PICK OF THE DAY

BIG ANIMAL SURGERY, 9PM, BBC2

SURGERY has always made fascinating television, but when it is being performed on nature’s mightiest beasts, it’s even more impressive. In this new, three-part series, Liz Bonnin (pictured) watches on as life-saving operations are performed on an elephant, a chimpanzee and, first, a lion. In South Africa, nine-year-old Ricci’s problems with his teeth are so severe they’re preventing him from feeding, and one of the world’s leading vets, equipped with a range of custom-made tools, is brought in to get to the root of the problem. Now, the last thing anyone needs is for Ricci to wake up from the anaesthetic mid-surgery . . .