Miriam Margolyes Discovers New Zealand
9pm, BBC Two
After her great series exploring Australia, Miriam Margolyes is now in New Zealand, shooting a film in which she plays a nun. She invites the cameras to follow her as she asks how being a New Zealander is different from being Australian. (“I haven’t got a flying fart of an idea.”) Any show with Margolyes is a guaranteed hoot and serves up wisdom, too. Hollie Richardson
Beethoven’s Ninth at the Proms
8pm, BBC Four
Beethoven’s Symphony No 9 was a joyful statement written as the composer was going deaf. It backends a Prom that also features Bent Sørensen’s Evening Land, about childhood memories in Denmark, and Anna Clyne’s The Years, inspired by lockdown isolation. HR
Under the Bridge
9pm, ITV1
The 1990s Canada-set true-crime drama ends in a dramatic courtroom showdown this week. Teenagers Kelly (Izzy G) and Warren (Javon Walton) are finally standing trial for the murder of a bullied 14-year-old, as Rebecca (Riley Keough) and Cam (Lily Gladstone) look on in mounting horror. Ellen E Jones
First Dates
10pm, Channel 4
Caitlin is making a play for children’s entertainer Michael, who harbours a sincere side under his giant mascot costume. Meanwhile, erotic fiction writer Immogen is searching for a romantic plot twist, and Elleigha, the naked cleaner, is ready to make a clean sweep. Ali Catterall
Peacemaker
10pm, Sky Max
John Cena returns as the hulking hero so devoted to peace he doesn’t care who he kills to achieve it. But even after saving the world in season one, Peacemaker is still viewed as a liability, much to his dismay. The mix of puerile humour and ultraviolence may be divisive but Cena plays the self-delusional manchild to the hilt. Graeme Virtue
Chappell Roan @ Reading Festival 2025
10.40pm, BBC One
Pop’s biggest star du jour Chappell Roan and Irish balladeer Hozier are Friday night’s headliners at this year’s Berkshire bash, with Bloc Party and the Kooks before them. This highlights package will bring the best bits. HR
Film choice
The Surfer, (Lorcan Finnegan, 2024), 7.25am, 12.35pm, 8pm, Sky Cinema Premiere
Lorcan Finnegan’s sunburnt psychological thriller is an electrifying throwback to Australian cinema’s new wave of the 70s and its studies in toxic masculinity. Nicolas Cage is almost too perfectly cast as “the Surfer”, a father hoping to introduce his teenage son to his childhood seaside home and ride some waves. However, a gang of larrikins led by Julian McMahon’s smug Scally deem Luna Bay a locals-only venue – and will do anything to stop his attempts to surf there. This brightly lit but darkly menacing film grows increasingly hallucinatory and nightmarish as the Surfer is stripped of his money, phone, food, car, even his board. And Cage on the edge is, as always, a magnetic watch. Simon Wardell
Live sport
Women’s rugby World Cup: England v USA, 6.30pm, BBC One
Zoe Aldcroft leads the host nation’s opening match at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland.
Premier League football: West Ham v Chelsea, 7pm, Sky Sports Main Event
At the London Stadium.