Terror! Robespierre and the French Revolution

BBC Two, 8pm

“Forgiveness is barbarity. Tolerance is atrocity,” said Robespierre. Some 55,000 people fell victim to his Reign of Terror between 1793 and 1794. Citizens considered passive were punished. Suspicion became grounds for arrest. The right to defence was removed and juries were instructed to convict on instinct. This fascinating film is a dramatisation of the politics behind the Reign of Terror, with historians and writers providing distinctive and often contrasting commentary. Slavoj Zizek, author of In Defence of Lost Causes, argues that you cannot have a revolution without bloodshed. Simon Schama passionately disagrees, arguing that Robespierre was the forerunner of Hitler, Stalin and Mao Zedong. “Our job,” he says, “is to make sure that we can disagree without the obligation to exterminate people who don’t happen to agree with us.” DC

Harry Potter: Behind the Magic

ITV1, 7pm

An hour-long special designed to whet the appetite of the hardcore Harry Potter fans waiting anxiously for the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth film in the series. The presenter Ben Shephard goes behind the scenes, interviewing the actors and landing a walk-on role as an extra. Clips from the new film show the moment that the Millennium Bridge in London is destroyed and Harry’s first kiss with his new girlfriend. It takes us around Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes — the sweet-and-joke shop that contains 40,000 props and took 50 people a year to build. And it unveils three new characters: the professor who disguises himself as an armchair, Greyback the terrifying werewolf and little Tom Riddle. But to feel the benefit, you really do need to be a huge fan. DC

Katie Price Exclusive: With Piers Morgan

ITV1, 9pm

The Katie Price PR machine kicks into gear again as ITV1 lavishes an hour of primetime television on the outspoken former model with the silicone-enhanced breasts. Price, a tabloid darling for many years, has found herself painted as the bad girl for her alleged infidelities with her dressage trainer Andrew Gould; an affair that has been mooted as the reason for the breakdown of her marriage to Peter Andre — himself treated with surprising tenderness by the red tops. So tonight, Price will offer Piers Morgan her side of the story, probably accompanied by the odd tear and assertions that she still “loves Pete”. JC

Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow

BBC One, 9.40pm

The quality of the stand-up comedians in the series has been so high that it isn’t a question of one being better than another — it just boils down to which one you happen to like the most. My personal favourite tonight was Jon Richardson, mocking his own nerdy appearance and funny voice. “This is not a voice that will accentuate a sexual experience,” he squeaks. Jo Caulfield discusses her mates (“Every woman has a slutty friend. And if you can’t think who it is, it’s you”); Micky Flanagan recalls the academic shortcomings of his East End comprehensive (“No kid from this school has ever gone on to drive a van”); and Al Murray’s pub landlord explains the existence of God. Over on Channel 4 (10pm), Sean Lock shows why he is the wry, sad dad of British comedy. DC

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