TV Tonight: our highlights for Monday, Oct. 25

By Joanne Lowles
published

'The Long Call' is just one of the gems on TV tonight.

DI Matthew Venn (Ben Aldridge) with estranged Mum (Juliet Stevenson).
DI Matthew Venn (Ben Aldridge) with estranged Mum (Juliet Stevenson). (Image credit: ITV)

On TV tonight, a gripping new drama begins on ITV, The Long Call, over on BBC1 a new comedy series, The Outlaws, kicks off and on Gold another series of the brilliant Sandylands also begins. 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 Long Call, 9pm, ITV

TV tonight BEN ALDRIDGE as DI MATTHEW VENN,MARTIN SHAW as Dennis Stephenson and ANITA DOBSON as Grace Stephenson.

Martin Shaw and Anita Dobson also star with Ben Aldridge. (Image credit: ITV)

Crime fans won’t want to miss this gripping thriller adapted from a novel by Ann Cleeves, whose books were the source for Vera and Shetland. Ben Aldridge stars as DI Matthew Venn, who was raised in the strict religious community of the Barum Brethren in Devon before moving away and cutting ties 20 years ago. Now he’s returned with his husband, and the discovery of a body on the beach leads him back to the Brethren, and his estranged mother (Juliet Stevenson). Continues tomorrow. 

★★★★★ SP 

The Outlaws, 9pm, BBC1

TV tonight The stars of The Outlaw.

Christopher Walken’s Frank is part of a team of ragtag offenders. (Image credit: BBC)

This thoroughly entertaining comedy-drama, following offenders carrying out community service in Bristol, is an absolute gem. Co-created by and starring Stephen Merchant, it follows his character, lawyer Greg, who gets into trouble and is sentenced to do up a tatty community centre alongside a variety of colourful characters from shoplifter Rani (an engaging turn from Honour’s Rhianne Barreto) to wily veteran crook Frank, played with glee by Hollywood legend Christopher Walken. With hard-hitting thrills, lots of heart and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments – particularly from Back’s Jessica Gunning as over-zealous supervisor Diane! Sit back and enjoy. 

★★★★ CC

Sandylands, 10pm, Gold/NOW

TV tonight Sanjeev Bhaskar and Natalie Dew return as Les and Emily

Sanjeev Bhaskar and Natalie Dew return as Les and Emily. (Image credit: GOLD)

A stellar cast, razor-sharp writing and originality in spades are a winning combination as the seaside sitcom returns. Sanjeev Bhaskar stars as casino owner Les Vegas, last seen setting out to sea with his long-suffering daughter Emily (Natalie Dew) after faking his own death. But he’s in for a shock as the series gets under way, when his estranged wife (Tracy-Ann Oberman) shows up hoping for a hefty inheritance from her ‘dead’ husband. Sophie Thompson, David Walliams, Simon Bird, Craig Parkinson and Harriet Webb reprise their roles as eccentric and colourful Sandlylands residents. 

★★★★★ TL

Best box set to watch on TV tonight

Squid Game, season 1, Netflix

TV tonight Jung-jae Lee as lead character Seong Gi-hun.

Jung-jae Lee as lead character Seong Gi-hun. (Image credit: netflix)

Currently the most watched show on Netflix in the UK and US, this South Korean drama is causing quite a global storm. The nine-part series is based on a group of 456 people in dire need of money. They take part in a game show in a secret location and have to compete against each other playing traditional Korean children’s games to win a huge cash prize – 45.6 billion Korean Won or about £28 million in sterling. But the contest turns out to be a brutal and deadly game of survival in this gripping, addictive and very violent thriller. 

Best film to watch on TV tonight

Arctic, 9pm, GREAT! movies action

Mads Mikkelsen's plane-crash survivor trudges across landscapes beautiful and brutal in director-co-writer Joe Penna's debut. As thrillers go, Arctic is stripped back to the clean white bone, with only the smallest smattering of backstory or incident designed to heat viewers' blood. It makes for a pleasingly gruelling watch, though the synth score feels like a cheat when the whistling wind would have deepened the chill. 

Live Sport

  • ICC World T20 Cricket, 2.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event/NOW

Soaps on TV tonight

If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…

Don't miss The Long Call on TV tonight – a great cast makes this thrilling stuff!

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

Happy viewing!

Joanne Lowles
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.