Wednesday

Defending the Guilty BBC TWO, 10.00PM; N IRELAND, 11.15PM

A smart new comedy from Cuckoo co-creator Kieron Quirke, based on criminal barrister Alex McBride’s book that exposes the lottery-like nature of our criminal justice system. Will Sharp is terrific as callow trainee barrister Will Packham, whose years at law school have left him fit only to buy croissants and spend endless hours summarising briefs for his pupilmaster Caroline (Katherine Parkinson), who says things like “we have fewer defence points than I have viable eggs.” But how else does a man with dreams of helping innocent people learn to navigate a legal system that seems designed to be as confusing as possible for the uninitiated? Especially when nepotism is rife in chambers and where, ultimately, winning is the only thing that matters. It’s an acute, deftly rendered and often funny insider’s view of a world where high ideals are cut down to size by the vicissitudes of the system. And the cast, including

Doctor Foster’s Prasanna Puwanarajah and Misfits’ Gwyneth Keyworth, gels very well, too. GO

Grand Designs CHANNEL 4, 9.00PM

Back for an impressive 19th series, Kevin McCloud’s adventures-inarchitecture show turns away from the hyper-modern in this opening episode. Instead it’s about renewal and a Spanish architect’s epic mission to convert a derelict folly in Buckinghamshire into a comfortable family home. Unsurprisingly, things doesn’t go altogether smoothly. GO