TV Tonight: our highlights for Thursday, Nov. 4

Bertie Carvel as DCI Adam Dalgliesh.
Bertie Carvel as DCI Adam Dalgliesh. (Image credit: Channel 5)

On TV tonight, a new detective series begins on Channel 5, Dalgliesh, the brilliant Stacey Solomon returns with a new series, Sort Your Life Out, on BBC1 and on BBC2 The Hairy Bikers Go North continues to the Peak District. 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

Dalgliesh, 9pm, Channel 5

TV tonight Bertie Carvel as DCI Adam Dalgliesh

DCI Adam Dalgliesh investigates the death of a student nurse.  (Image credit: Channel 5)

PD James’ sharp but introspective sleuth DCI Adam Dalgliesh has always been one of crime fiction’s most intriguing detectives and this engaging adaptation starring Doctor Foster’s Bertie Carvel brings him wonderfully to life. Set in the 1970s, the series kicks off with the widowed cop and his pushy sidekick DS Masterson (Jeremy Irvine) heading to a nursing college after a student dies a horrible death. But can Dalgliesh sift through bitter rivalries to get to the truth? Classy with grit and emotional heft, this is a compelling watch. Continues Friday. 

★★★★ CC 

Sort Your Life Out, 8pm, BBC1

TV tonight Stacey Solomon hosts.

Stacey Solomon hosts. (Image credit: BBC)

After a successful pilot show earlier this year, Stacey Solomon is back with this surprisingly emotional home-decluttering series. First up in the six-part run is the Paine family: single mum Steph and her three daughters who can barely move under mountains of clothes, toiletries and general stuff (111 nail varnishes, 80 out-of-date medicine packets and 1,000 books to name just some). Most mind-boggling is seeing every single item they own laid out like an art installation in a giant warehouse – can they dig deep and let go of half of their possessions so Stacey and her gang can then beautifully reorganise their home? 

★★★★ RF

The Hairy Bikers Go North, 8pm, BBC2

TV tonight The biker boys tuck into Stella’s African cooking

The biker boys tuck into Stella’s African cooking. (Image credit: BBC)

The Peak District is the next location for Si and Dave as they continue their foodie adventure around the North of England. They begin at Chatsworth House, but not for a look around the impressive estate, instead they head straight to the farm shop to sample its huge range of locally sourced products. In the village of Eyam they discover an unexpected delight as they visit Stella’s African restaurant, based at her farmhouse, where she treats the pair to a spiced goat stew. They also visit Buxton for a traditional dessert and make a perfectly prepared picnic to thank the hardworking rangers who look after the National Park. 

★★★★ JL

Best box set to watch on TV tonight

Colin in Black and White, season 1, Netflix

TV tonight Mary-Louise Parker and Jaden Michael as mother and son Teresa and Colin Kaepernick

Mary-Louise Parker and Jaden Michael as mother and son Teresa and Colin Kaepernick. (Image credit: Netflix)

Former NFL quarterback and activist Colin Kaepernick co-created this six-part drama series about his early life. He narrates his own story as actor Jaden Michael plays the young Colin, a black kid adopted by a white family who just wanted to play American football. It delves into the obstacles he faced as a child, the issues of race, class and culture that led him to sit down during the American national anthem in a pre-season game in 2016. He then took the knee for the rest of the season, as a protest against the treatment of black people, which angered President Donald Trump, but sparked a global movement that highlighted inequality around the world.

Best film to watch on TV tonight

Jackie, 9pm, Film4/All 4

TV tonight Natalie Portman plays the famous first lady

Natalie Portman plays the famous first lady. (Image credit: Film4)

Natalie Portman conveys a compelling mix of traumatised frailty and steely resolve in this portrait of one of the 20th century’s most iconic women, Jackie Kennedy. As Pablo Larraín’s film ricochets between events in the days following her husband John F Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas in November 1963, we see Jackie reeling with grief but also remaining resilient. Portman’s portrayal rightly earned her an Oscar nomination.

Live Sport

  • UEFA Europa League, Leicester City v Spartak Moscow, 7.30pm (k-o 8pm), BT Sport 1

Soaps on TV tonight

If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…

Don't miss Dalgliesh on TV tonight – a great new-adaption of a PD James classic.

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.