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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Phil Harrison, Graeme Virtue, Jack Seale, Ali Catterall and Simon Wardell

TV tonight: a gritty new war drama from France

Dark Hearts.
Dark Hearts. Photograph: Sife Elamine/BBC/©Sife Elamine-Mandarin Television

Dark Hearts

9pm, BBC Four

There’s a bleak resonance to this French drama, with civilians in a conflict zone meeting trigger-happy soldiers and finding themselves at the mercy of forces beyond their control. The action is set in Iraq, during the coalition assault of 2016. Officially, there’s no French presence in Mosul, but as their special forces troops capture a French jihadi and attempt to negotiate the terms of his cooperation, maintaining that fiction becomes difficult. Gritty and involving. Phil Harrison

Strictly Come Dancing

6.35pm, BBC One

Despite some impressive shirt-ripping, a slapdash salsa meant Jody Cundy and reigning pro-champ Jowita Przystał crashed out last time. The remaining 12 couples will be hoping to hang on in there, especially as elimination this week would deny them the diabolical dress-up thrills that await in the Halloween special. Graeme Virtue

Fleetwood Mac at the BBC

8.25pm, BBC Two

Fleetwood Mac.
Fleetwood Mac. Photograph: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

One of pop’s most enduring bands, or brands – FM are really at least two different groups that share a rhythm section – is profiled via a BBC archive raid. The original incarnation offers the mellow Albatross and the furious Oh Well; later, we see the superstars who made Rumours. Jack Seale

Julia Bradbury’s Irish Journey

8.25pm, Channel 4

From Jonathan Swift to James Joyce, and more contemporary figures such as Anne Enright and Roddy Doyle, Dublin has long been associated with giants of literature. In this leg, Julia (herself a Dubliner) explores the city’s heritage and visits its famous Museum of Literature Ireland. She also visits Gaelic sports stadium Croke Park. Ali Catterall

Mike Yarwood: Thank You for the Laughs

8.25pm, Channel 5

Back in the 1970s, there were few bigger light entertainment stars than Mike Yarwood, a man whose range of cheerful impressions (from politicians to football managers) now seem to belong to a more innocent time. In this documentary, his daughters trace their father’s career back to his roots in Stockport and his sudden exit from public life. PH

Later … With Jools Holland

10.30pm, BBC Two

This week, Take That pay a visit to Jools’s Ally Pally theatre, touting their new album This Life. The rest of the lineup is admirably eclectic – Johnny Marr is discussing his new book about guitars while Mette with her breezy hip-hop and frenetic reggae-metallers Skindred also appear. PH

Film choice

Pearl (Ti West, 2022), 8pm, Sky Cinema Premiere
A hot-on-the-heels prequel to Ti West’s 2022 slasher horror X, with the returning Mia Goth (West’s co-writer) scarily convincing as the young Pearl. It’s an origin story of the murderous farmgirl, who lives in rural tedium in 1918 Texas with her strict German mother and quadriplegic father but fantasises about becoming a movie star. Shot in classical Hollywood style – all swooning strings and melodramatic acting – it’s a stylish nightmare, with Pearl morphing from Judy Garland’s Dorothy to Baby Jane as she descends into mania. Simon Wardell

Poltergeist (Tobe Hooper, 1982), 11.50pm, BBC One
“They’re here!” From the fertile imagination of Steven Spielberg, though officially directed by Tobe Hooper, came this still-impressive 1982 supernatural thriller, which exploits childhood fears of monsters in the closet – and parental fears of being unable to protect their kids. JoBeth Williams and Craig T Nelson move with their three children to a new housing estate. But inexplicable incidents lead to their youngest daughter being dragged through a portal into another world – and their comfy, borderline smug middle-class life falls apart. SW

Live sport

England’s Owen Farrell.
England’s Owen Farrell. Photograph: Neal Simpson/Shutterstock

Cricket World Cup: England v South Africa, 9am, Sky Sports Main Event A must-win game for cup-holders England in Mumbai.

Premier League Football: Liverpool v Everton, 11am, TNT Sports 1 The Merseyside derby at Anfield.

Women’s Super League Football: Leicester v Man City, 5pm, BBC Two From the King Power Stadium.

Rugby Union World Cup: England v South Africa, 7.15pm, ITV1 Owen Farrell (pictured above) leads England in the second semi-final in Paris. The third-place play-off is on Friday at 7.30pm.

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