TV Tonight: Julia Roberts tells a beautiful story about eccentric friends | television

Leonard and hungry Paul

10pm on BBC Two
Julia Roberts narrates an endearing comedy-drama based on Ronan Hession’s novel. Leonard (Alex Luther) is an eccentric thirty-something who lives with his doting mother. But when she suddenly dies, Leonard finds himself searching for more from his quiet life. He is joined by his best friend, Hungry Paul (Laurie Kynaston). Could the new outgoing colleague, played by Jamie Lee O’Donnell, be the key to unlocking Leonard’s world? Holly Richardson

The race to build 1.5 million homes

Eight o’clock in the evening, on BBCe
Although the more important questions are what kind of homes they will be and who will own them, the government’s pledge to build 1.5 million new homes in England by 2029 presents a major logistical challenge in itself. Anita Rani and Justin Rowlatt travel the country to investigate everything from the planning system to brick manufacturing. Jack Seale

Joe Swash: Forgotten Young Fathers

8pm, BBC Three
Joe Swash was 25 when he became a father for the first time: “I was scared, young, vulnerable… and I don’t remember any baby parent groups.” In this candid and fascinating documentary, he talks with parents in their teens and 20s — a group he says is misunderstood and under-researched — who want to break stereotypes and be good parents. Human resources

Blue lights

9pm, BBC One

A less funny Belfast cop show this week, as the Huskers face some of their toughest personal moments. Annie buries her mother, Grace remembers her childhood, and Tommy is forced to take action on a traumatized Aisling. All the while, plans are being made in the city’s drug underworld. Human resources

Secret Messages of Mary, Queen of Scots

9pm on BBC Two
This documentary tells the story of three amateur codebreakers, who collaborated across continents to decipher a mysterious cache of cipher letters from the 1670s and 1680s, along with the story of the person they discovered was their author. We are given an insight into Mary’s troubled life, as well as the ingenuity needed to conceal the contents of her letters. Alexey Duggins

Foresight

9pm on Channel 5
This new adaptation of John Galsworthy’s novels spanning generations finds the late Victorian family once again torn between duty and the pursuit of personal happiness. Jolyon’s stable marriage is threatened by the reappearance of an old flame, while his cousin Soames falls in love with the beautiful and woefully unsuitable Irene. Ellen E. Jones

Live sports

Premier League Football: West Ham United vs. Brentford, 6.30pm, Sky Sports main event Leeds vs West Ham on Friday at 7:30pm.