It’s Harris versus Trump in the battle for America. Plus: a deep dive into the possible identity of bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. Here’s what to watch this evening

• How the US elections will unfold overnight for British viewers: hour by hour

10pm, Sky News

Deep breaths: it’s time for the result of a US presidential election that, despite one candidate being criminally convicted, has been too close to call throughout Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s campaigning. As the results come in overnight, The News Agents podcast’s Lewis Goodall will join the Sky News team to help make sense of it. BBC News will also provide live coverage with Clive Myrie in Washington. Hollie Richardson

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John Lloyd hosted it, which he didn’t enjoy, with journalists Simon Hoggart and Jaci Stephen, myself and Ian. The idea was that Ian would know all the news questions and I could provide the comedy. Ian would be the intelligent one and I would be the funny one. It wasn’t the most promising start, but the BBC had already committed to a series. Producer Harry Thompson and comedian Angus Deayton wrote the scripts. Harry had a keen sense of humour. He’d say: “Here’s a joke for you. Angus doesn’t think it’s funny.” When it got a laugh, Angus would have this quizzical look on his face.

I wore a T-shirt because everybody wore suits and ties. I thought we looked like a parole board, and it needed an element of anarchy. I also wanted some rudeness. The news agenda always changes. In our history, the only stories that wouldn’t go away were Brexit, Covid and Trump. There are five people, three of whom weren’t there last week. No one is irreplaceable in show business. But we’ll keep going until the sun explodes and consumes the Earth, which will be the top story the following week.

After Sgt Martyn Blake was acquitted of murder, Panorama examines the many questions left unanswered. Plus: a blockbuster retelling of the gunpowder plot. Here’s what to watch this evening

8pm, BBC OneWhen the Metropolitan police officer Sgt Martyn Blake fatally shot Chris Kaba in 2022, it led to public outcry and a murder investigation. Earlier this month, Blake was acquitted, but it has created much essential discussion and left many questions. In this Panorama investigation, the reporter Greg McKenzie speaks to Kaba’s parents and Met insiders to hear their reaction to the verdict and learn what is next for the Kaba family and the Met. Hollie Richardson

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We all agree, obviously, that assassins are cool, and TV and film sequences where someone plans a high-stakes, impossible-angled shot (then actually pulls it off!) are really cool, too. The problem with assassin stories is, necessarily, they kind of have to be about the downfall of the assassin. They are plunged into a mess, or a disaster, or a pulse point of family is pressed upon, and they have to think on their feet for as long as we can hold our breath until, ultimately, they are caught. And as soon as that starts happening, they are immediately less cool. Watching a guy make a shot from a mile away is amazing; watching him run into an obvious trap because they used a voice recording of his wife is lame. Many assassin stories speed through the good bit (cool kills!) to race to the more boring and rubbish bit (badly written scenes where a small child says: “Daddy, are you going away?”).

Thankfully, The Day of the Jackal has avoided all that, and it is amazing for it. I, like you, wondered whether Eddie Redmayne – an astonishing actor who nevertheless feels as if he still wears a prefect badge – had it in him to play a calculated, controlled, elegant weapon of astounding horror, but he really, really does. His Jackal is chameleonic and ice-cold, a different man from scene to scene, never really knowing who he is and how he ended up here but seeing that he is doing a thousand calculations at once while he’s doing it. Redmayne doesn’t actually have much dialogue, and he doesn’t move his face much either, but somehow he conveys all this by stalking around the screen in a turtleneck: it’s as if he’s secretly uncovered a new way of acting.

A cat-and-mouse chase wouldn’t work, though, if the cat weren’t as compelling as the mouse, and Lashana Lynch’s Bianca is a wonderful foil. A slightly annoying co-worker at MI6, a stretched-too-thin mum at home, a double agent when the need arises, she’s grabbed on to a few grainy CCTV screenshots of Eddie Redmayne running away from Germany with both hands and all her teeth. The pair haven’t even met in the episodes I’ve seen – I’m sure their “Heat diner scene” is in the post, and I personally can’t wait – but they somehow manage to play off each other anyway. Hey: wouldn’t it be ace to wake up and make a TV show that good?

She plays a nurse who was tied to a bed for four days in this compelling true-crime drama. Plus, David Attenborough is back! Here’s what to watch this evening

Sunday, 9pm, ITV1

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If you didn't watch it just now, do.

If you're outside the UK, either use a VPN or wait a few days, I'm sure it'll get uploaded to dailymotion or even youtube.

