TURKS AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY
Five, 7.15pm
A wild and woolly Boris Johnson introduces the exhibition of Turkish art (AD600-1600) at the Royal Academy. He might at first seem an unlikely choice of presenter, but it turns out that his grandfather fled to England after his great grandfather — the Interior Minister in the government of the last Sultan — had the bright idea of arresting Ataturk, for which he was lynched in a barber’s shop. Johnson has inherited his ancestor’s political savvy and a love of all things Turkish, and he sees the country as an agent of understanding between West and East.
AUSCHWITZ: THE NAZIS AND THE ‘FINAL SOLUTION’
BBC Two, 9pm
The final part of this overwhelming series describes what happened to the inmates and their guards after Auschwitz was liberated. Jewish prisoners returning home were raped by Russian soldiers, Russian prisoners were sent to the Gulags as suspected traitors, and pre-war property rights were ignored. One Jewish lady who survived the horrors of Auschwitz described going home as the worst experience of all: “It was as if I was poisonous,” she says. Of the 8,000 members of the SS who worked at Auschwitz, 7,000 survived the war. They distanced themselves from their past and fewer than 800 were put on trial. “We obviously knew,” says one, “that the things that had happened there did not necessarily comply with human rights.”
FOR BETTER, FOR WORSE: THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH
ITV1, 9pm
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To be honest, the prospect of an hour and a half watching eight random couples describing the ups and downs of their marriages was not a prospect that appealed. But as occasionally happens, the programme turned out to be far more engrossing than it sounded. The programme-makers revisit couples they filmed as newlyweds seven years earlier in order to find out how they are getting on now. The couples represent an extraordinarily vivid cross-section of people who, between them, discuss issues that would be familiar to any Relate counsellor. They are funny, sad, delightful and sometimes creepy — but rarely dull.
SHAMELESS
Channel 4, 10pm
The episode a fortnight ago involving guns and drug dealers was a disappointment. It seemed to herald a move away from the character-led shenanigans of a loveable dysfunctional family and into the plot-driven world of soap opera where anything goes. So is Shameless still worth watching? The answer, thank heavens, is an emphatic yes. The dialogue continues to crackle with energy. The acting is as fresh as ever (David Threlfall and Anne-Marie Duff keep getting better) and tonight’s episode marks a return to its roots, with a battle between the Gallaghers and the social services, with not a gun in sight.
MULTICHANNEL CHOICE
by James Jackson
WORLD XI v EUROPE XI LIVE: FOOTBALL FOR HOPE
ITV2, 7.30pm; repeated tomorrow on ITV1, 12.50am
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The pitch at the Nou Camp in Barcelona will be overflowing with soccer superstars for this benefit match, with all proceeds going to the Fifa/AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Tsunami Solidarity Fund. Andriy Shevchenko captains a European team including Beckham, Roberto Baggio, Gerrard, Henry and Zidane. They play a rest-of-the-world side led by Ronaldinho and including Ronaldo, Juninho and Adriano among their number. Expect much showing-off.
EUROPE: A NATURAL HISTORY
BBC Four, 9pm/midnight
A montage of dramatic vistas heralds this eye- popping tour through the ice ages, tropical swamps, deserts and dinosaurs that have defined our continent. Rather than just offering straight natural history, it also shows the influences of ancient tectonic pile-ups on today’s culture (how, for example, ancient floods in Pangea evaporated to leave enough salt to supply today’s massive industry). Most innovatively, it reveals how our cities would look with the landscapes they would have graced millions of years ago: Frankfurt skyscrapers poke out above miles of wildwood, London is smothered by glaciers and Paris is submerged under water.
THE ECHO
UKTV Drama, 9pm
An enjoyably grubby Minette Walters mystery from 1998 starring Clive Owen as a low-rent newspaper reporter sniffing about the case of a tramp found dead in the garage of a wealthy blonde (Joely Richardson). Why would the tramp have starved when there was a freezer full of food next to him? Why would the blonde have paid out thousands of pounds for his funeral? Why is Richardson being so infuriatingly aloof? All questions answered in a complex, well-written drama with a pleasingly psychological edge.
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28 ACTS IN 28 MINUTES
BBC Three, 9.30pm
No preview tapes available for this new comedy that, according to the blurb, will mix “the most inventive stand-up comedians, sketches, music, magic and escapology in a live studio”. The clue’s in the title — 28 acts with one minute each and among those involved are Noel Fielding (one half of The Mighty Boosh), Neil Mullarkey (founding Comedy Store player) and Jocelyn Jee Esien (one of the Three Non-Blondes). So it sounds promising enough.
BORIS JOHNSON TALKS TO KIRSTY WARK
BBC Four, 11.30pm/3.30am
Having been sacked from the front bench and with The Spectator gaining notoriety for all the wrong reasons, the amiable Johnson is bound to be good value as he chats to Wark.