Banished (BBC2, 9pm)

LET'S not focus on what rhymes with grit, but hope that writer Jimmy McGovern, who gave us Cracker and The Street, made a good fist of creating this seven-part series, set in 1788, when the first British convicts transported to Australia arrive and we see historical events linked to fictional stories of prisoners and guards.

An early theme is "scum must not breed" with female prisoners becoming the property of the guards and thus setting a plot alight for Russell Rovey's pickpocket James Freeman and Julian Rhind-Tutt's down-to-earth Tommy Barrett to both be in love with fellow convict Elizabeth Quinn (MyAnna Buring). Escape looks pretty hopeless, with the newly-built camp being on the edge of The Bush, but the sweltering heat soon has the camp dwellers at odds with each other.

"The scripts were wonderful; it's just such a beautiful, unique piece and for Jimmy McGovern to do a period costume drama feels new and fresh. It's a period piece about a specific moment in history," says Tovey.

The actor feels it's a period that's been surprisingly neglected by TV. "Brits love the fact that everybody in Australia is related to a criminal of some sort. Yet over in Australia it seems like it's only recently that they're really proud of their historical, European convict roots. Just the fact that people were transported from London for more than six months on a horrible boat and exiled to completely the other side of the world, with creatures like deadly snakes and spiders to contend with, and a climate that is the antithesis to British weather... is fascinating history," he says.

Filming, part in Australia and with interiors shot in Manchester, taught Tovey survival skills.

"I've wielded an axe, and hacked a log in half. One of the crew was bitten by a mouse spider, and we thought it was a funnel web, which is one of the deadliest spiders. I actually saw a dead funnel web. So my nature skills, particularly in relation to avoiding certain death, have improved a lot," he says.

In the first episode, Elizabeth is in trouble for being caught out of her dormitory and Freeman discovers his already meagre food ration has been stolen, but given that the thief is the camp's indispensable blacksmith there is a problem with the prisoner getting any justice.

Crufts 2015 (More4, 6.30pm)

TIME for dog days again at the NEC in Birmingham, as Clare Balding and her team, which includes newbie Iwan Thomas and veteran Peter Purves, bring us the latest results from the world's best-known dog show.

Today's highlights include Agility and Flyball competitions, and judging of the Gun Dog Group. Plus there are some heart-warming stories exploring the bonds between dogs and their owners. Vet Nick Blayney and veterinary nurse Kate Beavan will be offering their views and tips on canine health, and there's also a guide to the judging process, showing what the experts are looking for in the different breeds on show.

The Nation's Favourite 70s Number One (ITV, 8.30pm)

ERNIE (The Fastest Milkman in the West) by Benny Hill, Mouldy Old Dough by Lieutenant Pigeon and Amazing Grace by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards are some of the chart-topping singles of the 1970s which come in the nostalgia-only category.

While those tracks won't appear in any youngster's Cloud selection, the era also gave us some number ones which remain just as popular four decades later - and here, Zoe Ball counts down 20 of the very best. It's a list that includes glam stompers, heartfelt ballads, and disco classics (although it's probably light on novelty hits), and the programme also gives us the stories behind hits ranging from Blockbuster to I Will Survive, via Bridge Over Troubled Water and Bohemian Rhapsody. Art Garfunkel, Blondie, Abba, Freda Payne, George McCrae, Kiki Dee, The Four Seasons and Gloria Gaynor are among the acts sharing their memories when being top of the pops was a national talking point.