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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Hollie Richardson, Graeme Virtue, Jack Seale and Kayleigh Dray

TV tonight: nail-biting Belfast police drama Blue Lights is back

Martin McCann as Stevie Neil and Siân Brooke as Grace Ellis in Blue Lights
Martin McCann as Stevie Neil and Siân Brooke as Grace Ellis in Blue Lights. Photograph: Christopher Barr/BBC/Two Cities Television

Blue Lights

9pm, BBC One

The excellent Belfast-set police drama returns for a second season. The response officers Grace, Tommy and Annie are a year into the job, while Jen, still haunted by Jerry’s death, has switched to solicitor training. Two new rival loyalist gang leaders have created an increase in drug-related crime and the pressure is on the team to get to the root of it, with the help of Connor, a dashing new recruit. As before, this is a show that focuses just as much on the personal as the procedural (yes, Grace and Stevie still share their lunchboxes). In this week’s nail-biting opener, you will probably forget to breathe for a few moments at the episode’s climax – and will be sucked in to see what unravels. Hollie Richardson

Pompeii: The New Dig

9pm, BBC Two

The discovery of a woman’s crushed skeleton opens a fascinating three-parter about the archaeologists digging in a previously unexcavated part of Pompeii – one-third of the 66-hectare (163-acre) site that Mount Vesuvius entombed in pumice and ash when it erupted in AD79. As well as unearthing bodies, they want to learn their stories. HR

Jamie’s Air Fryer Meals

8pm, Channel 4

It was inevitable, really. A reported 45% of us own an air fryer and Jamie Oliver is apparently a fan – and one with plenty of ideas. This week: frozen fish and a tin of beans creates a meal for two, while a curious concoction combines a roast dinner and a chicken curry. Dessert comes in the form of a scone. HR

Martin Clunes: Islands of the Pacific

9pm, ITV1

The actor returns with a gorgeous oceanic travelogue in Papua New Guinea. Pitching up at some of its most remote islands, he takes part in a chaotic cricket match, sifts through the aftermath of twin volcanic eruptions and is on hand when news of the queen’s death reaches the former colony. Graeme Virtue

Murder Case: The Digital Detectives

9pm, Channel 4

The history of crime-solving has always been a battle of wits between investigators and perpetrators, with criminals constantly aware of which clues might give them away. That is still the case in the online era, as this detailed documentary shows. Three films follow cases where digital fingerprints were more important than bloody ones. Jack Seale

The Regime

9pm, Sky Atlantic

Chancellor Elena (Kate Winslet) has a lot on her mind – not least her tense standoff with the US. Herbert’s folk remedies may have cured her obsession with mould (even if endless bowls of steamed potatoes mean everything smells “like an Irish whorehouse”), but what about his obsession with her? Kayleigh Dray

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