British Telly

He teams up with Ruth Goodman to find out the grim details. Plus: Outrageous is an underrated drama about the Mitfords. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, Channel 5

The barrister and broadcaster Rob Rinder is a captivating history teacher and he is having a ball in this new series, as he learns how wealthy Londoners navigated the plague (even getting into costume for the occasion). Meanwhile, the equally charismatic historian Ruth Goodman finds real cases of poor citizens to explore how differently they experienced it. The two start the story by getting a sense of London life just before the first plague deaths. Hollie Richardson

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A harrowing investigation into online suicide forums tracks the suspected supplier of the lethal poison used by several visitors to the sites. Plus: Poldark revisited by one of the series’ writers. Here’s what to watch today

9pm, Channel 4

On New Year’s Day 2023, 25-year-old Imogen “Immy” Nunn’s body was found in her Brighton home, after she had consumed a poison bought online via a suicide forum. This unsettling two-part documentary shows that Immy was one of many who had used the sites. It looks at the devastating conversations in the forum and meets the families of other victims, with one father reading his son’s last posts and the replies from users who cheered him on as he was dying. It then follows the Times journalist James Beal’s efforts to find a man accused of shipping this lethal poison globally, which culminates in Beal going undercover and meeting him face to face. (The man is now awaiting trial in Canada over similar allegations.) Hollie Richardson

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Dr Orna continues to offer fascinating insight as she helps clients. Plus: it’s the last visit to Reuben Owen’s farm. Here’s what to watch this evening

11pm, BBC Two

The vulnerability of the clients and the utmost professionalism of Dr Orna (compared to other “experts” on reality shows) is what makes this therapy show such a hit. This week, though, it’s Orna who lets her guard down when one couple quits: “When patients just get up and leave, I do a lot of self-examination. Should/could I have? It’s not easy.” This adds another fascinating new layer, but she’s quickly back to helping the other couples get on track. Hollie Richardson

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It’s hard to look away from this icky new reality series. Plus: are heatwaves really the new normal? Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, BBC Three

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Popstars and political leaders reveal all in a juicy documentary series. Plus, Vicky McClure’s insomnia thriller. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, BBC Two

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Paul McCartney and Eric Idle help celebrate the multimillion-selling artist in this electric documentary. Plus: some classic Agatha Christie. Here’s what to watch this evening

9.05pm, BBC Two

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Fred Sirieix welcomes a married woman going on her first date with another woman. Plus: comedy for anyone who missed out on Oasis tickets. Here’s what to watch this evening

10pm, Channel 4

Fresh from getting married himself, TV’s most romantic man Fred Sirieix resumes playing Cupid as he once more opens the doors to the First Dates restaurant. In what is surely a first for the show, Sophie’s husband sits at the bar as she goes on a date with a woman for the first time. Elsewhere in the room, Mike is a widowed dad looking for someone who understands his grief. And Derek and June are old romantics looking for a classic love story. Hollie Richardson

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Kat Sadler’s brilliant series is back and as unhinged as ever. Plus: the finale of Rosie Jones’s comedy about disabled drug dealers. Here’s what to watch this evening

11.40pm, BBC OneKat Sadler’s Bafta-winning cringe-fest about the small screen’s most dysfunctional family returns with its rapid-fire outrageous comedy. Josie (Sadler) has started art school and has a crush, but her unbearable, debt-ridden mother Deb (Louise Brealey) and demanding sister Billie (Lizzie Davidson) remind her she’s meant to be in a relationship with Seb (Freddie Meredith). Cue an unpredictable and hilariously tragic episode of failed seductions and missing teeth. Hollie Richardson

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Ramita Navai investigates Israel’s attacks on Gaza’s hospitals in a controversial film. Plus: celebrating football hero Mary Earps. Here’s what to watch this evening

10pm, Channel 4Last month, the BBC said it was no longer airing a documentary about Israeli military attacks on hospitals in Gaza because it risked creating “a perception of partiality” over the broadcaster’s coverage of the conflict. Channel 4 is now showing it instead. Ramita Navai investigates the allegations of the targeting of doctors and healthcare workers in Gaza’s 36 main hospitals – which the film says have all now been attacked by Israel. Hollie Richardson

