PICK OF THE DAY

MEERKAT MANOR

6.30PM, CH5 ★★★★

Going to see meerkats in a British zoo can be a deeply unrewarding experience – all too often, they huddle away in tunnels, not engaging in the adorable behaviour we go there expecting to see. Tune into Meerkat Manor, though, and there’s no shortage of the furry funsters standing on their hind legs and chirping, heads eagerly scanning the horizon for threats. And there have been plenty of threats in this wildlife show; first shown on Animal Planet in 2005, it’s the story of rival meerkat clans, and the new, fifth series begins a weekday run here.

VIRTUALLY HOME 3.45PM, BBC1

★★★

Some people are great at visualising interior design decisions – for the rest of us, there’s this new, daily series in which virtual reality is used to simulate design options. The first to step into their potential futures are Hattie and Lauren, writers and Second World War re-enacters who are after a speakeasy vibe.

GINO’S ITALIAN FAMILY ADVENTURE 8PM, ITV

★★★

Gino D’acampo is with his eldest son, Luciano, in Calabria, touring around Italy’s ‘Coast of the Gods’ in a Fiat Panda. ‘It’s like a go-kart,’ observes Luciano drily as they head off to the strains of Born To Be Wild. There’s a lot of fatherson bonding going on here, including fishing for swordfish.

GUY’S GARAGE 9PM, CH4

★★★

Tonight, Guy has his eye on the Piaggio Ape, those threewheeled vehicles you see pootling around Italy. Can he transform one into a fearsome racer? The mechanic soon discovers he’s not the first to do so – an entire racing scene for ‘pimped-up’ Apes already exists, so he has some catching up to do.