TV TONIGHT: A DEEPLY ADDICTIVE TRAIN THRILLER WITH SHADES OF BODYGUARD

Nightsleeper

Sun, 9pm, BBC One

This daft but deeply addictive real-time thriller stars Joe Cole as Joe Roag, an off-duty cop who finds himself on board a Glasgow to London sleeper train when all manner of strange things start to happen – beginning with an apparent bag-snatch at the station. Roag plays the hero and foils the first attack but it soon becomes obvious that the incident was simply the opening salvo of something much bigger. Attempting to remotely guide him through this chaos is Alexandra Roach’s cyber-security boffin Abby Aysgarth – but can Roag trust anyone else on the train? It belts along at a dizzying pace, at various points recalling everything from Speed to Bodyguard. Phil Harrison

Israel & Gaza: Into the Abyss

10.20pm, ITV1

With horrifyingly raw footage from Gaza hospitals, the Nova festival attacked by Hamas and the ruined lives of Palestinians, this documentary does an agonisingly good job of humanising the horror that has unfolded in Israel and Gaza since last October. The roots of the conflict are deep and the attempts to provide historical context are token at best. What this film does illuminate with awful clarity is the unapologetic savagery with which civilians have been targeted. PH

The Dog House

8pm, Channel 4

The painfully adorable series that matches unhomed doggies with prospective owners returns for another series. And with a formula this perfect, why wouldn’t it? Tonight, we meet nervous retriever Pippet, who is terrified of fireworks but needs to be brave to find a forever home. PH

Britain’s Atomic Bomb Scandal

9pm, Channel 4

Besides North Korea, Britain is the only nation not to compensate its nuclear test veterans, despite the fact that some 22,000 British military personnel – many of them teenage conscripts – were subjected to atomic blasts during the 1950s and 60s. Veterans believe this has led to devastating health consequences, both for themselves and their descendants. Ellen E Jones

Black Widow

9pm, Sky Documentaries

A chilling series on the crimes of Dena Thompson, a fraudster who lured a succession of men into her life, emptied their bank accounts and was convicted of murdering one of them. Her crimes are given human context by the poignant testimony of Rosemary Webb, the mother of Thompson’s victim Julian Webb. PH

Peter Kosminsky Remembers: The Project

10pm, BBC Four

Interesting timing, the sudden reairing of a drama shown just once in 2002: The Project, depicting New Labour as just as ruthless and mendacious as the Tories. Director Peter Kosminsky looks back on the show (which follows), and pays tribute to its late screenwriter, Leigh Jackson. Ali Catterall

Film choice

The Stranger, 9.25am, Talking Pictures TV

A somewhat forgotten entry in the history of Orson Welles, his 1946 film noir has lots going for it. A Nazi war criminal (played, naturally, by Welles) hides out as a teacher in a small Connecticut town but investigator Edward G Robinson is on his tail. The edgy cat-and-mouse plot would have been newsworthy at the time, especially as it uses actual footage of concentration camps. And there are plenty of trademark Welles touches, from extended, deep-focus shots to the inventive play of light and dark. Danger lurks in every shadow. Simon Wardell

Peterloo, 11.55pm, Channel 4The 1819 massacre in Manchester that inspired the founding of this very newspaper gets the Mike Leigh treatment. A righteously angry drama, it encompasses all levels of society – from the Prince Regent (Tim McInnerny) to a working-class family of textile labourers under matriarch Maxine Peake. Punctuated by energising scenes of leftwing political debate and establishment intolerance, it traces the weeks leading up to the rally demanding electoral reform, which suffered an unprovoked, fatal attack from the yeoman militia and army. SW

Live sport

International T20 Cricket: England v Australia, 2pm, BBC One The final match of the series from Old Trafford.

Premier League Football: Tottenham v Arsenal, 2pm, Sky Sports Main Event Wolves v Newcastle follows.

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