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The first TV show from the hit YouTube comedian also stars Nick Frost as a hapless boss. Plus: Emilia Fox looks into an unsolved murder. Here’s what to watch this evening

10.05pm, ITV2Jordan Gray is a cracking new comic talent and her first sitcom is full of zingers. Based on her YouTube videos, it follows a transgender woman, Olivia (Gray), who has been hired by the supermarket boss Simon (Nick Frost) to help save his reputation after an LGBTQ+ marketing faux pas. Lazy Olivia is well aware that this means she can get away with anything without getting fired – and this week she actually tries to get too-nice-to-be-true Millie (Francesca Mills) fired instead. Hollie Richardson

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Investigative journalist Martin Scarsden has to solve a murder close to home. Plus: an unseen interview with Hitler’s architect of lies. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, BBC TwoFresh from investigating a small-town shooting, the investigative journalist Martin Scarsden finds himself caught up in another tangle as this Aussie drama returns for a second season. Martin heads back to his home town, Port Silver – a place he’s never really talked about growing up in – and finds his childhood friend dead. The only witness, though, is Martin’s girlfriend – and rather unfortunately, she is covered in blood. Hollie Richardson

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Why did such horror happen? This three-part documentary investigates. Plus: Rod Stewart wants to rock your socks off. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, Sky Documentaries

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You can also catch Neil Young, Gary Numan, Raye and mystery band ‘Patchwork’. Plus: Uma Thurman’s thriller Suspicion continues. Here’s what to watch this evening

10.30pm, BBC One

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The presenter’s Kiwi Adventure continues as bad weather takes its toll. Plus: The Great Sex Experiment plunges into a pool party. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, ITV1“I think I might have found my paradise,” says Noel Edmonds, gazing out across the majestic New Zealand landscape as this barmy series continues. In truth, this is an episode that pushes Noel’s Zen calmness to the limit. Rain has kept visitors away from the bar-restaurant and a sharp frost could destroy the vineyard. It’s a good job he has his voluminous collection of motivational catchphrases (“When it rains, look for the rainbows”) to make sense of it all. Phil Harrison

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Didn’t manage to get a ticket again? You can catch all the best sets at home. Plus: brace yourself for The Mortician. Here’s what to watch this evening

10pm, BBC TwoTo Worthy Farm for an event the BBC now has down to a fine art, with a mix of live broadcasts, red button choices and iPlayer action. This year’s headliners range from gnarled veteran Neil Young to pop star Olivia Rodrigo. Elsewhere, there’s Britpop (Supergrass) and hip-hop (Loyle Carner). And who the hell are Patchwork, the mystery band billed to play at 6.15pm on Saturday? Lauren Laverne, Clara Amfo, Jamz Supernova and Huw Stephens host events. Phil Harrison

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The journalist goes in search of emotional closure at the Hindu Kumbh Mela festival. Plus: a transatlantic twist on Dragons’ Den. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, BBC OneJournalist Amol Rajan has been “in a bit of a funk” since his father died three years ago. Rajan gradually realised that his mother, a practising Hindu, “seemed to have an emotional toolkit that I lacked”. Has this lack of faith made it harder to come to terms with bereavement? With this question in mind, he travels to India to take part in the Hindu festival Kumbh Mela. Initially, he’s slightly overwhelmed by the intensity of the pilgrimage, not to mention emotionally triggered by seeing so many older Indian men who remind him of his dad. And he’s soon faced with more tragedy, as a crush causes 30 deaths. In the wake of this new sadness, can he find closure? Phil Harrison

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An insight into the Valencia floods and how we need to prepare for climate catastrophes. Plus, Jordan Gray’s fun new sitcom. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, BBC One

The anatomy of a modern climate catastrophe is revealed in this sobering documentary about the appalling floods that hit Valencia in October 2024. The first part of the film deals with the events as they were experienced by the citizens, 228 of whom didn’t live to tell the tale. But there’s also an insight into how humanity will have to adapt to increasingly volatile weather as failures in forecasting and preparation are laid bare. Phil Harrison

