Today's TV tips

Your guide on what to look out for on the box this evening.

COMPETITION: Gliondar (RTE One, 7.30pm – 8pm)

The humble potato – forever associated with Ireland, it’s been a mainstay of our diet.

But, perhaps because it’s such an ordinary part of everyday life here, the spud’s enduring popularity and many qualities are often taken for granted. So it has rarely been celebrated… until now!

In this contest locals battle it out to try to win the proud title of “King of the Spuds” (or “Rí an Phráta”).

The brain child of Aengus Murphy, the only competition requirement is that you have grown the potato yourself and that you’re living in one of the nine eligible parishes around the Dingle area.

Judging criteria are taken very seriously with marks given for the spud’s appearance, texture, taste and overall satisfaction.

DOCUMENTARY: One Born Every Minute (Channel 4, 9pm – 10pm)

Everybody needs good neighbours, or so the song goes. And if you’re expecting a child, who better to have as your neighbour than a midwife?

And one who works at the West Country’s busiest maternity unit, Southmead Hospital in Bristol, no less – where cameras capture the ward’s ’special deliveries’.

In this first episode of the new series, midwife Vicki helps her childhood friend and next-door neighbour Louisa through an emotional labour.

Meanwhile, dad-to-be Michael cuts things fine when he decides to head home for the evening before his wife Michelle’s contractions suddenly kick in – will he make it back in time, or miss the birth of his daughter?

We also meet mum-to-be Georgina, who explains why she holds out hope that expectant dad Rich will swap his life in the fast lane for a more family friendly, sedate lifestyle once their first baby is born.

It’s a veritable baby boom!

DOCUMENTARY: Knife Crime ER: Reggie Yates’ Extreme South Africa (BBC3, 9pm)

There was once a time when Reggie Yates seemed simply to be that fun-loving bloke from Radio 1 who occasionally popped up on TV.

But last week, he came over all serious when he began hosting Extreme South Africa, a new, three-part series in which he explores three different communities.

The opener saw him spend a week living alongside the residents of a squatter camp near Johannesburg.

This time, he visits a hospital in Cape Flats, outside Cape Town. It’s well known that the country has one of the world’s highest murder rates, but it’s the people who survive violent crimes that grab the medics’ attention.

The institution’s doctors can deal with up to 100 stabbings and assaults every weekend, and here they reveal the strain that causes, while Reggie investigates why so many of South Africa’s young men become involved in violence.

FILM: Double Jeopardy (More4, 9pm – 11.05pm)

(1999) Libby Parsons is wrongly convicted of her husband’s murder and serves six years in prison, only to discover he is actually still alive, having faked his own death in order to cash in his life insurance policy.

So, when a fellow prisoner tells her about the double jeopardy law, which means no one can be tried twice for the same crime, Libby thinks she can use it to her advantage to kill her husband and get off scot-free.

She gets out of prison, hell-bent on revenge, but doesn’t count on a zealous parole officer who’s serious about keeping her on the straight and narrow.

If you love your thrillers hard-boiled and with a hint of noir, then try this offering from director Bruce Beresford.

Ashley Judd keeps her character likeable, while Tommy Lee Jones adds a touch of class.

Starring: Ashley Judd, Tommy Lee Jones, Bruce Greenwood, Annabeth Gish, Benjamin Weir, Jay Brazeau.

RottenTomatoes.com Rating: 62%

FILM: Internal Affairs (Film4, 1.20am – 3.40am)

(1990) Dennis Peck is a uniformed cop and womaniser on the take whose crooked antics have aroused the interest of the Internal Affairs department.

Agent Raymond Avilla attempts to expose his dodgy dealings, but soon finds his life on the line.

Those won over by Richard Gere’s charm in Pretty Woman turned up to this movie hoping for more of the same. However, his screen character turned out to be one of the most unpleasant of the 1990s.

On the plus side, Andy Garcia is as charismatic as ever, while the ever reliable Laurie Metcalf does her best, despite playing a stereotypical lesbian cop.

Director Mike Figgis adds some disturbing touches, but this isn’t one for the squeamish

Starring: Richard Gere, Andy Garcia, Laurie Metcalf, Nancy Travis.

RottenTomatoes.com Rating: 88%