PICKS OF THE DAY
Film: Lighthouses: Building The Impossible, C5, 9pm
In the second episode of this three-parter, engineer and presenter Rob Bell (left) explores the bizarre history of The Smalls, one of Britain’s most remote offshore lighthouses. Situated 20 miles off the Pembrokeshire coast, its isolated location on a reef in the Irish Sea has challenged architects and keepers for more than 200 years, leaving it wreathed in dark tales and mystery. The original lighthouse was built by musical instrument maker Henry Whiteside between 1775 and 1776.
Film: Star Trek Into Darkness, Film4, 9pm
This 2013 sci-fi adventure featuring a talented cast including Zachary Quinto as Spock, Chris Pine (above, right, with Quinto) as Kirk, Simon Pegg and Benedict Cumberbatch. It’s 2259 and Captain Kirk’s disdain for protocol sees him stripped of the command of the Enterprise, but he is given a chance to prove himself after volunteering to find and put an end to a mysterious operative who’s out to destroy Starfleet.
Documentary: Billie: In Search Of Billie Holiday, BBC4, 9.30pm
An in-depth look at the American jazz and swing music singer’s incredible life, career and influence on the genre and civil rights movement. In the late-1960s – some 10 years after the I’ll Be Seeing You singer’s death – journalist Linda Lipnack Kuehl set out to write the definitive biography of the star. Over the next decade until her own death in 1978, she tracked down and tape-recorded interviews with the many extraordinary characters that populated the iconic singer’s short, tumultuous life. This documentary draws on that fascinating archive, capturing Holiday’s (left) depths and complexity through the words of those who knew her best.
Comedy: Michael McIntyre: All The Laughs & More, C5, 10pm
An affectionate look back at comedian Michael McIntyre’s life in a documentary charting his early struggles to launch his career through to hosting the Royal Variety Performance and his arena-filling tours. Contributors include McIntyre himself (above), comedians Marcus Brigstocke and Andi Osho, talk show host Jonathan Ross and TV judge Rob Rinder.
Comedy: It’ll Be Alright On The Night, ITV, 9pm
Funnymany David Walliams (right) narrates a load more television clangers, gaffes and fluffed cues, including the time Joan Collins is accidentally upstaged by Susanna Reid. Choreographer and dancer Bruno Tonioli takes a tumble in the Strictly Come Dancing studio, and a giant tortoise defecates near presenter Dermot O’Leary. There is also footage of a runaway car as it interrupts a US TV news report before crashing into a lake.