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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Phil Harrison, Katie Rosseinsky, Graeme Virtue, Jack Seale and Simon Wardell

TV tonight: Rob and Romesh’s crash course in magic with Penn and Teller

Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan conjure up some showbiz banter in Las Vegas.
Kind of magic. … Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan conjure up some showbiz banter in Las Vegas. Photograph: Photographer: Denise Truscello/Denise Truscello/CPL Productions/Sky UK

Rob & Romesh Vs: Magic in Vegas

9pm, Sky Max

Road-trippers Rob Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan start their new series in Las Vegas, where they do a crash course in magic, with a view to performing with Penn and Teller. Rob is amusingly hopeless, coming perilously close to causing Teller to break his famous vow of silence. But he soon discovers a gift for mentalism, while Romesh proves a dab hand with a pack of cards. The level of enjoyment largely depends on your fondness for the bantering pair themselves. Phil Harrison

The Great British Sewing Bee

9pm, BBC One

Functional fashion this week for the semi-final. The contestants have to whip up a classic trenchcoat and a bespoke boiler suit, as well as tackle a tricky transformation challenge: turning cleaning paraphernalia (think scourers and rubber gloves) into something wearable. Katie Rosseinsky

Death on the Tyne

9pm, BBC Two

This feature-length spoof of luxury whodunnits (originally aired on Gold) sees put-upon coach tour operators Gemma (Sian Gibson) and Terry (Johnny Vegas) sniffing out a serial killer on a ferry from South Shields to Amsterdam. A stellar supporting cast – including James Fleet and Sue Johnston – helps keep things afloat. Graeme Virtue

Joanna Lumley’s Spice Trail Adventure

9pm, ITV1

The actor’s decadent journey through the developing world continues to delight and discomfort in equal measure. She heads to Madagascar on the trail of the world’s best vanilla, and dives into the desperate search for gold. She also witnesses the island’s traditional martial art, Moraingy. PH

Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens

10pm, BBC Three

Nora’s back … the joys of family and community in Awkwafina is Nora from Queens, series three.
Sentimental meta-comedy … the joys of family and community in Awkwafina is Nora from Queens, series three. Photograph: Comedy Partners/BBC

A triple bill polishes off season three. After an unsubtle episode in which her grandma becomes a weed dealer, the show veers into sentimental meta-comedy when Nora meets Awkwafina and is made to reassess her life. The simple pleasures of family and community, always a strong subtext, are loudly celebrated. Jack Seale

Untold: Men for Sale – Life of a Male Escort

Midnight, Channel 4

A documentary about young men who work as escorts, for different reasons. From “gay for pay” Danny to Tom, who is basically doing it for a laugh, and Rueben, who aspires to the top end of the industry, they are a varied bunch. PH

Film choice

The Deepest Breath.
Awe-inspiring … The Deepest Breath. Photograph: Courtesy of Netflix

The Deepest Breath (Laura McGann, 2023), Netflix
There is awe-inspiring beauty and the darkest peril in the ocean’s depths. Both feature in Laura McGann’s involving documentary, which tells parallel stories about the record-setting Italian free diver Alessia Zecchini and the Irish safety diver and coach Stephen Keenan. Through interviews, archive footage and reconstructions, the joys and dangers of competitive free diving in some of the world’s most stunning locations – and the couple’s tragically brief relationship – are brought to light. Simon Wardell

The Lighthouse (Robert Eggers, 2019), Film4
This wonderfully atmospheric yarn of lighthouse-keepers in extremis is a tale right out of the pages of Moby-Dick – with added mermaids. Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson star as a grizzled old sea dog and his callow assistant, stuck together for four weeks on a remote island where the only other company, seemingly, is the wind, the incessant rain and the odd annoying gull. But isolation can do strange things to a person’s mind … Robert Eggers’s black-and-white two-hander is a fervid, brilliantly realised nightmare, featuring whole-hearted performances by both actors. SW

Live sport

Test cricket: England v Australia, 10am, Sky Sports Main Event Day one of the fourth Test in the five-match series at Old Trafford.

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