THIS WEEK’S TOP TV PICKS
Rhod Gilbert: Stand Up To Infertility Sunday, BBC2, 10pm
‘Senile swimmers in need of zimmers’ is the turn of phrase Rhod Gilbert (right) uses to describe a low sperm count, but though hough he finds unlikely laughs in his own diagnosis it’s also the cue for this educative documentary on a serious subject that’s all too rarely talked about. The stand-up finds out that male infertility may receive less attention than its female counterpart but still looms just as large across the whole population. Among those he meets with the same condition is poet Benjamin Zephaniah, who recalls the shock of being told he was unable to have children, and Gilbert also learns how our 21st Century way of life may be to blame for falling sperm counts.
Boxing And The Mob Monday, BBC1, 9pm
Does organised crime have a stranglehold on boxing? That’s the question reporter Darragh MacIntyre sets out to answer nswer in this eye-opening Panorama special. Although big fight nights are often glamorous affairs, the sport has a dark underbelly that has resulted in the shooting of a top trainer, the execution of an ex-fighter and a gangland murder at a weigh-in during recent years. And now it’s been alleged that Daniel Kinahan, who is accused of being connected to Europe’s drug cartels, has become involved in setting up the much-anticipated battle between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury (above). MacIntyre is determined to unearth the truth.
Britain’s Lost Masterpieces Monday, BBC4, 9pm
Brighton Museum may be about to learn something lucrative courtesy of art historian Bendor Grosvenor and presenter er Emma Dabiri (above). In the first of a threepart series, they visit the city to investigate Grosvenor’s hunch that a painting depicting Mary Magdalene could be by forgotten master Francesco Trevisani. Dabiri learns more about the scene it depicts at Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum. Also under the microscope is a painting of Balthazar, one of the Three Wise Men. While Grosvenor tries to back up his claim that it’s by Joos Van Cleve, who was active in 16th Century Antwerp, Rev Richard Coles profiles Balthazar himself.
Joanna Lumley’s Home Sweet Home Tuesday, ITV, 8pm
She was supposed to be travelling the spice route, charting her adventures for an exotic c new series. But, as with so many plans these days, it fell by the wayside. Instead, Lumley (above) has decided to explore the delights on our doorstep. The first of three episodes begins at Tilbury Docks in Essex. From there she heads to Manchester, where she makes a nostalgic return to Coronation Street following her stint on the soap in 1973. Finally, she visits Whitby, one of the settings for Bram Stoker’s famous novel – Lumley appeared in The Satanic Rites Of Dracula in her pre-fame years, so she’s overdue a reunion with the world’s most famous bloodsucker.
Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr Tuesday, BBC2, 8pm
T B The show that puts an arty spin on the Apprentice format is given a makeover. Out goes presenter Fearne earne Cotton; in her place comes Alan Carr (above), dispensing warm support spiced up with the occasional ripe doubleentendre. Otherwise the eightpart series is as we saw in 2019, with ten hopefuls contending to win the grand prize of a lucrative commission, with proceedings conducted under the coolly watchful eye of judge Michelle Ogundehin and her expert guests. For the opening week she’s joined by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen as the contestants do their best to impress – or at least survive being eliminated – as they spruce up a luxury show home.