TV tonight: Paul McCartney reopens a great Beatles mystery
What happened to his disappearing Höfner bass? Plus: Jack Whitehall helms Saturday Night Live UK before it takes a break. Here’s what to watch this evening
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McCartney: The Hunt for the Lost Bass
8.45pm, BBC Two
He bought his Höfner bass (“about 30 quid!”) in 1961 during the formative years of the Beatles. But the instrument that became synonymous with Paul McCartney disappeared about the time of the Beatles split and went on a journey of its own. With contributions from various “bass detectives” (and from Macca himself), this documentary about the hunt for the instrument is another angle on a well-told story. Phil Harrison
Proper Ladies
7.45pm, BBC Three
This new season of the BBC’s comedy short films initiative effectively functions as a series of pilots, allowing new talent to get some welcome exposure. It begins with Proper Ladies, based on Sabrina Ali’s play Dugsi Dayz, a sweet but pointed coming-of-age story about four Muslim girls stuck in detention at school. Expect to see some stars of tomorrow. PH
Celebrity Sabotage
8pm, ITV1
Six civilians have signed up for a military endurance series hosted by strapping ex-soldier Jason Fox. But it’s all fake. The real show involves our regular team of celebrities – joined by guest saboteur Guz Khan – trying to covertly derail the whole thing from a nearby bunker. As silly as it sounds. Graeme Virtue
Hidden Assets
9.35pm, BBC Four
Season three of the Euro-hopping procedural about Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau wraps up with a double bill. In Bilbao, DS Wallace and her Basque counterpart Beitia are desperate to connect haulage firm KYV with their trafficking case. Will Norah’s ninja-level forensic accounting help them catch a break? GV
The Jonathan Ross Show
10pm, ITV1
With his delightful turn in Small Prophets, Michael Palin has graced us with one of 2026’s deepest TV pleasures. He joins Jonathan Ross to discuss this late-career highlight. Comic Catherine Tate and actor Anna Maxwell Martin will also be engaging in light banter. PH
Saturday Night Live UK
10pm, Sky One
Tina Fey peddled a problematic skincare brand, Jamie Dornan rapped about Irish pubs, and Riz Ahmed had an unnervingly playful bop in his dressing room. So what does fourth host Jack Whitehall have in store as he takes the helm for the last episode before a one-week hiatus, alongside musical guest Jorja Smith? Lucinda Everett
Film choices
Outcome, out now, Apple TV
Films in which film stars bemoan their lot can be pretty tiresome (see Jay Kelly), but this comedy from director-writer-co-star Jonah Hill features a spot of shrewd casting in that beacon of niceness, Keanu Reeves. As Reef Hawk, celebrated actor and secret recovering heroin addict, Reeves inspires instant sympathy when he is extorted over a compromising video. This sets him off on an apology tour of the people who hate him to find the culprit, including his first manager (a great turn from Martin Scorsese), an ex-girlfriend and even his mom. Turns out he’s not a nice guy … Simon Wardell
Caught Stealing, 10.05am, 11.15pm, Sky Cinema Premiere
As well as the reference to theft, the title of Darren Aronofsky’s manic crime caper refers to a runner in baseball trying to edge ahead before a play is made. The chancer here is New York bar worker Hank (Austin Butler, believable despite the plot’s many twists), who is left holding a cat and a mysterious key by his neighbour, errant London punk Russ (a ridiculous though oddly endearing cameo by Matt Smith). But highly violent hoodlums of every hue (Russians, a Puerto Rican, two Orthodox Jews) are after what that key unlocks. SW
Our Man in Havana, 4.35pm, Talking Pictures TV
Set in Cuba “before the recent revolution”, Carol Reed’s 1959 comedy drama is a light-touch takedown of the subterfuge and self-importance of the espionage world. Adapted by Graham Greene from his own novel, it stars Alec Guinness, alternately amused and bemused as English vacuum cleaner salesman James, whose idle life with his upwardly mobile daughter is shaken when Noël Coward’s British agent recruits him. James decides to invent a network of informants and intelligence, but can he keep up his deception? SW
Live sport
Premier League Football: Arsenal v Bournemouth, 11am, TNT Sports 1 Liverpool v Fulham is at 5pm on Sky Sports Main Event.
Horse Racing: Grand National Festival, 12.45pm, ITV1 The big race is at 4pm.
Women’s Six Nations Rugby Union: England v Ireland, 1.30pm, BBC One Centre Meg Jones captains the title holders England for the first time. Wales v Scotland is at 4.25pm on BBC Two.
Boxing, Tyson Fury v Arslanbek Makhmudov, 7pm, Netflix At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Golf: The Masters, 7.45pm, Sky Sports Main Event Day three of the year’s first major.

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