GET ON UP: THE TRIUMPH OF BLACK AMERICA TASKMASTER 9PM, CH4

9PM, BBC2

When actor David Harewood was growing up in Birmingham, it was to America that he looked for his heroes, and it was in America, in hit TV show Homeland, that David got his big break. For this two-parter, he looks back on more than 50 years of Black American culture, from the 1960s to the present day. He starts with the Rat Pack’s Sammy Davis Jr, member of the ‘in-est of in-crowds’, and moves on to Berry Gordy’s Motown,

Sidney Poitier (below) and Blaxploitation movies – don’t miss his Shaft impression. Upbeat and smiling, David is a great presenter, in a show that focuses on the good stuff – of how, in the cultural realm at least, African Americans have enjoyed great success, power and influence.

★★★★ A new batch of comedians are both brave and stupid enough to take the Taskmaster challenge. Tune in for more crazy stunts as Frankie Boyle, Ivo Graham, Jenny Eclair, Kiell Smith-bynoe and Mae Martin compete for the coveted trophy of Taskmaster Greg Davies’s

gold-coloured head.