What to watch on TV, Netflix, AppleTV+ and Disney+ today: Bear Grylls investigates his ancestry, Ford vs Ferrari and Scandalous: Phone Hacking on Trial

Untameable

RTÉ One, 10.15pm

A nature poet first and foremost, Seamus Heaney’s lyrical evocations of our landscape at times achieved a grandeur worthy of WB Yeats. And in his mid-career he became obsessed with bogs, and more particularly with the ‘bog bodies’ then being discovered. Thousands of years old, their faces and bodies miraculously preserved, they were often the apparent victims of ritual killings. In poems like Punishment and The Tollund Man, Heaney connected their deaths to the savageries of the Northern Troubles.

“I can see her drowned body in the bog,” he wrote in Punishment, “the weighing stone, the floating rods and boughs.” And in this new documentary written by Colm Tóibín and narrated by Ciarán Hinds, the bog poems are re-examined in the context of arguments about the future of our native wetlands.

Untameable explores the influence those bodies found in Danish and Irish bogs had on the poet, with Roy Foster providing a historical context. Midlands natives discuss the effect of legislative changes and turf-cutting bans, and we also hear about a remarkable bog-rewilding project being led by a Namibian.

Having witnessed the decimation of Holland’s bogs, Dutch philosopher Matthijs Schouten has big ideas about our evolving relationship with nature. And photographer Tina Claffey reveals how bogs changed her life forever.

Who Do You Think You Are?

BBC1, 9pm

When adventurer Bear Grylls investigates his ancestry, he finds top-secret documents in his grandfather’s trunk, a great-grandfather who modernised Harrow, and some Scottish ancestry.

Five Star Kitchen: Britain’s Next Great Chef

Channel 4, 8pm

The judges ask the remaining seven chefs to use the finest ingredients money can buy to create a dish impressive enough to appeal to the Langham Hotel’s millionaire clientele. And those who fail will face an even tougher task.

Scandalous: Phone Hacking on Trial

BBC2, 9pm

For more than a decade, a legal battle has raged in the UK over unlawful phone-tapping by tabloid newspapers, and the scandal has affected celebrities like Hugh Grant, Sienna Miller, Steve Coogan, Heather Mills and Simon Hughes.

Ford v Ferrari

RTÉ2, 9pm

In the mid-1960s, Ford hired a maverick designer and a fearless British driver to take on Italian giants Ferrari and win the prestigious Le Mans 24-hour race. Matt Damon and Christian Bale star in James Mangold’s entertaining drama.

John Wick 3 — Parabellum

Virgin Media One, 10.05pm

On the run from assassins all over the world and with a $14 million bounty on his head, John Wick forms an alliance with the glamorous owner of a Casablanca hotel. Violent action thriller starring Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Ian McShane.

Black Mirror

Netflix, streaming now

Charlie Brooker’s warped mind has been unfurled for series six of the dark, satirical anthology series. While I’m still haunted by season one’s ‘Prime Minister and the pig’ episode (it’s worth remembering that said episode, The National Anthem, was released in 2011 — a full four years before that David Cameron story) and mildly disappointed by the instalment featuring Maxine Peake trying to flee a herd of robotic dogs, no one can dispute the element of surprise Brooker always manages to bring. This time, we’re being treated to five episodes, starring an eclectic cast including Aaron Paul, Anjana Vasan, Annie Murphy, Rory Culkin, Salma Hayek Pinault, Josh Hartnett, Kate Mara, Michael Cera and Rob Delaney. As for the episodes themselves, expect to be catapulted between glitzy global streaming platforms, sleepy Scottish towns, Northern England circa 1979, and starlets attempting to evade the ever-invasive paparazzi.

The Full Monty

Disney+, streaming now

Who isn’t thrilled at the prospect of Robert ‘Begbie’ Carlyle and co stripping down to nowt but their hats 25-plus years after the original British smash hit... This new series (yep, series; there was barely enough to fill 90 minutes back in 1997) will follow the same band of brothers (with the notable absence of Hugo Speer) as they navigate the post-industrial city of Sheffield.

Our Planet II

Netflix, streaming now

All life on Earth depends on the freedom to move. Captured with innovative cinematography, series two unravels the mysteries of how and why animals migrate, revealing some of the natural world’s most compelling stories. Of course, Sir Attenborough narrates. Or AI. Who can tell anymore?!

Emergency Contact

Netflix, streaming now

Amy Schumer delivers yet another hilariously relatable and uncensored commentary about her life, in front of a live crowd.

The Crowded Room

Apple TV+, streaming now

This is based on the true story of an infamous campus rapist and Tom Holland stars as Billy Milligan — a man reputedly tormented by 24 personalities battling for control over his body. Ten of his 24 personalities included an escape artist called Tommy, the affection-starved Adalana, and a “mean Brit” by the name of Arthur. As for the other 14? He called them the “undesirables”.

Bloodhounds

Netflix, streaming now

Netflix’s penchant for K-Drama continues unabated with Woo Do-hwan and Lee Sang-yi starring as two deft kids mired in the world of loan sharks. Fans of stunningly orchestrated fight scenes will be thrilled.

With Love

Prime Video, streaming now

Season two sees the Diaz siblings, Lily and Jorge, continue to overcomplicate their already idyllic lives — all while their parents try to enjoy some alone time.

Tex Mex

Netflix, streaming now

With access to cheap classic cars dwindling in the US, junkers set up shop in El Paso, crossing the border to Mexico to plunder its wealth of stock in a bid for radical restorations. Expect exhaust fumes, Benjamins, and an almost unnecessary level of whooping.

The Playing Card Killer

Netflix, streaming now

While the dodgy overdub does its very best to make a mockery of the content, it can’t detract from the fact that Alfredo Galán Sotillo killed six people, while attempting to murder another three. Deemed Spain’s first (known) serial killer, he was sentenced to 142 years in prison. However, he will serve a maximum of 25 years, rendering him released from prison aged 52. Do yourself a favour: watch with subtitles.