TV review What a cutie, and the puppy is a looker, too

IT was a strange compliment but then its target was not your average kind of guy. “Can I just say, you played an old Liverpool hooker bloody well,” said a homeless man to the host of

Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs (STV, Wednesday, 8pm). O’Grady, the artist formerly known as Lily Savage, could only have been more delighted if you had given him a puppy to take home.

O’Grady sneaking out the door of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home with a waggy-tailed something up his jumper is a running joke in the reality show, now in its seventh series.

This week temptation came in the form of Humphrey, a Bedlington terrier pup with a shocking case of ringworm. Humphrey had been living on the streets with a homeless person but his condition had become so bad he had to be handed in for treatment and adoption.

Humphrey was the exception to the rule. As O’Grady found when he went out with the charity Street Vets, such dogs are generally much loved and looked after extremely well. “He’s the only living creature I trust,” said one proud “dad”.

Poor Humphrey was in isolation to treat his ringworm. The smell, even O’Grady had to acknowledge, was awful. “I remember when I worked for Camden and we found this old lady dead in bed. She smelled like this. Put it this way, I didn’t eat boil-in-the-bag beef and gravy for a long, long time.” You don’t get anecdotes like that on Countryfile.

Back to reality with a bump in the night in The Interrogation of Tony Martin (Channel 4, Sunday, 9pm). You may remember the case from 1999 of the Norfolk farmhouse owner who shot two burglars after they broke into his home.

In Dave Nath’s enthralling film,

males that had defended the pride have all deserted the group, leaving two adult females to protect their eight cubs from a wide range of threats, including rival prides, herds of buffalo and the constant menace of marauding hyenas. However, the greatest threat of all comes when the lions encounter humans.

Jazzology with Soweto Kinch (BBC4, 8pm)

Travelling to New Orleans, New York and London, the jazz alto saxophonist meets and plays with fellow musicians and discover the roots of the music that is political, spiritual and rooted in African American history. With jazz undergoing a revival, Soweto shines a light on a 100-year-old art form that’s showing no sign of slowing down. On his travels, he

The Little Drummer Girl (BBC1, 9pm)

Fatmeh tests Charlie’s conviction to revolution, and her love for Michel, before abandoning her at a militia training camp. There, she is thrown together with other westerners who want to fight for the Palestinian cause. Trading ideas for arms, Charlie goes through a gruelling test as she is trained in weapons and guerrilla tactics by the harsh drill