ITV Changed My Life
8pm, ITV
Yes, appearing on ITV really does transform lives. Just ask Alex and Sue Tatham, hitched after meeting on Blind Date; John Hurt, whose career took off thanks to The Naked Civil Servant; or Charlie Walduck, who surfed, in Phillip Schofield’s words, “a huge wave of love and support” from This Morning viewers to shed 20st in a year. Made to mark ITV’s 60th birthday, a self-congratulatory doc that’s nonetheless – especially in sections on Seven Up! and World In Action – a reminder of TV’s potency. Jonathan Wright
Doctor Foster
9pm, BBC1
Brilliant new drama starring Suranne Jones as Gemma Foster, a GP with a busy life, a beautiful house and a man who could be mistaken for a devoted husband. Her instincts – and the fact that a lip balm drops out of his pocket – suggest he’s having an affair. As the story unfolds and she plays private detective, you begin to wonder whether it’s her mind playing tricks. This opening episode is gripping and Jones is in a class of her own, playing a woman used to being in control who is motivated by her suspicions. Hannah Verdier
The Ascent Of Woman
9pm, BBC2
To the east, where Dr Amanda Foreman explores the historic impact of Confucianism and Buddhism on women. If Buddhism during the Tang dynasty “extended salvation to everyone regardless of race or gender”, Confucianism saw women allotted an inferior status, exemplified by foot-binding – a horrific practice colluded in, and carried out, by women. More hearteningly, we learn about Empress Wu of China and Lady Murasaki Shikibu, the world’s first novelist. Ali Catterall
Grand Designs
9pm, Channel 4
The opener to this latest series, in which we’re asked to cheer on well-to-do citizens building their dream homes, may be one of the least poignant episodes over. It features Clinton Dall, who has made a fortune in the cleaning business. Now, he wishes to build his own home, along his own, ruthlessly perfectionist specifications. The ultimate result will look more like a new wing to a museum of minimalist art than a home. But that’s what Clinton wants and that’s what Clinton is determined to get. Cry? You won’t. David Stubbs
A Very British Map: The Ordnance Survey Story
9pm, BBC4
Beneath a dreary title lurks an utterly absorbing film. The fold-out paper maps long produced by Ordnance Survey, Britain’s mapping agency, are modern masterpieces, utilitarian but beautiful guides produced with such devotion and detail that the craft is arguably elevated to art. Like everybody else, however, OS is adjusting to a digital age that makes life more convenient, if less romantic. The documentary meets those who drew the maps, and those who still use them. Andrew Mueller
Secrets And Lies
9pm, Watch
From American Horror Story to True Detective, the anthology series – with its revolving door of cast members and endless possibilities for reinvention – has become a mainstay of US schedules in the past few years. Here’s another to add to the list, a thriller that – for this first season – focuses on the murder of a young boy and the fallout for the neighbour who discovers his body. Ryan Phillippe is suburban dad Ben, slowly losing his cool as Juliette Lewis’s unsentimental Detective Cornell probes the case in this gripping opening. Hannah J Davies
Running Wild With Bear Grylls
9pm, Discovery
This time, Bear Grylls’s A-list partner in the wilderness is Kate Winslet, with the Chief Scout himself taking the Oscar-winner for a 48-hour extreme jaunt among the majestic mountains of the Snowdonia National Park. Its beauty belies a penchant for becoming hazardous and frightening very quickly indeed. There’s an enormously cute moment in which Grylls and Winslet re-enact a scene from Titanic, which is worth the entry fee alone. Other celebs in the series include Kate Hudson, Ed Helms and Michelle Rodriguez. Ben Arnold
Film choice
The Hunt For Red October (John McTiernan, 1990) 6.20pm, Film4
Gripping old-school underwater thriller from the Tom Clancy novel, with Sean Connery’s Soviet Captain Ramius heading for the US in his country’s top-of-the-range sub. Is he starting a war or defecting? CIA man Jack Ryan (in his first film appearance, played by Alec Baldwin) believes the latter, and tries to avoid a destructive confrontation. Manly support from Scott Glenn, Sam Neill and James Earl Jones. Paul Howlett
Today’s best live sport
Cycling: Vuelta A España Coverage of the 17th stage of this year’s race, which is a 38.7km individual time-trial taking place in Burgos. 3pm, British Eurosport
Tennis: The US Open Coverage of the 10th day of the final grand slam event of the season. Today, the quarter-finals begin. 4pm, Sky Sports 3
Greyhound Racing: The Coral Champion Stakes Coverage of the meeting from the Romford Greyhound Stadium, as the country’s top dogs battle it out. 7pm, Sky Sports 2
