The Count of Monte Cristo

9pm, BBC Four

Hot on the heels of last year’s ludicrous Jeremy Irons and Sam Claflin adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel comes this four-part French-language version. It takes the enjoyable romp that was the 2024 movie adaptation, then turns it into TV by splitting it into four episodes. By the end of the first instalment, our hero Edmond is attempting a prison break. Alexi Duggins

Blankety Blank

6.25pm, BBC One

Bradley Walsh barely controls another intensely low-scoring edition of the vintage word-matching quiz. When they’re not waving furiously from a revolving dais, the contestants seek help from Joe Marler, Sue Perkins, Trevor Nelson, Josh Pugh, Tasha Ghouri and Sara Barron, none of whom is the slightest use. Jack Seale

Secret Africa: Into the Wild

7pm, Channel 4

“We really are where the wild things are now!” Explorer Lucy Shepherd has never actually seen hippos before – how many will she spot on this last leg of her journey across Tanzania? That’s not all: she and the team (nomadic Hadza and Akie tribesmen) trek to a sacred volcano, passing dangerous lion prides en route. HR

World’s Most Secret Hotels

8pm, Channel 4

More unusual luxury retreats get the once-over in this superfluous but oddly diverting series. This time, caves in South Africa, a lighthouse in Sweden and, perhaps most notably, the old Bodmin Jail in Cornwall, which has been refitted and now boasts an opulence beyond the wildest dreams of its former inhabitants. Phil Harrison

Casualty

8.45pm, BBC One

False alarm: after last week’s panic, it turns out there isn’t a new pandemic outbreak. It is, in fact, a chemical issue – but the Holby team are still trying to figure out what the source is. Elsewhere in the hospital, a grisly scene that could rival The Pitt, as doctors drill holes in a patient’s skull to remove a blood clot. HR

Saturday Night Live UK

10pm, Sky One

The British version of the venerable US weekly sketch show has been much better than was generally expected, its canny mix of timeless skits and gentle satire showcasing a silly streak that’s hard to dislike. The White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood is the celebrity host this time, with music from Meek. JS

Film choice

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, 8am, 4.10pm, 10.25pm, Sky Cinema Premiere

Fifteen years after the band split, film-maker Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner) is back to document the build-up to their reunion concert in New Orleans. It’s an elegiac outing for Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer’s trio – more grizzled, slightly wiser, less inadvertently comic – as they rehearse and bicker between starry cameos from the likes of Paul McCartney and Elton John. There are pleasing callbacks to the first film’s big laughs – cursed drummers, Stonehenge – plus a fair bit of rather accomplished rock. Simon Wardell

From Here to Eternity, 4.35pm, Talking Pictures TV

Fred Zinnemann’s Oscar-laden drama, based on James Jones’s semi-autobiographical novel, is set on an army base in Hawaii in 1941. But it’s not about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor; that’s relegated to a postscript to the tale of two intense romances on the outer edge of respectability. Montgomery Clift’s new arrival is bullied after refusing to box for his company, but finds respite with Donna Reed’s club hostess. Meanwhile, Burt Lancaster’s sergeant starts an affair with the captain’s wife (Deborah Kerr). SW

Black Box, midnight, BBC Two

This 2021 French film is a gripping throwback to the great US paranoia thrillers of the 70s, in particular Coppola’s The Conversation. Pierre Niney plays obsessive air-crash investigator Mathieu, whose expertise is in analysing the cockpit voice recorder, AKA the black box. When a plane goes down in the Alps, killing all on board, Mathieu is called on to provide an explanation. But can he trust what he hears on the recording? And why has his boss suddenly gone missing? Mathieu plunges down a rabbit hole of conspiracy where the truth may or may not be on the tape. SW

Live sport

Snooker: The World Championship, 10am, BBC Two The second semi-final continues.

Women’s Champions League Football: Lyon v Arsenal, 1.30pm, BBC Two Leah Williamson and her team take a 2-1 lead to France for the semi-final second leg.

Horse Racing: Newmarket, 1.15pm, ITV 1 Including the 2,000 Guineas.

Premier League Football: Arsenal v Fulham, 5pm, Sky Sports Main Event Man United v Liverpool is on Sun at 2pm; Aston Villa v Tottenham is on Sun at 6pm on TNT Sports 1.