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Julian Fellowes’s New York-set period drama returns for a third series. Plus: was nurse Helen Smith murdered in Saudi Arabia in 1979? Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, Sky AtlanticJulian Fellowes’s New York-set costume drama continues to underwhelm in its third series. Somehow, it’s never quite racy or absorbing enough to excuse its lack of literary weight, plus some of the dialogue feels like a parody of period potboiler tropes. Ada (Cynthia Nixon) has become heavily involved in the temperance movement – which isn’t suiting Agnes (Christine Baranski) at all. Elsewhere, George’s railroad plan is in danger of hitting the buffers. Phil Harrison

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It’s the penultimate episode of the Brink’s-Mat series, which concludes on Monday. Plus, things are about to get explosive in The Handmaid’s Tale. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, BBC One

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The tennis champion tells her own incredible life story. Plus: Uma Thurman’s far-fetched transatlantic thriller. Here’s what to watch this evening

11.10pm, BBC One

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Is this eccentric documentary about the retired TV host about to become a cult classic? Plus: Alison Hammond meets Tony Bellew. Here’s what to watch today

• ‘I am Jesus!’: the TV brilliance of Noel Edmonds

9pm, ITV1Noel Edmonds is an unusual man. On the face of it, this series simply documents his attempts to open a bar-restaurant in New Zealand with his wife, Liz. But the fun is in the journey not the arrival. Edmonds is obsessed with new-age woo, spending time on his “crystal bed” and practising a workout regime he calls “tranquil power”. He’s also startlingly excited about his nail gun, calling it “a sex toy”, and regards Liz as “an earth angel” believing she was “a gift from the cosmos”. An eccentric cult classic in the making. Phil Harrison

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The standup makes a smart dig at a broken system that undervalues disabled people. Plus: Heston Blumenthal’s documentary about bipolar disorder. Here’s what to watch this evening

10pm, Channel 4“Play off your cerebral wotsit. We can make shitloads of money.” Drug dealer Ewen (Ryan McParland) has spotted an opportunity. Can he persuade Rosie Jones’s skint charity worker Emily to go into partnership with him? After all, he points out, as a disabled woman she’s effectively invisible. It’s a neat premise to underpin this sitcom (co-created by Jones and Peter Fellows) and entirely consistent with Jones’s screen persona, which balances rage, charm and gleeful transgression. It’s also a smart dig at a broken system that routinely writes off disabled people’s capacity to be autonomous, economic actors but still forces them to beg for state support. Funny and pointed. Phil Harrison

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Grab the tissues as Davina and Nicky help Simon and Lisa look for their relatives in a new series of Long Lost Family. Plus: the Repair Shop goes to Glasgow. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, ITV1A new run of this affecting, long-running series which uses a mixture of fancy DNA technology and old-school sleuthing to reunite people with their biological families. We begin with Simon who, in 1966, was left in the outside toilet block of a mother-and-baby home in south Wales. We also meet Lisa, who almost 60 years ago, was left in another baby’s pram. Can Davina McCall, Nicky Campbell and their team help the pair find some answers about their origins? Expect tearful revelations. Phil Harrison

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A documentary tells the story of a disturbing Japanese reality TV show. Plus: should a 73-year-old cattle farmer get her first tattoo? Here’s what to watch this evening

10pm, BBC FourTheJapanese comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu thought he was going to an audition. But when a producer asked him to strip naked and carry out a series of challenges, it turned out he wasn’t being told the truth. In fact, he was being filmed and broadcast to 15 million people. Amazingly, he stayed in the room for 15 months. This documentary tells the story of an unsettling 1998 experiment. Phil Harrison

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West Mercia police attempt to find the killers who beat a delivery driver to death. Plus: a gripping Tudor mystery. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, BBC TwoAfter DPD driver Aurman Singh was beaten to death while on a delivery in Shrewsbury, the police assessed the shocking level of violence involved and surmised that robbery wasn’t the motive. Stretched across the week, this gripping true-crime series follows the West Mercia police as they track the suspects, make arrests, then realise the roots of the crime run much deeper than they thought. Phil Harrison

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