On TV tonight, it's the last profile of the rock and roll legends as Charlie Watts: My Life as a Rolling Stone concludes the series on BBC One. Then, from music legend to acting royalty, as Channel 5 profiles The Marvellous Maggie Smith: A Celebration, comedian Joe Lycett follows the hopeful artists submitting work to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in Joe Lycett: Summer Exhibitionist on BBC Two, A Royal Guide to… Travel is on C4 and there's a celebrity special of Alan Carr's Epic Gameshow on ITV. 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
Charlie Watts: My Life as a Rolling Stone, 9pm, BBC Two
Described as the glue that held the Rolling Stones together, drummer Charlie Watts, who died last summer aged 80, is profiled in this last edition. His love of jazz informed a laid-back drumming style that was a world away from the stereotypical rock drummer, while his love of dance music lent the band’s sound a distinctive groove. There’s an insight into his sartorial elegance, as well as his impressive collection of drum memorabilia. We also learn how, after struggling with addiction, Charlie returned to his first love by staging gigs to support the legendary Ronnie Scott’s jazz club in London. Some Girls Live In Texas (10pm)and Live at Wiltern Theatre (11.25pm) follow.
★★★★ IM
The Marvellous Maggie Smith: A Celebration, 9pm, Channel 5
A celebration of iconic actor Dame Maggie Smith, charting her rise to fame from Essex girl to Hollywood superstar and national treasure. For 70 years the star of stage and screen has been delighting audiences, from her 1969 Oscar-winning performance in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to Professor McGonagall in the
Harry Potter films. Made a Dame in 1990, she’s a perfect example of a hard-working actor who doesn’t make a fuss but just does her job better than anyone else and who, at the ripe old age of 87, is still going strong.
★★★★ JL
Joe Lycett: Summer Exhibitionist, 8pm, BBC Two
Comedian and "passionate, if somewhat limited" artist Joe Lycett has previous with the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition. In 2018, he entered a sculpture called Chris, made from a Pringles tube – and it made it in! He is now meeting a group of "fellow send-in dreamers" submitting to the world’s largest open-entry art contest. Joe exudes warmth as he hears the stories behind their pieces, and finds out how they fare. He also looks at the judging process to see how hard it is to get chosen.
★★★ NT
A Royal Guide to… Travel, 8pm, C4
Royal tours are part and parcel of the job for the Windsors, so this inside look recalls the Royal Family’s global travels and what life was like aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia. It also examines where they have journeyed in their downtime – Her Majesty adores Scotland, while her sister, Princess Margaret, went to Mustique twice a year for a bit of peace and quiet. Plus, there’s the revelation that Prince Philip loved a holiday barbecue...
★★★ NT
Alan Carr's Epic Gameshow: Celebrity Special, 7pm, ITV
Another game show of old is revived by Alan Carr and this week it’s Strike It Lucky. The aim of the game sees three pairs of contestants trying to navigate their way along rows of TV screens by answering questions correctly and winning prizes as they go. The celebs taking part include Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Good Morning Britain's Richard Arnold and Ranvir Singh and former Emmerdale and Strictly star Kelvin Fletcher, who are all playing to win £20,000 for their chosen charity.
★★★ MD
Best box set to watch on TV tonight
Sanditon, season 2, ITV Hub
This adaptation of Jane Austen’s unfinished novel ended its first season on a major cliffhanger when heroine Charlotte (Rose Williams) left Sanditon heartbroken after true love Sidney (Theo James) married another woman to save his brother from financial ruin. As season two begins, Sidney is no longer around and a tragedy brings Charlotte back to Sanditon along with her sister Alison (Rosie Graham). Though Charlotte has sworn off romance, there’s no shortage of eligible men hoping to court her, like dashing war veteran Colonel Lennox (Tom Weston-Jones). As before, it’s a delicious Regency treat with a refreshingly modern (sense and) sensibility.
Best film to watch on TV tonight
Terminator: Dark Fate, 9pm, C4
Ditching the fractured, often outright confusing storylines of the past three Terminator movies, Dark Fate sets out to reboot the franchise to its brutal core essentials, as a sequel to 1991’s Judgment Day. Back in comes Linda Hamilton as a battle-hardened Sarah Connor, here to help out Mackenzie Davis’ enhanced soldier from the future, as they fight off yet another cyborg from getting his deadly hands on the seemingly unimportant factory worker Natalia Reyes. Yes, Arnold Schwarzenegger also features, but the onus is on the women – and rightly so. This is a thrillingly lean, mean, fighting machine of a movie.
Live Sport
- Athletics: World Championships, 6.30pm, BBC Two
- Women's Euro 2022, the fourth quarter-final, France vs Netherlands, 7.30pm (k-o 8pm), BBC One
If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…
Don't miss Charlie Watts: My Life as a Rolling Stone on TV tonight — a touching tribute to the late musician.
Not found anything you want to watch on TV tonight? Check out our TV Guide.
Happy viewing!
