Nature Shock: Alien Ice Bear

Five, 8pm

Despite the preposterous title, this is an entirely sane and intriguing programme. In April 2006, an American hunter with a permit shot what he thought was a polar bear on the frozen wastes of Banks Island, Canada. Unusually, the bear had dark rings around its eyes and an abnormal hump. The Canadian authorities decided that it wasn't a polar bear and that the hunter had violated his permit, so he was charged with illegal possession of wildlife. There are three species of bear native to North America - polar, grizzly and black. It clearly wasn't a black bear, and the Canadian Wildlife Genetics Laboratory found its DNA didn't match either a polar or a grizzly. So what on earth was it?

Sunshine

BBC One, 9pm

Usually dramas about addiction are a misery to watch, but this one manages to remain upbeat in spite of its subject matter. Having already been thrown out of the house by his long-suffering wife, Steve Coogan's inveterate gambler still can't kick the habit. Yet he remains as funny and engaging as ever, refusing to face up to his problem and believing, like all gamblers, that he can win his way out of trouble with a streak of good fortune. “My wife thinks I can't turn over a new leaf, and I'm going to show her that I can. Do you want me to put a couple of quid on it for you?” Sunshine doesn't avoid the nasty stuff, but it is balanced by an abundance of warmth, good humour and humanity.

British Style Genius

BBC Two, 9pm

Tonight's shameless promotion of British fashion focuses on Savile Row tailoring and all the variations thereof. “A man should dress in a way that you don't notice,” says Michael Caine. “He looks good and you don't know why - and it's the tailoring and material.” But it isn't enough to draw on years of tradition using fine fabric and stylish cuts; fashion is obsessed with now and tomorrow. Paul Smith exemplifies a new breed of tailoring. His combination of old-fashioned values with a dash of Monty Python has made him a household name in Japan, and now many British tailors, like so many British chefs, are turning out classics with a modern twist.

Imagine

BBC One, 10.35pm

Over seven months, Alan Yentob watched the British Bangladeshi dancer and choreographer Akram Khan rehearse the dance drama in-i with the Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche before it opened at the National Theatre. It gives a privileged insight into the pain and sweat that went into this collaboration, not least because Binoche makes no claim to being a trained dancer and struggles to translate emotion into movement, activate a “dance memory system” and overcome injuries. It's like watching a thrilling version of Faking It - the difference here being that the performers are determined to eliminate every hint of fakery. With two such huge talents from different disciplines, there was bound to be conflict, but that's what the piece was all about. “It's when you have crisis conflicts,” says Binoche, “that you suddenly realise what is love.”

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