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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Phil Harrison, Danielle De Wolfe, Hollie Richardson, Graeme Virtue, Jack Seale and Simon Wardell

TV tonight: Strictly’s Oti Mabuse tells the reality of growing up in post-apartheid South Africa

Oti Mabuse: My South Africa
Home visit … Oti Mabuse: My South Africa Photograph: Plimsoll Productions/BBC

Oti Mabuse: My South Africa

9pm, BBC One

Former Strictly star Oti Mabuse was born in a critical year in South African history as the formal end of apartheid began. This visit to her home country is full of reminders: from her early performances at that one-time symbol of segregation, Sun City, to her touching trip to a township where she meets an inspirational teacher running a dance school in the face of drugs, gangs and poverty. The tone is determinedly light but there’s always a shadow of racism, of inequality, and often simply of the precarity of the new South Africa. Fortunately, Mabuse finds a lot of energy and love, too – not least in the shape of her own family, with whom she shares a joyous visit. Phil Harrison

The English

9pm, BBC Two

“What kind of community you got going on up here, Sheriff?” The second instalment of this epic western adventure sees tensions rise. As bloodied carcasses pile high and vindictive games ensue, Eli Whipp (Chaske Spencer) and Lady Cornelia Locke (Emily Blunt) take part in a desolate showdown. But the road ahead remains uncertain. Danielle De Wolfe

Rob & Romesh vs the Three Lions

8pm, Sky Max

World Cup hysteria seems in fairly short supply this year, with the buildup feeling incredibly low-key amid unease about the timing and location of the tournament. Still, Messrs Beckett and Ranganathan hang out with the squad and are granted an audience with the amiable sage of the Three Lions, Gareth Southgate. PH

Brian Cox: How the Other Half Live

9pm, Channel 5

Best known for playing Succession’s billionaire media mogul Logan Roy, Brian Cox says he was destitute growing up in Scotland. Adamant that he’s “not one of them” despite his success today, he admits that poverty hangs over him and money is his “own personal demon”. In this two-parter, Cox explores how the pandemic widened the gap widened between the haves and have-nots in the UK. Hollie Richardson

Alex Horne in The Horne Section TV Show.
On with the show … Alex Horne in The Horne Section TV Show. Photograph: Channel 4

The Horne Section TV Show

10pm, Channel 4

Alex Horne’s new meta project lands in the perfect post-Taskmaster slot. It is a gently daft sitcom about Horne pitching and then bumbling through a new musical TV chatshow. After the opening double bill, you may never think about Um Bongo or a Henry in the same way. Graeme Virtue

The Jesse Lingard Story: Untold

12.05am, Channel 4

Jesse Lingard played every minute of England’s semi-final against Croatia in the 2018 Fifa World Cup, but his career since then has stalled. This frank documentary reveals why, examining the mental-health struggles of Lingard’s mother and the player himself. Jack Seale

Strange ways … Clint Eastwood with Billy Curtis in High Plains Drifter.
Strange ways … Clint Eastwood with Billy Curtis in High Plains Drifter. Photograph: Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock

Film choice

High Plains Drifter (Clint Eastwood, 1973), 9pm, ITV4
Clint Eastwood’s second effort as a director harks back to his Man With No Name character from the Sergio Leone westerns. A stranger (Eastwood) walks into a desert settlement and agrees to help protect it from outlaws. But he has a strange way of going about it – at one point he orders the town to be painted red – and the inhabitants have some very dark secrets. It’s a film that gets more nihilistic as it goes on, with Eastwood a far from likeable soul even as he gives the townsfolk what’s coming to them. Simon Wardell

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