The Gadget Show, C5, 7pm
CRAIG Charles and his co-hosts unbox the new Amazon Alexa bike – yes, it’s a bicycle with the Alexa smart voice-assistant built in. Jon Bentley tests the latest fully wireless headphones with the help of two specialists – a rising rapper called Lady Sanity and a top British athlete. Plus, there is a review of the best coding kits for kids, why a small town in Warwickshire has an international gaming reputation and how to make cheap calls abroad during Brexit and beyond.
Rock Island Line: The Song that Made Britain Rock, BBC4, 9pm
THE American folk song Rock Island Line first emerged in the late 1920s, although the first recorded performance of the track wasn’t until 1934, by inmates of the Arkansas Cummins State Farm prison. After several covers, Lonnie Donegan’s fast-tempo recording of the song about a train operator who smuggles pig iron through a toll gate on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was released in late 1955. Donegan’s work was a major influence on Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and many others, and it is credited with helping to trigger the UK skiffle craze. Presented by Billy Bragg.
Have I Got News for You, BBC1, 9pm
DESPITE turning 29 years old this September and, having just started its 57th series, time hasn’t eroded the daddy of all satirical panel shows. Although the identity of tonight’s host is as yet unknown, we do know who Paul Merton and Ian Hislop team-mates will be – journalist and author Tim Shipman and Scottish comedian Janey Godley.
The Comeback of Ant McPartlin, C5, 9pm
DOCUMENTARY examining the presenter’s fall from grace in 2018, when, while his marriage to Lisa Armstrong was failing, he was charged with drink-driving and admitted to rehab for a second time. Through interviews with experts, the programme offers an insight into how Ant’s world collapsed around him and how it feels to have personal problems played out in front of the nation.
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