TV tonight: who was the real Mother Teresa?

Mother Teresa: For the Love of God investigates the complex legacy of the controversial Nobel peace prize-winning nun. Plus, Fergal Keane on his PTSD. Here’s what to watch this evening

Mother Teresa: For the Love of God
9pm, Sky Documentaries

Who was the real Mother Teresa? “Without question, [she] was the most self-sacrificing person I’ve ever known,” gushes a former missionary. “I am living life because of Mother Teresa,” adds a man who grew up in one of her orphanages. “She was a charlatan, pure and simple,” contests the political activist Tariq Ali. This fascinating three-part documentary investigates the legacy of the divisive Nobel peace prize-winning “living saint” (she became an actual saint in 2016). While it can feel a little drawn out at times, the film is surprisingly stylised – portraying the nun as the rock star of Christianity – and offers a well-rounded look at a complex and controversial woman whose life had many grey areas. Hollie Richardson

The Games
9pm, ITV

They have been training for weeks – with the likes of Harry Potter actor Josh Herdman and model and autism ambassador Christine McGuinness pounding the running track, circling the velodrome or leaping off diving boards. But we’re nearing showdown time at Crystal Palace to find out which male and female celebrity will be crowned this year’s champions. Ali Catterall

Fergal Keane reporting from Ukraine in 2016
Grimly fascinating … Fergal Keane reporting from Ukraine in 2016. Photograph: Unknown/BBC/State of Grace Films

Fergal Keane: Living With PTSD
9pm, BBC Two

While it’s some of the most essential work in journalism, war reporting has a price. This affecting, very personal film sees the BBC’s veteran conflict correspondent Fergal Keane assessing the illness that has sprung from his own life’s work. Grimly fascinating and also sadly pertinent. Phil Harrison

The Spy Who Died Twice
9pm, Channel 4

An intriguing documentary telling one of the stranger postwar political stories. In 1974, Labour MP John Stonehouse disappeared, presumed drowned, from a hotel in Miami Beach. He was discovered living under the identity of a dead constituent in Australia. But was he a Russian spy? And why did prime ministers from Harold Wilson to Margaret Thatcher never fully investigate? PH

Nicola Walker and Stephen Mangan in The Split
Prepare to weep … Nicola Walker and Stephen Mangan in The Split. Photograph: Tereza Cervenova/BBC/Sister

The Split
9pm, BBC One

It’s time to say goodbye to the Defoes. The finale opens with Nathan (Stephen Mangan) telling Hannah (Nicola Walker) that their divorce is a huge mistake (now there’s a surprise). She tries to convince him he’s just having a panic attack – but does she think the same? Then, Ruth finally marries Ronnie. Prepare to weep. HR

Comedians Giving Lectures
10pm, Dave

Brace yourself for the best episode yet of this series that sees comics invent talks based only on a title. Sally Phillips bafflingly tackles uncertainty, Huge Davies soundtracks his own lecture on music, while Rhys James takes the title “I Stalk Strangers Online” and turns it into an epic revenge prank on someone who once sent him a mean tweet. Alexi Duggins


Contributors

Hollie Richardson, Ali Catterall, Phil Harrison and Alexi Duggins

The GuardianTramp

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