The Big C & Me
9pm, BBC1
Every year in the UK, more than 350,000 people are told that they have cancer. This new series introduces a few of them. It is, rather inevitably, extremely affecting television. Tonight we meet Welsh mother-of-five, Sally, who hopes that stem-cell treatment might bring victory in her 10-year struggle; Leeds pigeon-fancier Dominic, diagnosed with male breast cancer; and London belly-dancer Yvette, weighing up the risks of experimental drugs. Andrew Mueller
The Secrets of Growing Old
9pm, ITV
One-off doc following seniors who have substituted dominoes with daredevilry and bowls with bodybuilding, and in the process have redefined what it means to be “old”. Among those profiled here are Dilys Price, at 83 the world’s oldest skydiver, and 96-year-old Charles Eugster, who doctors say has the body of a man 30 years younger. With tips on prolonging your own active lifestyle, this may well be an hour of your life that you will get back. Mark Gibbings-Jones
Ben Building: Mussolini, Monuments and Modernism
9pm, BBC4
Jonathan Meades remains a pleasing throwback in this era of BBC salami-slicing: a cultural figure truly “at large”, given free rein to pursue pretty much any subject he fancies. After explorations of the architecture built under Hitler and Stalin, Meades’s new film looks at the buildings constructed during the reign of Mussolini, a mixture of revivalism and modernism that, rather disconcertingly, has endured to this day. Gwilym Mumford
Versailles
9.30pm, BBC2
Opening episode of the lavish – and rather raunchy – French import accused by critics of bringing creative licence to 17th-century events. Louis XIV flees Paris in a bid to keep the nobility together in an opulent new setting, but could they be plotting to betray him? Presumably as a counter to tabloid jibes about the show being merely primetime porn, a brief fact-checking postscript hosted by historians Greg Jenner and Professor Kate Williams follows. Hannah J Davies
Exotic Animal ER
8pm, Nat Geo Wild
Exotic Animal ER returns, with Dr Susan Kelleher and her practice in Deerfield Beach, Florida, dealing with the continuing medical predicaments of a host of creatures that members of the public have absolutely no business keeping as pets. This week, there’s a skunk with a severe limp, a sugar glider – that’s a type of leaping marsupial – that is dehydrated and fighting for its life, and a pair of Amazon parrots that are rushed in after a severe dog attack. Ben Arnold
Buffalo Bill
9pm, PBS America
A biography of war veteran, huntsman and global celebrity William Cody, who as Buffalo Bill made a killing in the late-19th century by embodying the legends of the wild west. He toured Europe with elaborate live shows that were halfway between battle re-enactment and circus; back home, pampered toffs from the eastern states paid generously to see his skills with reins and rifle up close. Archive footage and gabbing historians paint a picture of the real Cody. Jack Seale
Alan Shearer’s Euro 96: When Football Came Home
10.45pm, BBC1
Did football really come home in 1996? Or did it simply come in for a quick sit down before getting up and strolling back to Germany where it belonged? Memories of that summer remain tinged with disappointment, but even if the conclusion was heartbreaking for England, Euro 96 was a heady ride. At the heart of the action was Alan Shearer, one arm raised in triumph. Tonight, Shearer looks back on the summer of his life in the company of Messrs Seaman, Gascoigne, Baddiel and Skinner. Phil Harrison
FILM CHOICE
Man on Wire, (James Marsh, 2008), 11.15pm, Film4
When Philippe Petit saw a picture of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in the 60s, he drew a line between them: the French magician and tightrope-walker intended to stretch a wire across the gap, and walk it. This fascinating documentary, a seamless combination of actual footage and newly staged scenes with Petit playing himself, follows the six-year project to completion in August 1974, 1,300ft up in the air. And to make all the trouble worthwhile, he did it eight times. Paul Howlett
LIVE SPORT
Tennis: The French Open More grand slam action from Roland Garros in Paris as the quarter-finals conclude. 12.30pm, ITV4
T20 Blast Cricket: Sussex Sharks v Somerset Domestic T20 action from the County Ground in Hove. 6pm, Sky Sports 2
Elite League Speedway: Lakeside Hammers v Wolverhampton Wolves The Elite League meeting at the Arena Essex Raceway. 7.30pm, Sky Sports 1
