What’s on telly tonight? Our pick of the best shows on Wednesday 31st October

Dark Heart - What’s on telly tonight? Our pick of the best shows on Wednesday 31st October

TV Times top picks for tonight

What’s on telly tonight? Here the TV Times team of expert reviewers highlight the best shows on Wednesday 31st October

Dark Heart, 9pm, ITV

It’s two years since this crime thriller debuted on ITV Encore but now it’s making a welcome return with a six-part series. Tom Riley is impressive as haunted cop DI Will ‘Staffe’ Wagstaffe who is finding it hard to move on from the murder of his parents when he was a teenager. His work doesn’t exactly provide him with any light relief, either, and this two-part opener finds him investigating the death of a suspected paedophile. When a shady QC is targeted, Staffe looks into whether there could be a connection to an earlier case. But the troubled detective is also distracted by his hatred for the boyfriend of his sister Juliette (Charlotte Riley). Continues tomorrow. Rating: ****

Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs, 8pm, ITV

We’re in seventh heaven as Paul O’Grady returns for a magnificent seventh series of his BAFTA-winning, Battersea-based dog rescue show. Tonight, pooches in need of puppy love include dachshund Birdie, an anxious new mum discovered on a golf course with five puppies (birdie/golf course/get it?); Sophie, a four-year-old Cane Corso (also known as an Italian mastiff) cruelly mistreated and found tied up on a dual carriageway; and Yorkshire terrier Felicity, who is 14 (that’s 98 in human years) and wants nothing more than to snuggle up on the sofa and watch Judge Rinder. As ever, a mix of the heart-wrenching and heart-warming in equal measure. Rating: *****

Apprentice, 9pm, BBC1

The candidates dip their toes into the footwear market as they design a new shoe for women. While one team creates an urban heel and comes up with a name that Karren thinks sounds like a cat food, the other team produces carnival-themed trainers but clash over colour. If that wasn’t enough to keep the teams busy (and bickering!), they must also host a launch! Who’ll end up getting the boot? Rating: ****

More previews tomorrow.

David Hollingsworth
Editor

David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest television and film news for What To Watch.


Before working for What To Watch, David spent many years working for TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough. 


David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards. David is a huge Death in Paradise fan, although he's still failed to solve a case before the show's detective! He also loves James Bond and controversially thinks that Timothy Dalton was an excellent 007.


Other than watching and writing about telly, David loves playing cricket, going to the cinema, trying to improve his tennis and chasing about after his kids!