TV tonight: an excruciating reality show hunting for the next prime minister

Alastair Campbell and Sayeeda Warsi put a bunch of wannabes to the test. Plus: the big shakers in contemporary art look back. Here’s what to watch this evening

Make Me Prime Minister

9.15pm, Channel 4

This new competition, in which Alastair Campbell and Baroness Sayeeda Warsi find the UK’s alternative prime minister, is excruciating. Think The Apprentice but with wannabe politicians. The 12 contestants (including Zoom star Jackie Weaver) must complete tasks each week – starting with announcing a new policy on education. Cue a humiliating press stunt, a heated TV debate and plenty of snarky observations from narrator Sue Perkins. Hollie Richardson

The Great British Bake Off

8pm, Channel 4

The comfort telly continues with a break from the sweet stuff for bread week. Can the bakers, ahem, rise to the occasion under the watchful eye of Paul “The Breadmaster” Hollywood? First, they get cracking on a classic pizza and then there’s a more tricky Danish sandwich cake to tackle before one of them leaves the tent for good. Hannah Verdier

Sensationalists: The Bad Girls and Boys of British Art

9pm, BBC Two

Rachel Whiteread in Sensationalists: The Bad Girls and Boys of British Art.
Celebrating contemporary art … Rachel Whiteread in Sensationalists: The Bad Girls and Boys of British Art. Photograph: Dan Baskerville/BBC/Bohemia Films

In 1997, crowds flocked to see rotting cow heads, pickled sharks and Myra Hindley at the Royal Academy’s contentious Sensation exhibition. This stimulating three-part documentary celebrates contemporary art and looks back at the big shakers in its history – starting with the 80s. HR

Storyville: And Still I Sing

9pm, BBC Four

For Zahra Elham and Sadiqa Madadgar, competing in a TV talent contest is seriously risky. No woman has ever won Afghan Star, and just participating results in them being threatened by men in the street. Can one of them possibly triumph? An already edgy film becomes harrowing when the Taliban regain control. Jack Seale

Cunk on Earth

10pm, BBC Two

“What’s ironic about Jesus Christ becoming a carpenter is that he was actually named after the first two words you’re most likely to shout after hitting your thumb with a hammer.” Philomena Cunk (Diane Morgan) tackles the history of religion tonight – and it might be her funniest half-hour yet. HR

Industry

10.40pm, BBC One

Picking up a year after the height of the pandemic, the hedonistic graduates of Pierpoint return to the most sexed-up and scandalous office in London’s financial district. Harper is struggling to make connections, until she befriends “Mr Pandemic” billionaire Jesse Bloom. And Yasmin is enjoying her new sense of power a little bit too much. There are also a few new recruits to spice things up. HR

Film choice

Rebecca Hall, Jason Bateman and Joel Edgerton in The Gift.
Oddball … Rebecca Hall, Jason Bateman and Joel Edgerton in The Gift. Photograph: Matt Kennedy/Universal Pictures/Allstar

The Gift (Joel Edgerton, 2015), 9pm, Great! Movies
Actor Edgerton proved a dab hand at writing and directing with this psychological thriller. He plays Gordo, who nudges his way into the lives of an old school contemporary, successful alpha male Simon (Jason Bateman), and his wife, Robyn (Rebecca Hall), after they move to LA. With the oddball Gordo’s interest in them bordering on the intrusive, if not pathological, Simon is determined to keep him out, in a film that cleverly teases us with the obvious before sidling down more interesting avenues. Simon Wardell

• The caption for the last image was amended on 27 September 2022 because an earlier version misnamed Rebecca Hall as Sarah. This has been corrected.

Contributors

Hollie Richardson, Hannah Verdier, Jack Seale and Simon Wardell

The GuardianTramp

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