Cable and Satelitte: Pick of the Day

ALAN PARKER once accused Merchant Ivory of producing "Laura Ashley drama", and writer/director Gary Sinyor memorably sent up their work in last year's spoof costume drama, Stiff Upper Lips. While not to everyone's taste, their films are admirable for their meticulous quality, and the team's strong affinity with the work of EM Forster is evident in Howards End (7.30pm Sky Cinema), a tale of two intertwined families. The Wilcoxes are headed by the materialistic Henry (Anthony Hopkins), who is drawn to the independent-minded Margaret Schlegel (Emma Thompson) and her sister (Helena Bonham Carter, right).

What exactly happened when Nazi Rudolf Hess flew to Britain in the Second World War and claimed to be suing for peace? The Riddle of Rudolf Hess (10pm History Channel) investigates.