The Clinic
10.20pm, ITV1
“What would you do if your child said they are in the wrong body?” That’s the deeply complex question at the heart of this investigation into all sides of the highly charged debate about “the most controversial NHS clinic in the UK” – the Tavistock Centre gender identity clinic, NHS England’s sole provider of care for children and young people presenting with gender identity issues, that will close in 2024. It speaks with young patients and their families, former health secretary Sajid Javid and staff. Hollie Richardson
Spy in the Ocean
7pm, BBC One
It’s the series’ final dive into the deep blue, starting with spy dolphin and spy whale joining forces to help a humpback whale mother and her calf escape the attention of a “singing” male that wants to mate. Meanwhile, it’s fisticuffs between spy crab and a peacock mantis shrimp – which packs a killer punch. HR
Princess Anne: The Plot to Kidnap a Royal
8pm, Channel 4
The Crown’s “missing episode” (“it just didn’t fit with the timeline”, apparently) – in 1974, four men were shot on The Mall as they protected Princess Anne from kidnapper Ian Ball. In this documentary, the scene is recreated and key witnesses tell their version of events. HR
Van Der Valk
8pm, ITV1
The third series of this revived detective drama and it’s still hard to entirely buy into the still youthful-looking Marc Warren as crusty Commissaris Piet Van Der Valk. This week, a murder connected to a museum circles back to a case Van Der Valk (unsuccessfully) tackled in his early career. Does redemption beckon? Phil Harrison
Elton John at Glastonbury 2023
9pm, BBC One
A bittersweet occasion as Rocket Man Reg blasts off for the final UK show of his last ever tour. Oddly, it’s also Elton’s first ever Glastonbury and he’s admitted to feeling intimidated. Expect a lengthy show (although whether Elton manages a marathon of the kind achieved by Paul McCartney last year remains to be seen) and plenty of special guests. PH
Before We Die
9pm, Channel 4
Season two of a decent crime thriller, held together by Lesley Sharp enjoying herself as corner-cutting maverick DI Hannah Laing. Her son is on the run with his girlfriend, a member of the Croatian mafia – leading to an unlikely alliance in uncovering corruption in the Bristol police. Jack Seale
Film choice
Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical, Netflix
This isn’t actually part of Netflix’s impending “Roald Dahl Universe” (the result of its acquisition of the late author’s rights catalogue) but a good-natured film of the RSC musical adaptation helmed by the original show’s director Matthew Warchus. It’s pepped up by a very starry cast, led by Emma Thompson as the fearsome Miss Trunchbull and Lashana Lynch as the nice-as-pie Miss Honey, and the young lead Alisha Weir gives it her considerable all. At nearly two hours long, it’s a little on the long side, but there’s plenty of toe-tapping fun to be had. Andrew Pulver
The Road, 1.35am, Great! Movies
The death of Cormac McCarthy this month marked a sad day for American letters, but it’s worth remembering what his works gave cinema, too. The Coen brothers’ No Country for Old Men would be on anyone’s 10-best list, as would this spectacular dystopian thriller directed by The Proposition’s John Hillcoat. Viggo Mortensen plays the unnamed man struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic landscape along with his son (Kodi Smit-McPhee in an early role); they have to fend off one threat after another as they head for the coast. A bleak and unforgiving film. AP
Raiders of the Lost Ark, 9pm, Film4
As Dial of Destiny, Harrison Ford’s last dance as he-man archaeologist Indiana Jones, rumbles into cinemas, now is a good time to roll back the years on the evergreen Spielberg/Lucas franchise that was specifically designed to summon up the spirit of the Saturday morning movie serials they saw as kids in the 50s and 60s. The first one, from the ancient days of 1981, is a cracking anti-Nazi romp that has thoroughly stood the test of time. Film4 are showing its three sequels over the rest of the week. AP
