TV Tonight: our highlights for Thursday, January 6

TV tonight - On the landings: Leigh and her prison officers.
On the landings: Leigh and her prison officers. (Image credit: C4)

On TV tonight, new prison drama Screw begins in C4, The Apprentice returns to BBC1 and there's a new dragon in town as the 19th series of Dragon's Den kicks off on BBC2. 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 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

Screw, 9pm, C4

TV tonight Jamie-Lee O'Donnell and Nina Sosanya

Jamie-Lee O'Donnell and Nina Sosanya star. (Image credit: C4)

Prison dramas often put prisoners at the heart of the story, but this sharp and hilarious new drama gives the format a fresh spin by focusing on the officers. Leigh (Nina Sosanya) runs C Wing at HMP Long Marsh and cares about her work so much she sleeps there, but her job is under threat. With a new officer (Derry Girls’ Jamie-Lee O’Donnell) to supervise, a suspicious smell in one of the cells, and a missing toilet seat being turned into a makeshift weapon, it’s not shaping up to be a good day to be in charge… 

★★★★★ SP

The Apprentice, 9pm, BBC1

TV tonight Karren, Lord Sugar and Tim

Karren, Lord Sugar and Tim. (Image credit: BBC)

Sixteen aspiring entrepreneurs hooked on landing a £250,000 bounty? It can only mean one thing – The Apprentice! Tonight, Lord Sugar orders a motley crew to create a marketing campaign for a cruise line. Setting sail from Portsmouth – with first-class passengers Karren Brady and new sidekick Tim Campbell keeping a log of any mutinies – the ambitious candidates dive into the task, but quickly realise they’re out of their depth, following design disasters and an advert that tanks. Back on dry land one candidate finds themselves at journey’s end... 

★★★★ ER

Dragon's Den, 8pm, BBC1

TV tonight Steven Bartlett joins the Dragons

Steven Bartlett joins the Dragons. (Image credit: BBC)

The newest and youngest-ever Dragon joins the panel of investors in the Den as the show returns for its 19th series. Aged 29, Steven Bartlett has reportedly built a £300million fortune via his social media marketing company. He takes his place alongside Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman and Sara Davies as more entrepreneurs, including a hair technician and a cheesemonger duo, pitch for investment. 

★★★ MD

Best box set to watch on TV tonight

Cobra Kai, season 4, Netflix

TV tonight Daniel and Johnny played by Ralph Macchio and William Zabka.

Daniel and Johnny played by Ralph Macchio and William Zabka. (Image credit: Netflix)

Long-time martial-arts rivals Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) will need to bury their differences for good when The Karate Kid spin-off series returns for a fourth season. It’s the only way they will be able to stop ruthless sensei John Kreese (Martin Kove), aided by his old Vietnam war buddy Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), from winning LA’s All Valley Karate Tournament. The stakes are particularly high this year – the losers will have to leave the area for good. But can Daniel and Johnny really bring themselves to bury the hatchet?

Best film to watch on TV tonight

Encanto, Disney+

TV tonight The Madrigals welcome us to Colombia

The Madrigals welcome us to Colombia. (Image credit: Disney+)

The latest animated Disney film is set in a Colombian village and tells the tale of an extraordinary family, the Madrigals, who each have a magical gift. The exception is Mirabel, who didn’t receive the gift of magic at her coming-of-age ceremony. But when she discovers that the magic is on the wane and her family’s in danger, Mirabel knows she’s their last hope. The film’s music comes from Hamilton star Lin-Manuel Miranda, while Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Stephanie Beatriz lends her voice to Mirabel.
A heart-warming tale told in typical Disney fashion. 

Live Sport

  • Cricket, The Ashes, 11pm, BT Sport 1

Soaps on TV tonight

If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…

Don't miss Screw on TV tonight — Nina Sosanya is great as under-pressure boss Leigh in this sharp new drama. 

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.