SELLING HOUSES SPECIAL
Channel 4, 8pm
We’ve been down this road many times but, in case you missed the last 90 or so programmes, it may be time to recap. The Thornhill family in Nottingham are unable to sell their detached home. The decor boasts a Fred Flintstone fireplace and an extensive collection of dragons and unicorns, all of which are guarded by a large black dog. (Now here comes the important part, so pay attention because it’s tricky and will get repeated only another 90 times.) The estate agent Andrew Winter and the City Gardener Matt James advise them to get rid of the clutter, paint the place in neutral colours and tidy up the garden.
WHAT MAKES ALASTAIR CAMPBELL RUN?
Five, 8pm
Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former Communications Director, was running on Hampstead Heath when he went to help a man who had been mugged. “Oh! Are you Alastair Campbell?” said the victim. “I ****ing hate you!” This fascinating — and occasionally hilarious — portrait of the devil incarnate was filmed over seven months while Campbell trained for a triathlon. He talks on a wide range of subjects: the nervous breakdown in his twenties (“like plate glass shattering”), his enemies, his obsessive personality and sense of tribal loyalty. This is a devil of the most likeable variety, whose story about that famous Prescott punch is the comic highlight of the week.
THE MOORS MURDERS CODE
BBC Two, 9pm
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After the death of Myra Hindley in November 2002, hundreds of documents and photographs were released for the first time. Taken as a whole, they show how Ian Brady derived personal satisfaction from the unresolved nature of his crimes, and how Hindley was complicit in that enjoyment; they also shed light on Brady’s relationship with Hindley before, during and after the murders. The producer, Duncan Staff, has worked on earlier films about this dismal couple. He says the only reason he was prepared to make another film about them was the hope that this new material might lead to the body of the murdered boy Keith Bennett.
GRAND DESIGNS ABROAD
Channel 4, 9pm
Grand Designs is still the only property programme on television worth watching. Here, the people are as colourful as their houses and no one is interested in making a quick buck. Take Mark and Debbie Sampson. They moved to France eight years ago, but their vegetarianism, aromatherapy and New Age outlook on life distanced them from their carnivorous neighbours. So the family decide to make a fresh start in the Lot region, building their own house with a budget of only £90,000 and hoping that, this time, the neighbours will warm to them. The thing is, the new house will be made of straw bales.
SATELLITE, CABLE AND DIGITAL CHOICE
by Anna Frame
KINDRED SPIRITS
Animal Planet, 8pm
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The Ancient Greeks named a constellation of stars after the much-revered dolphin, and human fascination with the graceful, playful creature remains strong. This beautifully shot documentary — the first in a new series spotlighting the world’s best-loved animals — features rare footage of dolphins swimming with their young and deliberately beaching themselves to catch the mullet they have chased ashore. The series is being shown in 155 countries and this global audience will be able to vote for their favourite animal at www.animalplanet.co.uk/favourite or via SMS on 84188. Take your pick from a shortlist of ten animals that includes the tiger, elephant, orang-utan, snake, dog, horse, lion and chimpanzee.
TALES FROM EUROPE
BBC Four, 10pm/1.30am
The Berlin Wall came down 15 years ago but how have the eight former Eastern Bloc countries that emerged from behind the Iron Curtain dealt with their communist pasts? In the first of a new series that is far less dry than its premise suggests, Kirsty Wark explores Slovenia, once part of the former Yugoslavia and an unexpected delight. Yet this small country, she finds, is a bundle of contradictions, wanting to play a significant role in the expanding European Union while hoping to keep its traditions and identity. Sound familiar? It seems that Little Englanders are not the only ones to fear the effects of a European superstate.
CAN YOU PULL . . . JORDAN?
E4, 10pm
Well, it hasn’t proved difficult in the past, but 29-year-old fan, Brad Shackleton, is about to find out that getting a date with Britain’s biggest glamour model isn’t as easy as it would appear.
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CANNIBAL: THE REAL HANNIBAL LECTERS
Discovery Science, 11pm
This disturbing look at cannibalism tries to explain the inexplicable by exploring why some people commit an act that is so alien to human nature. The case studies are haunting and feature shocking footage of bereaved families who cannot comprehend what has happened to their loved ones.
SPORT CHOICE
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOOTBALL
Sky Sports 2/Xtra, 6pm
Manchester United begin their Champions League campaign against the French champions Lyons. Sir Alex Ferguson will be without the injured Wayne Rooney, so fellow summer signing Alan Smith will lead the attack. Lyons also have a new forward, the French international and former Arsenal player Sylvain Wiltord, who knows a thing or two about beating United, having scored the winner at Old Trafford to clinch the league for Arsenal in 2002. Live coverage of tonight’s other matches, including Liverpool v Monaco and Beyer Leverkusen v Real Madrid, is available to digital viewers on Sky Sports Xtra (Sky Channel 404).