TV tonight: inside the Bayeux Tapestry’s ‘treacherous’ journey to London

Michael Palin tells the story of the artwork that has caused such a stir, and nightmares! Plus, a juicy drama based on Graham Norton’s novel. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, BBC Two State guests can only dream of the sort of welcome the Bayeux Tapestry has received in London. No wonder one of the French conservators in this documentary was having nightmares about its “treacherous journey beneath the channel”. Michael Palin narrates the events of its move to the British Museum, while historians such as David Olusoga and Janina Ramirez help tell the story behind the stitches, with Rory Stewart also explaining why some call it a “dodgy dossier”. Hollie Richardson

8pm, BBC One How did Jeffrey Epstein get away with it for so long? This report explores the paedophile and sex trafficker’s network of contacts among the super-rich and looks at his related cashflows. Clearly, this is a story with implications that remain important, so how much information still remains hidden? Phil Harrison

9pm, Channel 5 Adapted from Graham Norton’s 2022 novel, this moreish six-parter sees a dementia diagnosis amplify the fault lines in a family. As her older partner Robert (Douglas Henshall) becomes unmoored, Carol (Amy Nuttall) begins to wonder what really happened to his runaway wife decades ago. Continues Tuesday and Wednesday. Graeme Virtue

10pm, BBC Two After a three-year time jump, the superb Aussie romcom has seen its central couple Ash (Harriet Dyer) and Gordon (Patrick Brammall) settle down with other partners. But does a frisson remain? They attempt to clear the air with a brutally funny face-off at a swanky restaurant. Continues Tuesday. GV

10pm, Channel 4 This new series sets itself apart from most fly-on-the-wall UK cop documentaries by shadowing Newcastle’s neighbourhood policing unit. These public-facing bobbies and auxiliary street rangers remain remarkably upbeat as they deal with unpredictable incidents ranging from Lurpak heists to drunken brawls. GV

10.30pm, BBC Four John Wilson interviews Turner prize-winner Lubaina Himid, in a televised version of a programme previously broadcast on Radio 4 earlier this year. Their conversation is wide-ranging but, naturally, hinges on this feted British artist’s pioneering place in the Black arts movement, and her bold mixed-media works with a satirical bent. Hannah J Davies

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Kevin Reynolds, 1991) 5.35pm, Sky Cinema Greats This month two entirely different films are out in cinemas, offering alternative takes on the legendary, wealth-redistributing outlaw. But neither the mortality-contemplating Hugh Jackman one, nor the mud-splattered Andrew Garfield one, can compete with this Kevin Costner-starring 90s classic. Alan Rickman was a deserved Bafta-winner for his definitive take on the Sheriff of Nottingham, but the real villain was that Bryan Adams theme song. Ellen E Jones

It’s one of the all-time great gangster films, offering a peer down the sidestreets and back alleys of late-60s Newcastle, plus Michael Caine in his charismatic, menacing prime. He plays Jack Carter, the titular hardman who returns to his home town after years spent in London’s underworld in order to investigate, then avenge, his brother’s death. Writer-director Mike Hodges cleverly incorporated aspects of real-life local crimes into his script, especially the notorious “one-armed bandit murder” of 1967, helping to usher in a gritty new era of realism for British crime drama. EEJ