What’s on TV tonight: Linford, Tabloids on Trial, The Decameron and more

Thursday 25 July

Linford
BBC One, 8.30pm
Whichever way you look at it, Linford Christie is one of British athletics’ great figures. Not only a gold-winning Olympian and world champion, but the only athlete ever to hold the British, Commonwealth, Olympic and world championship titles for the 100m at the same time. And yet, as is evident from this gripping film, he is one of British athletics’ most unhappy figures, too.

Here, we learn that he has spent many years feeling traduced, overlooked and underappreciated, largely as a result of the long shadow cast by doping allegations he was, in part, cleared of more than 20 years ago (he has always insisted he was innocent). Christie cuts a prickly, somewhat tragic figure, a man undone by the very character traits that made him a champion: a singularity of focus, ego and drive that brooks no compromise, and an unwillingness to “play the game” in the face of shocking racism and the truly gross excesses of the tabloid press when he was at his career peak. For many, perhaps, he has long been his own worst enemy. That’s this documentary’s virtue; it gets under the skin to provide a vivid, nuanced portrait of who Christie really is, and why he is the way he is, too. GO

Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net 
Amazon Prime Video
During the pandemic, the globe-spanning, record-breaking circus troupe were forced to shut down their flagship Las Vegas show, O. This sparkly docu-series goes behind the scenes as Cirque du Soleil’s performers and crew get back to it.

The Decameron
Netflix
Inspired by Boccaccio’s 14th-century tales, this eight-part romp finds a cast of wealthy egomaniacs and misfits retreating to a villa outside Florence in 1348 to enjoy fun and frivolity while escaping the Black Death. Topical? Hardly. “It’s like Love Island but back in the day,” is how showrunner Kathleen Jordan describes it. Girls’ Zosia Mamet and Derry Girls’ Saoirse-Monica Jackson take the lead.

The High Street: Shops We Loved & Lost
Channel 5, 8pm
A nostalgic two-parter recalling the glory days of Britain’s high streets and the much-missed chains and retailers that gave them life: Woolworths, BHS, C&A, Debenhams… the list goes on. Eamonn Holmes, Anne Hegerty, Lesley Joseph and Nick Hewer are among those mourning the loss.

Tabloids on Trial
ITV1, 9pm
Prince Harry gives his first interview since the conclusion of his damages claim against the publishers of the Daily Mail and The Sun in December. Actor Hugh Grant, singer Charlotte Church and former footballer Paul Gascoigne are among those also speaking out about the impact phone hacking had on their lives, both personal and professional.

Richard Eyre Remembers Country
BBC Four, 9pm
In tribute to dramatist Trevor Griffiths, who died in March, Richard Eyre recalls directing his subversive TV drama Country in the Play for Today slot in 1981. A rare airing follows, with Leo McKern, James Fox and Wendy Hiller as members of the landed Carlion family gathered to protect their interests ahead of a feared Labour victory in the 1945 general election.

Doom Scroll: Andrew Tate and the Dark Side of the Internet
Sky Documentaries, 9pm
Director Liz Mermin explores how and why someone with Andrew Tate’s toxic views can seduce millions of young followers, and how social-media algorithms boosting extreme content can spill over into real-world harm.

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) ★
Amazon Prime Video  
Guy Ritchie swaps tough nut Cockney gangsters for heroic (and equal parts chaotic) politicians in this Second World War action comedy. Prime Minister Winston Churchill enlists a ragtag group of military officials (played by Henry Cavill, Alex Pettyfer, Henry Golding et al) to hatch a daring plan to neutralise Hitler’s fleet of German U-boats so Britain can win the war. Our film critic wasn’t impressed by the OTT-nature of it, but Ritchie fans will inevitably find much to admire.

The Trouble with Angels (1966) ★★★
Talking Pictures TV, 5.35pm  
Actress Ida Lupino is most famous for her hard-boiled film roles opposite Humphrey Bogart, but she also blazed a trail for female film-makers, directing a succession of movies in the early 1950s. This is one of her later efforts, a likeable comedy set in a Catholic girls’ school, with rebellious Hayley Mills taking on Rosalind Russell’s Mother Superior.

Rocky IV (1985) ★★★
ITV4, 10pm  
It’s a stew of blood and sweat as the Cold War “rivals” Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone, who also directs) and Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) lay it all on the line. Rocky IV is the series’ nadir, and the fight scenes run on, but it gave us one worthwhile moment: the robot butler given by Rocky to his long-term friend Paulie (Burt Young), behind which there’s a sweet tale – it was used by Stallone to help his autistic son communicate.

