Inspector George Gently
8pm, BBC1
It’s Christmas Eve 1969 and Martin Shaw’s grumpy copper knows who’s been naughty or nice. Investigating the aftermath of a bank job points Gently and sidekick Bacchus toward the local skinhead scene, where former Shameless tearaway Jody Latham lords it over a gang of bovver boys in braces and oxblood DMs. With Sten guns, car stunts and a skanking soundtrack, this action-packed episode ends the seventh series on a high, though it remains unclear whether George will return for some 1970s adventures. Graeme Virtue
Horizon: Is Binge Drinking Really That Bad?
9pm, BBC2
Seasoned imbibers regard with a sceptical smile the unit limits of alcohol intake recommended by doctors. These are indeed arbitrary, varying by nation. We’re also warned about binge drinking. Twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken decided to see what difference it made to have their 21-unit quota spread over a week, or in one night. The results are illuminating and alarming. Watching this programme is enough to make you resolve to quit for good, or at least till its effects wear off. David Stubbs
The Island With Bear Grylls
9pm, Channel 4
It’s the last in the series, and the gentleman islanders are now struggling to find food. With the island failing to offer up enough of the coconuts and limpets that had previously provided a sufficient – if not spectacularly varied – diet, they go all paleo and spend their last energy reserves on the hunt for meat. As Bear arrives to take them back to civilisation, will they kill and eat him before web designer Kyle extinguishes the campfire? Probably not, but that would be a spectacular denouement, wouldn’t it? Ben Arnold
Newzoids
9pm, ITV
It’s the week after the week after the election: potentially a news dead zone. How will this perky puppet-based satire cope, with its excellent Miliband and Clegg impersonations presumably now mothballed? David Cameron’s promised first 100 days of pain should already be taking shape, although that would mean material more darkly political than the personal lampoons this show thrives on. Perhaps he’ll be selfconsciously fluffing his tiny majority. If not, Newzoids always has its ace songs to fall back on. Last in the series. Jack Seale
Castle
9pm, Alibi
Well, that certainly puts the blinkers on a wedding day: the last time we saw NYPD detective and bride-to-be Kate Beckett (Stana Katic), she was watching aghast as her fiance Richard Castle’s car lay burning in a ravine, having being run off the road by a suspicious-looking black SUV. In this season-seven opener, Beckett discovers he mightn’t be such a crispy bridegroom after all, because – gasp! – the car was empty. So who abducted him, and why? Kate pulls off her wedding gown and gets on the case. Ali Catterall
The Job Centre
10pm, Channel 4
Surprisingly entertaining new series following the effervescent staff in a Bradford recruitment agency. Targets are high, pressure relentless, and the people who come through the doors a mixed bag. Boss Jane is a tough-but-kind motivator and she demonstrates her can-do attitude by going back to the floor as a hotel housekeeper. New recruit Phil is struggling with the job, while Carlos is “going the extra mile”, as they say in reality TV-land, to get his team of temps to actually turn up for work. Hannah Verdier
Murder In Successville
10pm, BBC3
It’s going to take more than a conceptual BBC3 comedy to faze Deborah Meaden. Squinting at DI Sleet (Tom Davis) like he’s a particularly careless inventor, the Dragon soon overcomes both the show’s premise and a colossal height difference to take control. Who lethally doctored Lady Gaga’s soup? As the investigation charges on, Sleet shouts at Boris Johnson, rubs himself against Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and nearly goes all the way with a half-dead Nicki Minaj. Meaden plays her disdain brilliantly straight. JS
Today’s best live sport
ATP Tennis: The Geneva Open The players battle it out for a place in the quarter-finals. 4.45pm, British Eurosport
Premier League Football: Arsenal v Sunderland The visitors fight against relegation at the Emirates.7.30pm, Sky Sports 1
Championship Rugby Union The first leg of the 2015 final. 7.30pm, Sky Sports 3
Ladies European Tour Golf: The Turkish Open The fourth and final day from Belek. 7.30pm, Sky Sports 3
