Mel Giedroyc and Martin Clunes Explore Britain By the Book
9pm, ITV1
Giedroyc and Clunes are old friends who read books and like travelling – and that’s reason enough for them to make this nice literary travelogue in Dorset (where Clunes happens to live). Highlights include an impression of Meryl Streep in The French Lieutenant’s Woman in Lyme Regis, reading Thomas Hardy extracts while trying not to puke on the boat to Durdle Door, and a steam train through Enid Blyton country. Hollie Richardson
Gemma and Gorka: Life Behind the Lens
8pm, W
More inconsequential celebrity domesticity sees heavily pregnant radio host Gemma Atkinson preparing for the birth of her second child and dealing with a tight schedule that includes a kids’ party, a hair appointment and an appearance on Steph’s Packed Lunch. Meanwhile her hubby, Strictly pro Gorka Marquez, is dancing in Windsor. Jack Seale
Colosseum
9pm, BBC Four
The final double bill of this utterly fascinating (and very gory) docudrama catches up to the rule of Emperor Commodus, the wicked, disliked son of Marcus Aurelius, who stepped into the Colosseum arena as a gladiator hundreds of times and always survived. HR
The Bold Type
9pm, BBC Three
Is there a more mortifying no-strings-attached-sex faux pas than screaming “I love you!” during a shower romp? Not for Jane, who might be developing feelings for “Pinstripe Guy”. Back in the Scarlet magazine office, Sutton’s relationship with board member Richard continues to cause problems. HR
Decoding Turner
9pm, Sky Arts
The roiling seas and fiery light in JMW Turner’s later works, as well as his eccentric and controversial private life, tell us he was no ordinary landscape painter. This film posits that there is even more to Turner’s art. Could it really contain hidden messages, à la the Da Vinci Code? JS
Annika
9pm, Alibi
A trip to an eco-retreat with her father doesn’t offer much respite for Nicola Walker’s detective, who hammers home the sense of familial strife with King Lear references. The mood darkens further when a body is found in a nearby river: “Nothing says a relaxing holiday like a mobile homicide unit.” Katie Rosseinsky
Film choice
The Little Mermaid (Rob Marshall, 2003), Disney+
The danger in Disney remaking its animated back catalogue as live action has always been in staining the memory of a much-loved children’s film (The Jungle Book will never be the same again for me). Rob Marshall’s splashy new version of the 1989 fantasy musical mostly keeps it simple, with tweaks to the plot (Ariel gets more agency) and soundtrack (three new songs). The one major change is the colourblind casting of Black actor Halle Bailey as the mermaid princess who falls for a human prince. It is a refreshing move, and the engaging Bailey knocks it out of the park. The photorealistic talking crabs and birds are less convincing, but movie musical veteran Marshall is a steady hand at the tiller. Simon Wardell
Live sport
T20 International Women’s Cricket: England v Sri Lanka, 5.45pm, BBC Two The third and final match from the County Ground, Derby.