Friday 26 July

Olympics: Paris 2024: Opening Ceremony
BBC One, 5.45pm
After the Covid-enforced strangeness of the Tokyo Games in 2021, the Olympics will announce their return with all appropriate pomp and grandeur at tonight’s Opening Ceremony in Paris. Created by the maverick theatre director Thomas Jolly (his acclaimed productions include Shakespeare’s The Wars of the Roses tetralogy at 2014’s Avignon Festival), the procession will largely take place along the Seine. There will be some 200 boats carrying the athletes six kilometres along the river to the Jardins du Trocadéro, opposite the Eiffel Tower. Let us hope, given recent news stories concerning water quality, that no one accidentally falls in.

En route, expect some spectacular, unorthodox takes on French history, introducing the athletes hoping to make a little of their own over the next 16 days. Thirty-two sports, 329 events and over 10,000 competitors will equal pure sporting heaven for those not already sated by the recent excitements of Wimbledon, Euro 2024 and the Tour de France – and the Paralympics are still to come. Clare Balding introduces the event, with Andrew Cotter and Hazel Irvine providing commentary. GT

Carmen Curlers
Walter Presents
With the first series having offered a delightful 1960s-set antidote to the clichés of Nordic noir and smashed viewing records in Denmark, this second run finds Axel Byvang’s (Morten Hee Andersen) electric hair-curler manufacturer ramping up production to meet demand. A defect prompts suspicions of sabotage, while unrest grows among the predominantly female workforce demanding better conditions.

Gardeners’ World
BBC Two, 8pm
Monty Don prepares to leave his garden for the summer, cutting plants back and sowing salad seeds, while Carol Klein has some suggestions for bulbs and tubers and Adam Frost is impressed by an Italian-inspired garden in Devon.

Verdi’s Requiem at the Proms
BBC Four, 8pm
From Tuesday night comes a performance by the BBC National Chorus of Wales, Crouch End Festival Chorus and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under the baton of Ryan Bancroft. Verdi’s moving masterpiece is introduced by Katie Derham from the Royal Albert Hall.

Champions: Full Gallop
ITV1, 9pm
This engrossing documentary series continues, with Sean Bowen having assumed his position of frontrunner in the race to be champion jockey. But with Harry Cobden chasing hard, who will win out?

Terror at 30,000 Feet
Channel 5, 9pm
Following last week’s opener, another real-life disaster movie with an unlikely happy ending details Qantas Flight 32, which suffered engine failure over Indonesia while flying from London to Sydney, yet landed without injury to anyone in the air or on the ground. Its passengers relate this striking story.

Louis Armstrong Night
BBC Four, from 10pm
An evening devoted to one of the all-time great voices and trumpeters begins with a concert from his British tour with his All Stars group in 1968, featuring several of his staples including Mack the Knife and What a Wonderful World. At 10.55pm comes another gig from the same tour, showcasing (among others) Hello Dolly! and The Bare Necessities, before “Satchmo” takes his bow alongside fellow luminaries including Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie in performance and interview for Jazz Legends in Their Own Words at midnight.

Robin and the Hoods (2024) ★★★
Sky Cinema Premiere, 4.15pm  
The classic tale of Nottinghamshire outlaw Robin Hood has been rehashed many times: by Disney, Kevin Costner, and even Shrek. This latest iteration is a sweet-natured family fantasy following the efforts of 11-year-old Robin (Darcey Ewart) and her friends to save their beloved playground from being paved over by a greedy property developer (Naomie Harris).

The Devil Wears Prada (2006) ★★★★
Film4, 4.40pm  
In this enjoyably catty look at the wild world of fashion journalism, Meryl Streep plays the perfectionist editor of Runway (a thinly veiled Vogue). Emily Blunt delivers a magnificent turn as her uptight assistant, while Stanley Tucci’s loveable creative director cemented his star power; it’s a shame that Anne Hathaway is sappy in the lead. Fans will be delighted to learn a sequel is currently in the works.

Moonraker (1979) ★★★
ITV1, 10.45pm  
The 11th film in the Bond franchise, and the fourth to star Roger Moore as the dapper MI6 agent, involves the theft of a space shuttle. It’s one of the weaker 007 films and at times seems more of a comedy than a tense action adventure, but it’s enjoyably frivolous. Michael Lonsdale plays baddie Hugo Drax, who pinches the aforementioned space shuttle to help along his plan to wipe out the world’s population. Also on Sunday at 3.40pm.

The Beach (2000) ★★★
BBC One, 11.30pm  
Leonardo DiCaprio plays second fiddle to Thailand’s Maya Bay beach (which was closed to tourists for years after the film’s release due to environmental concerns) in Danny Boyle’s populist thriller. Based on Alex Garland’s 1996 novel, the story follows backpackers Richard (DiCaprio), Étienne (Guillaume Canet) and Françoise (Virginie Ledoyen) as they explore paradise – but they soon realise it’s less than perfect.

Television previewers

Stephen Kelly (SK), Veronica Lee (VL), Gerard O’Donovan (GO), Poppie Platt (PP) and Gabriel Tate (GT)