Coming to terms with Tourette's; PICK OF THE BOX.

REAL LIFE

The Boy Can't Help It, BBC1, 10.35pm

IN 1989, teenager John Davidson became a household name as millions of viewers watched the youngster battle a severe form of Tourette's syndrome in a BBC documentary.

Known to locals as "F*** off" John, he was just 16 when we first saw him swearing his way around the local shops and cursing wildly at his mother.

Tourette's causes involuntary outbursts and physical tics and sufferers are unable to stop jerking, spitting and swearing, no matter where they are.

Tonight's documentary catches up with John and finds out he is coping with the syndrome.

And we hear of another child who has just been diagnosed with Tourette's.

John, now 30, has come to terms with his condition and, though he still twitches, shouts and swears, he has learned to live with the disorder.

He says: "Before I was on the TV, I felt I had to hide away. A lot of people were quite frightened.

"I think it helped to take away the fear."

Greg is just eight and comes from North Yorkshire. His parents are struggling to cope with the devastating news that their son probably has Tourette's. And the little lad himself is wondering how he will cope with the involuntary tics he calls "big blasters".

SPORT

The Big Match Live, ITV, 7.30pm

THE Champions League action is really hotting up as the teams battle to make the quarter-final stages. Arsenal, denied a precious away win by a last- minute equaliser last week, will be out for revenge against Bayer Leverkusen at Highbury.

The Gunners' appalling disciplinary record this season has provoked more comment than their on-field play, but Arsene Wenger's side are one of the most exciting teams to watch when they're in full flight.

French ace Thierry Henry will lead the line tonight as Arsenal go all out for a win.

The game kicks off at 7.45pm with commentary from Peter Drury and Ron Atkinson.

Highlights of this match and the rest of the action from tonight's games will be shown at 11.15pm.

DRAMA

ER, Channel 4, 9.00pm

LUCKY viewers with satellite and cable are already well into this latest series of the acclaimed medical drama.

For the rest of the population, this is a chance to catch up.

One day in the emergency room is shown from the perspective of four of the doctors - Weaver, Benton, Carter and Greene.

Greene (Anthony Edwards) treats a young woman who has suffered as a result of a melee on a confrontational TV talk show.

And Carter is reunited with his estranged parents when they turn up for a family funeral.

FACTUAL

The Real Tartan Army, BBC2 Scotland, 7.30pm

NO, it's not those Jimmy-wigged nutters who follow the Scottish football team around the world, but the story of the Scottish soldier.

The six-part series tells the 370-year story of Scottish soldiers through the eyes of six different regiments.

Each regiment featured is from a different part of Scotland and has its own character - each has fought on different continents in different centuries, each is fiercely proud of its heritage and now their toughest fight, as defence cuts bite, is for survival.

The first regiment featured is the Black Watch. Raised in 1739 to keep the peace in the Highlands, they are currently keeping the peace in Bosnia.

Originally dressed in locally-woven dark plaid, the Watch gave its name to the famous tartan.

Sheena McDonald narrates this series, which is full of quirky facts about soldiering as well as the history of Scottish soldiers who helped shape world history.

BEST OF SATELLITE TV

COMEDY

TIME GENTLEMEN PLEASE 

Sky One, 11.00pm

WHEN Connie attracts the attention of the huge man in the corner of the Landlord's seedy pub, the tiny lady gets jealous.

When she introduces another huge man to the pub in revenge, the Landlord gets nervous - huge men are very territorial.

Al Murray stars as the Landlord with Emma Pierson and Rebecca Front.

DRAMA

THE WIMBLEDON POISONER

UK Drama, 9.00pm

IN the concluding part of the drama, a trail of dead bodies is leading Detective Inspector Rush, the most ruthless detective of the 20th century, straight to the hapless Henry Parr.

Will he be unmasked as the Wimbledon Poisoner or will justice take its own peculiar course?

With Robert Lindsay as Parr and Alison Steadman.

SCI-FI 

MUTANT X

Sky One, 8.00pm

IN the sci-fi action series about a billionaire who helps mutants, Emma is split in two by a synergetic blast.

The blast has been emitted during a clash between Brennan and Conlan, an old friend who has defected to the GSA.

Unaware that there are now two Emmas, Brennan escapes with Emma A to the sanctuary lab while Conlan and Emma B are captured by GSA agents and taken back to Genomex.

John Shea and Victoria Pratt star.

FACTUAL

ORGANISED CRIME: A WORLD HISTORY

History Channel, 5.00pm

THE money, mobsters and dodgy dealings in the murky criminal underworld of the world's biggest organised crime rackets come under the microscope in this documentary.

We visit Sicily, the home of the Mafia which has become the world's most famous criminal organisation over the last 140 years.

Fierce loyalty and brutality have immortalised the crime "family".