TV Tonight: our highlights for Friday, September 17

Pam Ayres stars in a new travelogue.
Pam Ayres stars in a new travelogue. (Image credit: Channel 5)

On TV tonight, a new travelogue begins on Channel 5, The Cotswolds with Pam Ayres, on Apple TV+ season 2 of The Morning Show arrives and comedy The Cleaner continues on BBC1. 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

The Cotswolds with Pam Ayres, 8pm, Channel 5

TV tonight Pam Ayres with Alex James (of the band Blur) on his farm outside the cheese hut

Pam Ayres with Alex James (of the band Blur) on his farm.  (Image credit: Channel 5)

Poet Pam Ayres is your guide in this travelogue around the Cotswolds, where she lives. Pam begins her tour in Bourton-on-the-Water, with a visit to a world-famous perfumier, whose scents cost up to £6k a bottle! Then it’s on to Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Winston Churchill, before trying cider and cheese at the farm of former Blur bass player Alex James. Pam makes a charming, enthusiastic travelling companion in an enjoyable slice of comfort viewing that may inspire your next staycation. 

★★★★ IM

The Morning Show, Apple TV+

TV tonight What’s in store for Alex and Bradley?

What’s in store for Alex and Bradley? (Image credit: Apple TV+)

Picking up immediately after the explosive end to the first series, the long-awaited return of Apple TV’s drama set in the world of a breakfast news TV programme kicks off with presenters Alex (Jennifer Aniston) and Bradley (Reece Witherspoon) no longer morning television’s dream team. As they emerge from the fallout of their split, there’s a hint that Alex has been replaced by a new leading man (played by comedian Hasan Minhaj). But can she be persuaded to return? Steve Carell, Billy Crudup and Mark Duplass are also back for series two. 

★★★★ IM

The Cleaner, 9.30pm, BBC1

Tv tonight Greg Davies as The Cleaner.

Terence is disturbed by Wicky. (Image credit: BBC)

As the sitcom about Greg Davies’ crime-scene cleaner Wicky continues, this week David Mitchell plays pompous author Terence, whose grandmother lost her life to a fire in his living room. When Wicky arrives to clean up, Terence demands silence to pen his novel – is he suffering from writer’s block or struggling with grief? With some laugh-out-loud moments, this episode also shines a light on the complexities of bereavement. 

★★★★ VW

Best box set to watch on TV tonight

Lucifer, season 6, Netflix

TV tonight Lauren German as Chloe Decker and Tom Ellis as Lucifer Morningstar.

Lauren German as Chloe Decker and Tom Ellis as Lucifer Morningstar. (Image credit: Netflix)

As Tom Ellis returns for his final season as crime-solving devil Lucifer Morningstar, the action picks up after an epic cliffhanger that saw God (Dennis Haysbert) decide to retire, sparking an unholy fight between Lucifer and his evil twin, Michael (also played by Ellis), about who would be the best ruler of the universe. When Michael killed Chloe (Lauren German), Lucifer was forced to go up to heaven and rescue his lover, dying in the process – only to be resurrected as the new God. 'Lucifer isn't really a story about devils – it's a story about family and feeling your own sense of self-worth,' says showrunner Joe Henderson. 'This final season is by far the most intimate we've done, but it also has the most expensive episode we've ever made. So we're going out with plenty of spectacle.'

Best film to watch on TV tonight

The Graduate, 11.35pm, BBC1

A fast and funny comedy with Anne Bancroft definitive as Mrs Robinson, the older woman who has an affair with college graduate Dustin Hoffman. Spot-on performances, great Simon & Garfunkel songs and an agonising ending all contribute to this stunning landmark film. In reality, Bancroft was only six years older than Hoffman. 

Live Sport

  • Premier League, Newcastle United v Leeds United, 7.30pm (k-o 8pm), Sky Sports Main Event/NOW
  • Premiership Rugby Union, Bristol Bears v Saracens, 7pm (k-o 7.45pm), BT Sport 1

Soaps on TV tonight

If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…

Don't miss The Cotswolds with Pam Ayres on TV tonight – a pleasant jaunt around a beautiful part of the world. 

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.