Doctor Who

BBC One, 6.40pm

This is it. The big one. The final episode in the series and – quite possibly – the end of the world. The BBC has been ordered by the highest authority in the Universe not to hand out preview DVDs, which – given the extent of the crisis – is fair enough. If the Daleks have conquered Earth, the Tardis has been destroyed and the Doctor is immobilised, the last thing anyone wants is news leaking out in the press. Think of the effect on public morale. The only hope for the future of civilisation is that the Doctor’s army of companions, past and present, will come to the rescue, but a prophecy has foretold that at least one of them will be dead by the end. So. BBC One. 6.40pm. The end is nigh.

Last Choir Standing

BBC One, 7.45pm

After the success of shows such as The Choir at one end of the spectrum and Britain’s Got Talent at the other (with a dash of The X Factor and Pop Idol thrown in for good measure), Last Choir Standing is a new entertainment show, presented by Nick Knowles and the ubiquitous Myleene Klass, in which choirs of all shapes and sizes compete to win a knock-out competition.

This isn’t just Gregorian chanting. The contestants include divas from Cheshire performing Britney Spears and a choir of gay men giving the Pussycat Dolls a run for their money. Weeks hence, the winners will be awarded the accolade The Last Choir Standing. It remains to be seen whether the same can be said of the audience.

The NHS: A Difficult Beginning

BBC Two, 8.30pm

Today marks the 60th birthday of the NHS – the biggest health service of its kind anywhere in the world, which treats one and a half million patients daily. It was the most remarkable achievement of postwar Britain, and I would wager that the vast majority of us know at least someone who owes their life to it.

And yet something we take for granted nearly didn’t happen at all. In the six months leading up to its launch, it was bitterly opposed by the Conservative Party, the media and the very people on whom it depended – the medical profession. It was thanks largely to the persistence and determination of one man, Nye Bevan, that it saw the light of day. This, then, is the gripping story of those six traumatic months.

Foyle’s War

ITV1, 9.15pm

An edition from 2004. Inspector Foyle (Michael Kitchen) and his assistant (Anthony Howell) are both anxious to leave the police force and contribute more to the war effort. “You know what you two need,” says Honeysuckle Weeks. “Something to take your mind off things – a jolly good murder. That’d do it.” So the episode obliges with lots of jolly good murders set against pristine period settings with lashings of historical research. Most of the acting is as fruity and overripe as the dialogue, but Kitchen – as ever – carries the day by pulling his mouth sideways and looking pained.

Although this is a repeat, you can’t have too much of Michael Kitchen.

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