On TV tonight, who will triumph at The BAFTA TV Awards 2022 on BBC One? Gorgeous new nature series Eden: Untamed Planet starts on BBC Two, Gentleman Jack continues on BBC One as does Grace on ITV and new series Commando: Britain's Ocean Warriors begins on BBC Two revealing what it takes to be the best of the best. 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 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 BAFTA TV Awards 2022, 6pm, BBC One
Deadpan funnyman Richard Ayoade hosts the BAFTA TV Awards for the third successive year tonight as the event returns to being fully in-person for the first time since 2019 after various degrees of virtual attendance in the past two years. C4’s acclaimed AIDS drama It’s a Sin leads the pack with a whopping five acting nominations as well as a nod for Best Mini-Series, while the Lead Actor and Actress categories feature Kate Winslet, Sean Bean, Jodie Comer and Stephen Graham. Expect the Drama category to be a close call as Vigil faces In My Skin, Unforgotten and Manhunt: The Night Stalker.
★★★★ SP
Eden: Untamed Planet, 7.10pm, BBC Two
This extraordinary-looking series takes us to the planet’s last remaining isolated places for a look at their finely balanced ecosystems. The first stop is Borneo, whose rainforest is home to 60,000 species. Like all the most honest natural history documentaries, the cute – a rare Bornean sun bear uses his 25cm-long tongue to slurp honey – sits side by side with the gory – an assassin bug wraps a termite in sap and skewers it with her ‘stiletto mouth parts’. Helena Bonham Carter’s narration is as lush as the imagery, and doesn’t shy away from the gut-punch of a fact that 80 per cent of orangutan habitat has been lost, mainly to palm oil production.
★★★★ NT
Gentleman Jack, season 2, 9pm, BBC One
Halifax is going to the polls this week, but election fever is bringing uncomfortable friction to the town. While Anne Lister is desperate for her beloved Tory party to claim victory over the Radicals and the Whigs – look out for Suranne Jones’ hilarious homage to Margaret Thatcher at the dinner table! – tensions reach boiling point as rioters target landowners. Meanwhile, Anne’s sister Marian (the ever-brilliant Gemma Whelan) is delighted when her former suitor, Mr Abbott, pays a call. It looks like their romance is back on track, but it’s not long before snobbish Anne makes her views on the match very clear…
★★★★ CC
Grace, season 2, 8pm, ITV
The past of DS Roy Grace (John Simm) comes back to haunt him when a woman’s remains are found in a storm drain. The Brighton cop is convinced they belong to his missing wife, Sandy, and the case puts pressure on the fledgling relationship he’s built with mortuary technician Cleo. Finding himself caught between his past and his future, Grace throws himself into the investigation, and is soon at odds with old rival DS Cassian Pewe (Broadchurch’s James D’Arcy).
★★★★ SMA
Commando: Britain's Ocean Warriors, 8pm, BBC Two
This new four-part series follows the Royal Marines Commandos, Britain’s elite fighting force, as they operate in the most challenging places on land and at sea, from the freezing Arctic to the searing equator. We follow some of the newest recruits as they undergo the longest infantry training in the world in the hope of earning the coveted Green Beret. Physical tests include an arduous 30-mile trek over Dartmoor in less than eight hours while carrying 30lb of equipment. Vera star David Leon narrates.
★★★★ HD
Best box set to watch on TV tonight
The Pentaverate, season 1, Netflix
Austin Powers’ Mike Myers is rarely content with playing just one character, and in this quirky comedy, the chameleon-like star has a whale of a time tackling no less than eight different roles! Among them is veteran Canadian reporter Ken Scarborough, who is investigating a secret society known as The Pentaverate, which has been saving the world from disaster since the Middle Ages, but is suddenly under threat… He also portrays their oldest member, Lord Lordington. Look out, too, for Jennifer Saunders.
Best film to watch on TV today
The Hurt Locker, 10pm (Wales, 11pm) BBC Two
Kathryn Bigelow’s nerve-shredding drama, winner of six Oscars including Best Film and Best Director, follows an elite US Army bomb disposal squad in Baghdad during the Iraq war. Jeremy Renner is on fire as the team leader, who revels in the day-to-day deadly risks of his job.
Live Sport
- Premier League, Manchester City vs Newcastle United, 4pm (k-o 4.30pm), Sky Sports Main Event/NOW
- Formula 1, The Miami Grand Prix, 7.30pm (start time 8.30pm), Sky Sports Main Event/Now
If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…
Don't miss The BAFTA TV Awards 2022 on TV tonight – after such a strong year for TV this is going to be close!
Not found anything you want to watch on TV tonight? Check out our TV Guide.
Happy viewing!
