One Born Every Minute (C4, 9pm)

WITH more than 150 babies have been born on camera since One Born Every Minute first aired in 2010 there is still likely to be a warm welcome for the seventh series of the Bafta award-winning documentary series.

This new series has been filmed in one of only two hospitals in the UK dedicated to the care and treatment of women and their families; Liverpool Women’s Hospital. It is the largest hospital of its kind in Europe and is a nationally recognised Centre of Excellence, boasting some of the most respected clinicians in their field.

"We are really looking forward to showing a great mix of professionalism, warmth and humour," says Sarah Swingler, head of Dragonfly West productions. "Even in recent series, One Born continues to tell compelling and magical stories: mums who make it to the hospital with minutes to spare before delivery, home births, twins and triplets, sick babies defying the odds, dads racing to the hospital, miracle IVF babies, and even a baby born in the hospital car park."

Filming from the reception desk to the neo-natal ward; from the operating theatre to the birthing pool, this life-affirming and tender series captures the beginning of life as it really happens. It observes the dramatic, emotional and often funny moments that go hand in hand with bringing a new life into the world, from the perspective of the soon-to-be parents and family, as well as the hospital staff.

The bustling maternity hospital had 40 remotely-operated cameras, filming 24 hours a day over a seven-week period. Previous series featured new arrivals in Bristol, Southampton and Leeds.

Tonight we see Tara, who had a difficult time in the past with her teenage daughter Courtney. But the youngster is completely overwhelmed when her new brother arrives. Nick and Hayley have had a tough year. He almost died from pneumonia around the time they were due to wed and the sight of the delivery room's medical equipment doesn't reassure the couple in the slightest. But watch out for Brooke and Tim, who definitely have a fit of the giggles throughout the whole experience.

Carry on Caravanning (Channel 5, 8pm)

Light-hearted documentary profiling some of the estimated one million caravan owners in UK. The caravan industry in the UK is thought to contribute around £6billion to the economy, and its popularity is on the rise, particularly with people in their 20s and 30s. This programme focuses on a selection of eccentric road-bound holiday-makers as they demonstrate why they are willing to defy angry drivers, snobbish frequent fliers and the notoriously unpredictable British weather to spend leisurely weekends in their mobile maisonettes.

Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners (BBC2, 9pm)

DAVID Olusoga traces the bitter propaganda war waged between the pro-slavery lobby and the abolitionists and reveals how, in 1834, the government arrived at the decision to compensate Britain's 46,000 slave owners with the equivalent of £17billion in today's money. He goes on to investigate what happened to the wealth generated from the slave trade and the compensation pay-out, revealing links to aspects of Britain's industrialisation in the 19th Century, expansion of the railway network, and a number of the country's most well-known institutions.

Witnesses (C4, 10pm)

THE broadcaster's last raid across the English Channel resulted in the acquisition of one of the most intriguing dramas of 2013. The Returned was gripping stuff from start to finish, so we have high hopes for their next French foray. Witnesses is set in the northern part of the country, where a man, woman and a teenager have been found murdered. They had no connection to each other, and yet were left posed by their killer as if they were a family. During the investigation, detective Sandra Winckler finds a picture of legendary police chief Paul Maisonneuve, who is so baffled by the snapshot that he comes out of retirement to help find whodunnit. Marie Dompnier and Thierry Lhermitte head the cast.

Viv Hardwick