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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Hollie Richardson, Alexi Duggins, Ellen E Jones, Phil Harrison, Danielle De Wolfe and Simon Wardell

TV tonight: the secret sexual abuse allegations in Japanese pop

Reporter Mobeen Azhar on The Secret Scandal of J-Pop.
Reporter Mobeen Azhar on The Secret Scandal of J-Pop. Photograph: Nancy Roberts/BBC

Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop

9pm, BBC Two

Continuing a week of impressive documentaries, Mobeen Azhar investigates the “high priest” of Japanese pop – band manufacturer Johnny Kitagawa. “I’ve been in despair about this for 23 years,” says one of the reporters who published an interview with a boy who claimed he was sexually abused by Kitagawa in 1999 (which Kitagawa denied). Azhar also speaks with lawyers involved in the legal case made against the music mogul by other alleged victims and reads their harrowing testimonies. Hollie Richardson

Interior Design Masters With Alan Carr

8pm, BBC One

This is the fourth series of the design competition that takes 10 aspiring designers and lavishes one of them with a big contract. This week, their attempts to impress interiors guru Michelle Ogundehin involve working on the morally dubious Elephant and Castle redevelopment in London, which replaced social housing with luxury flats. Alexi Duggins

Food Unwrapped’s Veg Box

8pm, Channel 4

In this veg special, Amanda Byram solves the mystery of post-Halloween pumpkins and Matt Tebbutt reveals why those stir-fry mixes are always in the yellow-sticker discount aisle. And how will Andi Oliver cope in an industrial-scale onion-peeling factory? Ellen E Jones

John Bishop and Hugh Bonneville.
Unexpected connections … John Bishop and Hugh Bonneville. Photograph: Matt Frost/ITV

DNA Journey

9pm, ITV1

British TV loves an odd-couple friendship, particularly one with a class-related subtext. In this pop genealogy series, unlikely bezzies (they met in a Covid vaccine centre) Hugh Bonneville and John Bishop go on a road trip in search of their family history – and it turns out they have a deeper connection than they had imagined possible. Phil Harrison

The Diplomat

9pm, Alibi

A suitably passive-aggressive exchange sees Laura (Sophie Rundle) continue to investigate Jay Sutherland’s death against swaggering Sam’s (Steven Cree) wishes. Missing witness Izzy Miller finally resurfaces in Barcelona – albeit in a bizarre bloodstained daze beneath a church pew. But will new evidence upend the police’s working theory? Danielle De Wolfe

The Pig Butchering Romance Scam

10pm, BBC Three

One of the pandemic’s lesser-documented miseries was the huge rise in sophisticated cybercrime. This bleak documentary explores a particularly alarming branch of online fraud (the name comes from the idea of fattening a pig for market) involving catfishing and ruthless financial exploitation. PH

Film choice

Sissy Spacek in In The Bedroom.
On the edge … Sissy Spacek in In The Bedroom. Photograph: Moviestore Collection Ltd/Alamy

In the Bedroom (Todd Field, 2001), 10.25pm, Sky Cinema Oscars
With Field’s brilliant Tár up for six Academy Awards next week, it may be useful to remember that his 2001 drama got five nods – and won nothing. Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson play the parents of Nick Stahl’s student, who has started a relationship with Marisa Tomei’s separated wife, with two children. However, their worries about his future are forgotten after tragedy strikes and grief leads them in unexpected directions. A fine film that echoes Raymond Carver’s tales of ordinary people on the edge. Simon Wardell

The Beach (Danny Boyle, 2000), 10.40pm, BBC One
Rumours of a secret Thai island paradise lead Leonardo DiCaprio’s backpacker Richard astray in Boyle’s effervescent version of the Alex Garland novel. There are plenty of stunning vistas and beautiful, sun-kissed people to enjoy – including Tilda Swinton’s commune leader – and a typically zeitgeisty soundtrack for them to party to. Richard’s inevitable fall from grace – less Lord of the Flies, more I’m a Celebrity – is less impressive, but Boyle’s mastery of his craft means it’s never dull. SW

Live sport

Champions League football: Chelsea v Borussia Dortmund 7pm, BT Sport 1. The round of 16 second leg. Tottenham v AC Milan is on Wednesday at 7pm.

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