TV Tonight: our highlights for Thursday, June 30

TV tonight – Ralf visits his ancestor’s home ground.
Ralf visits his ancestor’s home ground. (Image credit: BBC)

On TV tonight, Ralf Little discovers his heritage in the final of BBC One's Who Do You Think You Are? Tense new drama The Undeclared War arrives on C4 and a new reality series, All Star Shore, drops on Paramount Plus. On Channel 5 The Hotel Inspector isn't holding back as she helps a family business in Wales and to celebrate 50 years of Pride there's a First Dates: Pride Special on C4. 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, 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

Who Do You Think You Are? 9pm, BBC One

TV tonight Ralf discovers his great grandfather was a nifty footballer.

Ralf discovers his great grandfather was a nifty footballer. (Image credit: BBC)

Watching the pride on celebrities’ faces as they discover their forebears’ achievements is always endearing and Death in Paradise star Ralf Little is as pleased as punch when he visits Chirk FC and discovers how his maternal great-grandfather Albert was a star player there and also played internationally for Wales. Ralf even gets to touch a cup his ancestor helped to win! And the actor is equally delighted to learn about his grandad Arthur’s wartime service with the Navy in the Orkney Islands and in the Pacific, as well as the role his four-times great-grandfather John played in improving life for Victorian Mancunians. 

★★★★ CC

The Undeclared War, 9pm, C4

TV tonight Simon Pegg is among a stellar cast

Simon Pegg is among a stellar cast. (Image credit: C4)

Writer/director Peter Kosminsky – whose previous works include Wolf Hall and The Government Inspector – gives us an unsettling glimpse of the near-future in this new six-part series. In 2024, the UK is gearing up for a general election when a cyberattack takes half the country offline. As expert analysts work on neutralising the virus, work experience student Saara (a surely star-making turn by newcomer Hannah Khalique-Brown) notices a hidden threat in the code. Could this just be the start of a sustained attack? With an A-list cast including Simon Pegg, Adrian Lester and Mark Rylance, this is gripping, essential drama. 

★★★★ SP

All Star Shore, Paramount Plus

TV tonight Johnny heads back to the beach

Johnny heads back to the beach. (Image credit: Paramount Plus)

Some of the world’s best loved, or loathed, reality stars are coming together for the ultimate competition. TOWIE’s Joey Essex, Love Island’s Johnny Middlebrooks and Geordie Shore’s Chloe Ferry get together in a house in the Canary Islands, where they battle it out for a cash prize, not to mention global bragging rights. Can the UK’s Joey hold his own against Rio Shore’s Ricardo Salusse? And who will win games such as Party Pong to claim the coveted reality crown? Paramount Plus is available via paramountplus.com. 

★★★ NH

The Hotel Inspector, 9pm, Channel 5

TV tonight Omar, Angie, Alex, Kim and Pete

Omar, Angie, Alex, Kim and Pete. (Image credit: Channel 5)

Alex Polizzi is on blistering form as she tackles a family with big dreams for their 22-bedroom manor-house hotel in Mid Wales. Owners Kim and Omar (who run it with Kim’s parents, Pete and Angie) want a chain of luxury hotels with Michelin-star restaurants – except they have no experience, no staff, no money and can’t cope running the one mediocre hotel they have. Alex is furious, pretty much from the minute she walks in. Offended by their unrealistic aspirations, she doesn’t hold back in telling them that unless they change their plans quick-smart their pie-in-the-sky dreams will quickly become a living nightmare. 

★★★★ JL

First Dates: Pride Special, 10pm, C4

TV tonight Georgia with her date Georga.

Georgia with her date Georga. (Image credit: C4)

As part of the celebrations for 50 years of Pride, this episode looks back at some of the LGBTQ+ singletons who have ventured into the First Dates restaurant looking for love. First up is Georgia, who is quite specific about who she wants – a football-loving Cara Delevingne lookalike. Alll credit to the C4 matchmakers because her date, also called Georga, is exactly that. Also hoping for romance to bloom is 61-year-old retired hairdresser Philip, 25-year-old make-up artist Danni, no-nonsense Lucy and football fanatic Jack, who is sick of always being left on the bench when it comes to love. 

★★★★ JL

Best box set to watch on TV tonight

Obi-Wan Kenobi, Disney Plus

Obi-wan Kenobi

Ewan McGregor stars as Obi-Wan Kenobi. (Image credit: Disney+)

Obi-Wan Kenobi has broken Disney Plus viewing records and now all six thrilling episodes are available to watch. The series has wowed critics since it debuted on our screens last month, but while fans have reacted positively to Ewan McGregor’s return, it’s a 10-year-old girl who’s stolen the show. Young Princess Leia, played by breakout star Vivien Lyra Blair, has captivated viewers while becoming the beating heart of this latest chapter in the space saga. With iconic figures such as Darth Vader also added to the mix, this is on course to be Disney’s most popular foray into the Star Wars universe and rumours of a second series are already swirling. 

Best film to watch on TV tonight

Philomena, BBC iPlayer

TV tonight Steve Coogan and Judi Dench star.

Steve Coogan and Judi Dench star. (Image credit: BBC)

Catch this deeply heartfelt true story before it leaves iPlayer. Steve Coogan (soon to be seen as Jimmy Savile in The Reckoning) plays cynical journalist Martin Sixsmith, who stumbles upon a story about Philomena (Judi Dench), a woman seeking the son she was forced to give up by nuns as a teenager in Ireland. The chemistry between the two leads is great, producing a sophisticated comedy that is also a profound, deeply moving experience – and an outstanding British film. 

Live Sport

  • Wimbledon 2022, 11am, BBC Two/One
  • Women's International Football, Switzerland vs England, 4.30pm (k-o 5pm), ITV4

Soaps on TV tonight

If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…

Don't miss Who Do You Think You Are? on TV tonight — Ralf Little has a blast discovering his roots.

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.