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TV tonight: screen stars celebrate the wild genius of Richard Burton

A documentary for the Welsh icon’s centenary year also has contributions from his wife and daughter. Plus: Irish dancing and Scottish crime-solving. Here’s what to watch this evening

TV tonight: screen stars celebrate the wild genius of Richard Burton

Richard Burton: Wild Genius 9pm, BBC TwoWelsh actors Matthew Rhys, Michael Sheen and Iwan Rheon join the centenary celebrations of Richard Burton – the son of a miner in Pontrhydyfen who went on captivate the world on screen and become a seven-time Oscar nominee. This colourful film charts his rapid rise in Hollywood, including the good, the bad and the two divorces from Elizabeth Taylor. His widow, Sally Burton, and daughter, Kate Burton, along with his former co-star and lover Claire Bloom, share their personal stories of the icon. Hollie Richardson Grand Designs 8pm, Channel 4Adversity and endurance feature in this episode of the self-build perennial. Greg and Georgie set out on their ambitious Sevenoaks conversion in 2019. Since then, they’ve had to deal with everything life has thrown at them, from dodgy foundations to cancer. Chuck in a global pandemic and it hasn’t been easy. Kevin McCloud finds out how they’ve managed. Phil Harrison Shetland 9pm, BBC One Out in the isolated hamlet of Lunniswick there’s been a murder, and the body was exposed to the elements for several days. The list of potential suspects in this close-knit community is short, but it will still take all of Calder (Ashley Jensen) and Tosh’s (Alison O’Donnell) ingenuity to uncover the truth. Ellen E Jones A League of Their Own 9pm, Sky MaxBad news for ALoTO fans, as the sports quiz reaches its final series – though maybe it means TV’s busiest presenter Romesh Ranganathan can squeeze in a well-earned holiday? Expect a victory lap with Wayne Rooney, Maya Jama and Alex Brooker guesting alongside team regulars Jill Scott, Jamie Redknapp and Micah Richards. Hannah J Davies Battle of the Irish Dancers 9pm, Sky ArtsThe World Irish Dancing Championships are considered the Olympics of the art form, and this year took place in Dublin. This intense three-part series follows a handful of the competitors from across the world, including 26-year-old Owen, described by his coach here as a “once-in-a-generation talent”, who wants a third and final win. HR The Hunting Party 9pm, U&AlibiThis week’s apex serial killer requiring recapture is an arrogant psychiatrist and self-help author nicknamed “Dr Darkness” by the tabloids. Guest star Kevin Corrigan leads ex-FBI profiler Bex (Melissa Roxburgh) and her team on a merry dance around Chicago, cheerfully oblivious that he is ruining her birthday. Graeme Virtue Film choice Freakier Friday (Nisha Ganatra, 2025), Disney+It was inevitable that a sequel to the 2003 body-swap comedy would up the ante, so in Nisha Ganatra’s new film there are not two but four people inhabiting the wrong flesh and bones. Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan return as mother and daughter Tess and Anna, while Julia Butters is Anna’s teenage daughter Harper. Add in Sophia Hammons as Anna’s soon-to-be stepdaughter and mix frantically. Curtis and Lohan are clearly having a lot of fun being the irresponsible kids, with the plot turning on them trying to halt their parents’ marriage. Simon Wardell A Merry Little Ex-Mas (Steve Carr, 2025), NetflixIt is the first Christmas since their divorce, but parents Kate (Alicia Silverstone) and Everett (Oliver Hudson) are spending it together one final time as a family. However, Everett also brings along his new girlfriend, the hot’n’young Tess (Jameela Jamil), while Kate gets her own back by hooking up with equally hot’n’young pine tree seller Chet (Pierson Fodé). Steve Carr’s comedy-drama doesn’t break the mould of festive films but never looks as if it wants to – Christmas cosiness is all. SW Live sport Women’s Champions League football: Man United v PSG, 7.45pm, BBC ThreeThe matchday three league phase fixture, at Old Trafford.

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