Sea Cities: Tyneside (BBC2, 7pm)

THE BBC's latest documentary series is covering the working lives of five UK sea ports with the Port of Tyne second on the list as cameras follow the Port of Tyne’s engineering team as they work on plant and equipment, service a 70m-high container gantry crane and take part in the opening of Newcastle's Swing Bridge.

The port’s Pilot Boat crew, a team competing in the Great North Run, and the arrival of the world’s largest car carrier Höegh Target are also featured.

The Shields Ferry is another river legend – like its skipper, Sting look-alike Chris McGuinness, who’s not averse to opening the odd supermarket for extra cash. But passenger numbers have fallen in recent years, forcing ferry manager Carol Timlin to get creative to try and bring in extra money. She’s sold all the tickets for a sing-along cruise down the Tyne, but will ferry staff , which include Stephen Beck and David Purvis, cope with the busiest day of the year, when the world’s biggest half marathon, the Great North Run, rolls into town?

Huge gas modules are being built at Tyneside’s largest manufacturing yard OGN, but the company faces a challenging future. For the shrunken workforce, including 56 year-old plater Stephen Goicoechea, it’s a worrying time. Many, like him, may have to travel far afield to get work if the yard goes under. Union shop steward Terry Telford is keeping the faith (something he says he has experience of, being a Newcastle United fan).

Meanwhile, students Chris Falconer and Ryan Bird are training to be deck officers at the oldest Marine School in the world based in South Shields. Viewers will see them put through their paces in a dramatic simulator assessment in charge of a ship, before the toughest test of all – a verbal grilling in the Maritime and Coastguard Agency oral exams. And former tug-master turned lecturer at the School, Tommy Proctor organises the annual rowing race on the Tyne.

“The programme starts and finishes with our pilot boat crew. It follows our boatman Paul Ridley as he prepares to run the Great North Run along with a team of runners from the Port of Tyne. It also features the Oceania Cruise ship Marina arriving last August and passengers disembarking to explore North East England. It follows our engineering team as their service our state-of-the-art container gantry crane and later prepare to open the Swing Bridge and our team welcoming the world’s largest car carrier on its maiden voyage,” says a Port of Tyne spokesperson.

“Sea Cities takes viewers on a journey into the beating heart of sea and riverside communities. The Tyneside episode is rooted in the people of the North-East and communities connected to the Tyne – representing passions and an enthusiasm for their professions,” says Adam Keelan, series producer for Sea Cities.

Shetland (BBC1, 9pm)

MATTERS take an unexpected turn after prime suspect Michael Maguire is shot dead by a hitman at the top of Shetland's cliffs. Perez and Tosh head to Glasgow, trying to break a wall of silence regarding the details behind Maguire's demise and its connection with Robbie Morton. Perez is shaken after receiving a veiled threat from gangster Arthur McCall, but evidence gleaned from Michael Thompson's apartment in Shetland gives a new trail to follow. Meanwhile, Sandy makes an important breakthrough. Douglas Henshall and Alison O'Donnell star.

Artsnight - Nina Conti (BBC2, 11pm)

Ventriloquist, comedian and documentary film-maker Nina Conti explores how masks allow people to step out of their psychological skins and be someone else. She joins a masked theatre workshop, meets masked musicians and character comedian Boy with Tape on His Face and explores the visual and political art world with masked feminist artists Guerrilla Girls and V for Vendetta co-creator David Lloyd, who recalls how the Guy Fawkes mask has become an internationally understood symbol of protest. Nina also looks at how musicians have used masks, including the metal band Slipknot and the late David Bowie.

Viv Hardwick