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Staz Nair as Harry Virdee
Full throttle … Staz Nair as Harry Virdee. Photograph: David Gennard/BBC/Magical Society
Full throttle … Staz Nair as Harry Virdee. Photograph: David Gennard/BBC/Magical Society

TV tonight: an action-packed new crime thriller set in Bradford

This article is more than 1 month old

Staz Nair plays a British Asian detective in the BBC’s new crime series. Plus: tears flow in the season finale of Bump. Here’s what to watch this evening

Virdee

9pm, BBC One
A full-throttle opening sequence throws you into the high-octane world of detective Harry Virdee (Staz Nair) in this crime thriller based on Amit Dhand’s novels. But it’s not just Bradford’s turf war that is keeping him on his toes; there’s plenty of drama in his private life, with his estranged family disapproving of his interfaith marriage. Virdee is not exactly subtle in leaning into its genre, but there’s fun to be had with it, and deeper issues are explored. Hollie Richardson

Jamie’s £1 Wonders & Money-Saving Meals

8pm, Channel 4
God bless the air fryer, which this time is used to make a tomato sauce perfect for pastas. Other foodie miracles performed in the last episode of Jamie Oliver’s easy-to-follow series are carrot cake, chicken curry, welsh rarebit and a whole Chinese feast. HR

The Balkans: Europe’s Forgotten Frontier

9pm, BBC Two
Thoughts of Russia dominate the second half of Katya Adler’s tour of eastern Europe. In Romania, she joins Nato forces on an aerial drill designed to send a “clear and loud message to Moscow”. In Serbia, the country’s coal power is of interest to Russia and China. Plus, visiting Kosovo means walking down Tony Blair street. Jack Seale

Go Back to Where You Came From

9pm, Channel 4
More from the series where six outspoken Britons experience life on the ground for refugees. An encounter in northern Syria with victims of a recent drone strike sparks emotive debate between Dave, Bushra and Chloe. Meanwhile, Jess, Nathan and Mathilda seem overwhelmed by what they see in Kenya’s sprawling Dadaab camp. Graeme Virtue

Boarders

9pm, BBC Three

The word is out … Aruna Jalloh as Femi in Boarders. Photograph: Jonathan Birch/BBC/Studio Lambert

The pressure mounts in this witty swipe at boarding schools, as the five scholarship students fight to keep their places at St Gilbert’s. The insufferable new headteacher, Carol, puts on the school open day, which causes all sorts of problems – from Femi’s spoken-word performance to head boy Jaheim going missing. HR

Bump

11.10pm, BBC One
“Set a place for death at the table.” While this isn’t the most cheerful message for a counsellor to deliver, it seems realistic in the face of Angie’s struggles to prepare for her passing. This warm Aussie comedy is good at addressing life’s most serious moments, and as Angie readies to let go in this season finale double bill, it’s as sweet, sour and convincingly human as ever. Phil Harrison

Film choice

Things to Come (William Cameron Menzies, 1936), 3.15am, Talking Pictures TV

Shoulder pads never go out of style … Raymond Massey in Things to Come. Photograph: Ronald Grant

A landmark in British sci-fi cinema, this stunningly designed 1936 drama, written by HG Wells and directed by William Cameron Menzies, mingles despair at our warlike nature with dreams of a technocratic utopia of unstoppable progress. Spanning 1940 to 2036, it follows the fortunes of Everytown, assailed by conflict and descending into feudalism, until hope arrives in the form of an advanced, aerial global power. A prescient, futurist classic. Simon Wardell

This article was amended on 9 February 2025. In an earlier version, a still image from Things to Come misidentified the actor Raymond Massey as Kenneth Villiers. Also, the article was erroneously launched one day early and relates to television on Monday 10 February, not Sunday 9 February as indicated by the earlier timestamp.

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