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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
David Stubbs, Phil Harrison, Gwilym Mumford , Ellen E Jones, Graeme Virtue and Paul Howlett

TV tonight: Howard from Take That goes from boyband to petrolhead

Howard Donald and Dario Franchitti in Mission Ignition.
Howard Donald and Dario Franchitti in Mission Ignition. Photograph: Pete Dadds/Pete Dadds/Channel 4

Mission Ignition

8.30pm, Channel 4

Hosted by former racing driver Dario Franchitti and Howard Donald of Take That, this new car show in which teams race to put back together dismantled classic cars uses every presentational cliche in the book: shouty voiceover, pizzicato strings, the lot. It is a refreshing change, however, to see a team of female mechanics wielding spanners. One of them even has a handy hint for dealing with the problem of oily hands – make pastry. All this and clerical petrolhead the Reverend Colin Cork. David Stubbs

Catchpoint

6.50pm, BBC One

An amiable, daft gameshow in which contestants win money by answering questions and then catching balls dropped from above. Host Paddy McGuinness gamely keeps an endless stream of light-entertainment patter flowing, and it’s mindlessly watchable. But it doesn’t feel like a format for the ages. Phil Harrison

The Voice UK

8pm, ITV

The judges’ chairs have stopped spinning, with the fate of the four remaining performers in this live semi-final resting on the votes of those watching at home. Showtune-belting Nicole Dennis is the bookies’ fave but she faces competition from Jimmy Balito, who impressed with an emotional cover of Radiohead’s High and Dry. Gwilym Mumford

Dave Allen.
Dave Allen. Photograph: CHRIS CAPSTICK / Rex Features

Dave Allen: God’s Own Comedian

9pm, BBC Two

An evening celebrating the laconic Irish comic begins with this 2014 documentary, which includes fond testimony from family and friends including Steven Berkoff and Dame Maggie Smith. It’s followed by last year’s biopic Dave Allen at Peace and clip show The Immaculate Selection. GM

The Royal Family at War

9pm, Channel 5

If you like your tabloid trash ennobled by cut-glass accents, this doc should suffice. It covers the Queen’s interventions in Princess Margaret’s love life, plus a few royal rows you won’t remember from The Crown season one, plus how Fergie and Phil fell out over a toe-sucking Texan billionaire. Ellen E Jones

All Round to Mrs Brown’s

9.10pm, BBC One

Eek! The cheesy but breezy chatshow continues with a moose loose aboot Mrs Broon’s hoose, and that poor wee rodent will likely regret seeking refuge up Grandad’s trouser leg. Among the celeb guests watching where they step are Jane McDonald, Emily Atack and Olly Murs. Graeme Virtue

Film choice

Ronald Zehrfeld and Nina Hoss in Phoenix.
Ronald Zehrfeld and Nina Hoss in Phoenix. Photograph: AF archive/Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Stock Photo

Phoenix 2.30am, BBC Two

Following their communist East Germany drama Barbara, director Christian Petzold and Nina Hoss reunite for this noirish postwar thriller. Hoss plays Nelly, a concentration camp survivor given a new face after surgery, who is inveigled into an intricate scam by husband Johnny (Ronald Zehrfeld). Paul Howlett

Today’s best live sport

Premier League Football: Fulham v Manchester City, 11.30am, Sky Sports Main Event

The title contenders visit Craven Cottage.

Champions Cup Rugby Union: Saracens v Glasgow Warriors, 3pm, BT Sport 3

Quarter-final action.

Boxing: Liam Smith v Sam Eggington, 8pm, Sky Sports Main Event

From Liverpool.

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