Prince: Last Year of a Legend
10pm, Channel 4
The death of Prince in a lift – admittedly his own lift, in his own nine-acre studio complex/folly/compound – was a slightly prosaic end to this extraordinary life. As this doc – featuring pals such as George Clinton and CeeLo Green – reveals, Prince didn’t rest on his laurels. In his last year, he played a solo tour, performed for Obama and released two albums. The film also details the events which led to his painkiller-related death. John Robinson
Kate Humble: Off the Beaten Track
7pm, BBC Two
For years, Kate Humble travelled to far-flung corners of the Earth in search of “authentic, intact” communities. Then it occurred to her: why not just go to Wales? Having lived there for a decade, Humble decided to explore the depopulated beauty of the country properly, with her sheepdog as travelling companion. Over three episodes she takes in the Cambrian mountains, Teifi Pools and in the opener, glorious Snowdonia. David Stubbs
The Real T Rex with Chris Packham
9pm, BBC Two
No dinosaur has been more mythologised than the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex – which means, inevitably, that the generally understood image of the creature is hilariously incorrect. Chris Packham’s quest is to assemble an accurate impression of the T rex. As ever, Packham negotiates a balance of knowledge and enthusiasm, and this ends up being terrific cultural as well as natural history. Andrew Mueller
24 Hours in A&E
9pm, Channel 4
The appeal of the tense but heartwarming medical series shows no signs of fading. Once again, cameras follow one 24-hour period at one of the UK’s busiest A&E departments: St George’s in south-west London. This week there is a mystery patient who has collapsed in the street, a man who’s had an accident at the gym, and three-year-old Marigold, who’s showing signs of a chest infection. Heart-wrenching and life-affirming moments sit side by side. Hannah Verdier
Inside No 9
10pm, BBC Two
The scarily versatile Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith are back, turning their hands to chaotic door-slamming farce with a Shakespearean flavour. The toying with The Comedy of Errors – Rory Kinnear plays twins who unknowingly both book rooms on a hotel’s busy ninth floor – and the iambic pentameter dialogue create a delightfully breathless parlour game of an episode, with the show’s trademark wickedness only peeping through via a torrent of smutty wordplay. Top-hole. Jack Seale
Harry Hill’s Tea-Time
8.30pm, Sky1
The series spoofing cookery shows returns with the “first knight of news”, Sir Trevor McDonald, taking his turn. It’s a prelude to host Harry Hill asking McDonald to do silly things and the former news anchor gamely obliging, showing how he can disappear (“I mustn’t misuse these magic powers”), singing and discussing the merits of the coffee machine-inspired Sospresso. The lightest of comedies imaginable, but no less fun for that. Jonathan Wright
Superstore
8.30pm, ITV2
Justin Spitzer, writing staff alumnus of the US version of The Office, created this not entirely dissimilar sitcom about the staff of Cloud 9, a fictional Walmart-esque retail outlet in St Louis, Missouri. The ensemble cast of oddballs is to contemporary America as Are You Being Served? was to 1970s Britain, while Ugly Betty’s America Ferrera and Mad Men’s Ben Feldman star as the pair of relative normals whose slow-burn romance we’re rooting for. Ellen E Jones
TV films
The Grandmaster (Wong Kar-wai, 2013) Tuesday, 1.30am, Film4
A visually opulent kung fu film from the director of the poignant In the Mood for Love. The star of that film, Tony Leung, broke his arm twice in training for his role as Ip Man, the celebrated martial artist who lived through the brutalities of the Japanese occupation and taught Bruce Lee his skills. But the essence of the film is in the fighter’s relationship with Gong Er, played by the luminous Zhang Ziyi. Their mock fight, packed with barely contained emotion, is a highlight.
Nicholas Nickleby (Douglas McGrath, 2002) 3.20pm, Sony Movie Channel
McGrath’s lean, incisive adaptation makes for compelling Dickens. Hunky Charlie Hunnam is Nicholas Nickleby, trying to stop evil Uncle Ralph (Christopher Plummer) pandering his sweet sister Kate (Romola Garai) to slimy Sir Mulberry Hawk (Edward Fox). Lovely sinewy performances, too, from Jim Broadbent and Juliet Stevenson.
Live Sport
Big Bash Cricket: Melbourne Stars v Brisbane Heat 8am, BT Sport 2. A game from Melbourne’s cavernous MCG.
WTA Tennis: The Brisbane International 9am, BT Sport 1. A key tournament in the run-up to the Australian Open.
Premier League Football: Swansea City v Tottenham Hotspur 7.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event. Spurs travel to relegation-threatened Swansea.
