9pm, BBC One “I don’t know if there’s been anybody on this show who knows less about their family,” says comedian, actor and former Top Gear presenter Paddy McGuinness , both of whose parents have died and cannot help with his ancestor search. He does, however, have the name of one grandfather to work with, and with a name like McGuinness, there’s the strong possibility of some Irish ancestors. The clues may be scant but the family tree that is finally unearthed is full of surprises, including a hero from the Boer War and a connection to US President Joe Biden .
In fact, you’ll lose count of the times McGuinness says “that’s absolutely mind-blowing”. 7pm, BBC Two Not willing to let go of the Olympic athletics just yet? Here’s coverage of the 11th meeting of the Athletissima campaign, from Stade Olympique de la Pontaise in Switzerland, where many of the leading stars of the recent Paris Olympics are likely to be present. Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Femke Bol were among the winning athletes last year, breaking meeting records in the men’s 1,500m and women’s 400m hurdles, respectively.
9pm, BBC Two Claudia (the splendid Delainey Hayles ) takes centre stage this week – literally so, as she makes her stage debut at the Théâtre des Vampires, playing a baby who is suicidally sure she can fly. She’s a big hit, but after 500 performances, Claudia is bored with the role; it’s bad enough that she’s a grown vampire in an adolescent’s body. Luckily for her.