Or at least give this a read:

https://metro.co.uk/2024/11/02/king-williams-estates-raking-millions-public-services-21916391/

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/nov/02/king-and-prince-william-estates-millions-charities-public-services-nhs-leasing-land

She plays a nurse who was tied to a bed for four days in this compelling true-crime drama. Plus, David Attenborough is back! Here’s what to watch this evening

Sunday, 9pm, ITV1

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Ofcom has fined the rightwing broadcaster GB News £100,000 for “breaking due impartiality rules” after an interview with the former prime minister Rishi Sunak earlier this year.

The media regulator said it chose to impose a fine over the programme titled People’s Forum: The Prime Minister because it considered the breach serious, and because of GB News’s track record of breaking impartiality rules.

“We concluded that the then prime minister Rishi Sunak had a mostly uncontested platform to promote the policies and performance of his government in a period preceding a UK general election, in breach of rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the broadcasting code,” Ofcom said.

...

GB News has already been found to have repeatedly breached impartiality rules by allowing sitting Conservative MPs to serve as news presenters. The broadcast regulator said these related to five occasions involving Jacob Rees-Mogg, Esther McVey and Philip Davies. All three were Tory MPs at the time, though only McVey remains in the Commons.

The broadcaster was not fined but was put “on notice” that more breaches “may result in the imposition of a statutory sanction”. And Ofcom said GB News’s actions risked undermining the high public trust in regulated broadcast media.

Alison Hammond, Carol Vorderman and Iain Stirling are the Ranganathans’ firstcelebrity contestants. Plus: Apples Never Fall reaches its thrilling finale. Here’s what to watch this evening

9.10pm, ITV1

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Ioan and Al share their passion for abandoned metal mines in this lovely film. Plus: the stars of Paddington in Peru join Graham on the sofa. Here’s what to watch this evening

7.30pm, BBC One

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No tricks, only treats, as the Drag Race UK winner plays host. Plus: Martin Lewis makes sense of this week’s historic budget. Here’s what to watch this evening

10.15pm, BBC Three “Condragulations” to Ginger Johnson, who needs no introduction to Drag Race fans: the self-styled “helium balloon in the shape of a woman” won series five of the UK version. Now she has her own spin-off, inviting visitors to her “camp as Christmas” house to celebrate all things drag and get some “domestic chores” done. Her visitor tonight is fellow Drag Race winner Danny Beard. Hollie Richardson

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People who have been homeless discuss their experiences with the prince, plus the stunningly intense documentary Helmand: Tour of Duty. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, ITV1A member of the royal family campaigning to end homelessness is a hard pill to swallow, but Prince William says: “Why else would I be here if not using this role properly to influence and help people where I can?” So what exactly is his plan? Well, his five-year initiative, Homewards, starts with this two-part documentary, in which he hears from people who share their lived experience as well as potential solutions to the problem. Hollie Richardson

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Public Enemies looks into the rappers’ spat that nearly broke the internet. Plus: the bereaved people using AI to interact with lost loved ones. Here’s what to watch this evening

10.20pm, Channel 4What was the beef between Kendrick Lamar – Pulitzer prize recipient and winner of 17 Grammys – and Drake – a five-time Grammy winner with 13 US No 1 albums – that nearly broke the internet earlier this year? This documentary explores the wider context of the rappers’ cultural status, and what exactly led to a public spat that resulted in a diss track with (strongly denied) accusations of paedophilia. Hollie Richardson

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Experts try to make sense of the stranger-than-fiction story behind Trump’s second presidential bid. Plus: The Penguin’s gang war continues. Here’s what to watch this evening

8pm, BBC One

A Panorama special investigating how a former president who is simultaneously campaigning for reelection and fighting to stay out of prison could win the US presidential election next week. It follows some of Donald Trump’s supporters over the course of two years – including one who was just a few feet away from Trump during the assassination attempt on him at a rally in Pennsylvania in July. Experts offer analysis to try to make sense of the incomprehensible. Hollie Richardson

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Generation Z is a gory but smart new series with a top cast. Plus, a startling investigation into Saudi Arabia’s human rights. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, Channel 4

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Watching this series now on BritBox in the US. Really enjoying it, but I have no idea what is going on! ! Did anyone else enjoy it? (please no spoilers)

Criminal profiler Louise Bergstein gets stuck into a murder in Justice: Those Who Kill. Plus: it’s the Strictly Halloween spooktacular! Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, BBC Four

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The Hollywood veteran admits to money problems and more in a candid interview. Plus: Monty Don checks in on his garlic crop. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, BBC TwoHollywood star Al Pacino, 84, has put his extraordinary life on paper in a memoir, Sonny Boy. Ahead of its release, here is a nice bit of publicity for the fans: a candid(ish) hour-long interview in which he opens up to entertainment correspondent Colin Paterson about becoming a dad at 83 with his 30-year-old (now former) partner, his surprising money problems, the roles he missed out on and, of course, his Shrek phone case. Hollie Richardson

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Good Omens is getting a final send-off, albeit a truncated one.

