Death and Nightingales
9pm, BBC Two
Matthew Rhys (The Americans) must rank as one of the most versatile actors of his generation, and in this starkly drawn adaptation of the novel by Eugene McCabe, he extends his range to include a 19th-century Ulster patriarch. He plays miserly Protestant landowner Billy Winters, stepfather to Beth Winters (luminous Irish actor Ann Skelly; definitely one to watch) who, on the eve of her 25th birthday, decides to flee Winters’ spartan County Fermanagh mansion for ever to be with quarryman Liam Ward (Jamie Dornan). Mike Bradley
Digging for Britain 2018
9pm, BBC Four
Alice Roberts presents the year’s best archaeological discoveries, beginning with the north of the UK, and moving south. Location reports are followed by laboratory analysis of artefacts, which reveal exciting information gleaned from, among other locations, an Anglo-Saxon burial ground in Lincolnshire. MB
Superkids: Breaking Away From Care
10pm, Channel 4
Writer Lemn Sissay spent years “bouncing between” foster families, children’s homes and assessment centres: “It messed with my head, but I stayed sane.” He wants to change perceptions of kids in care, and, in this inspiring film, helps youngsters from Coventry express their experiences. Ali Catterall
Curvy Girls: Stripped Bare
10pm, Channel 5
Behind the provocative title lies an examination of the plus-size modelling industry. Some girls in Milk Management’s Curve division are only a size 12, but Felicity talks about being asked to wear padding to look bigger. “This fat is making me money,” she muses. Other than the size, theirs is a typical model life. Hannah Verdier
Vic & Bob’s Big Night Out
10pm, BBC Four
Reeves and Mortimer reprise their cult variety show parody with the first in a four-part series. Random questions – “How high is your cat?” – and a song-and-dance routine designed to sabotage romantic dinners are great, but top of the pile is “Britain’s only gay man” and his pet owl on Novelty Island. MB
Get Shorty
10.10pm, Sky Atlantic
Now well into its second season, this criminally overlooked Elmore Leonard adaptation – starring Chris O’Dowd as a shrewd hood and Ray Romano as a movie producer – has become a minefield of potential double-crosses. With Felicity Huffman’s FBI agent preparing to swoop, the fractious pair are forced to improvise. Graeme Virtue
Film choice
Star Trek: Into Darkness (JJ Abrams, 2013), 9pm, Film4
Best to ignore the multiverse machinations opened up in JJ Abrams’s mindbending reboot: just enjoy the prickly pal-ship between Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto), and their confrontation with space terrorist John Harrison (a steely-gazed Benedict Cumberbatch). Paul Howlett
Live sport
World Cup Hockey: Belgium v Canada 11.15am, BT Sport 1. A Pool C match from India.
Championship Football: Stoke City v Derby County 7pm, Sky Sports Main Event. Second-tier action.
Champions League Football: PSG v Liverpool 7pm, BT Sport 2. A tough away tie for Liverpool as they seek qualification.
