Strictly Come Dancing is just one of the gems on today...
Who will make it to next week's quarter-final in Strictly, give Michael McIntyre's The Wheel a spin, and Plymouth is one of Britain's Most Historic Towns. 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
- 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
Michael McIntyre's The Wheel, 8.30pm, BBC1
There comes a time in every major comedian’s career where the lure of a game show becomes too strong to resist, and this time it’s Michael McIntyre’s turn. Here, the titular wheel is loaded with celebs who are experts in their respective subjects (think Carol Vorderman on maths or Phil Tufnell on cricket), and the contestants spin the wheel hoping to land on the perfect celebrity to assist them with the answer. Michael came up with the idea for the show himself (in the bath, no less!) and it’s sure to be the perfect antidote to the winter-weekend lockdown blues.
★★★★ SP
Strictly Come Dancing, 7.15pm, BBC1
We’re past the half-way point now, and this is where things get interesting – with a quarter of this year’s couples eliminated, there’s nowhere to hide on the leaderboard and this is where we tend to see who has support from the public vote and who doesn’t. So it’s more important than ever that they wow the judges and the viewers with tonight’s dance routines if they want to avoid being under that dreaded red light when Tess announces the results tomorrow night. Who’s got your vote?
★★★★ SP
Britain's Most Historic Towns, 8.30pm, C4
With some tales of swashbuckling adventures on the high seas, Professor Alice Roberts is in Plymouth to reveal the crucial role it played in the Elizabethan period. In the 1560s, the town was booming, thanks mainly to the roaring trade in state-sponsored piracy. Queen Elizabeth I gave her blessing to audacious seamen like Sir Francis Drake to attack Spanish ships and steal their treasure, which sadly included slaves as well as gold. After a visit to Buckland Abbey, the grand house Drake bought with the profits of his ill-gotten gains, Alice reveals what life was like for the poor and how ships launched from Plymouth defeated the Spanish Armada.
★★★★ JL
Best box set to watch on TV tonight
The West Wing, seasons one to seven, All 4
Martin Sheen has recently been heard narrating More4’s documentary series about the Kennedys and played JFK in a 1983 mini-series, but of course the actor famously inhabited the Oval Office himself as fictional President Josiah Bartlet in Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing. The show, which ran from 1999 to 2006, won a clutch of awards, including the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series each year from 2000 to 2003, and also starred Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford and Rob Lowe.
Best film to watch on TV tonight
The Rhythm Section, 9.45pm, Sky Cinema Premiere/NOW TV
Blake Lively gets tough in this globetrotting action thriller as a woman seeking payback for the deaths of her family in a terrorist bombing. She crawls out of junkie depression and gets on the path of vengeance with help from Jude Law’s rogue ex-MI6 agent. The plot doesn’t stack up, but Lively is superb as the tenacious but vulnerable heroine.
Live sport
- Autumn Nations Cup Rugby Union: Wales v England 3.30pm (k-o 4pm), S4C/Amazon Prime Video
- Snooker: UK Championship from 1.15pm, BBC1 & BBC2
- Boxing: Mike Tyson v Roy Jones Jr 1am, BT Sport 1
If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…
Don't miss Strictly on TV tonight – will there be more shock dance-offs to come?
Not found anything you want to watch on TV tonight? Check out our TV Guide.
Happy viewing!
