TV tonight: Martin Clunes in a true-crime drama about a case that haunted the Met

Manhunt: The Night Stalker

9pm, ITV

“I know you’re retiring in a few months. I just want you to take a look.” That’s how impossible cases often begin for fictional cops. But the story of the so-called Night Stalker is horribly real; this drama stripped across the week follows Operation Minstead as it searches for a man who had been robbing and raping elderly women across London between 1992 and 2009. It’s slow and steady police work and Martin Clunes is in his element as DCI Colin Sutton, in whose in-tray the case lands after years of dead-ends. Phil Harrison

Fever Pitch: The Rise of the Premier League

9pm, BBC Two

This week, in the somewhat one-sided history of footy’s money-grubbing modern elite: David Beckham scores from the halfway line against Wimbledon and ascends to megastardom, while Keith Gillespie’s big move from Manchester to Newcastle ends in a dark place. Jack Seale

Bin Laden: The Road to 9/11

9pm, Channel 4

This series tracking Osama bin Laden’s journey from billionaire’s son to terrorist mastermind concludes with the period culminating in his death. Before that, his name entered global infamy, first as he issued a fatwa on “any American, anywhere on Earth” and, most notoriously, on 11 September 2001. PH

The White Lotus

9pm, Sky Atlantic

The glorious, schadenfreude-laden Hawaiian drama concludes, messily and without a great deal of hugging or learning. Quinn is revealing his life plans (surprisingly, they don’t involve endless self-abuse) and Armond, who suddenly has nothing to lose, decides to unload his worries in a guest’s bedroom. PH

Hawking: Can You Hear Me?

9pm, Sky Documentaries

His contribution to our understanding of the universe was vast. But equally importantly, Stephen Hawking offered a new vision of disability and how it might be accommodated into a fulfilling life. This documentary hears the human story from the people closest to the late cosmologist. PH

Alma’s Not Normal

10pm, BBC Two

Sophie Willan’s creation becomes even more fabulous this week as her confidence is boosted by getting a job as a sandwich artiste and joining Tinder. Which means she’s ready to have a crack at escort work. But will she bottle it? Elsewhere, there’s a lively reunion for her mum and Grandma Joan. Hannah Verdier

Film choice

Captain Phillips (Paul Greengrass, 2013), 9pm, ITV4
Paul Greengrass’s account of a real-life Somali pirate hijacking is an unnervingly intense action movie, implicitly critical of the economic forces that separate the haves and have-nots. Its focus is the confrontation between Tom Hanks’s staunch captain and the electrifying Barkhad Abdi as the pirates’ leader. Paul Howlett

Live Sport

Cycling: Road World Championships 9.35am, Eurosport 1. Time-trials from Flanders.

IPL cricket: Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers Bangalore 3pm, Sky Sports Main Event. The tournament resumes.

MLB: Cleveland Indians v Kansas City Royals 9pm, BT Sport 2. From Progressive Field.