Three Girls
9pm, BBC1
At the very least, this new drama – shown in three parts across the week – is bold, dealing unflinchingly with the sexual abuse scandal that unfolded in Rochdale between 1997 and 2013. The performances are startling – particularly from the actors playing the trio of vulnerable girls at the story’s heart – and the horror of incrementally escalating male aggression is expertly evoked. But it’s gruelling; it’s a story that needed to be told, but one that’s near-impossible to watch. Phil Harrison
Don’t Ask Me Ask Britain
8pm, ITV
You are Alexander Armstrong, and you are asked to present another lowbrow stats-based gameshow. Do you a) Get back to exploring Italy and calling yourself “Xander”; b) See if there’s another opening on Death in Paradise; or c) Bank the cheque and get on with it? That’s the story here, pretty much: an interactive show where the public vote on questions of moral scruple. The answers might surprise, but that’s democracy. John Robinson
Horizon: Strange Signals from Outer Space!
9pm, BBC2
For some reason, ET still hasn’t bothered to pick up the phone (what scientists call “the great silence”), but that hasn’t deterred astronomers from scouring the cosmos. This sober look at the alien-hunting business meets a former member of the X-Files-like Order of the Dolphin, dedicated to ferreting out extraterrestrial intelligence, and the current buzz surrounding a star called KIC 8462852 – or more memorably, Tabby’s Star. Ali Catterall
Elizabeth I: The Enemy Within
9pm, Channel 5
Episode two of the workmanlike series charting the life of Good Queen Bess and we’ve reached the early part of her reign. These were years when Elizabeth Tudor’s rivalry with her English throne-coveting cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, was a defining feature of political life on both sides of the border. Suzannah Lipscomb and Dan Jones relate the history, while Lily Cole, showing off her best angry face, plays Elizabeth in docudrama segments. Jonathan Wright
Later Live – With Jools Holland
10pm, BBC2
Live edition with Jools welcoming back groovy mucker Paul Weller. Of course, given the frequency of his appearances, the Modfather can probably rely on muscle memory to reach the Maidstone Studios these days. Lesser-spotted performers tonight include electro-rocking Alt-J, London rapper Dave, Gothenburg electropoppers Little Dragon, Maryland singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers and New York’s a cappella septet Naturally 7. Mark Gibbings-Jones
Veep
10pm, Sky Atlantic
Despite the cast being dispersed far and wide in this latest series, an overall sense of how distant they are from the levers of power has only intensified their hilarious, self-seeking obnoxiousness, Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s Selina in particular. Tonight, having found a location for her somewhat vain presidential library, she and Mike get to work on the prickly process of writing her book. Meanwhile, Dan finds himself in a gossip column. David Stubbs
Nate and Jeremiah By Design
9pm, TLC
US interior design couple Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent seem like thoroughly decent people. This new series sees the smiley duo help households who have made a hash of renovations, turning demolition-worthy homes into palatial dwellings quicker than you can say, “Whatever happened to Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen?” However, if all the recipients are as meddling and entitled as Scott and Brenda then the series will grate fast. Hannah J Davies
Film choice
Filth (Jon S Baird, 2013) 10.55pm, Film4
James McAvoy is a very bad cop indeed in Baird’s grimy, brutal screen adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s misanthropic novel. McAvoy’s coke-, booze- and sex-addicted DS Bruce Robertson is trying to lie and cheat his way up the Edinburgh rozzers’ career ladder in a powerhouse performance. There’s sterling support from Eddie Marsan and Shirley Henderson, but it lacks the warmth and humour of Trainspotting. Paul Howlett
Live sport
Cycling: Giro d’Italia Coverage of the 10th stage, an individual time-trial from Foligno to Montefalco. 12noon, Eurosport 1
Premier League football: Manchester City v West Bromwich Albion City look to consolidate their top four spot after a patchy season. 7.30pm, Sky Sports 1
Championship football: Reading v Fulham Coverage of the first play-off. 7.30pm, Sky Sports 3
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