Irresistible: Why We Can’t Stop Eating
9pm, BBC Two
Whether it’s feeding ice-cream to a person having a brain scan to find the “happiest” flavour, or using sound engineers to perfect the refreshing hiss of a can of fizzy pop being opened (“sonic branding”), there’s a lot of engineering that goes into making food addictive. In this fascinating if alarming documentary, medical doctor and academic Dr Chris van Tulleken speaks to industry insiders who lift the lid on the harmful tricks of manufacturers. Hollie Richardson
Angela Merkel: The Woman Who Ran Europe
7pm, BBC Two
Can the ex-German chancellor’s power be distilled into half an hour? She was once known as the Queen of Europe, a steady influence at EU summits who owned her mistakes, but after 16 years in power she relinquished her crown. This documentary looks at her career, punctuated by austerity, Covid and Brexit. Hannah Verdier
24 Hours in Police Custody: The Murder Messages
9pm, Channel 4
“This is going to sound really odd but I’ve just had a message from someone on Snapchat saying they’ve killed their ex partner and they want me to ring the police for them.” But when police turn up at the suspect’s address, his ex is alive – and another, more complex crime unravels, as cameras follow the team getting to the bottom of it. HR
Dune: Prophecy
9pm, Sky Atlantic
The back-stabbing, power-grabbing series set 10,000 years before the Dune movies continues. Two high-profile murders have got the galactic elite in a tizzy so fearsome that space witch Valya (Emily Watson) sets course for the emperor’s home world. What will she make of Rasputin-like prime suspect Desmond (Travis Fimmel)? Graeme Virtue
Surveilled
9pm, Sky Documentaries
Spyware is a multi-billion-dollar industry that is lightly regulated – but nominally, companies are only supposed to sell to governments. This documentary, fronted by Ronan Farrow, proves that this isn’t the case. It explores the advanced spyware on the market – and what it finds has terrifying implications for personal freedom and democracy. Phil Harrison
Date My Nan
11pm, ITV1
Makeup artists give their nans glam makeovers and send them on blind dates in this feelgood reality series. This time, 20-year-old Courtney gives 55-year-old nan Kathy a glow before she meets 66-year-old author Andy. Two dealbreakers: no massive egos and they must love dogs. HR
