Arterton’s bottle-blonde Barbara Parker ditches Blackpool for swinging 60s London in this Nick Hornby adaptation. Plus, Grayson Perry boards the soul train to Wigan. Here’s what to watch this evening
Funny Woman
9pm, Sky Max
Gemma Arterton will charm your socks off in this bubbly six-part adaptation of Nick Hornby’s 2014 novel, Funny Girl. She plays Barbara Parker – the beaming bottle-blonde who ditches her Miss Blackpool Belle title, jumps on a train to London, changes her name to Sophie Straw and elbows her way into the world of TV comedy. Set in swinging 60s London, there’s a constant battle against the sexism and classism rife in the industry. And while it’s not the funniest script, Barbara’s tendency to say it how it is (“No one wants to buy lipstick from someone with a smile like Ken Dodd”) along with a balance of wide-eyed optimism and determination make her a star worth rooting for. Hollie Richardson
Grayson Perry’s Full English
9pm, Channel 4
For the third and final leg of his very English tour, the artist journeys through the north of England mostly to celebrate the region’s music scene. In Wigan, he learns how Black American music influenced a 60s subculture. In Manchester, he meets Paul Heaton of the Beautiful South. Then after a visit to his home city, Bradford, Perry finishes by asking Chris and Simon Donald, the founders of Viz comic and his personal heroes, what makes that northern sense of humour. HR
Dragons’ Den
8pm, BBC One
The people behind dog safety gates, a second-hand fashion business that makes “preloved look premium” and a revolutionary hands-free electric wheelchair are hoping for some of the dragons’ cash pile tonight. But the star of the show is the contestant whose overambitious pitch involves “the most exciting food movement since organic”. You may know it as … street food. Alexi Duggins
The Apprentice
9pm, BBC One
The quest to find this year’s least idiotic contestant moves to late-stage capitalism’s favourite playground, Dubai, where the grasping young entrepreneurs must put on a lavish corporate away-day. But will a desert trip or a more traditional day of glamour and luxury turn the most profit? Jack Seale
Marie Antoinette
9pm, BBC Two
Navigating the nuances of court life, tonight Marie Antoinette is finally with child – except things are never that simple. Slander is in the air, as the 18th-century equivalent of deepfake revenge porn begins to circulate via illustrated pornographic pamphlets that question the heir’s legitimacy. But will a cuckolded King Louis expose the culprit? Danielle De Wolfe
Weight Loss Surgery: Getting Thin Abroad
9pm, BBC Three
Turkey has become the go-to place for everything cosmetic, from new gnashers to hairlines – and now, gastric bands, sleeves and bypasses. Alex Hollywell-Rolfe, who had an NHS gastric sleeve operation three years ago, investigates the phenomenon with a focus on the patients who are not even overweight in the first place. HR
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