FIVE OF THE BEST
Child Genius
Channel 4, 8pm
For the third day, the 14 remaining competitors take on geography. With questions in the morning round covering 4.5 billion years of our planet’s history, the nerves really kick in. In the afternoon the remaining competitors take on a challenging memory round in which they must memorise a sequence from a pack of 100 randomly shuffled cards, each with an imagine of a different world flag.
Skint Britain: Friends Without Benefits
Channel 4, 9pm
Following the residents of north-east town of Hartlepool as they became guinea pigs for the roll–out of Universal Credit, and the shocking events that followed. The final episode follows Sophie, a young woman with epilepsy and ADHD who struggles to get through the application process for Universal Credit, and eventually runs out of money and loses her home. Meanwhile, as some people’s money problems grow, one line of business is booming – loan sharks. Using threats and violence to solicit money owed, they see themselves as a necessary evil, but when their clients also respond with violence, tensions reach boiling point.
The Satanic Verses: 30 Years On
BBC2, 9pm
In 1988, the publication of The Satanic Verses – the controversial book by Salman Rushdie – sparked a culture war in Britain. Thirty years on, broadcaster and journalist Mobeen Azhar returns to Yorkshire, where the protest first began, to examine the lasting effect the book has had on his community, and to meet people often ignored by the mainstream media whose lives were forever affected by the book.
Mobeen hears from a range of people who were affected by the so-called “Rushdie Affair” – from the men who took an early stand against the book and organised the original protests, to a writer who wrestled at the time of the book’s publication with the complex questions of free speech and her own religious beliefs, and a former member of the National Front who claims that the furore over the book became a recruiting tool for them.
Pure
Channel 4, 10pm
The comedy drama based on Rose Cartwright’s acclaimed memoir reaches its climax tonight in a double– bill of episodes. As ever, Marnie is concerned that her sexual thoughts will arise once again during her best friend Olive’s visit from Scotland. However, buoyed by her new therapy sessions, she decides to come clean about her condition and is pleased when Olive doesn’t run away in disgust. As a result, Marnie decides to bring her two worlds together at a dinner party – but when matters don’t go quite as she had planned, she’s left feeling paranoid and wondering if everybody now hates her. Later, as everyone gathers for Amber’s birthday, Marnie becomes obsessed with the idea that she isn’t getting any better. Charly Clive, Joe Cole, Anthony Welsh and Niamh Algar star.