Back in Time for the Weekend
8pm, BBC2
Back in Time for Dinner’s Robshaws are replaced by the Ashby-Hawkins clan. Steph and Rob are a modern couple: she wins the bread, he minds the kids and works as a childminder. Teenagers Daisy and Seth are glued to their tablets. They’ll spend consecutive weekends in each decade of the last century, beginning with the 1950s as their home is remodelled to fit the period. Worth it alone for the section on ballroom dancing with Angela Rippon, who continues to be an ageless goddess. Julia Raeside
The Secret Life of the Zoo
8pm, Channel 4
“If you compare chimps to humans, give me chimps any day,” says zookeeper Neil, whose engaging, deadpan tone is typical of this new series based at Chester zoo. Taking a behind-the-scenes look at the animals and their relationship with the keepers, this first episode begins with feeding time and an introduction to the inmates, including the meerkats and elephants. We also see animals selected to go off and breed, and, despite Neil’s assurances, a right old tear-up in the chimps’ enclosure. David Stubbs
Sugar Free Farm
8pm, ITV
In this reality show, celebs including Rory McGrath, Jennifer Ellison and Jane McDonald go cold turkey on their sugar addictions for two weeks. Last week, there were unpleasant revelations (there is sugar in alcohol, so they won’t be drinking any), while a “sugar crash” arrived on day three, bringing with it much moodiness. Today, we join the participants in better form and undertaking some farm-labouring tasks. It’s news to Jen that lambs will be slaughtered for food, while Jane reveals an uncanny affinity with turkeys. John Robinson
Phone Shop Idol
10pm, BBC2
Now we get to the meat of this off-kilter doc, as the smartphone salespeople who want to be crowned Britain’s best reach the regional finals. In a carpeted hotel suite with three judges peering harshly from behind a trestle table, it could be an early series of Pop Idol. Turning customer service into a contrived competitive sport feels cruel when a few hopefuls crack during some demeaningly silly tests but, by the end, the series has again made the attempt to wring glory from a banal job engaging. Moving, even. Jack Seale
Obsessed With My Body
10pm, Channel 4
An exploration of how some young men are preoccupied with their looks: 16-year-old bodybuilder Duncan wants to be like Arnold Schwarzenegger, selfie-addict Jinead spends hours preening his hair, and cousins Ash and James documented their transformation from skinny to buff on YouTube. With phrases such as “If in doubt, smile and pout” flying about, not to mention scenes of extreme fake tanning, there’s plenty to scoff at. But behind the bold facade, these boys also share stories of anorexia and being bullied. Hannah Verdier
Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled
10pm, Dave
Like QI but without all the difficult stuff, As Yet Untitled brings you amusing chat, skilfully directed to a destination via some anecdotal coordinates. Rounded human personas do better in this environment than people who seem to be rehearsing new material, and so it proves tonight, where Russell Kane spends yet more time talking about his mum. More enjoyable are Lucy Montgomery, who has had trouble in Iran, and Bob Mortimer, who explains how he became “the cockroach king” and his generosity with M&S vouchers. JR
South of Hell
10pm, Pick
Horror provocateur Eli Roth directs the first episode of this gothic supernatural thriller set in South Carolina. Mena Suvari stars as Maria, a doomsday-cult survivor with a dark passenger: her personal demon, Abigail, a libidinous green-eyed monster who periodically possesses her body. Great for forcibly exorcising other evil spirits but unsettling when she’s putting the moves on Maria’s brother, David. It’s utter hokum, but if you’re missing the salacious True Blood, it might ring your devil’s doorbell. Graeme Virtue
Film choice
American Gangster (Ridley Scott, 2007) 10.05pm, ITV4
Scott’s glossy, old-fashioned crime drama tells the story of Frank Lucas, the Harlem hood who made his fortune smuggling heroin. Denzel Washington’s superb performance as the gangster is matched by Russell Crowe as the shambling cop who doggedly tracks him. Engrossing, if not quite the classic it aspires to be. Paul Howlett
A Room and a Half (Andrey Khrzhanovskiy, 2009) 1am, Film4
Joseph Brodsky is the subject of this superb Russian biopic, which is as precise, affecting and beautiful as his Nobel prize-winning poetry. Khrzhanovskiy imagines the poet, who lived the last years of his life in New York after being exiled from the Soviet Union in 1972, returning home and gazing in wonder, his verses celebrated in vivid animation. PH
Today’s best live sport
Euro 2016 futsal: Serbia v Slovenia Opening match of the five-a-side tournament. 5.30pm, Eurosport 1
Premier League football: West Ham United v Aston Villa Bottom side Villa look for an upset at Upton Park. 7pm, BT Sport 1
NBA basketball: Houston Rockets v Miami Heat Inter-conference clash. 1am, BT Sport 1
ODI cricket: New Zealand v Australia Coverage of the opening match in the three-game series. 1am, Sky Sports 2
