Paxman: Putting Up With Parkinson’s
9pm, ITV
“I’m not living with it, I’m putting up with it,” says broadcasting stalwart Jeremy Paxman in this frank, funny and moving documentary about his diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. “I don’t want to be involved in a production of a film that is in any way encouraging of the ‘poor little me’ syndrome.” As he explores the disease, Paxman helps dissect a brain, speaks with Paul Sinha (who also has Parkinson’s), agrees to try CBD with Sharon Osbourne (currently caring for her diagnosed husband Ozzy) and meets the woman who detects Parkinson’s by smell. Hollie Richardson
The Great British Bake Off
8pm, Channel 4
After surviving Bread Week, the remaining 10 bakers get a holiday – sort of – as the theme shifts to sunny Mexico, home to some truly tantalising treats. Among the tougher but more absorbing challenges: knocking up a show-stopping tres leches cake with evaporated milk, condensed milk and double cream. Graeme Virtue
Michael Palin: Into Iraq
9pm, Channel 5
We reach the last leg of Palin’s intrepid journey through a complex country and it’s testament to his good nature that he has been well received in a nation with every reason to feel uneasy towards nosy Englishmen. Tonight, he visits one of Saddam Hussein’s grotesque palaces and talks to children in Baghdad about their hopes for the future. Phil Harrison
Storyville: Midwives
9pm, BBC Four
Another striking film from the Storyville vault: Mila Aung-Thwin tells the story of two incredible women in Myanmar – one Buddhist, one Muslim – who defy religious divisions in their country to run a women’s clinic together and deliver babies. HR
Make Me Prime Minister
9.30pm, Channel 4
You weren’t hallucinating: Liz Truss really was the prime minister speaking at the Queen’s funeral. So, the idea that one of the 11 amateurs left in this cringe-making contest could be PM one day isn’t so far-fetched. Tonight, the two teams must create a policy to tackle the obesity epidemic. How will they fare against the Guardian’s Zoe Williams at the press launch, and in the dreaded TV debate? HR
Cunk on Earth
10pm, BBC Two
Yet more hilarious one-liners abound in tonight’s spoof documentary. Medieval people? “Their only hobbies were dying of the plague or being tortured.” Galileo? “Full name was Galileo Figaro Magnifico: that’s what it says in Dominican Rhapsody.” And Jean-Jacques Rousseau? “A name so French he might as well have been called Pierre Baguette – but wasn’t.” Alexi Duggins
Film choice
Collective (Alexander Nanau, 2019) 10.35pm, BBC Four
Alexander Nanau’s documentary is a shocking tale of a Romanian newspaper’s investigation into excessive deaths of burns victims after a nightclub fire. This quickly expands into an exposé of widespread corruption in the country’s healthcare system, while cameras also track a new health minister struggling to deal with the crisis. The work was done by the staff of Gazeta Sporturilor, which is known mainly as a sports paper, and though there are many depressing aspects to the film’s revelations, it does prove the vital role independent journalism can play in an open society. Simon Wardell