The Amazon fantasy drama will end with one 90-minute episode in lieu of a full third season with creator Neil Gaiman exiting after allegations were made against him by a slew of women.

Michael Sheen and David Tennant, who play the angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley, respectively, will return for the one-off television movie, which will begin shooting in early 2025 in Scotland after pre-production was paused due to the allegations.

Gaiman contributed to the writing of the series finale but will not be working on the production and his production company the Blank Corporation is no longer involved. A new writer is expected to finish up the work, although insiders said that deal has not been closed.

This comes after Tortoise Media released a podcast that chronicled accounts of two women, with whom he was in consensual relationships, who accused him of sexual assault. Another two have since come forward. Gaiman denies the allegation.

Tears will flow as the nation’s unsung heroes are celebrated at the Pride of Britain Awards. Plus: fascinating war stories from Berlin and London. Here’s what to watch this evening

8pm, ITV1 Tissues at the ready for one of the most emotional nights on the TV calendar: the Pride of Britain Awards will put the spotlight on everyday heroes for its 25th year. Plenty of celebrities will be in attendance at the Grosvenor House hotel in London to pay tribute and hand out awards to the winners, while Carol Vorderman and Ashley Banjo host the evening. Hollie Richardson

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A documentary explores one of the most audacious alleged crimes in US history. Plus: Wynonna Earp zaps demonic outlaws. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, BBC Two

It’s one of the most audacious alleged crimes in the country’s history – and so astounding it is almost unbelievable: a former US president accused of attempting to overturn a state’s votes. As Trump continues his campaign to be re-elected next month, this detailed documentary gives the inside story of his refusal to concede defeat after Georgia’s result in 2020 and the criminal charges that followed. It also explores the case he has been convicted for and others that are pending. Hollie Richardson

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Beloved children’s TV series Pingu is set to be revived in a new adaptation from Barbie company Mattel and Wallace & Gromit creators Aardman.

The original Pingu launched on BBC One in 1990. A Swiss-German production, the TV series was designed by Otmar Gutmann, and followed the adventures of an impish penguin in the South Pole. The character was known for his catchphrase, “Noot noot”.

Pingu originally ran until 2000, and was briefly revived on British TV between 2003 and 2006.

The new series will be stop-motion animation, in the same vein as the original.

Mattel Television Studios, the TV arm of toy conglomerate Mattel, acquired the rights to Pingu in 2011 when it purchased HIT Entertainment.

This documentary investigates the mercenaries who have made a career out of conflict. Plus: Lucy Beaumont takes to the stage in London. Here’s what to watch this evening

10pm, BBC Four Up to 100,000 mercenaries are estimated to be operating in conflict zones around the world, as this aggression-filled Storyville documentary tells us, and they have been implicated in global atrocities and blamed for fuelling the illegal arms trade. The programme introduces us to Dave Tomkins, who talks about how he has been fighting other people’s wars for money for 40 years. Hollie Richardson

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Himesh Patel, Lolly Adefope and Jessica Hynes are just some of the top names in Armando Iannucci’s The Franchise. Plus: Bernardine Evaristo’s tale of forbidden love. Here’s what to watch this evening

Monday, 10pm, Sky Comedy

What happens on the set of a ridiculous, big-budget superhero movie? This new spoof comedy from Armando Iannucci (The Thick of It, Veep, I’m Alan Partridge), Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes and Succession’s Jon Brown shows us. The series follows first assistant director Daniel (Himesh Patel) and his team, Dag (Lolly Adefope) and Steph (Jessica Hynes), as they work on Tecto: Eye of the Storm. In the first episode of this week’s triple bill, they try to handle the conflicting egos of film stars Peter (Richard E Grant) and Adam (Billy Magnussen). With such cracking talent involved, you know you’re in for something hilarious. Hollie Richardson

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A mindblowing new series starts with the story of Lord Bertie Underwood. Plus: judicial thriller Showtrial gets twisty. Here’s what to watch this evening

10pm, Channel 4

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