PICKS OF THE DAY
History: My Grandparents’ War, C4, 9pm
The brilliant Mark Rylance, star of Bridge Of Spies, Dunkirk and Prospero’s Books, delves into his family history here. The actor and peace campaigner (left) finds out what happened to his grandfather Osmond Skinner during the Second World War, a man who spent almost four years as a Japanese prisoner of war. Mark uncovers how his grandfather bravely joined the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Force with no military training, before being shot on Christmas Day and taken as a prisoner of war. Throughout the programme, Rylance find his views on war tested as he uncovers the real and shocking truth about his grandfather’s wartime experience.
Film: The Monuments Men, Film4, 6.40pm
Get the washing up done by about 6.30pm tonight and then dedicate the rest of your night to this fact-based drama. Seven experts in fine art are assembled into a military platoon during the Second World War and given an unusual mission. They are sent into occupied Europe to recover priceless works of art that have fallen into Nazi hands and ensure the masterpieces survive the conflict. Fact-based drama, directed by and starring George Clooney (left), with Matt Damon.
Finance: Britain’s Great Pension Crisis with Michael Buerk, Channel 5, 9.15pm
To be a mainstream newsreader for almost three decades you have to have some gravitas, a little bit of authority about you. Michael Buerk (above right) certainly has that and when he speaks on Britain’s pension crisis tonight it is worth listening to him. Across two parts, he reveals how many people are facing retirement with little or no money. Frightening.
Soap: Emmerdale, ITV, 7pm
The fact we harbour a deep dislike for Danny speaks volumes for the quality of the acting from Louis Healy (above right), the son of Tim Healy and former Corrie star Denise Welch. Tonight he meets Sarah (Katie Hill, above left) in the cricket pavilion and offers her some pills. Will she feel she has no real option but to take them or will help arrive in the shape of Noah before it is too late?
Entertainment: Strictly: It Takes Two, BBC2, 6.30pm
There are some programmes that run out of steam after a few series and disappear from our screens. Others, though, seem to continue to go from strength to strength as they progress: Great British Bake Off, Strictly and MasterChef to name but a few. Here, Strictly spin-off host Zoe Ball (right) brings viewers more backstage gossip and exclusive news from the main Strictly Come Dancing show. Plus, Ian Waite casts his expert eye over the couples’ latest training footage.