TV Tonight: our highlights for Thursday, October 6

All Creatures Great and Small season 3
All Creatures Great and Small continues tonight. (Image credit: Channel 5)

On TV tonight, we return to Darrowby for the next episode of All Creatures Great and Small, Rob Beckett is poised to test some celebrity partnerships in Unbreakable, Jon Richardson is jetting off on a hilarious getaway with mother-in-law, Gill, in Jon Richardson: Take My Mother-In-Law, Toby Jones uncovers even more fascinating facts about his family history in the final episode of My Grandparents War: Toby Jones, and daytime TV presenters Kate Garraway and Alison Hammond are the next duo to learn more about their ancestors in tonight's DNA Journey. 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

All Creatures Great and Small season 3, 9 pm, Channel 5

All Creatures Great and Small season 3

James worries he's not doing enough as war looms on the horizon in tonight's All Creatures Great and Small. (Image credit: Channel 5)

While James (Nicholas Ralph) had only the best of intentions when he signed up for the government’s scheme to increase TB testing in cattle, the paperwork is getting a bit much for him. Thankfully, Helen (Rachel Shenton) is on hand to offer her support. But James soon gives her more cause for concern when he frets that he’s not doing his bit after seeing the men of Darrowby head off to military training as war looms… Meanwhile, the ever-wonderful Tricki Woo runs rings around Siegfried, and Tristan is full of the joys of spring after buying a car. He wouldn’t be trying to impress someone now, would he?! 

★★★★ CC

Unbreakable, 8 pm, BBC One (Wales, BBC Two)

Rob Beckett sits at a desk bordered by two lamps.

Rob Beckett is putting a set of celebs through their paces in this new series. (Image credit: BBC/110% Content/Pete Dadds)

Comedian and host Rob Beckett puts celebrity couples through a series of mental, physical and emotional challenges, designed to reveal whose relationship is the strongest. Among those rising to the challenge are Strictly Come Dancing head judge Shirley Ballas, Loose Women’s Denise Welch, Falklands veteran Simon Weston and Olympian Shanaze Reade plus their partners – all under the watchful eyes of relationship experts Anjula Mutanda and Maria McErlane. 

★★★ VW

Jon Richardson: Take My Mother-In-Law, 10 pm, Channel 4

John Richardson with mother-in-law, Gill Adams

Jon's on a mission to convince his mother-in-law to swap Yorkshire for sunnier climes. (Image credit: Channel 4)

This hilarious one-off travelogue follows comedian Jon’s efforts to persuade his Hull-based mother-in-law, Gill Adams, to not move into his West Yorkshire home but relocate to an entirely different country instead. Jetting off to sunny Spain, the pair scope out locations that will hopefully win Gill over, starting off in Benidorm, where cheap beer and life on a cost-effective campsite gets the thumbs-up from frugal Jon. But Gill seems more enamoured with Málaga, where she lands a date with a handsome hombre. Will her translator Jon and his A-Level Spanish ruin her chances? Jon and Gill are a cracking comedy duo – please give them a series, Channel 4!  

★★★★ RM

My Grandparents War: Toby Jones, 8 pm, Channel 4, All4 (box set)

Toby Jones photographed on a beach

Toby Jones' journey into the past concludes tonight. (Image credit: Channel 4)

There’s an extraordinary story in the final episode of the series when actor Toby Jones unearths what happened to his grandmother, Doreen, who was entertaining the troops in France in May 1940 when the Nazis invaded. As a member of ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association), she was given the codeword ‘Hamlet’ and with her fellow actors was forced to make a desperate retreat to Boulogne by night. Fortunately, she was evacuated by the Royal Navy, along with 5,000 British soldiers, as Nazi bombers soared overhead. Toby also learns the sad tale of his grandfather, Doreen’s husband Reggie, who was left emotionally scarred by his experiences fighting the Japanese in Burma. 

★★★★ HD

DNA Journey, 9 pm, ITV (not Wales)

Alison Hammond and Kate Garraway sit together on a sofa

Alison Hammond and Kate Garraway are delving into the past tonight. (Image credit: ITV)

Daytime TV stars Kate Garraway and Alison Hammond team up to discover some surprising facts about their ancestors in tonight’s episode, including a link to 007! Their adventure comes after a tough two years for the pals of 20 years, with Alison losing both her parents in 2020 and Kate’s husband, Derek, still suffering the effects of Covid-19. But a trip to Jamaica gives them both reason to smile when Alison discovers her four-times-great-grandfather was instrumental in the fight to abolish slavery. Meanwhile, Kate makes the extraordinary discovery that her cousin was part of the secretive T-Force unit during World War Two, which was the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s James Bond. 

★★★ HD

Best box set to watch on TV tonight

Dynasty season 5, Netflix

Dynasty season 5 cast

Dynasty season 5 cast. (Image credit: CW channel)

The reboot of the iconic soap opera charting the ups and downs of the Carrington family has returned for its final season. The drama begins where season 4 ended as we discover whether Fallon, who was shot by her evil, husband-stealing assistant Eva, survived the attack. A host of familiar faces return for the final series including Grant Shaw as Blake Carrington, Elizabeth Gillies as Fallon Carrington, Sam Underwood as Adam Carrington, Elaine Hendrix as Alexis Carrington and Daniella Alonso as Cristal Jennings Carrington. Also watch out for a new member of the family as British actress Eliza Bennet joins the show as a regular character called Amanda, a long-lost relative who was born and raised Europe who brings some serious baggage with her! 

Best film to watch on TV tonight

Ali, 9 pm, BBC Four

Bulking up, Will Smith transforms himself for a brilliant turn as boxing great Muhammad Ali. This epic biopic covers 10 tumultuous years in his life – from winning the world title by beating Sonny Liston through to the legendary ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ with George Foreman in 1974. Smith’s superb Oscar-nominated portrayal alone makes this a remarkable movie, but Jon Voight is also magnificent as Howard Cosell, his TV pundit pal. Prior to Ali, there’s another chance to see Muhammad Ali: A Life in Ten Pictures (8 pm).  

★★★★ DW

Live Sport

  • Live World Grand Prix Darts - 7 pm, Sky Sports Main Events

Soaps on TV tonight

If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…

Don't miss All Creatures Great and Small on TV tonight — it sounds like things are getting a bit much for James in Darrowby!

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

Happy viewing!

Martin Shore
Staff Writer at WhatToWatch.com

Martin is a Staff Writer with WhatToWatch.com, where he produces a variety of articles focused on the latest and greatest films and TV shows. 

Some of his favorite shows are What We Do In The Shadows, Bridgerton, Gangs of London, The Witcher, Doctor Who, and Ghosts. When he’s not watching TV or at the movies, Martin’s probably still in front of a screen playing the latest video games, reading, or watching the NFL.