TV tonight: C4 stages the world’s biggest motorway pile up

Pile Up: World’s Biggest Crash Test

9pm, Channel 4
Every day, thousands of people get into their cars with minimal understanding of the risks they’re taking. This documentary is a spectacular corrective to that, staging a multi-car pile-up and enlisting four drivers to remotely control real cars. The results are striking and the aftermath is fascinating as the crash scene is pored over and the extent of the (thankfully hypothetical) injuries is assessed. Phil Harrison

Soccer Aid for Unicef 2025

6pm, ITV1
Previous highlights of the ever entertaining charity kickabout include Woody Harrelson smashing a penalty past a visibly annoyed Jamie Theakston, so this year’s match has plenty to live up to. On the team sheet are Tyson Fury, Vicky McClure, Mo Farah and Denise Lewis. PH

Death Valley

8.15pm, BBC One
Don’t sleep on this detective comedy-drama: unlike most cosy crime shows it is properly funny, all the more so this week as retired actor John (Timothy Spall) helps heroically awkward cop Janie (Gwyneth Keyworth) investigate a low-quality local theatre company. The gags about thespian pretensions are delicious. Jack Seale

The Gold

9pm, BBC One

Hugh Bonneville in The Gold. Photograph: BBC/PA

The second series of the enjoyable drama about the Brink’s-Mat robbery continues. The clock is ticking as the gold is processed and starts to disappear around the world. But the police, led by Hugh Bonneville’s dogged Brian Boyce, have some promising leads. PH

Polk: The Trial of Philip Polkinghorne

9pm, Sky Crime
It’s the mystery that gripped New Zealand: in 2021, Pauline Hanna was found dead at home in an affluent Auckland suburb. Was it suicide? Or had the scene been staged? This documentary features an exclusive interview with the only man who knows for sure – Hanna’s husband Dr Philip “Polk” Polkinghorne. Ellen E Jones

America’s Veterans: The War Within

10.20pm, ITV1
The so-called War on Terror feels as if it has receded into history. But for many of the combatants, it’s still agonisingly real. Deeyah Khan’s documentary travels through the US exploring the psychological aftermath and meeting veterans of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. “I lost humanity, I lost empathy, I lost compassion,” says one. PH

Film choice

28 Days Later (Danny Boyle, 2002), 10.30pm, BBC One

Cillian Murphy in 28 Days Later. Photograph: Allstar

Next week sees the cinema release of the third in the dystopian horror series, with the first film’s director and writer, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland, reuniting for a new trilogy. Before the franchise runs away with itself, here’s the 2002 original to enjoy relatively unsullied. Cillian Murphy plays hospitalised bicycle courier Jim, who wakes up to find London deserted – apart from a host of rabid, rapid people infected by a virus. His flight through dystopian Britain, alongside Naomie Harris and Brendan Gleeson’s survivors, is a masterclass in tension and a study of the worst in human nature. Simon Wardell

Live sport

Super League Rugby: Wakefield v Leigh, 2.15pm, BBC Two
At the DIY Kitchens Stadium.

Uefa European Under-21 Championship Football: Slovenia v England, 4.30pm, Channel 4
From Nitra, Slovakia. England v Germany is on Wed at 7.30pm.