Alan Carr’s Epic Gameshow (STV, 8.15pm)
POINTLESS Celebrities is getting some serious competition in the Saturday night gameshow stakes as comedian Alan Carr is reviving not just one but five of British TV’s best-loved formats.
Over the next few weeks, we can look forward to “supersized” versions of Take Your Pick, Strike It Lucky, Bullseye and The Price is Right. But first up, there’s a chance to shout “higher” and “lower” at the screen as Alan follows in Bruce Forsyth’s legendary footsteps to bring us Play Your Cards Right.
The celebrity contestants are daytime TV favourites Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, comedian Chris Ramsey and his wife Rosie, presenter Ore Oduba and his wife Portia, and singer-actress Martine McCutcheon and her husband Jack McManus.
Casualty (BBC1, 8.40pm)
WHEN ex-con Mick realises his son, Connor, is being moved to America, he pulls a gun on his social worker, Ruth, in desperation. In an attempt to escape, Mick shoots Ruth in the leg, and flees the hospital.
Later, he returns and takes hostages in the emergency department, and Charlie puts his life on the line to try to protect those around him. Meanwhile, Dylan risks his life for Faith, which makes her question her emotions towards him, and a frustrated Will asks Fenisha to give him a second chance.
Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things (BBC2, 9.30pm)
SHE had one of the great voices of the 20th century and an incredible ability to both interpret a lyric and to improvise with her scat singing.
Now this documentary explores how Ella Fitzgerald’s music also reflected the passions and troubles of the times she lived in and the events of her own life.
Starting in 1934, when the teenage Ella (above) won a talent contest at the Apollo theatre in Harlem, it traces her career over five decades, but this is no normal biography.
Instead, it draws on images and music to evoke the period, although it does find room for some impressive talking heads, including Smokey Robinson, Jamie Cullum, Tony Bennett, Norma Miller and Laura Mvula, who will be reflecting on the jazz singer’s enduring influence.
The Young Montalbano (BBC4, 9pm)
ANOTHER chance to see the first episode of the prequel to Italian drama series Inspector Montalbano. It’s the early 1990s and the detective (Michele Riondino) is promoted and transferred to the seaside town of Vigata, where he grew up.
A local thug with a history of theft is murdered, and the evidence points to an elderly shepherd as the killer. However, Montalbano stumbles upon a piece of evidence that could suggest otherwise, while also unravelling the mystery of why a girl tried to murder a judge.
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