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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Hollie Richardson, Graeme Virtue, Henry Wong, Ali Catterall and Simon Wardell

TV tonight: the 20-year legacy of Bend It Like Beckham

Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley in Bend It Like Beckham.
Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley in Bend It Like Beckham. Photograph: Bskyb/Allstar

Bend It Like Beckham: 20 Years On

8pm, BBC Three

For so many young women in the UK, Gurinder Chadha’s 2002 film Bend It Like Beckham – still the highest-grossing football film ever – was a groundbreaking piece of cinema that changed their lives. From challenging the stigma that British-Asian women who play sport often face to treating women’s bodies as those of athletes instead of sexualising them, devoted fans explain to journalist Miriam Walker-Khan what its legacy means, while Gary Lineker recalls that cameo scene. Hollie Richardson

RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022

6pm, BBC One

Best buds: after a virtual edition in 2020 and a shift to autumn in 2021, the storied garden show returns to its traditional spring berth. Sophie Raworth and Joe Swift go rooting around the Grand Pavilion and beyond to find the most innovative designs, while Caroline Quentin drops in looking for some backyard inspiration. Graeme Virtue

Grace

8pm, ITV

More seaside gloom this week for John Simm’s stony-faced detective, as yet another body rises up from the seabed. The victim’s carefully harvested organs lead Grace to believe this was no accident. It’s an effectively chilling season finale, with some angst for his personal life thrown in for good measure. Henry Wong

Gentleman Jack

9pm, BBC One

“What’s fair and what’s legal aren’t always the same bedfellows, Miss Walker.” Legal proceedings dominate the penultimate episode, concerning the carve-up of the estate. Much-needed light relief comes via young architect John Harper (Luke Newberry) and some familiar-looking Sunday school supply teachers. Ali Catterall

Idris Elba’s Fight School

9pm, BBC Two

Fight night finally arrives. Ash, Jess, Chanika and Fin are the last four standing and ready to enter the ring for their first amateur bouts. Far from being just about throwing punches, the end of their emotional journey is full of weepy moments. HR

Conversations With Friends

10pm, BBC Three

Tonight’s episode of the Sally Rooney adaptation sees Frances and Bobbi stay with Melissa and Nick at their Croatian villa. An incredibly awkward but aesthetically pleasing holiday ensues, full of longing stares, road trips, boozy hookups and a growing tension between the visitors. HR

Film choice

Dogman, 1.40am, Channel 4

Marcello (Marcello Fonte) is a meek dog groomer making a small living in a dilapidated town on the outskirts of Rome, spending quality time with his daughter Alida (Alida Baldari Calabria) and dealing some cocaine on the side. However, he has fallen into a toxic friendship with thuggish criminal Simoncino (Edoardo Pesce), who involves the pliant man in his increasingly dangerous enterprises. Gomorrah director Matteo Garrone’s film is another nuanced, neo-realist slice of life on the margins, where small mistakes can have a cumulatively devastating effect. Simon Wardell

I Am Not a Witch, 1.50am, Film4

This Bafta-winning drama from Zambian-Welsh writer-director Rungano Nyoni is a satirical condemnation of the practice of “witch camps” in some African countries, where women (usually old) who are accused of sorcery are detained. Here, a young girl, Shula (Maggie Mulubwa) is exploited by the tourism minister Mr Banda (Henry BJ Phiri) for her supposed abilities, while the other captives work the fields, forever tied to giant spools of ribbon. A heart-tugging mixture of comedy and tragedy. SW

Live sport

French Open Tennis, 10am, Eurosport 2 The opening day of the tournament at Roland Garros in Paris. Coverage continues throughout the week.

Premier League Football: Final Day, 3pm, Sky Sports Premier League Coverage of all 10 games, which kick off simultaneously at 4pm.

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