The Fall, Series 2 Finale, BBC Two

THE FALL, SERIES 2 FINALE, BBC TWO Is this the end for Allan Cubitt's fifty shades of serial killer?

Is this the end for Allan Cubitt's fifty shades of serial killer?

Before the second series of The Fall began, I was watching Gillian Anderson being interviewed on This Morning. While the subject matter of the drama - a tense game of cat and mouse between Anderson’s DSI Stella Gibson and Jamie Dornan’s perverted serial killer - was never going to translate well to daytime telly, but I was still a little taken aback by Amanda Holden’s fawning over the apparent sexiness of Dornan’s character.

Canterbury Cathedral, BBC Two

CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL, BBC TWO The first of three episodes is little more than a puff piece for the Church of England

The first of three episodes is little more than a puff piece for the Church of England

Attracting over one million visitors each year, Canterbury Cathedral is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. With its picturesque location and very nice, very white staff, the cathedral offers an easy metaphor for the version of England that Ukip supporters apparently hanker after, the narrator Saskia Reeves describing it as “England in stone”.

Wolf Hall comes to BBC Two

WOLF HALL COMES TO BBC TWO Hilary Mantel's historical novels journey from page to stage to screen

Hilary Mantel's historical novels journey from page to stage to screen

You read the book, you saw the play, and in January you can see the BBC's new six-part dramatisation of Wolf Hall. Cunningly adapted by screenwriter Peter Straughan and directed by Peter Kosminsky, the series promises to be both a faithful translation of Hilary Mantel's novel and an absorbingly fresh approach to the telly-isation of history.

Posh People: Inside Tatler, BBC Two

POSH PEOPLE: INSIDE TATLER, BBC TWO Entertaining enough, but this three-parter is about as vapid as its subject

Entertaining enough, but this three-parter is about as vapid as its subject

It won’t come as much of a surprise to find that the staff at Tatler are a bit on the posh side – who’d have thought? – but I honestly doubt they’re that much posher than, say, those at The Times, or The Guardian, or that other esteemed people’s champion, the New Statesman. As for the “posh to common” ratio on theartsdesk – without doing an exact head count, I’m not sure we radically break the mould, either. Such is the way the world rock ’n’ rolls in class-ridden Britain. 

The Fall, BBC Two / Babylon, Channel 4

THE FALL, BBC TWO / BABYLON, CHANNEL FOUR Dark and chilling return of the Belfast killer thriller  

Dark and chilling return of the Belfast killer thriller

The first series of this creepy Belfast-set crime thriller generated a mixture of critical enthusiasm and revulsion for its voyeuristic scenes of the sadistic murder of women. This season two opener [****] didn't give us any more of the latter, but successfully re-established the show's atmosphere of claustrophobic menace. It also probed further into the psychological battle between Gillian Anderson's DS Stella Gibson and Jamie Dornan's low-key but intensely deranged killer, Paul Spector.

Human Universe, BBC Two

HUMAN UNIVERSE, BBC TWO The universe, human life, everything: Brian Cox begins his biggest project yet

The universe, human life, everything: Brian Cox begins his biggest project yet

Brian Cox has a very beguiling way of expressing quiet wonder. He’s taken on the very largest of subjects in Human Universe, extending traditions of science and natural history broadcasting towards a wider study of how the human race has come to be what it is, where it came from and where it may be going, and he doesn’t raise his voice on a single occasion. Other BBC presenters carried away by their subject matter could certainly take a hint.

Cat Watch 2014: The New Horizon Experiment, BBC Two

CAT WATCH 2014: THE NEW HORIZON EXPERIMENT, BBC TWO Latest attempt by boffins to unravel the mysteries of 'Felis catus'

Latest attempt by boffins to unravel the mysteries of 'Felis catus'

Cats have had a harder time adapting to humans than humans to cats, as this remarkable examination of contemporary feline habits points out. It is not always easy changing from wild animal to feline friend, as the programme put it. Nocturnal hunters now have a life in the daytime, but they are still solo rather than pack animals. While a dog will cling to his pack – his human family – the cat susses out the physical territory on its own, seeing how safe it is and where to hide if necessary.

Peaky Blinders, Series 2, BBC Two

Lots more racketeering and mayhem as the Shelby family plan to invade London

So we're off for another blast of between-the-wars ultraviolence with the Shelby gang from Birmingham, once again soundtracked by incongruous electric blues music. Time has moved on from the immediate aftermath of Great War hostilities and now we're into the Twenties, which are roaring as if they're in agony. The baleful Tommy Shelby (a curiously shaved and bleached-looking Cillian Murphy) is aiming to undertake "business expansion" by extending the Peaky Blinders' racketeering tentacles down to London.

Marvellous, BBC Two

Toby Jones shines in a fantasy football drama that happens to be true

Marvellous reviews itself in its title. The story of Neil Baldwin starring Toby Jones was – and is, because you should catch it while you can on iPlayer – simply marvellous. As a dramatic character Neil Baldwin could be mistaken for unremarkable. He has no hidden depths. Positioned somewhere along the autistic spectrum, he is apparently away with the fairytales, but his grandiose fantasies mostly happened to be true.

Jungle Atlantis, BBC Two

JUNGLE ATLANTIS, BBC TWO New technology brings revelations from Cambodia's mega-city

New technology brings revelations from Cambodia's astounding mega-city

Angkor Wat in Cambodia is the biggest religious complex ever built. It is also one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring structures ever created, even now still a working temple with both Buddhist and Hindu connections. It was at the heart not only of a vast medieval city but an empire that dominated southeast Asia for centuries.