Friday’s best TV: Separated – Children at the Border; Synth and Beyond

Separated: Children at the Border
9pm, PBS America

In a crowded field, the policy of separating immigrant children from their parents at the US-Mexico border is surely the ugliest episode of the Trump presidency to date. Martin Smith’s vivid documentary accepts that the problem has deep roots, pointing out that Barack Obama was once scorned as “deporter-in-chief”. Yet the step-change under his successor is jaw-dropping in its casual cruelty, and watching attempts by his enforcers to justify it is to see moral cowardice enacted before your eyes.

Phil Harrison

Invictus Games 2018
7.30pm, BBC One

Ahead of its kick-off tomorrow, Alex Jones and JJ Chalmers provide a preview for the fourth staging of this worthwhile event that sees sick and wounded armed forces personnel compete in sports. The pair meet members of Team UK, who share affecting tales of the impact sport has had on their post-combat lives.

Gwilym Mumford

Synth and Beyond with Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert
8pm, BBC Four

The New Order duo and king and queen of new wave take their turn in front of the telly to chat about their favourite music, from Kraftwerk to LCD Soundsystem (“They remind me of early New Order, but they had better gear”). Perfect Friday-night scheduling.

Ali Catterall

The Lakes with Paul Rose
8.30pm, BBC Two

Daniel Defoe may have thought it “barren and frightful”, but Paul Rose has a more cheery view of the Lake District. The explorer has lived in the region for 20 years and in this series explains its rugged appeal. He starts at the tourist magnet of Windermere, where he takes in a lake cruise, a long-distance swim and the peculiar sport of hound trailing. GM

A Discovery of Witches
9pm, Sky1

It may resemble Harry Potter with added F-bombs, but Sky’s adaptation of Deborah Harkness’s fantasy bestseller series certainly benefits from Trevor Eve as a bullish, badass vampire hellbent on duffing up witches. Can deathless Matthew Goode save his beloved before her power is revealed? A helicopter helps.

Graeme Virtue

Most Haunted
10pm, Really

Yvette Fielding packs her torch and continues her lifelong quest to meet the spirit of a dead person. Season 22 opens in the disused Ashwell prison, Rutland, which, according to local legend, is infested with immortals. As usual, the invisible ghosts communicate with Yvette by making mild banging noises just off-camera.

Jack Seale

Film choice

Dog Eat Dog, 11.05pm, Movies4Men

Edward Bunker’s gangland novel gets a hard-boiled screen treatment from director Paul Schrader. This twisty tale of ex-cons planning to kidnap a mobster’s baby to provide for their retirement to Hawaii also combines two of Hollywood’s most combustible stars in Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe.

Paul Howlett

Today’s best live sport

Snooker: English Open, 11.45am, Eurosport 1

K2 Crawley hosts the quarter-finals of the ranking tournament.

Rugby Union: Leicester Tigers v Scarlets, 7pm, BT Sport 2

Heineken Champions Cup encounter at Welford Road.

Championship Football: Sheffield Wednesday v Middlesbrough, 7pm, Sky Sports Main Event

Promotion chasers face off.