On TV tonight, Martin Freeman leads new BBC1 police drama The Responder, the ex-Emmerdale star buys his first sheep in Kelvin's Big Farming Adventure on BBC1 and Bradley Walsh embraces his inner Houdini as Bradley & Barney Walsh: Breaking Dad continues on ITV. 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 Responder, 9pm, BBC1
Martin Freeman’s visceral performance in this edgy five-part series feels like a genuine departure for the much-loved actor. Leading a stellar cast that includes Ian Hart, Martin plays Chris Carson, a police officer on the verge of a mental breakdown as he works night shifts in Liverpool. As stress pulls him towards the abyss, he’s dragged into a terrible bind by one of his criminal contacts. Full of dark comedy and painful tragedy, it’s a powerful portrait of life as a frontline police officer. Continues tomorrow.
★★★★★ SMA
Kelvin's Big Farming Adventure, 8.30pm, BBC1
‘That’s the first udder I’ve ever felt,’ declares Kelvin Fletcher to a bemused sheep farmer called Jean, who is selling a few of her prize flock to the former soap star. This charming series continues with the Fletchers buying their first animals, 10 Cotswold sheep, for their 120-acre farm. ‘They can’t be as hard as kids to look after, can they?’ asks Kelvin. They may be novices but the ex-Emmerdale actor and wife Liz Marsland have bags of enthusiasm for their new-found rural life, making this an endearing and udderly enjoyable watch.
★★★★ JL
Bradley & Barney Walsh: Breaking Dad, season 4, 8pm, ITV
Bradley and Barney Walsh kick off the Hungarian leg of their travels with a spot of catamaran sailing on the beautiful Lake Balaton. They also have a go at champion skipping in the pretty town of Szombathely, and then Bradley agrees to be hung upside down by his ankles, 150ft in the air, by a rope that’s on fire, while he attempts to escape from a straitjacket like the famous Hungarian escapologist Harry Houdini. ‘The Great Walshini’ knows no fear and makes this genuinely scary trick look remarkably easy.
★★★ JL
Best box set to watch on TV tonight
Ozark, season 4, Netflix
At the end of the third season of Netflix’s acclaimed money-laundering drama, we left Marty and Wendy Byrde (Jason Bateman and Laura Linney) in a very tight spot as drug cartel boss Omar Navarro (Felix Solis) informed them they would be working much more closely together from now on. Now, in the thrilling final season - split into two parts of seven episodes each, with the final seven to be released later this year - the big question is: can the Byrdes engineer their way out of their life of crime? Or is karma about to catch up with them in a big way?
Best film to watch on TV tonight
Mass, 8pm, Sky Cinema Premiere
It can be hard to make sense of a tragedy, particularly one as senseless as a mass shooting. This searing drama captures the agony of that futility as two sets of parents meet years after a tragic school shooting that left both of their sons dead. Jay (Jason Isaacs) and Gail (Martha Plimpton), whose son Evan was a victim, meet the parents of the shooter. Writer/director Fran Kranz relies entirely on dialogue and the actors’ skills to tell a truly devastating story about grief. An intense watch, but well worth the energy it takes to absorb.
Live Sport
- EFL, Blackburn Rovers v Middlesbrough, 7.30pm (k-o 7.45pm), Sky Sports Main Event/NOW
Soaps on TV tonight
- EastEnders, 8pm, BBC1
- Emmerdale, 7pm, ITV
- Coronation Street, 7.30pm & 8.30pm, ITV
- Hollyoaks, 6.30pm, C4
- Neighbours, 6pm, Channel 5
- Home and Away, 6pm & 6.30pm, 5Star
If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…
Don't miss The Responder on TV tonight – Martin Freeman is great as troubled police officer Chris.
Not found anything you want to watch on TV tonight? Check out our TV Guide.
Happy viewing!
