For Sama
9pm, Channel 4
In a thoroughly human and heart-wrenchingly intimate take on the Syrian war, film-maker Waad al-Kateab documents through phone camera and camcorder footage the events of 2016 in Aleppo.Her focus is partly on the volunteer hospital where husband Hamza works, and partly on her life in a city under siege while raising her newborn daughter Sama, to whom the film is addressed. The anguish of the decision to stay or leave is eked out through Al-Kateeb’s inquisitive gaze, making this a heroic work of personal documentary. Ammar Kalia
Great Australian Railway Journeys
8pm, BBC Two
Michael Portillo boards the 2,000-mile-long Ghan Railway, one of the world’s loveliest rides, from the southern harbour of Port Augusta to the port of Darwin on the north coast. En route he discovers the history of the stretch, and meets the indigenous Arrernte people in Alice Springs. Ali Catterall
Westwood: Punk – Icon – Activist
9pm, BBC Two
Originator of the punk aesthetic and now eco-fashion warrior, Vivienne Westwood is the focus of this feature-length doc. Westwood is typically acerbic as candid footage shows the increasing toll running a fashion empire has on the then 76-year-old. Yet there are no signs of her slowing down. AK
Spiral
9pm, BBC Four
Another scintillating double bill, and it’s un jeu de two halves. The second instalment brims with consequences both professional and emotional, but thriller connoisseurs will savour the way much of the first episode is devoted to roving round Paris, tensely tailing a suspect, including on a Métro train. Jack Seale
Rudeboy: The Story of Trojan Records
9pm, Sky Arts
Reggae reggae source: this award-winning 2018 film is a throbbing biopic of the iconic label that helped connect Jamaican soundsystem culture with UK dancefloors, mixing reconstructions with testimony from artists such as Lee “Scratch” Perry, Don Letts and Marcia Griffiths. Graeme Virtue
Pose
10.20pm, BBC Two
Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s chronicle of the queer voguing scene of NYC returns for a second-season-opening double bill. It jumps to the early 1990s, where voguing has crossed into the mainstream and House of Evangelista’s Blanca is encouraging her performers to cash in. Elsewhere diagnoses of HIV are on the rise. AK
Film choice
Laura 1.30pm, BBC Two
Narrated by Clifton Webb’s astringent critic, Waldo Lydecker, Otto Preminger’s thriller casts a jaundiced eye over the conventions of film noir. So there’s a maybe-murder, with Gene Tierney the enigmatic victim; Dana Andrews the bemused cop; and playboy Vincent Price a suspect. Paul Howlett
Live sport
Rugby World Cup: England v New Zealand 8am, ITV. The first semi-final.
Premier League Football: Manchester City v Aston Villa 12noon, BT Sport 1. A big test for promoted Villa.
Premiership Rugby Union: Gloucester Rugby v Wasps 2.30pm, BT Sport 2. A game from the second round at Kingspan Stadium.
