THE JENNINGS VS ALZHEIMER’S

BBC Two, 9pm

Opening in the unlikely surroundings of a busy nightclub, this sensitive documentary finds hope in the bleakest of circumstances. When her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 1982, Carol Jennings suspected that his condition was linked to the dementia of four of his siblings. It took years of lobbying and research for the scientific community to confirm her fears, along with the grim statistical likelihood – 50/50 – that she would inherit the newly discovered mutant gene.

The Jennings vs Alzheimer’s cuts between her dauntless campaigning and present state in the final stages of dementia, alongside her devoted husband and two children who are coping with their own uncertain futures in very different ways. It gathers moving testimony from both academics and family members, regarding not just the appalling cruelty of the disease but also the optimism created by Carol’s efforts: with the genetic nature of Alzheimer’s confirmed, younger people with “purer” forms of the disease could be tested, their brains unaffected by old age, and the prospect of a cure brought ever closer.

If all this has come too late for Carol, it is a priceless legacy to leave behind. Gabriel Tate following clues to take selfies at various local landmarks), strategic alliances and betrayals. The premise hands each pair a suitcase, the contents of which are secret from the others: eight are empty, one contains the “early checkout card” and one £250,000. Each episode climaxes with an orgy of suitcase-swapping, before one couple is sent home. Continues through the week.

Carol helped to discover an inherited form of the disease