British Telly

An engaging film history looks at the enduring tale of forbidden love. Plus: the presidential scandal of Watergate. Here’s what to watch today

8pm, Sky ArtsA new series of Ian Nathan’s engaging film histories begins with David Lean’s masterpiece. It is often described as the most romantic film of all time, but did its story of transient, forbidden love strike a chord because of its timing? Released in 1945, it marked the end of fear and uncertainty, but also a return to normality after the second world war. And what role did the hidden sexuality of its writer, Noël Coward, play in its themes? Phil Harrison

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Matt Frei looks at how Kamala Harris has shaken up the US election. Plus: Irvine Welsh’s Crime returns. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, Channel 4With less than four months to go until polling day, the US presidential race has suddenly become very interesting indeed. Joe Biden’s withdrawal has seemingly supercharged Democrat hopes of averting the catastrophe of a second Donald Trump term. Kamala Harris presents a very different kind of challenge and suddenly Trump is the candidate looking elderly and vulnerable. Matt Frei presents this documentary exploring the race. What does Harris stand for? Will the Republicans have to completely rethink their campaign, thanks to her arrival? And what on earth was Trump thinking when he chose the abrasive, charmless JD Vance as his running mate? Phil Harrison

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The First Dates restaurant opens its doors again. Plus: Linford Christie faces off against Ellie Simmonds in the kitchen. Here’s what to watch this evening

10pm, Channel 4The funny, sweet and occasionally toe-curling dating show is back, with Fred Sirieix welcoming a varied bunch to his restaurant. There is William, a 24-year-old who has never kissed a girl and is on his first date; Glen, who, rather boldly, compares himself to Christian “Fifty Shades” Grey; and, perhaps most memorably, Sarah, who has a pornographic Marge Simpson tattoo on her arm and is looking for “someone who’s not an arsehole”. Good times await. Phil Harrison

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Stand by for a blazing showdown. Plus: questions about the conviction of Britain’s most notorious neonatal nurse. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, Sky AtlanticRhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) has raised her dragon-flying “army of bastards”. Alicent (Olivia Cooke) is having a breakdown. Daemon (Matt Smith) is being bossed around by a gutsy little boy. And the dragons are getting more screen time than ever before – even Silverwing is back with a Flea Bottom drunk on her back. The season finale is ripe for a blazing showdown, and with no previews available, anything could – and most likely will – happen and change the course of the story. Hollie Richardson

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Lions, elephants, honey badgers and scorpions duke it out in the African savannah. Plus, crime fighters McDonald & Dodds attend a traumatic wedding. Here’s what to watch this evening

8pm, Sky Nature

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From cabaret performers-turned-spies to teenage Nazi hunters, a new series sets the record straight. Plus, an Aussie crime drama climaxes. Here’s what to watch this evening

7pm, Channel 4

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More than 200 people from the TV and film industry have signed a letter to the BBC board calling for an urgent investigation into what it called "systemic problems of antisemitism and bias" at the corporation.

The letter said "208 BBC staff, contractors, suppliers and contributors from across the television and film industries, the majority of whom are Jewish" were in "anguish and disbelief" that complaints about coverage and social media posts during the Israel-Gaza war had not been dealt with.

A BBC spokesperson said it stood "united against any form of abuse, prejudice or intolerance", and had "well-established and robust processes in place to handle any concerns or complaints".

The letter referred to documents sent to BBC chairman Samir Shah, in which the group claimed there had been multiple breaches of the broadcaster's social media guidelines.

The focus is on zombie-slaying Daryl Dixon this time. Plus, Miriam Margolyes is at her sweary best on a trip down under. Here’s what to watch this evening

10.30pm, Sky MaxTo anyone in the minority who has never glimpsed a single second of The Walking Dead (ahem), this spin-off just seems to be a lot of a near-silent Norman Reedus brooding in an apocalyptic France while nonchalantly killing a zombie here and there. Fans of the franchise will probably be pleased to hear it focuses on Daryl – who meets a cast including Clémence Poésy as he tries to find his way home. Hollie Richardson

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Julio Torres’s dreamy Fantasmas is packed with big names. Plus: the return of Interview with the Vampire. Here’s what to watch this evening

10pm, Sky Comedy

This is the latest absurdist comedy series from the former Saturday Night Live writer Julio Torres (who created Ryan Gosling’s papyrus sketch, HBO’s Los Espookys and the whimsical A24 comedy movie Problemista). It tells the bizarre story of Torres as he goes in search of a lost oyster earring in a dreamy, kaleidoscopic alternative New York City. Emma Stone, Paul Dano, Natasha Lyonne and Tilda Swinton are just a few of the big-name fans who guest-star across the six episodes. Hollie Richardson

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The spine-chilling memories of those who lived in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Plus, the return of the much-loved detective Campion. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, BBC Two“My mum and I were outside feeding the rabbits.” “As soon as I thought, ‘That’s beautiful’, I suddenly couldn’t see anything.” “The hairs on my head were making a sizzle, sizzle, sizzle sound.” These are the spine-chilling memories of the Hibakusha – people who survived the two atomic bombs that were dropped on Japan – speaking about life before, during and after that unimaginable and obliterating week in August 1945. Hollie Richardson

