The Great British Bake Off
Channel 4, 8pm
The four remaining bakers face Patisserie Week in a semi-final of cream horns, sugar glass domes and, as a showstopper, a sculpture of macarons.
Battle Treasures with Foxy and Bruce
Sky History/NOW, 8.30pm
Former SAS man Jason Fox and historian Bruce Crompton join forces for this enjoyably granular, occasionally bloodthirsty new series about historical artefacts and their connections to modern warfare. They begin with an examination of assault rifles.
The Good Life: Inside Out
U&Gold, 9pm
Penelope Keith introduces another of U&Gold’s excellent sitcom retrospectives, with contributions from co-stars (Richard Briers and Paul Eddington from archive footage, of course) as well as assorted writers and producers. Strange now to recall it was a critical and commercial slow starter, but by the time of its boldly downbeat farewell, The Good Life was a lynchpin of British TV comedy – so much so that Elizabeth II was treated to her own bespoke episode a year later.
Welded Together: Storyville
BBC Four/iPlayer, 10pm
Rounding off another exceptional run of Storyvilles, this Belarusian documentary offers an unflinching depiction of generational trauma. Katya, a young welder, reconnects with her troubled mother and infant half-sister: a fulfilling, supportive working life is contrasted with the domestic chaos of addiction and abandonment, to potent effect.
In My Own Words: Tom Jones
BBC One/iPlayer, 10.40pm
Sir Tom Jones is by turns tickled and moved to have his memory jogged in this lovely film. While the arc might by now be familiar – working-class upbringing in the Welsh Valleys, discovery of that extraordinary voice, 1960s stardom, television, Elvis and Vegas, knicker-hurling self-parody and unlikely comebacks – Jones remains a fine and perceptive raconteur. GT
What’s on TV this week?
Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel
BBC One/iPlayer, 8.20pm
There have been eight other versions of The Wheel around the world, yet none have made it beyond two series. As the British iteration begins its sixth run, what is its secret? For one, it has in Michael McIntyre a perfect host: bumptious and sympathetic, family friendly and a tad risqué – someone as ready to prick eminent egos as he is to lift the spirits of contestants fearing the worst. The lack of self-consciousness and celebrities genuinely invested in helping people win life-changing sums also helps – everyone is relaxed about being silly or, when the stakes are high, deadly serious.
Tonight sees a huge cash prize, engaging backstories (there are tears within the first five minutes), surely the best-received mention of Bobby Brown since the early 1990s and a long debate over the perfect cup of tea. The mix-and-match of famous faces remains as canny as ever, with Katherine Ryan, Susan Wokoma, Jill Scott, Layton Williams, Roman Kemp, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith all making their mark alongside, with doleful wit familiar to fans of Celebrity Traitors, Joe Marler. Only 10 questions are asked over the hour, yet the energy never flags.
