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Imelda Staunton in Talking Heads – A Lady of Letters.
Imelda Staunton in Talking Heads – A Lady of Letters. Photograph: Zac Nicholson/BBC/London Theatre Company
Imelda Staunton in Talking Heads – A Lady of Letters. Photograph: Zac Nicholson/BBC/London Theatre Company

TV tonight: timeless Talking Heads from Alan Bennett

This article is more than 3 years old

Imelda Staunton kicks off this timely reboot of the Bennett’s peerless monologues. Plus: Bake Off: The Professionals. Here’s what to watch this evening

Alan Bennett’s Talking Heads

9pm, BBC One

An appropriate reboot for lockdown: Alan Bennett’s timeless monologues return with a new cast. We begin with A Lady of Letters, which stars the brilliant Imelda Staunton as Irene Ruddock, a lonely woman who obsessively writes letters of complaint while spying on her neighbours. It’s a performance of real heart and nuance; busybody pomposity with unmistakable top-notes of sadness and vulnerability. Stay tuned for Sarah Lancashire’s take on An Ordinary Woman. Phil Harrison

Bake Off: The Professionals

8pm, Channel 4

If the stakes of normal Bake Off aren’t high enough for you, why not dip into the pro edition, where, in episode five of this series, there are beetroot cakes, tomato-shaped-but-not-tomato-flavoured desserts, and choux constructions on the brink of collapse. Ingenious fun. Hannah J Davies

The Architecture the Railways Built

8pm, Yesterday

No one is more enthusiastic about the joy of train travel than the historian Tim Dunn, and he spreads yet more railway magic in the latest episode. He ticks off part of his railway bucket list by visiting the Stockton and Darlington railway, and learns about Essex’s Chappel Viaduct. Hannah Verdier

The Choir: Singing for Britain

9pm, BBC Two

Gareth Malone in his home studio. Photograph: Gareth Malone/The Great British Home Chorus/PA

Gareth Malone hasn’t let a pandemic stop him from helping people to find themselves via the gift of song. This series of lockdown choirs begins with an episode focusing on frontline workers as they perform a specially composed song and reflect on their experiences during the Covid-19 outbreak. PH

24 Hours in A&E

9pm, Channel 4

More heroics from the medical frontline and, as always, it is impossible not to be moved by the kindness and expertise on display. Tonight, 86-year-old Filippo suffers a suspected stroke and 80-year-old Susan has a fall. At the other end of the age spectrum, Tilly, 14, has hurt her ankle during gym practice. PH

Insecure

9pm, Sky Comedy

An intriguingly downbeat start to season four of Issa Rae’s Los Angeles-set comedy drama. This season is likely to focus on Issa and Molly’s increasingly fragile friendship. Happily, these feel like sufficiently nuanced characters to carry the action. Tonight, Issa is pitching a block party to sponsors. PH

Film choice

Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett in Carol. Photograph: Wilson Webb/AP

Carol (Todd Haynes, 2015) 11.15pm, Film4

Another intimate tale of forbidden love in straitlaced 50s America from Todd Haynes. Adapted from a Patricia Highsmith novel, it stars Cate Blanchett as Carol, a wealthy Manhattanite attracted to shop assistant Therese (Rooney Mara); the affair plays out elegantly against the jagged pain of Carol’s dying marriage. Paul Howlett

Live sport

Premier League football: Leicester City v Brighton & Hove Albion Sky Sports Main Event, 5.30pm
Leicester will have their eyes on a Champions League spot while Brighton still have relegation concerns.

Premier League football: Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United Sky Sports Main Event, 8pm
Spurs look to end a disappointing season with a good run.

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