On TV tonight, Suranne Jones stars in BBC1's tense new thriller Vigil, Brenda Blethyn returns as tough detective Vera over on ITV and Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer are back in BBC2's Gone Fishing. 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 shows on TV tonight
Vigil, 9pm, BBC1
Suranne Jones fronts a stellar cast in the BBC’s ambitious new conspiracy thriller series from the makers of Line of Duty and Bodyguard. She stars as DCI Amy Silva, a troubled detective who’s tasked with investigating a death on a nuclear submarine. It’s an outlandish setting, but a rollicking story nonetheless, and one overflowing with intriguing subplots – the most interesting being the relationship between DCI Silva and her partner DS Kirsten Longacre. The second episode airs tomorrow.
★★★★ SMA
Vera, 8pm, ITV
Filming last year was delayed due to the pandemic, but Brenda Blethyn is finally back as DCI Vera Stanhope for an 11th series, and she’s ready to solve more murders with her trusty colleague, DS Aiden Healy (Kenny Doughty). When respected local builder Jim Tullman is found brutally bashed to death on the steps of the Collingwood Monument, Vera discovers that the victim was about to testify in court. Look out for Lorraine Ashbourne (Bridgerton) as the victim’s estranged wife, Barbara, who doesn’t seem too grief-stricken…
★★★★ TL
Gone Fishing, 8pm, BBC2
Lifelong pals Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse continue reeling in their years of friendship and fishing in a new series. Tonight the pair are in the Outer Hebrides in search of fresh sea trout. They also whiz around on electric bikes, stay in a cosy cottage, tuck into a healthy pie, and try to outdo each other in a local painting competition. In between, they cast their minds back in time as they reflect on life’s ebbs and flows.
★★★★ ER
Best box set to watch on TV tonight
Britannia, season 3, Sky Atlantic/NOW
In the brilliantly bonkers Roman-Britain period drama's long-awaited third series, which was delayed from last year due to the pandemic, General Aulus Plautius (David Morrissey) receives an unexpected visitor – his formidable wife Hemple (Sophie Okonedo), who has strange acolytes, a menagerie of pets and some rather unusual appetites, to say the least! Elsewhere, reluctant ‘chosen one’ Cait makes a bid to reclaim her identity and a flashback to before the Roman invasion reveals a dark secret about Aulus’s past.
★★★★ IM
Best film to watch on TV tonight
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists, 4.45pm, ITV2
This gem from Aardman is a wonderfully silly sea-faring yarn and great family entertainment. The Pirate Captain (voiced by Hugh Grant) is desperate to win Pirate of the Year, against Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven) and Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek), but he needs something special to give him an edge. Could a chance meeting with Charles Darwin (David Tennant) and a dodo provide it?
Live Sport
- Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, from 6am, C4
- MotoGP, 12.30pm, ITV
If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…
Don't miss Vigil on TV tonight – a tension-filled, claustrophobic thriller with a starry cast and plenty of unexpected twists.
Not found anything you want to watch on TV tonight? Check out our TV Guide.
Happy viewing!
