Who Do You Think You Are?
9pm, BBC1
Craig Revel Horwood may be famous for doomed if dogged quests for a Strictly meritocracy, but his softer side shows here as he uncovers his roots. Travelling to Ballarat, Australia, he discovers how his ancestors arrived in the southern hemisphere, alongside the lives they had left behind. Further ancestral archaeology reveals tales forged during the gold rush and an unexpectedly extroverted character from the family’s past. Mark Gibbings-Jones
Who Wants My Council House?
8pm, Channel 4
In 2012, it was made easier for council tenants to exchange homes: from where they happen to be to anywhere else in the country, if they can find someone willing to swap with them. This film follows tenants looking to make such a trade. There is plentiful human drama, as total strangers view each other’s homes and neighbourhoods, but the underlying story, of course, is one of a shortage of plausible or affordable housing options. Andrew Mueller
Horizon: Dippy and the Whale
9pm, BBC2
When the Natural History Museum announced it was replacing the main hall’s Dippy the Diplodocus with a blue whale, the public were underwhelmed. But it seems there were solid reasons – chiefly to do with reminding us of our responsibility to still-living things. In this lovely film, David Attenborough narrates the story of a huge engineering challenge; the museum’s head of conservation says: “God, it’s been like childbirth!” Ali Catterall
Circus Kids: Our Secret World
9pm, Channel 5
Clowns, canvas and caravans: the children featured in this big top documentary series so far were born into the life, such as teen dirtbike daredevil Peter and junior knife-thrower Edward. This episode introduces Imogene, a 15-year-old from Great Yarmouth who is running off to the circus – with the blessing of her proud parents – for a seven-month stint where the trapeze highs will hopefully outnumber the toilet-emptying lows. Graeme Virtue
Decoding Disaster: A Timewatch Guide
9pm, BBC4
“Science,” says Earth scientist Dr Simon Day, “is a constant state of doubt.” This typically illuminating Timewatch documentary explores the BBC archives in search of historical explorations of natural disasters. How has analysis of cause and effect developed and are we any closer to being able to predict cataclysms like the 2004 tsunami? The conclusion is both alarming and oddly exciting; it’s striking how much we still don’t understand. Phil Harrison
How to Get Away With Murder
9pm, Sky Living
Season three of Peter Nowalk’s glossy mystery opens with Viola Davis as flawless as ever as Annalise. Her proteges are now in their second year of law school and flashbacks to their summer prove that it has been an eventful time, so it’s no wonder their grades are suffering. With Annalise making her students behave like real lawyers, there’s a lot of work to be done. Meanwhile, Wallace’s murder remains unsolved. Hannah Verdier
Dogs: An Amazing Animal Family
9pm, Sky1
Cat people may well be having their prejudices challenged by this series, presented by Patrick Aryee. It turns out your basic kitchen floor-soiling domestic dog is cousin to 36 other species of canine. The first dogs to be domesticated by man came from Asia, and so Patrick travels to Mongolia, where he meets the Bankhar hound, revealing that it only takes a dog 90 minutes of human contact at the right age to form a bond for life. John Robinson
Film choice
Killing Them Softly (Andrew Dominik, 2012) 11.35pm, Film4
Dominik’s brutally gripping adaptation of a George V Higgins 70s thriller is updated to economic-crisis-era 2008, painting a cynical portrait of Brand USA. Brad Pitt is the hitman Cogan, cleaning up the mess made by violent men by using his own brand of “soft” violence. It’s a melancholy, low-lit picture of greedy, dim hoodlums going about their pitiless business. Among them is James Gandolfini in a typically screen-bossing cameo.
13 Sins (Daniel Stamm, 2014) 12.45am, Horror Channel
Stamm’s remake of the Thai thriller 13 Beloved is a disturbingly dark tale of a decent man yielding to the temptation of wickedness. Mark Webber is highly convincing and almost sympathetic as salesman Elliot Brindle, who is sacked and broke and about to marry his sweetheart Shelby (Rutina Wesley). Then an anonymous voice on the phone offers him shedloads of money if he fulfils 13 increasingly grisly challenges.
Live sport
Cycling: Tour de France Stage 12 from Pau to Peyragudes, including the Col de Peyresourde. 9.45am, ITV4
Tennis: Wimbledon 2017 The women’s singles semi-finals are due today. 12.30pm, BBC2
Super League Rugby: Wigan Warriors v Warrington Wolves Coverage of the match in the penultimate round of fixtures, from the DW Stadium. 7pm, Sky Sports 1
