Tonight's best watches include a new game show hosted by Ashley Banjo and Fleur East called The Void, Pavarotti in Hyde Park, Harry Potter, John Hughes, Gary Oldman and Bryan Cranston . . .
Pick of the Day
The Void, 8.00pm, Virgin Media One
Here’s a brand new game show hosted by Ashley Banjo and Fleur East, in which contestants take on a wide range of demanding mental and physical challenges.
In order to win a jackpot of £25,000, they’ve got to navigate the terrifying prospect of falling into a huge tank holding 520,000 litres of water called the Void.
Among those taking part in the first edition are a weightlifting champion, a former US paratrooper and a professional jester.
My money’s on the jester.
Don’t Miss
Beck, 9.00pm, BBC Four
The second episode of this new run of the feature-length Swedish cop drama is called The Fall Guy.
Oskar and Josef make a macabre discovery in the boot of a car. But things are not what they seem and it takes an emotional toll on the Beck group.
Looks like someone's getting stitched-up here . . .
Weird Science, 11.35pm, BBC One
Here’s a 1980s’ oddity from legendary teen comedy director John Hughes that should send you to bed with a grin on your face.
It’s a sci-fi comedy, starring Kelly LeBrock, Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Robert Downey Jr and Bill Paxton.
Two sexually frustrated teenagers use their computer to design the perfect woman, but are ill-prepared for the outcome when their creation comes to life.
She decides to make men of them, by putting them in a series of situations that will force them to stand up for themselves.
New or Returning Shows
Pavarotti in Hyde Park, 9.30pm, BBC Two
Shades of Italia 90 here, on the eve of the Euro 2020 final.
Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti's 1991 free concert to celebrate 30 years in opera, when he performed arias by Verdi, Puccini, Bizet and Wagner for a crowd estimated at 125,000.
Those who turned out had a great time, despite an incessant downpour.
The legendary tonsil-trembler was accompanied by the 82-member Philharmonia Orchestra and the 120-voice Philharmonia Chorus.
Here's the tune (sorry, aria) no one who lived through Italia 90 will ever forget:
A Lake District Farm Shop, 8.00pm, Channel 4
Here’s a very English documentary following a family-run shop in the Lake District and the local people who produce its goods.
The first episode features a ramen chef who hopes the shop's managers will stock his new recipe.
A baker looks to the landscape for inspiration in making bread, and a butcher heads to the fells to hand-pick the Herdwick Lambs to be sold on his counter
New to Stream
Finding You, Sky Cinema & NOW TV
Here’s a teen drama set in Ireland. Enter at your own risk.
It does have Derry Girls' Saoirse-Monica Jackson amongst its cast, so that's a big plus.
After an ill-fated audition at a prestigious New York music conservatory, violinist Finley Sinclair (Rose Reid) travels to an Irish coastal village to begin her semester studying abroad.
At the B&B run by her host family, she encounters gregarious and persistent heartthrob movie star Beckett Rush (Jedidiah Goodacre), who is there to film another instalment of his medieval fantasy/adventure franchise.
As romance sparks between the unlikely pair, Beckett ignites a journey of discovery for Finley that transforms her heart, her music, and her outlook on life.
Saturday Night at the Movies
Darkest Hour, 7.35pm, BBC One
Double Oscar and Bafta-winning period drama, starring Gary Oldman, Lily James and Kristin Scott Thomas.
It’s May 1940. As the Nazis advance against Britain's European allies, newly-elected prime minister Winston Churchill has a major decision to make.
He must determine whether to leave neighbouring countries to their fate, by striking a peace deal with Hitler, or fight on against terrifying odds for the greater good of Europe.
Invictus, 9.35pm, RTÉ2
Here’s Clint Eastwood's fact-based drama, starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, about Nelson Mandela.
Following his election as president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela finds himself the leader of a racially and economically divided nation, and seeks a means to unite the people.
The country's entry in the 1995 Rugby World Cup provides a perfect opportunity, and he enlists the aid of the team's captain Francois Pienaar in making his team an inspiration to all South Africans.
Trumbo, 1.05am, BBC Two
This is on so late I considered including it in Sunday’s highlights.
Biopic of the acclaimed Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who was jailed and blacklisted in the 1940s for his left-wing political views.
Bryan Cranston does a fine job in the lead role, but Helen Mirren also pops up as McCarthyite cheerleader Hedda Hopper, a gossip columnist and proponent of the Hollywood blacklist.
On his release from prison, he manages to continue writing using a series of pseudonyms (his work included Roman Holiday and Spartacus), and his newfound success leads many to question the validity of the blacklist.
Family Flick
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 6.35pm, RTÉ One
Where did those 20 years go?
From 2001, here's a fantasy adventure, adapted from the first of JK Rowling's much-loved books, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman and Richard Harris.
An orphaned boy endures a miserable childhood, until he discovers he has magical powers and enrols at a special school for young wizards.
But when there, his suspicions are aroused by a sinister teacher who seems to be up to no good.
