TV tonight: our highlights for Friday 3rd April

(Image credit: BBC/CTVC/Oliver Rose)

Pilgrimage: The Road to Istanbul is just one of the gems on today...

The seven celebs continue on their Pilgrimage to Istanbul, Gregg Wallace has a Fun Weekend on Channel 5 and Jonathan Pryce stars in Tales from the Loop on Amazon Prime Video. 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

Gregg Wallace's Fun Weekend, 9pm, Channel 5

Seasoned traveller Gregg Wallace is on his holibobs in this four-part series, which sees the MasterChef judge spending long weekends in Barcelona, Berlin and Amsterdam. Tonight Gregg is in Rome sweet Rome, where he gets special access inside (seriously!) the Trevi Fountain and samples Roman Jewish artichoke dish carciofi alla giudìa.

Rating: ★★★★ ER

Pilgrimage: The Road to Istanbul, 9pm, BBC2

As the seven celebrities continue their spiritual journey to Istanbul tonight, Adrian Chiles struggles with the purpose of the pilgrimage, while the rest of the group struggle with his snoring! Meanwhile, Father Ted star Pauline McLynn continues to fulfil housekeeper Mrs Doyle’s destiny and serves tea to Sister Simeona in Serbia. Later, during a difficult mountain hike in Bulgaria, tensions start to surface within the group, but can they manage to resolve them with good humour and restore harmony? Of course they can! And there are touching scenes when Mim Shaikh climbs his first mountain. Who knew that watching people walk and have conversations about religion would make such lovely viewing?

Rating: ★★★★ ER

Tales from the Loop, Amazon Prime Video

Not everything in life makes sense and that’s certainly true of this brilliantly baffling Stranger Things-style sci-fi series. It follows the intriguing tales surrounding ‘The Loop’, a curious underground facility in the small US town of Mercer that tests the boundaries of science. The stunning eight-parter examines the intertwined lives of several of Mercer’s residents and the mind-bending effect that The Loop has on them. The starry cast sees Jonathan Pryce on impressive form as The Loop’s founder Russ Willard, while Rebecca Hall is equally compelling as physicist Loretta and Paul Schneider (Parks and Recreation) as his son George. All episodes are available now.

Rating: ★★★★ NC

Friday Night Dinner, 10pm, C4

TV’s finest teller of the Dad Joke, Martin (the brilliantly funny Paul Ritter) gets himself into a right old lather this week. The cause? A plastic bag stuck in a tree. The wind will probably free it eventually. But no, Martin wants something done sooner. Does Jonny’s new coat mean he won’t have to help? It’s silver and makes him look like an astronaut. And Adam’s only gone and upset his mum again.

Rating: ★★★★ SM

Around the World By Train with Tony Robinson, 8pm, Channel 5

Tony Robinson continues his second series on some of the world’s most fascinating railways. This week he’s in South America, reaching new heights on Argentina’s Train to the Clouds (on-board oxygen is supplied). He also travels to Peru’s ancient Machu Picchu where, as you can imagine, history buff Tony is in his element.

Rating: ★★★ LP

Best box set to watch

Line of Duty, Series 1-5, iPlayer

Lennie James, Craig Parkinson, Neil Morrissey — Series one, starring Lennie James, got LoD off to a blazing start

After the Sport Relief spoof, it’s a good time to return to the 'real' work of police anti-corruption unit AC-12, led by Superintendent Hastings (Adrian Dunbar). The deep-rooted links to organised crime are apparent from the first series with Lennie James.

Best film to watch on TV tonight

Happy Death Day, 9pm, Film4

Groundhog Day is the obvious influence (it’s even namechecked) on this joky horror flick about a student (Jessica Rothe) living the same day over and over and getting murdered every time. A brisk and enjoyable film that works both as a slasher and as a homage to a screen classic.