Dan Cruickshank’s Written in Stone (BBC4, 8pm)
24 Hours in A&E (C4, 9pm)
NCIS (Channel 5, 9pm)

RESPECTED academic Professor Dan Cruickshank has become a rather unlikely celebrity over the past decade with shows such as One Foot in the Past and Around the World in 80 Treasures.

Now he is back with new series Dan Cruickshank’s Written in Stone, in which he explores some of Ulster’s most remarkable buildings and discovers what they reveal about those who lived there.

The first of a double bill centres on forts and castles.

He examines how invasion and conflict shaped the region’s landscape until the end of the 17th Century.

In the second episode, he explores the rise of the country house in 18th Century Ulster.

He also discovers what the assorted locations reveal about those who lived there in past years.

AS the cameras continue to roll at King’s College Hospital, there is more drama for its doctors and nurses to contend with – and with that comes more quirky characters.

Steve is 69, but has not lost his way with the ladies, and it’s that charming side to him that has landed him in hospital. He was cooking a meal for a female friend, but ended up with a fishbone stuck in his finger. Meanwhile, Gary, 47, is brought in after he and his motorcycle were in a head-on collision with a car. He has been flown by air ambulance to the hospital and is on life support with head, chest and limb injuries.

Gary has been put in a medically induced coma to reduce the risk of brain damage, and A&E consultant Chris’ immediate concern is keeping him alive.

Plus, after being diagnosed with lung cancer, Terry, 58, was given two weeks to live. That was a year ago...

JAMIE LEE CURTIS pops up again as Dr Samantha Ryan (no relation to the namesake Silent Witness character).

She is involved in the fake assassination of Jarvis, the Secretary of the Navy who is being “bumped off” as part of an attempt to smoke out someone trying to blackmail the armed forces into giving a big contract to the Wickes Steel company.

Working alongside Dr Ryan is her assistant Elliot, who is played by Sean Astin, best known for playing Sam in Lord of the Rings.

Ryan and Elliot reveal that someone has hacked into a naval file, and has been releasing sensitive information linked to the contract.

Company chief executive Philip Wickes points the finger at a long-standing employee, who is then found murdered.