TV tonight: our highlights for Wednesday 16th September

TV tonight Ambulance
(Image credit: BBC/Dragonfly/Ryan McNamara)

Ambulance is just one of the gems on today...

Ambulance is back, hit drama Criminal returns to Netflix, and Gordon Ramsay is Uncharted again on National Geographic. Here’s what you shouldn’t miss on TV tonight.

  • Our hand-selected recommendations for what's on TV tonight include three TV shows, a film, live sport and the latest trending need-to-binge-on-now box set 
  • Keep up to date with the latest soap spoiler storylines on TV tonight with our daily soap synopsis 
  • For more information about what’s on TV tonight see our TV Guide 

What's on TV tonight 

Our expert TV journalists have picked the best things on TV tonight... 

Best TV shows on TV tonight

Criminal, Netflix

TV tonight

Lee Ingleby as one of the detectives listening in on interrogations

The tense, claustrophobic crime thriller returns to Netflix with four new interrogations, each one an absolute belter. Guests for series two are Sophie Okonedo as the timid wife of a convicted killer being interviewed about a possible second victim of her husband’s; Game of Thrones star Kit Harington as a smarmy estate agent on a sexual assault charge; Catastrophe’s Sharon Horgan as the leader of an online vigilante group; and a genuinely chilling turn from The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar as a murderer who may have knowledge relating to another investigation – but who insists that the police make it worth his while… 

★★★★★ SP

Ambulance, 9pm, BBC1

Tv tonight Ambulance

Mandy has a painful personal reason for working as a call handler

By 10am on a Saturday the crews of the London Ambulance Service have been called to four separate stabbings. At the end of the weekend, they will have dealt with 18 knife-crime incidents, including an axe attack. For call-handler Mandy, every stabbing brings back terrible memories of her 18-year-old son being knifed in the chest – it was his death that prompted her to join the service. It’s a sobering start to the series, which also sees crews dealing with cardiac arrests, drug overdoses and a rise in young people suffering panic attacks. 

★★★★ HD

Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, 9pm, National Geographic

TV tonight Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted

Gordon Ramsay cooks for a Zulu chief

He’s cooked in some stressful situations in his time, but rustling up a feast for a Zulu chief, by a lake with a huge hippo lurking beneath the waters, has even Gordon Ramsay in a sweat. The adventurous chef is in South Africa, learning about the culture and cuisine  of the Zulu people. For the final feast, the chief and his heavily armed guards are about as scary as the hippo – Gordon hopes his take on Zulu food will impress. 

★★ JL

Best box set to watch

Friday Night Dinner, seasons 1-6, All 4

TV tonight Friday Night Dinner

Meet the Goodmans

This quirky comedy has a great ensemble cast and gets better the more you watch. Tamsin Greig is the wacky mother preparing the traditional Jewish Friday night dinner for her equally idiosyncratic family – her hubby (Paul Ritter) and sons (Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal).

Best film to watch on TV tonight

Kingsman: The Secret Service, 9pm, Film4

TV tonight Kingsman: The Secret Service

This street kid scrubs up pretty well

Imagine James Bond not as some posh bloke in a tuxedo but as a street kid who would rather be ‘doing donuts’ in a nicked motor than spinning a roulette wheel. Taron Egerton plays tearaway Eggsy, taken under the wing of spying talent-spotter Michael Caine and polished till he gleams – the odd rough edge still visible – by the likes of suave Colin Firth and Mark Strong. Larky fun, with Samuel L Jackson a great baddie. 

Live sport

  • ODI Cricket: England v Australia 12.30pm, Sky Sports Cricket

Soaps on TV tonight

If you watch just one thing on TV tonight… 

Don't miss Ambulance on TV tonight – real-life heroes

Not found anything you want to watch on TV tonight? Check out our TV Guide. 

Happy viewing!