TV tonight: our highlights for Thursday, 1 July

By Joanne Lowles
published

Big Dog Britain is just one of the gems on TV tonight.

Carlos with his Great Dane in Big Dog Britain.
Carlos with his Great Dane in Big Dog Britain. (Image credit: Channel 4)

On TV tonight man's best friend is supersized in C4's Big Dog Britain, Alex Polizzi tries to turn around the fortunes of a Cornwall hostel in The Hotel Inspector on Channel 5 and there are more handy DIY hints in Escape to the Chateau: Make Do and Mend on C4. 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

Big Dog Britain, 10pm, C4

TV tonight: Claire and Jason 'Mav' Moorhouse with their Irish Wolfhounds

Claire and Jason Moorhouse with their Irish Wolfhounds. (Image credit: Channel 4)

We’re a nation of dog lovers but to devoted owners in this lighthearted documentary, size is everything and the bigger the better. From St Bernards and English Mastiffs, to water-loving Newfoundlands, a prize-winning Pyrenean Sheepdog who has his own tour bus and the 10 Irish Wolfhounds all under the same roof, we follow the pooches and their besotted owners as they navigate daily life. Look out for Great Danes Nelson and Diego who love to travel in their owner’s motorbike sidecar! 

★★★★ TL 

Hotel Inspector, 9pm, Channel 5

TV tonight: Alex with Hostel owners Sean and Janine.

Alex with hostel owners Sean and Janine. (Image credit: Channel 5)

Alex tackles a hostel with hardly any guests and a pair of owners who want very different things from their Cornwall based business. Northshore is Bude’s only hostel but owners Sean and Janine are at crisis point and need Alex’s experience and guidance to save their budget-friendly business in the popular seaside town. But with Janine already wanting out, can Alex work her magic and bring back profits to the business and harmony to the couple? 

★★★ JL

Escape to the Chateau: Make Do and Mend, 9pm, C4

TV tonight: Angel gets crafty outside her French chateau.

Angel gets crafty outside her French chateau. (Image credit: C4)

Britain’s cheeriest DIY and design gurus, Dick and Angel Strawbridge, suggest more genius ways to help people improve their homes, including a radical overhaul of Nancy and Arthur’s back garden in west London. Concreted over, it’s lacking in love, but the couple show Nancy and Arthur how to transform it into a colourful bohemian entertaining space complete with a cocktail herb garden. A leaky caravan and family Eid countdown also get the Strawbridge treatment in yet another feelgood watch. 

★★★★ RF

Best box set to watch on TV tonight

Professor T, BritBox

Ben Miller in new ITV drama Professor T

Ben Miller as Jasper Tempest in crime drama Professor T. (Image credit: ITV)

Ben Miller stars as Jasper Tempest, a brilliant, quirky University of Cambridge criminology lecturer with OCD who is recruited as a police consultant by equally talented DI Lisa Donckers (Bridgerton's Emma Naomi). They make a fine investigative duo in a very watchable crime drama. In the opening episode, Jasper helps the police when a woman is attacked on campus. 

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Best film to watch on TV tonight

Mickey and the Bear, 6.20pm, Sky Cinema Drama

Taking time out from her life to care for her traumatised war veteran father (James Badge Dale), ruins Camila Morrone's teenager dreams of escaping her home town. Anchored by a superb, richly nuanced performance in the lead by Morrone, this quietly absorbing film is an assured debut for actress-turned-writer-director Annabelle Attanasio. 

Live sport

  • Wimbledon 2021, 11am, BBC2
  • Wimbledon 2021, 1.45pm, BBC1
  • One-Day International Cricket England v Sri Lanka, 1pm, Sky Sports Main Event/NOW

Soaps on TV tonight

  • Emmerdale, 7pm and 8pm, ITV
  • EastEnders, 7.40pm and 8.05pm, BBC1
  • Hollyoaks, 6.30pm, C4

If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…

Don't miss Big Dog Britain on TV tonight – a light-hearted look at some colossal canines!

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

Happy viewing! And don't forget to check out Bingewatch — the brilliant podcast for TV addicts.

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.