The Island That Saved My Life, BBC1, 7.30pm
SHY and suffering from depression, 23-year-old Sarah Moore found her life in Edinburgh tough. She found a solution, however. Even though it meant leaving her family, she moved to North Ronaldsay in the Orkney Islands, which boasts a population of around 50. There, she took up several jobs, and started to build a new life. She feels more a member of the community – and has a far more active social life than she did in the capital. This documentary, part of BBC One’s Our Lives strand, tells her remarkable story.
University Challenge, BBC2, 8.30pm
NEW series. Jeremy Paxman presides over proceedings as the academic quiz returns for its 25th series since the revival of the show in 1994, with competitors from 28 universities around the UK answering questions on all manner of subjects. The opening match of the first round sees four students from Warwick take on a quartet from Exeter.
Our Guy in Russia, C4, 9pm
FROM lorry mechanic to daredevil racer to TV presenter, Guy Martin has had quite the career. Here, in the fourth in his series of adventurous travelogue programmes, he adds another string to his bow: limo driver. But that’s only one of the many things on his off-the-beaten-track itinerary, as he ventures from Moscow to Siberia. Typically, he avoids the standard tourist traps, and instead tries to get to the heart of Russian life. This includes such activities as riding with the Night Wolves – President Putin’s own biker gang – and putting his driving skills to the test behind the wheel of a priceless limousine.
Who Do You Think You Are? BBC1, 9pm
LEE Mack researches his family tree, delving into the life of his great-grandfather and fellow comedian Billy. Not long into his journey, the Not Going Out star discovers that his relative was passionate about more than making people laugh. Billy joined the first-ever Pals Battalion in Liverpool at the start of the First World War and honed his act at the front lines in the Battle of the Somme. Lee also looks into the upbringing of his maternal grandfather Joe, who was deserted by his unwed mother.
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