Our Girls: The Southport Families
8pm, BBC One
“We sent her there as a treat,” says the mother of Elsie Dot Stancombe, remembering the day in July 2024 when her daughter went to a Taylor Swift-themed dance class and didn’t come home. This documentary sees the families of the three murdered children (the other two were Alice da Silva Aguiar and Bebe King) remembering their girls as they were in life rather than lingering on the unthinkable cruelty of their deaths. The sadness is overwhelming. Phil Harrison
A Very British Christmas: Castle Howard
8pm, Channel 4
At the Yorkshire stately home – star of 2008’s Brideshead Revisited – preparations for the festive season last the entire year. This gentle documentary sees designers Charlotte Lloyd Webber and Adrian Lillie deck the halls, using the Emerald City of Oz for inspiration. Hannah J Davies
What’s the Monarchy For?
9pm, BBC One
King Charles is the first billionaire to take the throne. And yet the monarchy currently costs the taxpayer more than ever before. The second episode of David Dimbleby’s series asks if that circle can be squared. He’s joined by the austerity expert George Osborne as he wonders whether we’re getting enough bang for our royal buck. PH
Tommy: The Good. The Bad. The Fury
9pm, BBC Three
Cameras have been shadowing Love Island alumnus Fury for the past year as he attempts to refocus his mental health, relationships and boxing career. The concluding double bill sees him prepping for a gruelling 100km triathlon in France while also nervously anticipating the premiere of this series. Graeme Virtue
Rob & Romesh vs Bollywood
9pm, Sky Max
Romesh Ranganathan and Rob Beckett in Mumbai. Photograph: Amit Vachharajani
On the off-chance that you don’t have enough Romesh Ranganathan in your life, here’s a new series of his challenge show with Rob Beckett. We begin with Bollywood; the pair travel to Mumbai to attempt to earn roles in the most competitive moviemaking environment on Earth. PH
World’s Most Dangerous Roads
9.45pm, BBC Two
Two comedians are in South Africa, heading inland and off-road, and while rainbow-haired Ria Lina is definitely up for the challenge, her companion, Darren Harriott, seems less prepared. As they begin their 500-mile journey in the relative luxury of a Cape Town car park, a realisation hits him: “Remote usually means no wifi … Oh God …” Ellen E Jones
Live sport
Champions League football: Inter Milan v Liverpool 7pm, Prime Video. At the San Siro.
Champions League football: Tottenham v Slavia Prague 7pm, Prime Video. Atalanta v Chelsea is at 7pm on TNT Sports 2.
Film choice
All the King’s Men (Robert Rossen, 1949), 4.30pm, Film4
Cynicism oozes out of Robert Rossen’s compelling drama as it traces the rise of Broderick Crawford’s Willie Stark from honest small-town lawyer to demagogic governor. John Ireland’s disaffected journalist Jack Burden is our guide to the ways power can corrupt those who have it – and also those, like him, who come within its orbit. Crawford is superb, plotting his character’s shift from dull but earnest to magnetic and bullying, a small-scale Citizen Kane for whom the ends justify the means. Simon Wardell
Easy riders … Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea in Ride the High Country. Photograph: Everett/Shutterstock
Ride the High Country (Sam Peckinpah, 1962), 2.05pm, 5Action
Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott, both veterans of the Hollywood western, show the benefits of familiarity with the genre in Sam Peckinpah’s satisfying 1962 adventure. They play former partners who join forces again, alongside a naive cowboy, to transport gold from a mine to the bank. There’s an easy charm to their relationship as they reminisce and rib each other en route to the mountain encampment. However, with motivations not as clear cut as they seem at first, there’s room for fisticuffs and gunplay, as the young buck and old-timers have to decide between right and wrong. SW
