What to watch
Cunk on Britain BBC TWO, 10.00PM; NI, 11.15PM
“Now we’ve got our country back, what actually is it, who are we, and why?” So Philomena Cunk sets out her stall at the start of this five-part mockumentary series, in which the presenter, played with gormless faux-naif aplomb by Diane Morgan, guides us through the passage of British history. Cunk’s one-off musings on Shakespeare and Christmas were instant classics, stuffed to the hilt with laugh-outloud moments. Judging by this series opener, her latest, more ambitious venture should be just as uproarious.
This episode takes us from the Big Bang up to the Wars of the Roses (“sounds like a sitcom about florists”), tackling the Stone Age, King Arthur and William the Conqueror (“the first example of an EU national coming over here to take British jobs”) along the way. As ever Cunk’s idiocy is her greatest asset, her malapropisms and misunderstandings skewering pretension in withering style. Cunk’s interviews with the experts are a highlight, with eminent historians and archivists left baffled in her wake. She even dumbfounds a spluttering Robert Peston, asking his opinion on “the most political thing that’s ever happened in Britain?”. A gem. Toby Dantzic finalists, including winner cellist Sheku Kannehmason, as a springboard to look back at other stellar careers the competition has launched. TD
Hospital BBC TWO, 9.00PM
The frenetic pace of work at Nottingham University Hospital Trust continues as we visit the cancer ward. With staff numbers dwindling, the pressure is mounting on those who remain. This is especially being felt by head and neck consultant David Grant, who is due to operate on 75-year-old Freda, who is overdue for her thyroid surgery. TD
Everest: World’s Greatest Mountain
CHANNEL 5, 9.00PM
What better way to start this new series on the world’s most iconic mountains than with the mother of them all? We learn about the history of Everest’s origins, those who live in its shadow,