TV tonight: the troubling story of ‘Gazzamania’ explored in BBC documentary

The first of a two-part series begins with the footballer’s rise to the top. Plus: Minnie the Minx is featured in Secrets of the Museum. Here’s what to watch this evening

Gazza

9pm, BBC Two

Seared into the public psyche for the tabloid headlines he generated as much as his footballing prowess, Paul Gascoigne is a figure deeply, and somewhat dangerously, tied to his celebrity. This engrossing two-part documentary begins with the birth of “Gazza” the megastar, after his move to Tottenham Hotspur in 1988 for a record transfer fee. Now firmly in the public spotlight, his tears at the 1990 World Cup semi-finals give birth to what the Sun dubs “Gazzamania”, piling pressure on the young star. Ammar Kalia

Secrets of the Museum

8pm, BBC Two

Almost certainly the only programme this week to feature Minnie the Minx and Derek Jarman, here’s how costume designer Sandy Powell’s suit (auctioned to raise money for Jarman’s cottage) ends up at the Victoria and Albert Museum; and we meet the first female Beano artist, Laura Howell. Ali Catterall

The Great Home Transformation

8pm, Channel 4

It’s week two of Nick Grimshaw and Emma Willis’s attempt to renovate families’ homes by using heat mapping technology. Tonight, nurse Lombe, scientist Gregory and their grownup children have a three-bedroom semi in Swansea in need of clever storage solutions. Cue designer Alex Dauley. Alexi Duggins

Grand Designs: The Streets

9pm, Channel 4

Kevin McCloud is in Oxfordshire to revisit the “self-build street” he first documented in 2019. Carlos and Maite have plans to construct a Spanish-inspired home, but Maite’s design ambitions go up against the architect’s practicalities. Near Glasgow city centre, meanwhile, Natasha Huq visits another street building its own homes. AK

Chasing Trane: The Story of John Coltrane

9pm, Sky Arts

John Scheinfeld’s documentary on the celebrated saxophonist debuts on TV, featuring a number of Coltrane’s collaborators and fans explaining his genius. Cornel West pitches him as a gauge of the times, while Denzel Washington reads Coltrane’s letters to trace his spirituality. AK

Raised By Wolves

9pm, Sky Atlantic

Despite its acidic oceans and funky flora, planet Kepler-22b is supposed to be a cosmic garden of Eden where androids and computers can rebuild the human race. Except that there is now a huge flying snake snacking on alarmed colonists. It certainly livens up this visually dazzling but abstruse sci-fi drama. Graeme Virtue

Film choice

Funny Cow, (Adrian Shergold, 2017), 1.30am, Channel 4
Ostensibly a rags-to-riches story, this intense drama about a standup comedian reflecting on her early life is more of a psychological dissection of its lead character than a paean to female empowerment. The great Maxine Peake gives no quarter as “Funny Cow”, raised amid poverty and violence but with the determination to find an escape through the northern working men’s club circuit. It’s a harsh world where the (invariably male) comics are rude and racist. Director Adrian Shergold and writer Tony Pitts (who also plays her boyfriend) pull no punches in showing her struggle. Simon Wardell

Live sport

Champions League football: Atlético Madrid v Manchester City 7pm, BT Sport 2. Quarter-final, second-leg match. Liverpool v Benfica is on BT Sport 3 at 7.15pm.

Contributors

Ammar Kalia, Ali Catterall, Alexi Duggins, Graeme Virtue and Simon Wardell

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
TV tonight: a documentary about water, the basis of life on Earth
Kelly McEvers investigates H2O, the link between organic and mineral worlds. Plus: the reboot of Gossip Girl. Here’s what to watch this evening

Phil Harrison, Graeme Virtue, Jack Seale and Paul Howlett

25, Aug, 2021 @5:20 AM

Article image
TV tonight: the true story behind the notorious Amityville haunting
The Lutz family talk about their chilling experience. Plus: a new series of Here We Go and live Six Nations rugby. Here’s what to watch this evening

Hollie Richardson, Jack Seale, Graeme Virtue and Ali Catterall

02, Feb, 2024 @6:20 AM

Article image
TV tonight: Taiwan’s battle with China to hold on to independence
Could tensions between Taiwan and China lead to war? Plus, the last two contestants go head to head in the Apprentice final. Here’s what to watch today

Hollie Richardson, Graeme Virtue, Danielle De Wolfe, Ellen E Jones, Alexi Duggins Ali Catterall and Simon Wardell

23, Mar, 2023 @6:20 AM

Article image
TV tonight: Davina McCall gets her coil changed on camera in this brilliant documentary
Kudos to McCall, who investigates women’s ongoing problems with contraception. Plus: the moving story of Rob Burrow. Here’s what to watch this evening

Hollie Richardson, Graeme Virtue, Phil Harrison and Alexi Duggins

08, Jun, 2023 @5:30 AM

Article image
TV tonight: a life-affirming story about Bradford’s amateur film-makers
This gorgeous documentary follows a film club that remakes Oklahoma! Plus, Amol Rajan tackles the class struggle. Here’s what to watch tonight

Hollie Richardson, Ali Catterall, Danielle De Wolfe, Graeme Virtue and Simon Wardell

13, Dec, 2022 @6:20 AM

Article image
TV tonight: how Vincent Kompany took Burnley back to the Premier League
An access-all-areas documentary of the Clarets’ promotion. Plus: spotlight on the killer of grandmother June Fox-Roberts. Here’s what to watch this evening

Phil Harrison, Ali Catterall, Hollie Richardson and Andrew Pulver

10, Aug, 2023 @5:20 AM

Article image
TV tonight: Stephen Fry tells the most incredible second world war story
How gay artists Willem Arondeus and Frieda Belinfante made fake IDs on a mass scale to save Dutch Jews in the second world war. Plus, Funny Woman. Here’s what to watch this evening

Hollie Richardson, Danielle De Wolfe, Jack Seale and Phil Harrison

02, Mar, 2023 @6:20 AM

Article image
TV tonight: Strictly’s Oti Mabuse tells the reality of growing up in post-apartheid South Africa
Mabuse’s return home is shadowed by racism and inequality. Plus, Brian Cox on How the Other Half Lives. Here’s what to watch this evening

Phil Harrison, Danielle De Wolfe, Hollie Richardson, Graeme Virtue, Jack Seale and Simon Wardell

17, Nov, 2022 @6:20 AM

Article image
TV tonight: the extraordinary story of the man with a penis on his arm
This film examines the trials faced by Malcolm and other men who have phalloplasty surgery. Plus, Jay Blades goes back to his roots. Here’s what to watch this evening

Hollie Richardson, Graeme Virtue, Hannah Verdier and Henry Wong

03, May, 2022 @5:20 AM

Article image
TV tonight: more remarkable architectural renovations
George Clarke presides over the transformations into family homes of some of the 200,000 unused commercial buildings in the UK. Plus: more from Aisling Bea’s brilliant This Way Up. Here’s what to watch this evening

Ammar Kalia, Phil Harrison, Jack Seale, Ali Catterall and Simon Wardell

21, Jul, 2021 @5:20 AM