WHAT TO WATCH INTERIOR DESIGN MASTERS WITH ALAN CARR 54 DAYS: AMERICA AND THE PANDEMIC

BBC Two, 8pm

Lockdown saw a surge in us redecorating our homes – Dulux even had to ration paint for a time – so a televised interior design competition can’t possibly miss. Back for a second run after an absence of two years, it also features a new host in Alan Carr, who replaces Fearne Cotton. Interestingly, Carr doesn’t seem particularly interested in home décor and isn’t given much to do, but he’s an engaging presence when he larking around with contestants, making the odd catty remark about their colour schemes. Judging falls again to Michelle Ogundehin, ELLE Decoration UK’s former editor-in-chief. Each week she invites 10 amateur designers to redecorate a space from scratch over two days with £1,500 and help from handymen.

For the first task they’re split into teams of two to doll up new luxury homes in Oxford: one tackles the lounge, the other a bedroom. Ogundehin and a guest judge – tonight it’s design peacock Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen – critique their efforts and send one home. Much like contestants on Bake Off, Sewing Bee and the like, these amateurs are already accomplished and their designs are likely to spark another run on Dulux. Vicki Power with kindness. Some of the contestants, tasked with preparing a topnotch breakfast, display flair and panache, while others seem barely able to scramble an egg.

BBC Two, 9pm

Although glass houses spring to mind, the US’s handling of the pandemic is surely an object lesson in how not to do it. The concluding part of this series follows NYC Health Commissioner Dr Oxiris Barbot, who gives her first interview on the subject following her fiery clashes with Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Alan Carr & Michelle Ogundehin front the decorating show