TV tonight: our highlights for Friday 17th April

(Image credit: BBC/Shine TV Ltd)

The MasterChef final is just one of the gems on today...

It's the MasterChef final on BBC1, award-winning crime drama Bosch is back, and we meet The World's Most Wanted Animal. Here’s what you shouldn’t miss on TV tonight.

Our hand-selected recommendations for what's on TV tonight include five TV shows, a film 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

Bosch, Amazon Prime Video

It’s the sixth series of the Emmy-nominated crime drama based on Michael Connelly’s best-selling novels, and there’s no let-up in pressure for LA homicide detective Hieronymus ‘Harry’ Bosch (Titus Welliver). As the series opens, he’s facing the biggest case he’s ever had to tackle when terrorists murder a medical physicist and steal deadly radioactive material that could be used to make a dirty bomb to blow up Los Angeles. Bosch is in a race against time…

Rating: ★★★★ RMC

MasterChef, 7.30pm, BBC1

After a tense, nail-biting eight weeks (it’s probably been quite stressful for the competitors, too), we’re finally within touching distance of finding a winner for this year’s amateur MasterChef. They’ve already been put through their paces this week, with a trip to Mauritius to learn about the island’s cuisine and to cook for local chefs and foodies, plus a spell at pastry chef Albert Adriá’s Cakes & Bubbles in London. But tonight it’s just the final three and their culinary imaginations, as they’re tasked with each cooking three courses for John Torode and Gregg Wallace. By this stage the standard is always exceptional – but who will have that extra magic ingredient to take the trophy?

Rating: ★★★★★ JP

Pangolins: The World's Most Wanted Animal, 9pm, BBC2

This extraordinary film highlights the plight of the shy and secretive pangolin. It was first shown in 2018 but is topical because there have been suggestions that smuggled pangolins are linked with Covid-19. Whether there is any truth in this remains to be seen, but what is undeniable is that this is the most trafficked animal in the world. Its scales are used in traditional Asian medicine and its meat is eaten. The film follows Maria Diekmann, a conservationist trying to save the pangolin from extinction, who travels to Vietnam, Thailand and China to meet others passionate about saving this amazing creature.

Rating: ★★★★★ JL

Goodness Gracious Me: 20 Years Innit!, from 10.45pm (not Wales), BBC1

British comedy was on a high in the 1990s, with series such as The Fast Show setting the bar for sketches. Then, in 1998, Goodness Gracious Me moved from Radio 4 to TV, making stars of Sanjeev Bhaskar, Meera Syal, Nina Wadia and Kulvinder Ghir. This programme looks back at highlights of the award-winning series.

Rating: ★★★★ JP

Peter Kay's Comedy Shuffle, 9.30pm, BBC1

While tonight’s episode reminds you what an incredible career Peter Kay has had so far, you do feel some clips could have been cut down. So while it’s good to see some stand-up, we could do with fewer Max and Paddy outtakes. The main reason for watching tonight is a clip of Peter, Michael Parkinson and Ronnie Corbett during the video for Is This the Way to Amarillo?, which Peter says is ‘the funniest thing that ever happened to me’.

Rating: ★★★ JP

Best box set to watch

Mafia Only Kills in Summer, two series, All4

Anna Foglietta and Nino Frassica — Will Pia get any solace from a man of the cloth?

Two seasons (the second lands on Friday) of the darkly comic Italian crime drama about a family living in Palermo, Sicily, during the 1970s, and trying to steer clear of any involvement with the Mafia.

Best film to watch on TV tonight

Horrible Histories: The Movie, Amazon Prime Video

Horrible Histories TV series has been bringing history to life on CBBC for over a decade. The movie version, about Rotten Romans, combines a great Romeo and Juliet-style story with the usual mix of brilliant songs, goofy humour and a fab cast. The stars are young Celt Orla (Emilia Jones), who desperately wants to be a warrior, and Roman soldier Atti (Sebastian Croft), who would rather use his brains than brawn. Look out for Kim Cattrall as Emperor Nero’s mum, Lee Mack as a reluctant Roman leader and Nick Frost as Orla’s dad. Singer Kate Nash is a fierce Boudicca, belting out some very catchy tunes. Episodes of Horrible Histories, plus Ghosts, the sitcom which features HH stars, can be found on BBC iPlayer.