TV Tonight: our highlights for Thursday, Dec. 16

Alex and Josh have all the fun of the fair.
Alex and Josh have all the fun of the fair. (Image credit: C4)

On TV tonight, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe have lots of fun in One Night in Alton Towers on C4, Jimmy Carr presents a new game show called I Literally Just Told You, also on C4 and scroll down to take a look at Bentley's little face – who could resist that? Check out C4's The Dog House at Christmas to see if the pug finds a new forever home. 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

One Night in Alton Towers, 9pm, C4

TV tonight Alex and Josh ride the rollercoaster.

Alex and Josh ride the rollercoaster at Alton Towers. (Image credit: C4)

Co-hosts of The Last Leg Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker explore top tourist attractions by night in this five-part series. While the boys take advantage of a lack of crowds and queues, they must take part in challenges – and the loser has to clean up the mess they’ve left behind before the public arrive. First, they’re joined by Roisin Conaty at Alton Towers, and the task in which Josh and Roisin sing pop songs on a roller coaster while Alex tries to identify them from the ground is not to be missed…

★★★★ SP

I Literally Just Told You, 10pm, C4

TV tonight Jimmy hosts a quiz with a difference

 Jimmy hosts a quiz with a difference. (Image credit: C4)

There are more quiz shows than you can shake a remote control at, yet this new series is different to any other. Devised by Richard Bacon and hosted by Jimmy Carr, it sees four contestants battling to take home a cash prize of up to £25,000 by asking questions written during the show. Any information, from the cameraman’s name to another player’s home town, could be vital in the memory game that we can all play along with at home. 

★★★★ SMA

The Dog House at Christmas, 8pm, C4

TV tonight Bentley’s not just for Christmas

Bentley’s not just for Christmas. (Image credit: C4)

Stray lurcher Michael has never had a family, but that could all change in this festive special. Michael came to Wood Green, The Animals Charity, having been found on the streets. But it’s love at first sight when he’s matched with Nhung and her children, who have been struggling since their parents’ divorce. Could there also be new homes for shy one-eyed dachshund Clarence and portly pug Bentley? 

★★★★ HD

Best box set to watch on TV tonight

Welcome to Earth, season 1, Disney+

TV tonight Will Smith stars.

Will Smith explores some spectacular places. (Image credit: Disney+)

“We think we know our planet but there is still a secret world to be discovered if you go to the right place with the right guide,” says Hollywood superstar Will Smith as he embarks on a global tour of some of the most exciting and breath-taking places on our planet. From towering volcanoes, to deep underwater, caves and savannahs, Will and an elite group of modern day explorers go where very few people will ever step foot. Will admits he’s never climbed a mountain or swam in a lake and it’s about time he pushed himself to explore and understand our planet like never before. 

Best film to watch on TV tonight

The Color Purple, 9pm, BBC4

TV tonight Whoopi in her breakout film role

Whoopi in her breakout film role. (Image credit: BBC)

As Steven Spielberg approaches his 75th birthday, here is his punch-packing adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel, the 1985 Deep South-set drama that put Whoopi Goldberg on the map. She plays Celie, a woman who rises above an abusive domestic life thanks to the power of friendship. At 8pm there’s a Culture Show interview with the director and on BBC2, his World War Two epic Empire of the Sun (11.25pm, not NI), with a young Christian Bale. 

Live Sport

  • Premier League, Liverpool v Newcastle United, 7pm (k-o 8pm), BT Sport 1

Soaps on TV tonight

If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…

Don't miss One Night in Alton Towers on TV tonight – the friends and colleagues have a great time messing about at Alton Towers.  

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

Happy viewing!

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.