TV highlights 25/10/2011

Death In Paradise 9pm, BBC1 With Alexander Armstrong ubiquitous to the point of vexation on our screens, it's nice to see his comedy partner Ben Miller get an airing. He stars as the black-suited DCI Richard Poole, reluctantly arrived from Croydon to the Caribbean island of Sainte Marie, to investigate the murder of the affable British police chief. It's no dream assignment for Poole – he hates the sea, the sand and especially the heat – and he dreams of Heathrow and British drizzle. An eight-parter, which seems a long way to stretch the premise. David Stubbs Jamie's Great Britain 9pm, Channel 4 Jamie Oliver "scours this gorgeous, crazy old island" for inspiration in this new six-parter, imparting his knowledge of British food history – or perhaps that of the programme's credited food historian, Kate Colquhoun. First stops: Essex and the East End. It's reasonably edible, but less palatable is the charmless, mechanical innuendo. "This is a horseradish," he leers, brandishing a whole one, "named for obvious reasons." Whatever can he mean? At any rate, it'll keep booksellers happy: the accompanying tie-in should keep the publishing industry afloat until 24 December. Ali Catterall The Vampire Diaries 9pm, ITV2 This flashback-riddled episode of the moody vampire tale uncovers Stefan's wild past with a trip to the 1920s. There he is, hanging around a speakeasy, flirting with the ladies and sipping on blood like it's gin. But the plot soon thickens, as it always does in this twisty teen drama. His evil brother Damon goes to track him down and finds something of a blood minibar in his house. While that lot are bringing back memories of "the good old ripper days", there's more action afoot in Mystic Falls as Tyler is worried about Caroline. Keep up, will you? Hannah Verdier Romanzo Criminale 9pm, Sky Arts 1 Lebano and the gang are doing well and even allow themselves some recreation time with a vanload of prostitutes. But there is still business to be done — a dealer is sent into Terrible's territory to try to grab part of the drug business. He barely makes it out alive, and we learn something about Lebano's past and his relationship with Terrible. Meanwhile, Freddo is mucking around with his brother's girlfriend, and Dandy attempts to win Patrizia over with his big spending. Commissioner Scialoja reckons he knows what is going on — but is anyone going to listen, with all the violent political turmoil in Rome? Martin Skegg True Stories: Crack House 10pm, More4 Originally shown in May, but well worth a repeat, this striking documentary eavesdrops on the lives of a south Chicago drugs cartel. In 2005 the Rockford Police Department in Illinois, responding to an upsurge in gang-related violence, elected to wire up a crack house and spy on its occupants. The resulting 1,000 hours or so of surveillance footage from that operation has been condensed here into a coherent narrative, augmented by interviews with some of the key players. Gwilym Mumford Young Nuns 10.35pm, BBC1 Two women in their early 20s, Clara and Catherine, prepare to devote their lives to the Lord. Clara has just graduated and Catherine used to model, but both believe they'd be happier taking vows of austerity, chastity and obedience. A glance round at the modern world and you can hardly blame them. This year's X Factor alone is enough to send youngsters fleeing to a life away from wider society. This is a fascinating tale of two women taking their own courses in life. Julia Raeside