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Christoffer Guldbrandsen’s 2023 documentary is positively scary. Plus: is this the ‘ultimate celebrity food fight’? Here’s what to watch this evening

10pm, BBC FourChristoffer Guldbrandsen’s 2023 documentary has an even scarier resonance with its TV debut. He shadows Donald Trump’s “political godfather”, Roger Stone, from the 2016 Make America Great Again campaign to the fatal storming of the US Capitol. But this “was a mutual exploitation; a dynamic that rarely ends well”, and Stone soon shuts down the project – until one day, Guldbrandsen nearly dies after a cardiac arrest at 49, and Stone contacts him. Hollie Richardson

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The story behind the French engineer’s ambition to build the highest tower in the world. Plus: more of Jamie Oliver’s delicious food. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, BBC FourOn 31 March 1889, 56-year-old engineer Gustave Eiffel refused to allow anyone else to unfurl the French flag at the top of his greatest masterpiece 300m above Paris. With the world’s eyes on the city again, this in-depth documentary tells the epic story of its “iron lady”, delving into architecture in the Industrial Revolution, Eiffel’s previous creations and his ambition to make the highest tower in the world. Hollie Richardson

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cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/15403881

Fond amusement is mostly the point (I think) of this clear-eyed look at a short-lived British phenomenon. Sexploitation films emerged from the burgeoning sexual revolution of the 1960s. Depending on who you ask, this revolution came about as a result of sex between men being decriminalised, or the liberating arrival of the pill for women. All the subsequent shagging coincided with a dip in British-made films, owing to the explosion in popularity of television, which provided audiences with entertainment they could watch in their own homes. But what they couldn’t watch at home – not easily anyway – was pornography, which was still illegal.

A handful of canny film-makers sensed something in the air, combined a furtive nude short-film industry with slapstick comedy, and invented a new and wildly popular genre.

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The documentary is as gregarious and cheeky as the subject matter demands, but it takes a sensitive, contemporary view on it, too, and allows the people involved to explore every side of the story. Among the big questions addressed is whether the female actors were exploited. Some of them say they went willingly and happily; others say there weren’t many other parts for women. Some paint a grimly familiar picture of casting couches and jobs for “favours”, in a heavily male-dominated business. In a fascinating segment, we learn about the one woman who held a position of real power: Hazel Adair, writer of Virgin Witch, Sex Clinic and Keep It Up Downstairs. She also co-created Crossroads.

Its other main query is why the British seem compelled to mix their sex with comedy. In Europe, sex films were sensual, soft-focus and at least aimed to be classy. In Britain, it was ooh-er-missus innuendo, door-to-door salesmen being ravished by housewives and female characters called Busty. There are various theories put forward as to why, from traditional seaside-postcard humour to the stiff upper lip to the fact that “nobody took their clothes off in those days”. I like the producer who blames it on the inherent conservatism of the nation and the old aristocracy. But it never quite settles on a convincing answer. Nevertheless, this is highly entertaining, eye-opening stuff, and it’s only the first part of two. Next week: Joan Collins and The Stud. If those five words don’t reel you in, this probably isn’t for you.

A new Doctor Who spin-off series starring Russell Tovey and Gugu Mbatha-Raw has been announced.

The War Between The Land And The Sea has been co-written by Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies, who described it as a "huge, muscular, thrilling drama which will shake The Whoniverse to its foundations".

Tovey and Mbatha-Raw have both appeared in Doctor Who stories in the past - Tovey as Alonso Frame, a junior officer on the spaceship Titanic, and Mbatha-Raw as Tish Jones, sister of former companion Martha.

But they will play new roles in the spin-off, which also will see the return of Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Alexander Devrient as Colonel Ibrahim.

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The five-part series was announced by the BBC and Disney+ at San Diego Comic-Con.

It will be co-written by Davies with Pete McTighe, who has also penned episodes of the main show.

The official synopsis said: "When a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered.

"With the entire population at risk, UNIT step into action as the land and sea wage war."

A moving tribute to brave Cornishman Chris Parry, who died while saving civillians. Plus: The Great British Sewing Bee takes its final stitch of 2024. Here’s what to watch tonight

9pm, BBC TwoChris Parry was a 28-year-old from Cornwall who died in eastern Ukraine while trying to save a woman from heavy bombing. He was part of a group of young civilian evacuators – the “hell jumpers” – who went on rescue missions without military support. This moving and immersive documentary uses first-person footage and interviews with those involved about their work. Hollie Richardson

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Half a million households cancelled their licence fee last year as the BBC struggled to connect with younger audiences drifting away to Netflix and YouTube.

The stark extent of the BBC’s challenges are set out in the corporation’s annual report, which shows the total number of British households paying the £169.50 licence fee fell to 23.9 million, suggesting a growing number of people feel able to go without BBC services.

The fall has hit the BBC’s income at a time when its finances were already struggling owing to a decade of funding cuts and high inflation.

