer, Jonathan Ross, Jamelia, Lauren Laverne (“It’s a tomato – you just ate one of your snots, try it!”) and, poignantly, Carrie Fisher. Meanwhile, childless Made in Chelsea stars Jamie Laing and Mark‑Francis Vandelli are given custody of a baby. David Stubbs
Scandal
10pm, Sky Living
US showrunner Shonda Rhimes’s racy political drama returns for a sixth season and – as with many shows of its ilk – it might well seem more plausible than reality at the present moment. In this opener, the election results are in, but will it be Vargas or Fitz’s ex Mellie heading into the White House? “It will be hard to believe that we didn’t know about our election [when watching the show],” its star Kerry Washington said recently, hinting at a loss for the former first lady. Hannah J Davies
Ronnie O’Sullivan’s American Hustle
10pm, History
Could a snooker genius take on the greats of American pool? It’s an odd question for the History Channel to address. This series tries to get away with it by adding cultural titbits to the road trip hustle as Masters victor Ronnie O’Sullivan (accompanied by a pal, sports presenter Matt Smith) traverses the States. Tonight, he’s in Chicago, visiting Al Capone’s local and a firing range. Basically, a stag do that’s somehow been parlayed into a TV series. Phil Harrison
Film choice
Journey Into Fear (Norman Foster, 1943) 2.35am, Movies4Men
Foster directed, but Orson Welles was the guiding hand. This, his first venture into film noir, is an Istanbul-set wartime thriller not a million miles from Casablanca. Based on Eric Ambler’s novel, it stars Joseph Cotten as a munitions expert on the run from Gestapo agents, but lucky to have leopardskin-suited dancer Josette (Dolores del Rio) on his side. The voyage aboard a steamship across the Black Sea to supposed safety is a labyrinthine exercise in deadly double-crosses, while Welles is menacing and mysterious as police chief Colonel Haki. Paul Howlett
The Man From Laramie (Anthony Mann, 1955) 11.35am, More4
Mann’s revenge western is a dark affair, shot through with elements of guilt, sadism and dysfunction. James Stewart is the man hunting gunrunners whose greedy dealing with the Indians has led to his brother’s death. The trail leads to Donald Crisp’s ranch, and confrontation with the culprit (Arthur Kennedy) and Crisp’s twisted son (Alex Nicol). Paul Howlett
Live sport
Snooker: German Masters Coverage of the second day of the ranking tournament at the Tempodrom in Berlin. 9am, Eurosport 1
Africa Cup of Nations Semi-final No 2 from the Stade de Franceville in Gabon. 6.45pm, Eurosport 2
PGA Tour Golf: Phoenix Open Or to give it its evocative full title, The Waste Management Phoenix Open from Scottsdale, Arizona. 8pm, Sky Sports 4
