Inside Culture With Mary Beard (BBC2, 7.30pm)
THE revered classicist and scholar returns to the small screen with a new five-part series delving into the cultural world. She begins by taking a trip to Stonehenge, a place she has been passionate about since childhood. Beard takes a turn about the world-famous mysterious stone circle, where she catches up with various figures, including Turner Prize-winning conceptual and video artist Jeremy Deller. She also reveals which areas of the arts and culture have done well during the pandemic and which have suffered.
Saving Lives At Sea (BBC2, 8pm)
THE volunteers who operate Hoylake’s rescue hovercraft are used to rushing out in all weathers to help members of the public, but they’re somewhat taken aback by their latest mercy dash – it involves assisting a porpoise, a creature that really should know better than to get caught by an outgoing tide. Two hundred miles to the north, the best-dressed victim ever seen by the Kinghorn crew – a teenage wedding guest in suit and tie – needs to be plucked from a rocky outcrop before it vanishes into the sea.
GPs: Behind Closed Doors (C5, 8pm)
AOFIE’S studying hard for her A-Levels but is struggling to sit at a desk and write due to the persistent pain in her collar bone. During an examination, GP Dr Arif notices that Aofie’s shoulders are not correctly aligned and sends her off for further tests. Meanwhile, Dr Razak is next door with Alisha who has come in with her baby son Adam. Alisha has hip dysplasia – a misalignment of the hip joint, which is causing her immense pain.
London Zoo: An Extraordinary Year (STV, 9pm)
IT’S 192 years since London Zoo first opened its doors to the public. Many extraordinary things have happened in the intervening decades, but few years have been as unusual as 2020, during which it was forced to close its doors for the first time since the Blitz. In this documentary, we find out what happened as the staff tried to keep the animals – and themselves – happy and healthy for three months before visitors were allowed in again in June – there’s also a chance to see how its sister zoo Whipsnade got on.
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