TV Tonight: our highlights for Friday, August 19

TV tonight – Grace, left, with sisters Eva, Ursula Bibi and Becka.
Grace, left, with sisters Eva, Ursula Bibi and Becka. (Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

On TV tonight, new comedy-drama Bad Sisters begins on Apple TV Plus with a great cast including Sharon Horgan and Anne-Marie Duff. Alex Brooker is after a new pastime in Hobby Man on C4 and Sanditon continues on ITV. Over on Channel 5, Carol Klein's Summer Gardening continues and there's a tribute to classic comedy series, 'Allo 'Allo!: 40 Years of Laughter. 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, 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

Bad Sisters, Apple TV Plus

TV tonight The cast of Bad Sisters.

The cast of Bad Sisters. (Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

A sudden death brings suspicion in its wake in this 10-part Dublin-set comedy-drama adapted by Sharon Horgan from acclaimed 2012 Belgian series Clan. Sharon plays ambitious Eva and is joined by Eva Birthistle, Sarah Greene and Eve Hewson to play siblings Ursula, Bibi and Becka, whose actions are called into question following the demise of their nasty brother-in-law John Paul (Claes Bang), the husband of their put-upon sister Grace (Anne-Marie Duff). Can local insurance broker Thomas Claffin (Brian Gleeson) get to the bottom of how John Paul met his sticky but much-deserved end? Begins with a double-bill before airing weekly. 

★★★★★ CC

Hobby Man, 8 pm, C4

TV tonight Scarlett and Alex bird-watching in Edinburgh.

Scarlett and Alex bird-watching in Edinburgh. (Image credit: C4)

This enjoyable and informative four-parter follows The Last Leg’s Alex Brooker as he tries out everything from gliding and fly-fishing to knitting and photography, in a bid to find an enjoyable new hobby. He’s joined by travelling companions Scarlett Moffatt of Gogglebox and I’m a Celebrity… fame, After Life’s Joe Wilkinson, ex-Inbetweener Joe Thomas and chef Andi Oliver. He starts by meeting Scarlett in Edinburgh, where the pair learn how to play chess, go bird-watching and brew their own beer, which they decide to call ‘Mr Hobby’ in honour of the series. They both clearly enjoy each other’s company and make a great double act, but who will win the climactic game of chess? 

★★★★ IM

Sanditon, season 2, 9 pm, ITV

TV tonight They shall go the ball: Charlotte and Alison

They shall go the ball: Charlotte and Alison. (Image credit: ITV)

The Heywood sisters are considering their futures this week, as Charlotte (Rose Willliams) wonders how long she can continue working for Mr Colbourne following their heated exchange at Lady Denham’s garden party, and poor Alison (Rosie Graham) is planning to slink back to Willingdon after being humiliated by milquetoast Captain Carter. However, all is not lost, and the Sanditon ball offers both siblings a reason to stay. Meanwhile, Esther is in grave danger as Evil Edward drugs her with laudanum to ensure he gets his inheritance. Clara is horrified when she finds out, but has her silence already been bought? 

★★★★ SP

'Allo 'Allo!: 40 Years of Laughter, 9 pm, Channel 5

TV tonight Yvette, René and Lieutenant Gruber in the French farce.

Yvette, René and Lieutenant Gruber in the French farce. (Image credit: Channel 5)

David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd had the idea for comedy ’Allo ’Allo! while watching the BBC drama Secret Army. It was an inspired idea to pinch lines such as ‘I will say this only once’ (and cast Secret Army’s Richard Marner and Guy Siner in their sitcom as Nazis). Add a phlegmatic cafe owner, sexy French waitresses and two clueless RAF officers and you have the perfect farce, which attracted 17million viewers when it aired in 1982. Some of the cast – including the late Gorden Kaye, Vicki Michelle and Kim Hartman – share favourite moments. Nostalgia TV at its best! 

★★★★ MC

Carol Klein's Summer Gardening, 7 pm, Channel 5

TV tonight Carol Klein at Glebe Cottage.

Carol Klein at Glebe Cottage. (Image credit: Channel 5)

The hot summer has taken its toll with even the most green-fingered struggling with what to do with those dusty, exposed areas of the garden. Carol sees rich planting opportunities by raising beds at Glebe Cottage to cultivate sun-loving plants, including the prickly shrub gorse, which emits the most fragrant of perfumes from its little yellow flowers. 

★★★ MC

Best box set to watch on TV tonight

A League of Their OwnPrime Video 

The Rockford Peaches in A League of Their Own

The Rockford Peaches in A League of Their Own. (Image credit: Prime Video)

A League of Their Own is a reboot of the movie of the same name starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Madonna, but with an all-new cast of characters. Like the film, this Prime Video series follows the Rockford Peaches, a girl's team that's been formed in Chicago following the establishment of the ‘Girls Professional Baseball League’. It's a great ride that tackles a variety of contemporary problems including sexism, racism and attitudes to sexuality. The mismatched team of girls includes Carson Shaw (Abbi Jacobson), Max (Chanté Adams), Greta (D'Arcy Carden) and Lupe (Roberta Colindrez), and the Peaches are headed up this time by ex-pro ‘Dove’ Porter, played by Parks and Rec fave, Nick Offerman. 

Best film to watch on TV tonight

The Invisible Man, 10.45 pm, ITV

TV tonight Elisabeth Moss and Oliver Jackson-Cohen star.

Elisabeth Moss and Oliver Jackson-Cohen star. (Image credit: ITV)

A supremely terrifying new take on the HG Wells novel following countless movie iterations, writer/director Leigh Whannell mines the premise and finds treasure of the chilling kind. He’s helped by an actor of Elizabeth Moss’ calibre, who plays a horribly abused wife finally escaping the grip of her violent, controlling husband. She is told shortly after that he is dead, but strange things happening around her suggest he’s still around – or is she simply going insane? This is an excellent edge-of-the-seat thriller. 

Live Sport

  • European Championships 2022, from 9 am, BBC Two/One
  • Test Cricket, England vs South Africa, from 10.15 am, Sky Sports Main Event/NOW
  • EFL, Norwich City vs Millwall, 8 pm (k-o 8 pm), Sky Sports Main Event/NOW

Soaps on TV tonight

If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…

Don't miss Bad Sisters on TV tonight — a thrilling drama with a fantastic cast. 

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

Happy viewing!

Joanne Lowles
Freelance writer and editor

Joanne Lowles has been writing about TV since 2002. After graduating from Cardiff University with a Postgraduate Diploma in Magazine Journalism, she worked for All About Soap magazine covering the ups and downs of life on the cobbles, the square and the Dales. 


Next came nearly 10 years at TV Times magazine as a writer and then deputy features editor. Here she spent many happy days interviewing the biggest names in entertainment and visiting the sets of some of our most popular shows including Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife and Strictly Come Dancing


With a love of nature and wildlife she’s also interviewed the leading experts in this area including David Attenborough, Chris Packham and Steve Backshall. She’s also travelled the world visiting Mongolia, Canada and South Africa to see how the best in the business make the most brilliant natural history documentaries. 


Freelance since 2013, she is now is a digital writer and editor for What to Watch, previews the best on the box for TV Times mag each week and loves being constantly surprised, entertained and informed by the amazing TV that she is lucky enough to watch.