Cuffs
8pm, BBC1
The spirited Brighton-based cop show continues, with cases including a client dying on a working girl, a couple of light-fingered farmhands, a distraction burglary – and a Ravey Davey drug-dealing throwback
who goes by the name of Red Pete. “I am your psychic travel agent,” he leers at an unimpressed Jo, who may end up having the last laugh. Lessons to be learned this week, especially for Ryan and rookie Jake, include the importance of back-up, and standing very well clear of people being Tasered. Ali Catterall
Dominic Sandbrook: Let Us Entertain You
9pm, BBC2
Sandbrook begins his survey of postwar British popular culture with the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics, which confirmed Britain’s evolution from manufacturing superpower into pre-eminent fount of popular culture. This series seeks to explain how and why this occurred. Sandbrook opens his case by deploying Black Sabbath, of all people, as a metaphor for Britain’s transition; the youth of Birmingham, deprived of the failing steelworks, taking up another variety of metal. Andrew Mueller
Joanna Lumley – Elvis And Me
9pm, ITV
Elvis would had been 80 this year. To commemorate that fact, Joanna Lumley takes us through her near-lifelong obsession with the King. She meets Priscilla Presley at Abbey Road as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and producer Don Reedman record a tribute to his hits, and meets her again at Graceland, his mansion in Tennessee, preserved as it was when he held court there. Lumley also visits Presley’s childhood home and the hardware store where his mother bought him his first guitar. Ben Arnold
Colour: The Spectrum Of Science
9pm, BBC4
Physicist Helen Czerski embarks on a big three-parter, in which she examines 15 colours in turn to extract their scientific secrets. As is so often the case, the facts add up to nothing less than The Story Of Us. Tonight, blue, gold, white and red shed light on the formation of Earth and life on it. We also glean simpler knowledge, such as why the sky is blue and salt flats look white. Those two types of learning don’t always mix, and could be doled out a bit more snappily. Jack Seale
You, Me and the Apocalypse
9pm, Sky1
The original title “Apocalypse Slough” might have suited this series better, but its transatlantic potential precluded that provincial option. Still, this is a great, mordant end-of-the-world drama, finely led by Mathew Baynton, of Horrible Histories and Yonderland fame. He’s joined by big names, such as Rob Lowe and Megan Mullally – and Diana Rigg, who features as shadowy, oxygen-guzzling Sutton. Tonight, Scotty tries to make up for mistakes and Jamie is shaken by a sudden tragedy. David Stubbs
My Psychic Life
10pm, Channel 4
They talk to dead people. At least, that’s the claim. Despite wafer-thin resistance to any kind of scrutiny, the popularity of psychic mediums continues to grow in the UK, with new individuals frequently discovering previously dormant psychic powers. This programme follows the exploits of mediums operating in the north of England as they undertake their daily duties, and provides an uncomfortably uncritical look at the trade. Now, does the name “Mum” mean anything to anyone here? Mark Gibbing-Jones
Love/Hate
10pm, Spike
Though it never quite found a foothold in the UK, this Dublin-set drama remains an absolute sensation in Ireland. It’s a jittery, violent, plausibly grotty gangster saga that lives up to comparisons with The Wire, and not just because whippet-like Aidan Gillen pops up in both. Spike’s current repeat run kicks off season two tonight, with Robert Sheehan’s traumatised foot soldier Darren pulled back into the orbit of volatile drug kingpin John Boy (Gillen) just as the Garda are launching a major crackdown. Tense and addictive. Graeme Virtue
Film choice
Thirteen Days
(Roger Donaldson, 2000)
11.35pm, BBC1
Donaldson’s gripping account of the Cuban missile crisis recreates all the paranoid fears and tensions of 1962. Resisting the hawks’ urgings for a pre-emptive strike against the Russians was John F Kennedy’s finest hour, and Bruce Greenwood’s spot-on performance, allied to David Self’s script – a fascinating study of a game of double-bluff played for enormous stakes – do him full justice. Amid the hefty ensemble performances, Kevin Costner impresses as adviser Kenny O’Donnell. Paul Howlett
Today’s best live sport
Test Cricket: Pakistan v England The penultimate day’s action from the third and final Test. 6am, Sky Sports 2
One Day Cricket: Sri Lanka v West Indies A 50-overs-a-side game from the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. 8.45am, British Eurosport
Champions League Football Chelsea take on Dynamo Kiev, perhaps with Jose Mourinho in charge. 7pm, BT Sport 2
Major League Baseball Game seven of the World Series. 1am, BT Sport 1
