The Joy of Winning, BBC4, 9pm

DID you know that maths could help you to avoid everything from nuclear annihilation to listening to the kids arguing in the back of the car during a long road trip? It’s all linked to game theory and, in this documentary, mathematician Dr Hannah Fry will be using it to unlock the strategies you need to get what you want. In the process, she reveals the link between rapper Ludacris, a Kentucky Sherriff, a Nobel Prize winner and doping in professional cycling and, even more impressively, explains the science behind the TV series Golden Balls.

The Yorkshire Vet, C5, 8pm

THE series is back for a seventh run, but there have been some changes in Yorkshire – including a new veterinary surgery. While Peter Wright is still treating animals in Thirsk, his partner Julian Norton has set up shop in nearby Boroughbridge. The local animals make sure he gets off to a dramatic start, as he’s called to a pig that’s having a difficult labour – and because sows rarely have problems giving birth, Julian isn’t sure what to expect. Meanwhile, Peter comes to the aid of one of his favourite farming families, the Greens, when one of their calves is struck down, and also takes his work home with him when he tries to stop his new pet, cat Toddy, from developing some bad habits.

Long Lost Family, STV, 9pm

AN extraordinary double search within one family, beginning as sister Maureen looks for her brother Keith to tell him the truth about their father, followed by a further search with Keith to find out more about the birth mother he never knew. Keith now lives in Australia, but the news that Maureen is looking for him and the information she brings about their father is life changing for him, causing him to travel back to his childhood home in Wales and dig deeper into his past. Last in the series.

First Dates Hotel, C4, 9.15pm

NEW series at a hotel in Italy which welcomes singletons from all over the UK. Following a painful marriage, policewoman Emma meets carpenter Luke, in one of the most passionate dates in the show’s history. Meanwhile, flight attendant Andrew is ready to find love again following the suicide of his husband, and is set up on a date with David, who has a lust for life and a thirst for fine Italian wines.