Pick of the day: Secrets and Spies: A Nuclear Game
9pm, BBC Two
The final part of this series about espionage at the height of the 80s Cold War tells the thrilling true story of Soviet double agent Oleg Gordievsky’s escape from Moscow, whither he had been recalled by a suspicious KGB. Operation Pimlico was classic John le Carré stuff, involving MI6 agents using a Harrods shopping bag to identify themselves, a car chase by KGB officers and a soiled nappy to distract sniffer dogs as Gordievsky (Martin Munroe) was spirited across the Finnish border. The fear was that this might scupper the burgeoning entente with the new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Location, Location, Location
8pm, Channel 4
In south London, Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer search for a flat for first-time buyers Adam and Nicole, and a £1m townhouse for world-record-holding rower Kat, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2019. After going through chemotherapy, she joined an all-female trio for an Atlantic rowing challenge, beating the previous record by more than seven days. Kat’s next challenge is to put down roots in south London. Could Greenwich hold the key?
Race Across the World
9pm, BBC One
The penultimate leg takes the teams across the Indonesian island of Sumatra, tackling ad-hoc transport, limited accommodation options and almost no English spoken. Before they begin the next leg of their journey, they must celebrate Owen’s upcoming 21st birthday in the traditional Indonesian way, with a splattering of egg and flour.
The Gathering
9pm, Channel 4
It’s all getting very knotty in this quasi-whodunit about the murder of a teenage gymnast. Eight months before the beach rave, the victim-to-be, Kelly (Eva Morgan), is caught up in a verbal altercation with Charlie and his dad Jules at a football match. In the aftermath, Jules is unrelenting in his pursuit of Kelly’s father, claiming that he assaulted him.
Painting Birds with Jim and Nancy Moir
9pm, Sky Arts
Stephen Mangan may preside over Sky’s Landscape Artist of the Year and its portrait equivalent, but hasn’t himself painted since he was a child, or so he claims. Mangan (currently also presenting ITV’s The Fortune Hotel) joins Jim and Nancy Moir on the cliffs of Co Antrim in Northern Ireland, where they are spotting puffins and painting the view.
John Le Mesurier: It’s All Been Rather Lovely
9pm, BBC Four
This beguiling 2012 portrait of the Dad’s Army (not to mention more than 100 films) actor takes its title from Le Mesurier’s last words. Featuring contributions by Michael Palin, Clive Dunn, Ian Lavender and Jimmy Perry, it centres on his turbulent marriage to Hattie Jacques and complicated second marriage to Joan Le Mesurier (who contributes).
Inside No 9
10pm, BBC Two
The strongest episode yet of the final series of Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton’s tales of the unexpected. The action is seen from the viewpoint of a security door camera belonging to the new couple at 9 Mulberry Close. Neighbours are keen to welcome Damon and Val (Shearsmith and Vinette Robinson) but there’s something about them that doesn’t seem quite right…