The Shadows at Sixty
9.30pm, BBC Four
Cliff Richard’s backing band – previously known as the Drifters – have become one of Britain’s most successful groups in their six-decade-long career, spawning 20 Top 10 hits, including Apache, Kon-Tiki and Wonderful Land. In this one-off documentary, they retrace their beginnings as guitar-obsessed teens to paving the way for the Beatles and beyond. Featuring interviews with founding members Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch, the film explores how Marvin’s twanging sound shaped much of the future of guitar music. Ammar Kalia
Mass Extinction: Life at the Brink
7.15pm, PBS America
Life on Earth has flirted perilously close to extinction on more than one occasion and in this documentary experts trace back extinction events from the asteroid collision that killed the dinosaurs to the ominously-titled Great Dying, which wiped out almost 90% of the planet’s species. AK
Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back
8pm, Channel 4
The comedian formerly known as Hugo Boss has proved that consumer affairs shows don’t have to be dry to be effective, grabbing the media’s attention with his campaign against the fashion brand. This week, Lycett goes raving with Made In Chelsea’s Jamie Laing, and finds out how secure your technology is. Hannah J Davies
The World’s Most Scenic Railway Journeys
8pm, Channel 5
Bill Nighy is your train announcer for another outing of this picturesque show, transporting viewers through some of the globe’s most stunning landscapes. In the first of a new series, we’re riding the Highland Railway before crossing the Forth Bridge. Ali Catterall
The Graham Norton Show
9pm, Channel 4
Working from home has done nothing to dent Graham Norton’s chat juggernaut and the calibre of guests (confirmed nearer to showtime) is as A-list as ever. One of the highlights of Norton’s video interviews is that you get to see the celebrities’ houses, while the lo-fi musical performances are equally disarming. Hannah Verdier
Friday Night Dinner
10pm, Channel 4
Robert Popper’s family comedy comes to an end with the Goodman boys finally bringing their girlfriends over to meet mum Tamsin Greig, yet not without a typical dose of drama and predictable gags, especially as they’re both called Lucy. There’s glass in the soup, unexpected arrivals and embarrassing anecdotes galore. AK
Film choice
The Hours, 5pm, AMC
A fascinating tale of three women from director Stephen Daldry: Nicole Kidman’s stifled Virginia Woolf, struggling to write Mrs Dalloway in 1923; Julianne Moore’s 50s all-American mom; and Meryl Streep’s present-day book editor. Shadowed by suicide, it’s an emotionally draining study of love. Paul Howlett
