The Gift (BBC1, 9pm)

YOU might have thought that Durham’s Matt Baker might have enough to do presenting The One show and charging around the UK with Countryfile. Not a bit of it.

For the past two years the friendly face of the North-East has joined comedian and barmy Bake-Off presenter Mel Giedroyc in creating a four-part series to reunite people with those they want to thank or – it’s hanky time – say sorry to.

While it looks like a mash-up between Who do You Think You Are? and Long Lost Family, the viewing audience seems to enjoy hearing all about incredible acts of bravery, some dating back decades, as well as regretful acts that have left people with an overwhelming need to seek forgiveness.

Some of those featured in this series have had a lifetime filled with sorrow about words left unspoken, and this means Mel and Matt journeying from the most remote parts of Africa to the Hollywood Hills.

Tonight’s episode features soldier Patrick Provis who, in 1987, was left fighting for his life after being hit by an IRA mortar. It was only thanks to an army helicopter that flew into rescue him that he's alive to tell the tale now. The trauma has haunted him ever since, but he's desperate to draw a line under it, and to get closure, Patrick needs to thank the person who took the decision to save him. He has searched for 20 years, but drawn blank after blank in finding that person.

"I don't know who made that decision to land but I am here because of that act but it's time to say thank you. You cannot say thank you enough in this world," he says

The main problem is that military records from the Troubles are shrouded in secrecy, but hopefully Matt can succeed where Patrick has so far failed.

Meanwhile, an emotional Grace Bates discusses her 60-year desire to apologise to first love Hermann. They met as teenagers in the 1950s, but it was Grace's terrible mistake that left Hermann heartbroken and he emigrated to the US. The 74-year-old is more determined than ever to find Hermann.

"If he was to walk down here now, I'd just jump up and run to him and say, 'Forgive me, please forgive me'," she explains. "I can't go into my grave thinking I never said sorry to him."

After such a long time, it’s not surprising that things don’t turn out as Grace hopes.

The Secret Life of Four-Year-Olds (V4, 8pm)

CAMERAS film ten four-year-olds as they meet in a nursery, and all the raw emotion is captured as they encounter a world without their parents - although they will be watching the kids' every move, whisper and tantrum.

The children meet in October, and again in May, and while there might be arguments and tears shed, friendships are also formed. As this pivotal stage of childhood is observed, educational neuroscientist Dr Paul Howard-Jones and developmental psychologist Dr Sam Wass will also offer their thoughts on a nursery setting that mirrors the way that scientists work. Drawing on this model, they suggest some interventions to explore the children's various stages of development.

Young War Widows (ITV, 9pm)

PLENTY more tissues will be required as ITV features three young women whose soldier husbands were killed fighting for their country in Afghanistan. The programme follows the timeline of their lives with their men, from the first dates to weddings and babies, and the life they knew as a military wife. They also consider the goodbyes for the fateful tour, and the homecoming every wife dreads via Wootton Bassett.

These loves were cut short in the most devastating way, but the women tell of how they managed to find the strength to look forward and live a new life.