Pick of the day: Stacey Dooley: Ready for War
9pm, BBC Three
Stacey Dooley follows a group of Ukrainian civilians as they arrive in the UK for five weeks of intensive military training with the British Army before deployment to the front line fighting against Russia. Among the group is florist Mykola who wants to fight towards victory so he can marry his girlfriend. There’s also Pasha, a welder, who fears that going into battle means he may never see his parents again. “This isn’t training on the off-chance that they may find themselves in the front line,” says Dooley. It is an observation supported by the British officer in charge, who reveals that the last group he instructed has already taken casualties.
The Repair Shop
8pm, BBC One
Jay Blades welcomes into the Repair Shop barn eight-year-old Felix, who brings with him a scientific microscope handed down through the generations, from his great-grandfather. Meanwhile, resident cobbler Dean Westmoreland meets a man who entrusts him with the task of restoring a pair of boots used by his father during his time as a prisoner of war in the 1940s.
The Bay
9pm, ITV1
The final piece of the jigsaw slots into place as Det Sgt Jenn Townsend (Marsha Thomason) and the team conclude their investigation into the arson attack that killed Beth Metcalf (lest anyone has lost sight of the original crime among all the red herrings and domestic backstories). So, before a vital piece of evidence helps to clear up the case, a furious Jenn is determined to prove who attacked her family, Manning considers his future, and daughter Erin makes a life-changing decision that upsets Chris. Daniel Ryan co-stars.
The Kidnap and Murder of Lynda Spence
9pm, Channel 5
Another week, another eye-opening true-crime documentary – this one examining the disappearance of financial adviser Lynda Spence, who vanished in 2011 from Glasgow. As the police launched their investigation, they began to uncover hidden multiple identities, as well as links to suspected gangsters and property fraud. What followed was one of the longest murder trials in Scotland’s history, but without a body.
Matt Baker’s Travels in the Country: USA
9pm, More4
The Countryfile presenter broadens his horizons with a new series in which he explores rural America – not a bad idea given the traditional focus in Stateside travelogues is on the country’s cities. He begins in Florida, visiting a cattle farmer with a passion for keeping traditions alive by hand-cutting sugar cane to boil into syrup, using vintage machinery and reciting cowboy poetry.
Revenge Porn: Georgia vs Bear
10.45pm, ITV1
Already shown on ITV2, here is an opportunity for a wider showing of this documentary, which follows influencer and Love Island series three contestant Georgia Harrison’s courageous two-year fight to bring her ex-partner Stephen Bear to trial for sharing private sexual videos online (Bear was sentenced to 21 months in prison). Legal professionals connected to her landmark case help to explain why her victory is being celebrated as a victory for women who are victim to a crime with a hitherto shamefully low rate of arrest and conviction.
