Friday 18 May
The Royal Wedding: They’re Getting Married in the Morning
BBC One, 7.00pm
With less than 24 hours to go before the wedding, broadcasters are going into overdrive with an onslaught of royal-flavoured programming this evening. First comes They’re Getting Married in the Morning, the tone of which should be given away by its One Show timeslot. The unlikely trio of Kirsty Young, Huw Edwards and Dermot O’Leary will be reporting the latest news, including interviews both with those due to play key roles on the day and members of the public who have been getting as close as they can to St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
For a different, more hard-nosed take on events, The Meghan Markle Effect (11.00pm on Channel 4) sees Fatima Manji wrangle a panel of experts and interested parties to assess the likely impact of Markle, the wedding itself and indeed what it tells us about the future of the monarchy.
Finally, for the fluffiest perspective possible, there’s Harry & Meghan: a Royal Romance (Lifetime, 10.00pm), with relative unknowns Murray Fraser and Parisa Fitz-Henley playing the happy couple in a magnificently cheesy and loose interpretation of what might have happened (but almost certainly didn’t). Gabriel Tate
Unreported World
Channel 4, 7.30pm
Reporter Sahar Zand and director Alicia Arce follow the progress of the #MeToo movement in Bollywood, where women have been speaking out over assault, harassment and rape in an often dangerously hostile environment.
Tap America: How a Nation Found Its Feet
BBC Four, 8.00pm
Clarke Peters, aka Lester Freamon from The Wire and, more pertinently, the creator and star of West End musical Five Guys Named Moe, fronts this excellent documentary on the history of tap dancing and its deep connections to African-American culture in the United States. To be a professional tap dancer, you need to be a historian,” says modern tap icon Michelle Dorrance, and Peters here demonstrates this in absorbing, passionate style.
The Bridge
BBC Two, 9.00pm
Saga (Sofia Helin) was last seen leaving a trail of blood on the prison floor as she walked to freedom. We now find her in hospital, but in what sort of condition? Henrik (Thure Lindhardt) and his unpleasant new colleague Jonas (Mikael Birkkjaer), meanwhile, are following their murder investigation into Red October when another body turns up in Sweden.
The Nineties
Sky Arts, 9.00pm
The whistlestop series profiling a decade ends with the music of the Nineties, in all its glory and dross. We won’t see much in the way of Boyzone or Britpop, as it’s an American series; instead, expect Nirvana, Tupac, Alanis Morissette and The Backstreet Boys. A surf over the shallows of American pop rather than a deep dive, but very entertaining, even so. GT
Frankie Boyle’s New World Order
BBC Two, 10.00pm
Not for the easily offended, Boyle’s often funny, witheringly astute assessment of the world returns for a new series of stand-up, discussion and audience interaction with regular panellists Sara Pascoe, Katherine Ryan and Mona Chalabi, plus special guests.
Young, Welsh and Pretty Minted
BBC One, 11.55pm; NI, 12.55am
Want to earn six figures? Meet YouTuber The Gonth, a “social influencer” who makes £900 for posting on Instagram, and a 19-year-old swimwear designer – and they’re by no means as objectionable as you might fear. GT
Cargo (2018)
Netflix, from today
Martin Freeman stars in this Australian zombie movie (first shown at the Tribeca film festival) in which his character Andy has two days to find somebody to take care of his infant daughter and to protect her from his own changing nature after he is chomped on by his newly turned wife. It’s a strong entry from first-time feature film-makers (and co-directors) Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke, who eschew scares for survival-esque thrills.
Atomic Blonde (2017) ★★★☆☆
Sky Cinema Premiere, 8.00pm
Charlize Theron’s ice-cold super-spy makes Bond look arthritic in this thriller. With her peroxide locks, flowing white trench coat and wholly unimpressed manner, she plays tough when sent to Berlin undercover just beforethe collapse of the Wall. A British operative has shown up dead, and there’s a web of intrigue to disentangle with the help of a scuzzy station chief (James McAvoy).
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) ★★★★☆
ITV4, 10.00pm
Matt Damon returns for another crunchingly violent instalment of the pulsating spy series. Jason Bourne (Damon), the amnesiac CIA agent, is trying to find out his true identity before double-crossing CIA executives assassinate him. Why? Well, once he recovers his memory, Bourne has access to secrets that would be their undoing. Paddy Considine and Julia Stiles co-star.
Television previewers
Toby Dantzic, Sarah Hughes, Gerard O'Donovan, Vicki Power and Gabriel Tate