PICKS OF THE DAY
Music: Friday Night At The Proms: Seth MacFarlane Sings Sinatra, 10.15pm, BBC4
Frank Sinatra sang at the Royal Albert Hall 33 times from 1975 to 1992 so it is a fitting venue for fellow American Seth MacFarlane ( left) to lead a live celebration of his 100th birthday year. The Family Guy and American Dad creator will be backed by the John Wilson Orchestra as he performs songs from Sinatra’s Capitol Records years, including Let’s Face The Music and Dance, Come Fly with Me and I’ve Got You Under My Skin.
Wildlife: Animal Super Parents, 7pm, BBC1
It’s the last in the series which makes it must- see TV for fans of the documentary revealing weird and wonderful stories of parenting in the natural world. We learn how animals living in groups divide labour, from elephants taking part in hostage negotiations for their babies to banded mongooses giving birth on the same day. Also featured are lionesses uniting to see off male interlopers and musk oxen defending their young from wolves.
Food: Rick Stein: From Venice To Istanbul, 9.30pm, BBC2
Rick Stein’s got the best of both worlds. Not content with running a string of seafood restaurants and a cookery school in Cornwall, the enthusiastic chef also gets to show us some of the global delights on offer in exotic locations in this new, sevenpart series spanning 3,000 miles. Rick ( left) takes a gastronomic road trip to Istanbul through the countries of the former Byzantine Empire – a melting pot of East and West. His journey begins in the city of Venice and on the idyllic Greek island of Symi he cooks some of his favourite Venetian dishes including seafood risotto, tiramisu and gnocchi with spider crab.
Drama: Ripper Street, 9pm, BBC1
A routine murder inquiry in a curiosity shop reveals a secret underground cell. The killing could be linked to Long Susan’s property empire Obsidian Estates, but Det Insp Reid played by Matthew Macfadyen ( above) is more concerned with the identity and whereabouts of the young girl held in the cell for many years. It is an investigation that seems set to confront him with both his greatest shame and his greatest hope.
Quiz: Mastermind, 8pm, BBC2
John Humphrys ( right) and the famous black chair return as 96 contenders bid to reach the final in the 41st regular series of TV’s most intense quiz show. Can anyone rival the record 41 points scored by Kevin Ashman in 1995? His specialist subject was The Life of Martin Luther King. Specialist subjects in this first heat are Marvel Comics, Shakespeare’s comedies, singersongwriter John Martyn, and Pu Yi, the last emperor of China.