First, find your carcass … The Alien Autopsy Scandal, Sky Documentaries. Photograph: Harry Truman/Sky UK
TV tonight: a hugely entertaining series about the Roswell alien autopsy
A study in obsession and delusion explores the origin of the scandal. Plus: can Dolly Parton unite the US? Here’s what to watch this evening.
The Alien Autopsy Scandal
9pm, Sky Documentaries. The grainy 1947 footage that purports to show the body of an alien being dissected near a crash site in Roswell, New Mexico, has now been viewed by an estimated 1 billion people. But where did it come from? This hugely entertaining three-part series tracks down the parade of eccentrics behind its release in 1995 and works as a study of obsession and mass delusion. Phil Harrison
Bradley & Barney Walsh: Breaking Dad
7.30pm, ITV1. Father and son tackle the last leg of their Australian road trip, starting by meeting a crocodile before a seaside conversation with a First Nations family. Then, after the hilarity of a nervous Bradley being encouraged to try a giant jungle swing, the odyssey ends at the Great Barrier Reef. Jack Seale
Dispatches: Hunting the Debt Predators
8pm, Channel 4. The cost of living crisis has sent millions of people to unregulated loan companies. In this sobering film, Ellie Flynn goes undercover and meets the men who exploit cash-strapped and vulnerable women – they include sexual predators and organised criminals looking for recruits. PH
Dolly Parton: America Reunited
8pm, Sky Arts. Is there a single figure who can bring the US together? Dolly Parton might just be that person. This show examines the life of a woman who has embodied certain conservative American values but has also given money to progressive causes and been vocally supportive of the LGBTQ+ community. PH
Ponies
9pm, Sky Atlantic. Ruskie business: the chaotic 70s-set spy caper continues with widows turned wannabe CIA agents Bea and Twila getting into the nitty-gritty of tradecraft on the bleak streets of Moscow. That means recruiting their own assets – starting with Bea’s grandma – and infiltrating a poker game for KGB bigwigs. Graeme Virtue
Hidden Treasures of the National Trust
9pm, BBC Two. Once a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution, Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire innovated in cotton production with a machine that spun yarn quicker than a human could. This week’s look into some of the country’s most prized buildings tells the groundbreaking device’s story. Nicole Vassell
Film choices
The Choral (Nicholas Hytner, 2025)
9.20am, 8pm, Sky Cinema Premiere. Alan Bennett’s blend of small-town Yorkshire nostalgia, social nosiness and arch wit fits comfortably into this 1916-set drama of class, war and Elgar. The Ramsden choral society, led by Roger Allam’s alderman, are in need of a new choirmaster after the last one went off to fight. The controversial choice is Dr Henry Guthrie (Ralph Fiennes) – who has lived in Germany, is probably gay and is definitely an atheist. Can the love of great music overcome all differences? Bennett and his go-to director, Nicholas Hytner, keep the comedy light despite the shadows of conflict. Simon Wardell
The Warrior (Asif Kapadia, 2001)
2.20am, Film4. Before he became the feted chronicler of Senna, Amy, Diego, et al, Asif Kapadia made his fiction feature debut with this stylish fable. Irrfan Khan plays the titular muscle for a cruel feudal lord who has a mystical epiphany and renounces violence. This does not go down well with his master and he flees. As is the way with mythical tales, his journey – accompanied by a young thief and an old blind woman – becomes a path to redemption, amid intense closeups and glorious landscapes reminiscent of a spaghetti western or a samurai epic. SW
Live sport
Women’s World T20 Cricket, England v Sri Lanka, 5.30pm, Sky One. The first match at Edgbaston.
