Evening Standard (London): PICK OF THE NIGHT

Derren Brown: Trick of the Mind / Have I Got News For You 9.30pm, Channel 4 / 9.30pm, BBC1

THERE is really no need for Derren Brown (right) to stage bonkers stunts involving seances or playing Russian roulette in a barn - he is at his most entertaining when in public-baffling, "Eh? What? How did he do that?"

mode. Unless, of course, he isn't really that much cop, and in fact used advance copies of his new show to transmit subliminal messages in order to make me think he is a great artiste.

Now I'm confused. And you might well be, too, watching the mind- control expert systematically perplexing members of the public with what he describes as a fusion of "magic, suggestion, psychology, misdirection and showmanship".

Brown (right) kicks off the series by visiting Cardiff and guessing how much money members of the public have in their wallets purely by asking them seemingly innocuous questions.

There's Pounds 100 on offer if he is more than 50p away from the actual total; of course, the money stays snugly (smugly?) in his pocket while the punters are bemused. "In my head now is chaos," says one befuddled lad.

Of course, it is easy to say that the success of Brown's tricks could be down to clever editing (a disclaimer at the start of the show says no stooges were involved).

But we are also shown a scene where the guessing-what's-in-the- wallet routine fails, and he has to hand over Pounds 100. Is that Brown admitting an imperfection, or is it a double-bluff in the selective-editing department, making us think that he is honest?

This is making my head hurt.

Brown might have to harness all his publicinfluencing power, though, if he is to attract viewers away from a new series of Have I Got News for You, the long-running satirical quiz show which has defied post-Deayton expectations by remaining consistently funny.

Paul Merton and Ian Hislop return as team captains, and tonight's quizmaster, Jeremy Clarkson, should ensure that plenty of sarcasm enters the proceedings (and possibly a few of his trademark farfetched metaphors). Other guests are Germaine Greer and Danny Baker.

Although, thinking about it, surely it doesn't matter how well HIGNFY performs - Derren Brown will not only have already predicted his own ratings, but will have had one of his special chats with Channel 4's management so they know what to expect.

Around the World in 80 Treasures

9pm, BBC2

Around the World? Around the schedules, more like. This show has been broadcast on Mondays, but the latest episode finds itself in the Timewatch slot on a Friday night.

Anyway, in part nine of his odyssey, Dan Cruickshank (right) visits Turkey, Russia, Poland and Germany.

In Turkey, he meets a bloke who collects women's hair, and keeps thousands of locks of the stuff in a cave. Cruickshank is clearly disturbed. "This is absolutely appalling I mean, absolutely wonderful," he says, hurriedly.

Luckily, he soon arrives in Istanbul where his spirits are lifted by a snack of lamb's brains. He compares them to testicles, which he has previously eaten. The brains are judged best - "though testicles are very good," affirms Cruickshank. Er yes.

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross

10.35pm, BBC1

Back after a golf-induced break, ol' Flashsuits returns with another star-spangled line-up of guests. Hollywood supertalent Nicole Kidman (left) talks about her new movie, The Interpreter. Perhaps, while she's in London, the waif-like actress might like to enjoy a couple of quality British fry-ups as well.

Also on Mr Ross's sofa tonight are former Friend David Schwimmer, who is about to tread the West End boards in Neil LaBute's Some Girls, and "psychic" Shirley Ghostman (or, as we know him, Marc Wootton). Music comes from Doves.

House Doctor: The A-Z of Design / Britain's Worst DIYer 8pm/ 8.30pm, Five

A couple of home-improvement shows in the "you're rubbish, British public; let us laugh at you" mould.

First up, forthright American home stylist Ann Maurice (right) uses clips of her previous makeovers in order to identify common problems in our houses.

(This technique also highlights that she's a much better stylist than she is a presenter ) Later, King Smug, aka Quentin Willson, sets a new challenge for the UK's most inept DIY fans, including a woman who has sawn all her internal doors in half.

SOAP BOX

Emmerdale 7pm, ITV1

Right, that's it - I'm moving to Emmerdale. It's Friday afternoon and practically the entire village is in the pub. How enlightened. Although I am slightly concerned about the effects this community bender might have.

Can the local economy stand to lose an entire afternoon's worth of impulse purchases of antiques and copies of the Hotten Courier?

Coronation Street

7.30pm, ITV1

Tracy (Kate Ford, above) has difficulty putting together her father's self-assembly coffin.

Well, no wonder - she has to stick together panels and dowel.

She would have been much more effective with a spot of carving, sculpture or even marquetry; after all, she's fabulous at sticking the knife in.

EastEnders 8pm, BBC1

When 'Stenders was non-stop gangsters and dead publicans, we all thought it was a bit farfetched. But did they really need to go to the other extreme? A row between the Fowlers and the Truemans about who sells fruit? Yawn.