Nigel Slater's Icing on the Cake (BBC4, 9pm)

COMEDIAN Jenny Eclair (well who else would you ask for an expert opinion on our fascination with cakes?) tells Nigel Slater that cupcakes are like stupid shoes and serve no purpose.

Fortunately, the stand-up with a surname inspired by a chocolate-covered confection is in the minority as The Great British Bake Off has shown. But where did this obsession begin? Slater finds that cake has its origins in the compacted handfuls of grain that Neolithic man used to munch on, but it took the Elizabethans to realise that adding egg white into the mix meant these treats didn't have to be flat. Using a whisk turned what was fruited breads into the cakes which we all enjoy today.

Fortunately, there is always something comical about cake and Slater finds himself asking a cake historian if buns were actually banned during the 17th Century. Yes, it turns out, particularly if they were seen as frivolous or sexy buns.

More kitchen-based technological breakthroughs transformed cake and Slater learns about the science behind a successful bake, while also examining the rise of the cupcake and the future of sponge. Cookery expert Slater’s use of words like “unctuous” and “dollop” may be the ideal accompaniment for a consumable we just can’t do without.

Slater admits: “I absolutely adore Bake Off, but I worry very slightly that it’s making people feel their baking has to be perfect. Not true, I’ve never managed to make a Victoria sponge as good as my stepmother’s, but all cake is good.

“During my late teens I attempted a Battenberg cake. It was probably my first big failure. I couldn’t get the marzipan to go on smoothly and there was so much mess it looked as if a battle had taken place. To this day I don’t make Battenberg cake.”

Life Story (BBC1, 9pm)

BEING a parent is tough – and as the last episode in this fascinating series discovers, it's not really any easier for members of the animal kingdom. In fact, anyone dealing with a rebellious teenager or a tantrum-prone toddler may even find themselves feeling slightly grateful they're not a female turtle, having to find a safe place to lay her eggs.

The reptile featured here picks a spot on the beach above the tide line, but while it may give her offspring the best possible chance, she risks sacrificing herself in the process as she becomes trapped behind a wall of coral. David Attenborough also brings us the plight of a mother zebra trying to pick where to lead her foal across the Mara river, which essentially comes down to a choice of whether to risk encountering a crocodile or take her chances with treacherous rapids.

We also follow a bononbo chimpanzee as she teaches her son to survive in the jungle, and learn more about what potentially bonds a family of elephants - it turns out they may really be able to remember their ancestors.

Britain’s Bloodiest Dynasty (Channel 5, 9pm)

FOR historian Dan Jones, it's no mystery why viewers are suddenly fascinated by the Plantagenets dynasty - for him it's a perfect combination of the era and the characters, who provided enough intrigue to fuel any number of cult US dramas.

The presenter told History Extra: "The Middle Ages are the perfect point between the past being alien and familiar. You're always having to ask yourself: are these people just like us? Or are they operating on some other plane of consciousness?”

He begins with the dynasty's first king, Henry II, who should arguably have gone down in history as a hero - he was a dashing warrior who helped to transform England from a lawless, violent state into a nation but is best-known for ordering the death of his former best friend, Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas a Becket.