Evil Genius With Russell Kane
9pm, Sky History
Evil or genius? Adapted from the comedian’s popular BBC podcast of the same name, this is the question Kane asks about history’s most polarising figures. First up: Winston Churchill. Discussing the man once voted the Greatest Briton, he is joined by fellow funny folk Charlie Higson, Judi Love and Geoff Norcott. Hollie Richardson
Between the Covers
7pm, BBC Two
Sandi Toksvig is a first-time guest on the books programme this week and while she would love to talk about Zachary Auburn’s How to Talk to Your Cat About Gun Safety, she instead chooses to focus on The Complete Poems by Emily Dickinson. Meanwhile, Alex Jones picks a “sexy, high-energy romp through Tudor times”. HR
Dad’s Army: The Animations
8pm, Gold
Another beautifully animated “lost” gem from the BBC archives. “I pride myself that I’m a good judge of character,” preens Captain Mainwaring. So, naturally, he promotes Private Frazer to lance corporal. When Frazer almost immediately court martials everyone on trumped-up charges, Wilson wryly suggests that, “perhaps you could give them a good talking to” instead. Ali Catterall
Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius
9pm, BBC Two
In the final part of this Shakespeare biography, it’s 1603, when the bard is almost 40, the equivalent of a millionaire and near the end of his career. But some of his darkest, most personal works are yet to come, including King Lear and The Tempest. Jessie Buckley helps to tell the last chapters of his story. HR
The Gilded Age
9pm, Sky Atlantic
Series two of Julian Fellowes’s drama about snobs and social snubs in 1880s New York continues. The visiting Duke of Buckingham is caught in a literal culture war between old money and new: can he be persuaded to patronise the upstart Met over the Academy of Music? Elsewhere, the forthright Peggy heads south to Alabama. Graeme Virtue
Grime Kids
10.05pm, BBC Three
Rocks screenwriter Theresa Ikoko’s fictionalised take on DJ Target’s titular memoir continues to be an energetic tale full of ice-cold grime, UK garage classics and early 00s period style. The musical segments are the standouts as the teen crew prepare to enter a talent contest – even if scenes where the leads stumble across iconic moments of grime history do feel almost comical in their forced nostalgia. Alexi Duggins
Film choice
Wayne’s World (Penelope Spheeris, 1992), 9am, Sky Cinema 80s Icons
It can be a poisoned chalice when you revisit comedies from the late 20th century, as changing attitudes often make them unwatchable. Thankfully, Penelope Spheeris’s excellent 1992 film is still a keeper. The tale of public access TV presenters Wayne and Garth has its puerile moments (“schwing” etc), but leads Mike Myers and Dana Carvey remain likable as they lust after “babes”, crack jokes at the expense of corporate types and rock out to Bohemian Rhapsody. Simon Wardell
Stamped From the Beginning (Roger Ross Williams, 2023), Netflix
Based on the book by Prof Ibram X Kendi, this is a powerful and sickening history lesson about racism in the US from Roger Ross Williams. Ideas such as the invention of “blackness” (and “whiteness”) and the myths of assimilation, Black hypersexuality and the Black criminal are exposed via a rich tapestry of images, music and words from academics and activists. From the first Portuguese slave ship to Black Lives Matter, it’s a sometimes controversial take on how African Americans got to where they are today. SW
Live sport
International football: North Macedonia v England 7pm, Channel 4. The final Euro 2024 Group C qualifier in Skopje.
