Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (BBC1, 9pm)

WHEN this new series launched last week, some viewers may have been wondering what Lucy Worsley could tell us that we didn't already know. Luckily, it seems the historian is well aware that many of us think we are already very familiar with the monarch's matrimonial track record.

Writing about his six wives in The Telegraph in 2012, she says: "Whether your knowledge of Henry VIII's wives comes from years in the National Archives, or from watching The Tudors, it is almost impossible to avoid holding some kind of stereotyped view of each one."

But she's attempting to go beyond the cliches in a series that has found an intriguing way to mix documentary with drama. It combines scenes written by Chloe Moss, many of which feature Lucy as a silent observer, with the presenter's own contemporary historical comment.

In this second episode, Lucy concentrates on the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn. As the edition opens, Henry is still desperate to marry Anne, but the Pope is refusing to annul his marriage to Queen Katherine. However, the emergence of what would become Protestantism in Europe helps Henry to see how he could get round this by becoming the head of his own Church.

Lucy is a witness at the wedding, where the bride is already pregnant. But no sooner has Anne been crowned Queen at Westminster Abbey, then she discovers what being married to Henry VIII is really like – and to add to the pressure, her baby is a girl, Elizabeth, rather than the longed-for male heir.

Being divorced from him clearly isn't much better, as the King bans friends and servants of his former Queen Katherine from visiting her deathbed. Despite this, she dictates a letter, declaring her forgiveness and undying love for him. As Lucy discovers, the King never replies and does not attend her funeral.

Meanwhile, Lucy attends a masked ball, where she eavesdrops on an incriminating conversation between Anne and Henry Norris, suggesting she is lining him up as her next husband. Before long, the whole court knows about the conversation and rumours start to circulate than Anne has been having affairs with several men – including her own brother.

So after being on hand to see her walk down the aisle, Lucy is also there to listen to Anne's final declaration before her execution and sees Henry marrying Jane Seymour, who provides the male heir that all this monarch menace set out to achieve.

The Trafford Centre: Countdown to Christmas (C5, 9pm)

IT'S a common complaint that Christmas seems to start earlier each year, but at the Manchester's Trafford Centre, there's a good reason why the plans for the festive season begin in the spring. With six million Christmas shoppers expected to visit the retail complex, the staff really can't afford to put off the preparations until after Bonfire Night. This two-part documentary follows events manager Nikki Tansey as she spearheads the centre's Christmas operations for the first time, a job that involves heading to Huddersfield to pick up 50 miles of fairy lights and enough baubles to fill a swimming pool. But can she also find a star to switch all those lights on? Meanwhile, Nikki's bosses hope a new TV advertising campaign will ensure shoppers don't abandon the centre in favour of online retailers.

In Plain Sight (ITV, 9pm)

MUNCIE is convinced Manuel has now committed four murders, but William Watt is arrested on suspicion of killing his wife, daughter and sister-in-law, despite having been on a fishing trip at the time. With no arrest made following Anne Kneiland's murder, Muncie is determined to get the truth and visits Manuel's father, who has given his son the alibi he needed to be free of police suspicion. While Muncie finally casts enough suspicion on Watt's arrest to have him released, it is not long before another young girl goes missing.

Viv Hardwick