The most improbable story to have ever happened in the art market. So says one contributor of the true tale told in The Lost Leonardo (Sky Arts, free to view, Tuesday, 9pm). Who could resist the offer to learn more?

Hopefully few, as Andreas Koeford’s enthralling, handsomely rendered documentary is one of the viewing highlights of Easter week.

The story begins with a vocabulary lesson when we are introduced to the term “sleeper”. A sleeper is a painting that is by a far greater artist than the one whose name is on the canvas. It’s the dream of every art dealer and car boot sale shopper alike to find a sleeper.

Next we are introduced to a “sleeper hunter”, in this case Alexander Parish. He hears of a painting up for auction in New Orleans. It is described in the catalogue as “after Leonardo” and is said to be a copy of Salvator Mundi, one of the lost Leonardos. Parish and a colleague buy the painting for $1175 and have it sent to New York. It is 2005.

Some 12 years later, the same work has been sold for a record $450 million. How did that happen? Therein lies a story that will cross continents, involve a host of fascinating characters and a ridiculous amount of money. Make that an obscene amount of money.

One such character, and my favourite, is Dianne Modestini, a restorer. It was Modestini, a New Yorker from the top of her head to the tip of her little dog’s nose, who first looked in detail at the painting and was convinced it was the real deal.

The news shocked the art world, and no wonder. It is generally accepted that there are only 15 known, thoroughly authenticated Leonardos in the world. To say that you have found another, says one contributor, is like telling people a space ship has landed on your lawn.

Sure enough, no sooner was the story out than experts rushed to pick fault with the find. Among the funniest of these is art critic Jerry Saltz. There is not a dull talking head in the film, but Saltz, like Modestini, is a standout.

Still the merry-go-round kept turning, even when the provenance of the piece was proving hard to pin down. Eventually the painting is sold, to a Russian oligarch (natch), and the story takes another turn.

The Lost Leonardo is an education in how the worlds of art, finance and power combine in ways outsiders could hardly begin to imagine. One contributor likens the market to the wild west, only now it is more likely to be the wild east, since the Middle East and China are where the big money is to be found.

The two-hour film (don’t worry, it rattles along) is also a tutorial on belief and the strange things it does to people. As one expert says, “Everyone wanted it to be a Leonardo”.

As to where the Leonardo is now, that is a plot twist as shocking as anything else in this fine film.

Might be a tad late for some of us to be thinking about a career change, but it’s tempting after watching Brickies (BBC3, Thursday, 9pm). These six, half-hour shows follow teams, or “gangs” of young bricklayers at sites in Stoke-on-Trent, Northampton, and Derbyshire. Quite the craic they have. It’s a trade in demand, it’s well paid (£650 for laying 1000 bricks), there’s a sense of camaraderie amid much teasing of each other, and in the first two episodes at least, the sun is always shining. Oh, and it is as much for women as lads.

Think Auf Wiedersehen, Pet without the gloomy background of Thatcherism. The philosophy of this lot, one quips, is “Get rich or die trowelling”.

We see the brickies off site as well, whether it’s in the pub or out with the family, and hear all about the car they want to buy, or in one case their mum kicking them out. All young working life is here, presented in a bright and breezy BBC Three fashion, complete with slo-mo walking and fast-pumping music.

A couple of characters stand out, including Tom the labourer, the one who has unwisely ticked off mum, and Jeorgia, proud owner of a shiny new motor.

Into every working life a little rain must fall at times, and the brickies are hit by the nationwide shortage of mortar. No mortar, no bricks, no money.

You can see the concern on their faces as they worry about paying the mortgage. As in other industries of late there’s a concern for the employees’ mental health, with the foreman here a kind of big brother, checking in on the brickies if it has been a bad day at the office.

I can see applications to college surging on the back of this cheery show, which is no bad thing in an age where getting a degree can cost a fortune and there is no guarantee of work at the end of it.