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Some of the most worrying numbers for the BBC show how young people increasingly feel the broadcaster is not relevant to them. Just 69% of Britons aged under 16 said they consumed any BBC content in an average week, with rates being weaker among people from an ethnic minority background.

The figures are lower for younger age groups, with children under seven in particular tuned out. The BBC says it is struggling to compete against “global media companies” for these crucial future viewers.

The corporation has until the end of 2027 to reach a new funding deal with the government. The prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the new culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, have expressed broad support for public funding of the BBC, unlike the previous government which vowed to abolish the licence fee.

"The ancient sages said, "Do not despise the snake for having no horns, for who is to say it will not become a dragon?" So may one just man become an army."

One of my all time favourite shows from my childhood. Any one else love the rebels of the Water Margin of Liang Shan Po?

This ‘howcatchem’ starring the disarmingly daffy lawyer is a treat. Plus: Roy Clarke looks back at Keeping Up Appearances. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, Sky Witness

Giving The Good Wife’s disarmingly daffy lawyer Elsbeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston) her own Columbo-esque “howcatchem”, transplanted from Chicago to New York, is such a no-brainer that you wonder why this spin-off has taken so long. Even better, The Wire’s Wendell Pierce also features, as Captain Wagner, her boss at the NYPD, who recognises that this scatterbrained sleuth may just be on to something. In the first episode, she investigates a suspicious apparent suicide. Ellen E Jones

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Campaigner Sophie Morgan is leading the fight to allow wheelchair users greater freedom when flying. Plus, Will Mellor meets the real people behind the Post office scandal. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, Channel 4

“We’re treated like luggage, like cattle.” This documentary’s opening footage of the reality of flying as experienced by disabled people is shameful. So much so that paraplegic TV presenter Sophie Morgan is taking the issue to the White House and Downing Street, and campaigning for laws to ensure the use of an invention that could allow passengers to stay in their wheelchairs while flying. Hollie Richardson

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The criminal barrister presents an eye-opening documentary. Plus: a new series of cosy teatime drama McDonald & Dodds. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, Channel 4

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It’s time for the Police Federation of England and Wales to apply lavender oil to all available pulse points, because the new ITV comedy Piglets is here. When the title of the sitcom about six recruits to the fictional Norbourne training college was announced, the Federation’s condemnation was swift and lengthy. One can only assume that every investigation had been closed and the last criminal in the country locked up that morning and our boys in blue have been looking for a new project ever since. It was, the federation said, “A disgusting choice of language to use for the title of a TV programme,” and “highly offensive to police officers risking their lives to protect the public every day, providing an emergency service”. And “inflammatory against a landscape of rising threats and violence against officers”. And “incredibly dangerous to incite more negativity and misinformation against a public sector service that’s already under so much pressure”.

Now that they have had a chance to view the programme, perhaps the federation can put the toys back in the pram and note that, by some whim of the comedy gods, there is virtually nothing – given the wealth of material offered almost daily in recent years of endemic police corruption, failures and general inadequacies – in it to distress its members. Beyond that wounding title, of course.

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Piglets was created in large part by the team behind Smack the Pony and Green Wing, and you can see the idiosyncratic ghosts of both shows in the attempts at surreality and absolute silliness. But here they don’t quite come off, and instead just make you feel embarrassed and sad.

Love & Death tells the real story of a woman who killed her neighbour with an axe. Plus: Piglets is a new British comedy about police officers. Here’s what to watch this evening

10pm, ITV1

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Clive Myrie hosts as Elim Chan conducts the opening night of the Proms. Plus: the terror of a passenger breaking into the cockpit. Here’s what to watch this evening

7pm, BBC TwoIt’s Proms season! Clive Myrie launches eight wonderful weeks of classical music at the Royal Albert Hall, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra presenting Beethoven’s 5th Symphony for the opening night. Conductor Elim Chan makes her Proms debut, while star soloist Isata Kanneh-Mason is showcased championing the piano concerto by Clara Schumann. Settle in for a magical two hours of music. Hollie Richardson

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The long-rumoured Doctor Who spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, is set to start filming in September, it's been reported.

In January 2023, showrunner Russell T Davies confirmed that spin-offs were part of his plan upon his return to Doctor Who, with reports suggesting the first one will focus on the Sea Devils, the iconic monsters who first faced Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor and returned in 2022 in a special with Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor.

Deadline has now reported that "shooting will commence in September" on the long-awaited show.

The wedding party ‘joke’ finally comes to light in Douglas Is Cancelled. Plus: what really happened in one of India’s deadliest train crashes? Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, ITV1What “joke” did Douglas (Hugh Bonneville) tell about his co-host Madeline (Karen Gillan) at the wedding party? We’re finally going to get answers in the intense finale of Steven Moffat’s cancel culture drama, which mostly focuses on Douglas’s brutal practice interview. We last saw Madeline’s strong suggestion that she knows exactly what happened and why – and Douglas isn’t the only person in the room viewers will be keeping an eye on. Hollie Richardson

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