Have I Got News For You (BBC1, 9PM)

SO OFTEN you find yourself saying "Did he (and it's usually he) really say that?" during this show. Last week was a typical example when the panel's chairman Robert Peston – the BBC Economics editor who needs to fork out on a decent haircut – poked fun at Middlesbrough-born Greg Clark, the Government's new minister for Communities and Local Government.

One newspaper identified Mr Clark as the son of a milkman.

"Aren't all the children in Middlesbrough?" said Peston to a stunned silence from his panellists.

When the chairman went on to make cracks about Chuka Umunna – which were no longer relevant as he'd withdrawn from the Labour Party leadership race – and then declared "I'm looking for a new career", he was quickly assured by team captain Paul Merton: "Well, you haven't found it yet."

The put-downs by Merton, who visits Durham's Gala Theatre on June 17 with his Improv show, and laconic Ian Hislop are probably the main reason this is the 49th series of HIGNFU. This week Andy Hamilton and Sarah Pascoe are the guests with Gary Lineker hoping not to draw too much fire as he attempts to include the show as part of the run-up to tomorrow's FA Cup Final.

Although each edition has followed the same format over the years, it did lose its original presenter, Angus Deayton, in 2002, for reasons that would have been impossible to continue under the withering gaze of Messrs M & H. A revolving door of guest hosts has been introduced, with the likes of Alexander Armstrong and Jo Brand proving popular with viewers, and Brian Blessed's fog-horned tones being the most memorable.

It turns out that Hislop is the only person to have appeared in every episode – and there have been more than 400 of them so far. Even while suffering from appendicitis in 1994, he still showed up for filming, although he had to be taken to hospital for treatment afterwards.

Merton took a break for a season in 1996, but found the lure of making surreal comments on the week's headlines to millions of viewers too irresistible to ignore.

The comic who started out as an admin clerk at Tooting Employment Office says: "It got to a point when I knew I had to give it a real shot. I gave myself five years to succeed. I didn't want to be one of these people who at the age of 60 says, 'I could have done it once, but I never really tried'. I thought, 'I don't really know if I'm going to be any good at it or not, but at least I'll spend a few years having a go. And if I don't get anywhere, then I'll just stop'." That was in 1982.

"I realised that people thought I was a lot more funny when I seemed to be as miserable as sin," he says.

Nina Simone & Me with Laura Mvula (BBC4, 7.30pm)

NINA Simone brought a unique feeling to an extraordinary array of songs, which continue to speak to audiences today, from the sophisticated Feeling Good to the angry Mississippi Goddam. Now, British soul singer Laura Mvula is on a mission to trace Simone's musical roots, travelling to New York to speak to some of the musicians who knew and worked with her, and to understand how her recordings have retained their power.

Mary Berry's Absolute Favourites (BBC2, 8pm)

THE veteran cook takes inspiration from the herb garden, demonstrating her favourite summer salad – watermelon, feta and fresh mint, and her grandchildren's favourite comfort dish of tomato and herb meatballs. Her pesto lemon chicken is simple to assemble and perfect for a summer lunch, as is salmon potato and prawn salad platter. Mary visits The Dairy in south London where chef Robin Gill reveals new ways of using fresh herbs, and finishes by preparing a lemon drizzle cake, flavoured with fresh lemon verbena.