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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Phil Harrison, Jack Seale, Hollie Richardson, Hannah Verdier and Simon Wardell

TV tonight: Douglas Stuart faces the trauma that inspired Shuggie Bain

Douglas Stuart.
Lucid and insightful … Douglas Stuart. Photograph: Minsa Cho/BBC/BBC Studios

Imagine: Douglas Stuart – Love, Hope and Grit

10.40pm, BBC One

Douglas Stuart’s fierce, tender debut novel, Shuggie Bain, won the 2020 Booker prize – but where did it come from? Alan Yentob meets the author on a trip back to Glasgow, where he is lucid and insightful about the trauma that informs his writing. It’s a story about the interplay between continuity and change. He visits the remains of Sighthill, the tough housing scheme in which he grew up as the gay son of an alcoholic mother, but he is also faced with a very different city that still carries traces of its old spirit. Phil Harrison

The Pact

9pm, BBC One

Having taken three episodes to get to the violent death and the titular pact, the thriller now delivers the necessary aftermath episode full of nervous arguments and overwhelming guilt. It’s ponderous, too, but Rakie Ayola and Steven Mackintosh (as the imprisoned patriarch) lend it some class. Jack Seale

The White Lotus

9pm, Sky Atlantic

Harper (the series-stealing Aubrey Plaza) and Daphne escape to a villa for the night, leaving Cameron and Ethan to relive their college days back at the hotel (yes, it’s disgusting). Meanwhile, Tanya has been ditched by groggy Greg, but is she about to make a new friend? Hollie Richardson

Hong Kong’s Fight for Freedom

9.30pm, BBC Two

Four young Hongkongers recall the 2019 protests against the extradition bill that many feared threatened the region’s autonomy from China in this two-part series. Despite the peaceful start, protests became violent, with people storming government buildings. Former governor of Hong Kong Chris Patten is one of the witnesses who analyse events. Hannah Verdier

1966: Who Stole the World Cup?

10pm, Channel 4

A mystery … 1966: Who Stole the World Cup?
Mystery … 1966: Who Stole the World Cup? Photograph: Channel 4

Any football fan can name the collie (Pickles) who found the stolen World Cup trophy before the 1966 tournament, but the mystery of who was responsible for the theft was never solved. This cheerful documentary reveals new evidence that might make identifying the culprits possible half a century later. PH

Summer House

10pm, E4

The latest US reality series import takes us to the Hamptons, where nine New York friends/potential enemies can be found holidaying in their shared summer house. Kyle, Lindsay, Carl and Amanda are some of the names you don’t need to remember. HR

Film choice

Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers and Marilyn Monroe in Monkey Business.
Gloriously silly … Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers and Marilyn Monroe in Monkey Business. Photograph: TCD/Prod.DB/Alamy

Monkey Business (Howard Hawks, 1952), 2.25am, Talking Pictures TV
A comedy revolving around animal experimentation may be frowned on today, but with Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers starring and Howard Hawks directing, this film surely gets a pass. It’s gloriously silly, as the search by Grant’s scientist for an elixir of youth goes pear-shaped when one of his chimps doses the lab’s water cooler. Given the chance to play increasingly youthful versions of themselves, Grant and Rogers are brilliant – Rogers even sends up her own dancing skills – and it all zips along with screwball vim. Simon Wardell

Live sport

Women’s Rugby League World Cup: England v New Zealand 7pm, BBC Two. The second semi-final at LNER Stadium in York. Catch the first semi-final, Australia v Papua New Guinea, on the Red Button or BBC iPlayer from 5pm.

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