Love Your Home and Garden, STV, 8pm
ALAN Titchmarsh and a team of architects, builders and gardeners transform the kitchen and garden of wheelchair-bound 15-year-old Josh, who has multiple disabilities. The kitchen is so tiny that Josh and his mum Benita cannot be in it together, and his wheelchair won’t fit through the back door so the garden is off-limits. Architects Ewald and George create a new layout in the house so Josh can move from the front door to the back garden with ease, and builder Kunle turns the kitchen into a state-of-the-art conservatory so mother and son can cook together for the first time.
A Dangerous Dynasty: House of Assad, BBC2, 11.45pm
THE al-Assad family has ruled Syria since 1971. This three-part documentary exploring the dynasty’s background begins by focusing on the current president and first lady, Bashar and Asma, charting their rise to power and asking how a couple who were once seen as a modernising force ended up running a regime that stands accused of war crimes. Their love story has its roots in London, where Bashar was training to be an eye doctor and British-born Asma was embarking on a career in investment banking. However, the death of Bashar’s older brother, who had been groomed for the job of president by his father Hafez, would see them taking on different roles.
Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild, Channel 5, 9.15pm
DEEP into the jungle mountains of Thailand on the border with Myanmar and far off any conventional map, Ben spends time with 40-year-old French-Canadian Julien, who has been a Buddhist monk for almost half his life. Living in a remote monastery, Ben learns why this former teenage student from the west stripped away all complications of a modern life for a primitive eastern and religious existence, and how this choice affected his family. The adventurer observes how Julien has created a bespoke way of life, which includes giving back to the remote hill-tribe communities in his region.
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