PICK OF THE DAY

TOP GEAR

8PM, BBC2 ★★★★

Winning ratings with their jolly banter, the new presenting team of racing driver and car journalist Chris Harris, retired England cricketer Freddie Flintoff and cheeky Take Me Out host Paddy Mcguinness (right) return for their second full series as a trio, and the 28th series of the show since its 2002 relaunch. Together, they are off on their holidays – in the cheapest second-hand convertibles they can buy. Chris tears round the track to test the new Ariel Atom sports car, while Freddie has the fun job of seeing if an old Rover will survive a bungee ‘jump’.

VERA

8PM, ITV ★★★★

The body of 27-year-old

Luke Sumner is discovered by binmen in Newcastle, a life seemingly disposed of like rubbish. Luke lived ‘like a monk’, simply and quietly, working long shifts for a cleaning firm. But when Luke’s family is identified, Vera realises she knows the name – and, not for the last time, the investigation takes a sad, tragic twist.

THE TRIAL OF CHRISTINE KEELER/KEELER, PROFUMO, WARD AND ME

9PM, BBC1/ 10PM, BBC2 ★★★★

The conclusion of the drama on BBC1 is followed by a lively documentary on BBC2. Tom Mangold was a young reporter at the time, and explores the story from inside the media scrum, as well as through previously unheard recordings of both Keeler and Ward.

WIN THE WILDERNESS: ALASKA

9PM, BBC2 ★★★★ Six British couples have signed up to try to win a new life in Alaska, swapping the rat race for acres of wide-open space. Duane Ose and his wife will give away their home, their land and their legacy to the winning couple, who must prove they have what it takes to survive off-grid and on their own. SA