Imagine
BBC One, 10.35pm
Alan Yentob travels to Cairo to visit the national museum that houses 160,000 priceless treasures from ancient Egypt. The museum belongs to another era, cluttered and ramshackle, covered in dust and protected by an almost comical lack of security. Despite this (or perhaps because of it) the museum has immense charm, far removed from the fortress-like concrete modern structure that will replace it in 2015. During the uprising thieves climbed up the fire escape on to the museum roof and stole 54 pieces — 23 of which have since been recovered. Many suspect that it was an inside job or that the ruling party was trying to discredit the uprising. Young people and protesters immediately rallied to defend their cultural heritage, and Yentob finds out what the museum means to Egyptians and how the legacy of the pharaohs affects the country after the revolution. The most amazing moment in the film is when workers remove the mask of Tutankhamun from its cabinet in order to replace a lightbulb while visitors mill all around. They didn’t even bother to wait until the museum was closed.
Should I Test My Genes? Price of Life
BBC Two, 9pm
Adam Wishart asks the difficult questions that no one likes to confront. Earlier this year he questioned whether babies born prematurely at 23 weeks should be resuscitated. Before that, he won the Grierson Award for his film about the rationing of costly cancer drugs. In this film he wants to find out if he is carrying the cancerous gene that killed his mother and grandmother. He meets other patients who have discovered they have a bad gene, and asks whether the NHS is doing enough to screen patients and prevent such genes being passed down the generations.
Restoration Home
BBC Two, 8pm
Advertisement
Television would be improved if programme makers were banned from piggy-backing on the success of other programmes. Restoration Homes, presented by Caroline Quentin, grafts Grand Designs on to Griff Rhys Jones’s Restoration. Six historic buildings are saved from ruin by private individuals, starting tonight as the Victorian Gothic nave of a Somerset church is converted into a private home. The programme comes with a dash of history lite and a splash of arts and crafts, but the only reason to watch it is to see the couple doing the restoration, who are young, obsessed and very funny.