TV tonight: Great Canal Journeys in Staffordshire

Sheila Hancock and Gyles Brandreth meander around Stoke. Plus: a look at one of Picasso’s masterpieces with Andrew Marr. Here’s what to watch this evening

Great Canal Journeys

8pm, Channel 4

Sheila Hancock and Gyles Brandreth take to the British waterways once more for this two-part special exploring the canals of Staffordshire. In tonight’s opening episode, the pair try to navigate the twisty Caldon canal, before pootering on to the Trent and Mersey canal, where they explore the history of Stoke’s potteries. At Cheddleton flint mill, Brandreth pays tribute to one of his favourite local writers, Arnold Bennett, while Hancock visits the former home of one of her favourite ceramicists, Clarice Cliff. Ammar Kalia

Scotland: A Year in the Wild

7pm, Channel 5

Summer has finally arrived in Scotland for this episode of the stunning nature series. Two white-tailed eaglets get viciously competitive while learning how to fly on the west coast. Meanwhile, near the Cairngorms, a family of efficient beavers set about constructing a dam while on the lookout for otters. AK

Great Paintings of the World With Andrew Marr

9pm, Channel 5

Andrew Marr tackles perhaps the most recognisable name in modern art in this week’s instalment of his art history series: Pablo Picasso. Marr recounts the harrowing inspiration behind Picasso’s Weeping Woman – a fragmented portrait that helped make his cubist style notorious. AK

Gardeners’ World

9.30pm, BBC Two

Here’s one for the #PeoniesPosse: Nick Bailey is visiting a Worcestershire garden where these floral Insta influencers take centre stage. Meanwhile, Adam Frost is planting shady borders and demonstrating how to make a window box for growing herbs and veg, and Kate Bradbury is enticing wild visitors to her city oasis. Ellen E Jones

Canadian Hits at the BBC

9.30pm, BBC Four

Neil Young in 1970
Neil Young … all the way from Canada. Photograph: Michael Putland/Getty Images

Always operating at a slight angle to its US neighbour, Canada has produced many of the most distinctive musical voices of the rock era. And most of them have found their way on to the BBC at some point. Expect to hear from Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Arcade Fire, Neil Young and many more. Phil Harrison

The Last Leg

10pm, Channel 4

Adam Hills, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdecombe front another bright, satirical overview of the week’s biggest news stories, intertwined with an ongoing preview of the Tokyo Paralympics. The guests in the studio this week are top-notch: actor/comedian Aisling Bea and presenter/chef Nadiya Hussain. Jack Seale

Film choice

Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in Bill & Ted Face the Music
Most excellent … Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in Bill & Ted Face the Music. Photograph: Most Excellent Productions LLC

Bill & Ted Face the Music (Dean Parisot, 2020) Sky Cinema Premiere, 9.30am, 8pm
With the same writers as the original films, Dean Parisot’s fond revisiting of the rock dudes (Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves) – now with added daughters – is familiar but fun. The time-travelling, save-the-universe plot is no great shakes but it’s most excellent to see them back. Simon Wardell

Sport choice

Tennis: Wimbledon 2021 Third round singles’ coverage from the All England Club. 11am, BBC Two

Football: Uefa Euro 2020 Coverage of the opening quarter-final, followed by another. 4.30pm, BBC One

Cricket: Yorkshire Vikings v Lancashire Lightning Northern Division Blast match. 6.15pm, Sky Sports Main Event

Contributors

Ammar Kalia, Ellen E Jones, Phil Harrison, Jack Seale and Simon Wardell

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