Monday, December 23, 2024

TV tonight: inside the mind-boggling Star Wars art scandal

Must read

The Stormtrooper Scandal

9pm, BBC Two
Wrap your head round the mind-boggling concept of NFTs – where modern art meets cryptocurrency – with this documentary about a contentious sale of works based on Star Wars Stormtrooper helmets. Artists, buyers and insiders help explain the story of the controversial man behind it all, Ben Moore – described more than once as a “chancer” – who became a millionaire overnight. But what was really going on? Hollie Richardson

Question Time Leaders’ Special

8pm, BBC One
Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak face off for a mammoth debate (again), alongside Ed Davey and John Swinney, which gives host Fiona Bruce two whole hours to find a meaningful ideological difference between them. In past elections, the QT debate has often been the one to provide vote-winning – or -losing – moments. Jack Seale

Tales of the Tardis

8pm, BBC Four
Two distinct eras collide in this new episode of the previously iPlayer-only anthology. In a cosy but cluttered “Memory Tardis”, past Doctors and companions reflect on their vintage adventures from before the popular 2005 reboot. But in this special instalment, current incumbents Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson join the nostalgic fun as the Doctor and Ruby. Graeme Virtue

Bill Bailey’s Musical Master Crafters: Juniors

8pm, Sky Arts
Lovely Bill Bailey speaks to young musicians in this special episode of his wholesome music crafts series. A pianist and violinist are among those he chats to about their instruments’ heritage, finding out the special ways in which they are maintained. HR

Outrageous Homes

10pm, Channel 4

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen inside a bedroom in a house built in homage to Treasure Island. Photograph: Channel 4

Where do you even start with putting velvet on a ceiling?” Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen sets the tone nicely for his new show in which he has a nosy around some of the nation’s weirdest and most wonderful houses – a welcome bit of fun in the property TV canon. First up, he visits Highfield, a Treasure Island house built by the late Felix Dennis, the magazine publisher who lived for debauchery. HR

The Outlaws

10.40pm, BBC One
The outlaws are plotting a break-in to steal crucial evidence, which sets up the dream pairing of natural comedy duo Gabby (Eleanor Tomlinson) and Diane (Jessica Gunning). The two con their way into an architect’s office using lines from Pretty Woman and the fantasy tabloid headline “Toff Tick-Tocker in Croc Shocker”. Spin-off imminent. Ellen E Jones

Film choice

Roger and out … Federer on court in Federer: Twelve Final Days. Photograph: Prime

Federer: Twelve Final Days, (Asif Kapadia and Joe Sabia, 2024) Prime Video
With their eulogy for the tennis great, Asif Kapadia and Joe Sabia have created a new subgenre: the “cry-on-the-wall documentary”. Between the announcement of his retirement at 41 and his farewell competition, the Laver Cup in London, there are floods of tears – from the thoroughly nice Federer, his family and friends, sporting bestie Rafael Nadal, even Novak Djokovic. And don’t think you’ll be immune either, as you follow the “Baryshnikov of tennis” (courtesy John McEnroe) in his last weeks as a pro, interspersed with flashbacks to his storied career. Simon Wardell

Live sport

Euro 2024 Football: Denmark v England, 4pm, BBC One
Coverage of the Group C match from Frankfurt Arena.

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