The Great British Bake Off (C4, 8pm)
THERE was a period, not so very long ago, when fans thought there would be no 2020 series, but where there’s a will, there’s always a way – the cast and crew were all housed in a self-contained biosphere so that they could disregard social distancing guidelines on camera. Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood return as judges, with presenter Noel Fielding joined by new co-host Matt Lucas. The bakers’ first tasks are a Battenberg with a twist, a fruit sponge technical and, in the showstopper, something that pays tribute to their heroes.
Danny Dyer on Harold Pinter (Sky Arts, 9pm)
AS he prepared to tread the boards in Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter in 2019, EastEnders actor Dyer worked on this documentary about the British playwright. Taken under his wing following roles in films like 1997’s Human Traffic, Pinter cast Dyer in several of his plays. Now, 12 years after Pinter’s death, Danny takes a look back at his mentor’s work and the profound influence he had on his life. Dyer learns about repertory theatre, the meaning of the famous Pinter Pause – and of forgiveness, apologising to Keith Allen for the time when he forgot his lines on Broadway.
Britain’s Biggest Dig (BBC2, 9pm)
AFTER unearthing numerous fascinating facts in last week’s opening episode, Dr Yasmin Khan and Professor Alice Roberts are feeling confident about their chances of finding the remains of Matthew Flinders and Bill Richmond. Flinders was an explorer who journeyed to the then-uncharted coast of Southern Australia, while Richmond, born into slavery in colonial America, became a champion boxer and fought in the American War of Independence.
The Write Offs (C4, 9.30pm)
SANDI Toksvig isn’t presenting Bake Off any more, but she’s still going to be popping up on Channel 4 for the next couple of weeks. She’s presenting a two-part programme exploring Britain’s staggeringly low adult literacy rates – it’s estimated that around five million UK adults are unable to read. Here, Toksvig meets eight people who fall into that group and follows their progress as they finally get to grips with reading and writing.
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