Highlights and listings
DOCUMENTARY
Britain’s Biggest Warship
HMS Queen Elizabeth is the largest and most advanced warship ever constructed in Britain. This threepart series follows the ultra-modern super aircraft carrier as she is taken to sea for the first time.
Embedded within the ship’s company over the course of three years, award-winning filmmaker Chris Terrill captures an intimate portrait of life on board as the men and women learn the intricacies of a warship that will change the way Britain goes to war.
In this first episode, it is early 2016 and HMS Queen Elizabeth is nearing completion in Rosyth dockyard in Fife. Captain Jerry Kyd and his 700 sailors are assembling. Their mission? To take the warship to sea for the first time – but how will they sail her under the Forth road and rail bridges? HMS Queen Elizabeth is taller than both.
Tomorrow, BBC2, 8pm
INVESTIGATION Stephen: The Murder That Changed A Nation
Twenty-five years ago, on 22 April, black student Stephen Lawrence was murdered at a bus stop by a group of white youths in an unprovoked attack. It was as shocking as it was senseless, but the subsequent failures of the police investigation, which meant the killers walked free, turned the tragedy into a watershed moment for the police and the country at large as both had to face up to uncomfortable truths about the extent of racism in society and the Metropolitan Police.
This three-part documentary charts 25 years of Doreen Lawrence’s struggle for justice through all its twists and turns; the police investigations, dramatic interventions from Nelson Mandela and the Daily Mail, revelations of institutional racism in the police and suspicions of corruption, bringing us right up to the present day in a case that remains active, with many questions still unanswered.
Tuesday to Thursday, BBC1, 9pm
ENTERTAINMENT
Britain’s Got Talent
The audition rounds of the popular variety show and mainstay of ITV were recorded before Ant Mcpartlin took a leave of absence from broadcasting in the wake of his arrest for alleged drink driving, so it will be business as usual, at least initially, during the 12th series of the show.
Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams return as judges, with at least one of them able to muster an encouraging comment for even the most hopeless.
Today, STV, 8pm
DOCUMENTARY
The Queen’s Green Planet
This documentary follows Her Majesty the Queen and an ambitious legacy project to create a global network of protected forests, spanning the 52 countries of the Commonwealth. This project, called the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy, brings together Her Majesty’s deeply held commitment to the Commonwealth and her little-known love of trees. At the heart of the film is a conversation between the Queen and Sir David Attenborough filmed in the gardens of Buckingham Palace last summer. In a rare opportunity to see the Queen talking informally to Sir David, the conversation ranges from climate change, to conkers and birthday gifts.
The Queen reveals her passion for nature and how the garden’s history is intertwined with that of her family, charting the lives of her children but also delving into the past of her great, great grandparents Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Monday, STV, 9pm
GARDENING
The Beechgrove Garden
Hardy perennials Jim Mccoll and George Anderson return with Chris Beardshaw and Carole Baxter to celebrate the best of Scottish horticulture. ■ Thursday, BBC2, 7pm