TV tonight: the incredible life of pioneering transgender model April Ashley

The Extraordinary Life of April Ashley

10pm, Channel 4

One of the more remarkable recent British life stories is told in this documentary, which is part of Channel 4’s excellent Pride celebrations. From a childhood spent in the slums of Liverpool, April Ashley was, variously, a sailor in the merchant navy, a dancer in the nightclubs of Paris, a Vogue model and a pioneer of gender-reassignment surgery. Scandal followed her “outing” as trans by the Sunday People in 1961 – but she died in 2021 having allowed nothing to break her stride. Phil Harrison

Long Lost Family

9pm, ITV

Now in its 12th series, Long Lost Family never fails to bring out the emotion, with its subjects expertly chaperoned by Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell. Tonight, Sian – who lost her baby in late pregnancy – searches for her birth mother and sister. Meanwhile Teleena finds out she is not the youngest of six and tries to track down her baby brother. Hannah Verdier

Reinventing the Orchestra With Charles Hazlewood

9pm, Sky Arts

All orchestras are, when you think about it, covers bands, says Hazlewood, as his impeccable series embarks on another challenging, nourishing hour. This week’s key pieces are two tracks from Scott Walker’s supposedly inaccessible 2006 album The Drift. Rylan Gleave’s spectral vocals help to illuminate the work. Jack Seale

24 Hours in Police Custody: The Murder of Rikki Neave

9pm, Channel 4

In 1994, the killing of six-year-old Rikki Neave prompted nationwide outrage and a long-running unsolved murder. In the wake of the James Bulger case, it also sent the press into a frenzy. This two-part documentary retraces the past – brutally exposing police prejudice – as the case reopens and a new suspect emerges. Henry Wong

Aids: The Unheard Tapes

9.30pm, BBC Two

Part two of this three-part documentary depicts the growing culture of fear around the British Aids crisis of the 1980s. A patchwork of emotional testimonies and archive footage shows a nation 46% in favour of “new laws to restrict homosexual behaviour”. Meanwhile, recollections point to the frustrating lack of openly gay politicians as a delaying factor in the crisis. Danielle De Wolfe

Big Zuu’s Big Eats

10pm, Dave

The irresistible street cookery show returns. Tonight, Zuu and pals take their van to Stockport to hang out with Johnny Vegas. First, Zuu has to cook his way into Johnny’s heart (“You’re an old white geezer from up north, so we know you love potatoes”), but soon they’re collaborating on a halal Spam burger and Guinness gravy. Both seemingly taste nicer than they sound. PH

Film choice

Westworld (Michael Crichton, 1973), 11.15pm, TCM

If you have been trying to follow the deliberately incomprehensible series of the same name (a fool’s errand, by the way), here’s a chance to use the original film as a palate cleanser. It is a much simpler affair – there’s a theme park filled with robot cowboys, and one of them starts trying to kill everyone – a premise that Michael Crichtonwould be explored with much more elan in Jurassic Park, also written by Michael Crichton. It’s a fun, low-stakes B-movie that understands exactly how silly something like this should be. Stuart Heritage