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Time.
Time. Photograph: James Stack/BBC
Time. Photograph: James Stack/BBC

TV tonight: Sean Bean and Stephen Graham tackle life inside

This article is more than 2 years old

Jimmy McGovern’s riveting latest drama sees Bean playing a teacher sentenced to four years in jail and Graham his prison officer. Plus: The British Academy Television Awards. Here’s what to watch this evening

Time

9pm, BBC One

Jimmy McGovern’s latest prime time drama reunites two acting heavyweights from another of his productions, 2012’s Accused, Sean Bean and Stephen Graham. Bean stars as teacher Mark Cobden, who after accidentally killing a man is overwhelmed by guilt and is sentenced to a four year prison term. We follow Cobden as he is indoctrinated into a new world inside prison, watched over by officer Eric McNally (Graham). In tonight’s opening episode, Cobden’s weaknesses are soon spotted by a dangerous inmate. Ammar Kalia

The British Academy Television Awards

7pm, BBC One

Richard Ayoade hosts this year’s television Baftas, celebrating the shows that have kept us company during our year of excessive lockdown screen time. Among the frontrunners are Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series with 15 nominations, The Crown and I May Destroy You. AK

The Turn of the Screw

7pm, BBC Four

This hybrid film and live capture performance of Britten’s opera by OperaGlass Works ingeniously embraces the medium of the camera into its staged production, featuring performers singing directly into the lens. Shot at Wilton’s Music Hall, the cast includes Robert Murray and Rhian Lois. AK

Rainforests: Our Wild Adventures

8pm, BBC Two

Panama, Peru, Guyana and Venezuela are among the key locations in this week’s clip-fuelled reminiscences. Chris Packham remembers diverse bird life and a tree-climbing agouti, Liz Bonnin looks back on tracking harpy eagles, and George McGavin yearns for a massive tarantula. Jack Seale

Britain’s Most Luxurious Hotels

8pm, Channel 4

Coronavirus may still be with us, with few spheres so horribly impacted as the hospitality industry. But that won’t stop that other moneymaker, reality TV, sticking its lens in regardless. Tonight: an insight into one of the capital’s most glittering hotels, the Corinthia. Ali Catterall

Brian Cox’s Adventures in Space and Time

9pm, BBC Two

Never let it be said that Brian Cox shies away from the big questions. This series, which is partly a career retrospective, sets its gaze on very distant horizons. Excitingly, Brian is discussing alien life this week. What are our chances of discovering that we aren’t alone? Phil Harrison

Film choice

Finding Dory. Photograph: AP

Finding Dory, 3.05pm, BBC One

This sequel is pretty much a rerun of Finding Nemo, but it is done with such vibrant beauty and soppy charm that it can easily be forgiven. Here, the amnesiac Dory (voiced again by Ellen DeGeneres) sets out on a quest to find her family, while chums Nemo and Marlin in turn go looking for her. Paul Howlett

Live sport

Atheltics: Triathlon World Series 1pm, BBC Two. Second leg of the World Championship from Leeds.

F1: The Azerbaijan Grand Prix 12.55pm, Sky Sports Main Event. Racing from the sixth round of the season.

Rugby Union: Northampton Saints v Exeter Chiefs 2pm, BT Sport 1. Premiership match from Franklin’s Gardens.

This article was amended on 10 June 2021. In Time, Bean’s character is called Mark Cobden, not Hebden, and Graham’s is Eric McNally, not Reid.

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