TV Tonight: our highlights for Tuesday, August 3

Teenager Tom Oakley is determined to fulfil his dancing dreams.
Teenager Tom Oakley is determined to fulfil his dancing dreams. (Image credit: C4)

On TV tonight, don't miss the inspiring story of Tom Oakley in The Boy Who Can't Stop Dancing on C4, actor Richard E Grant begins a literary adventure in Write Around the World on BBC4 and the tension mounts on ITV's Cooking with the Stars. 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

The Boy Who Can't Stop Dancing, 11.05pm, C4

TV tonight dancer Tom Oakley.

Dancer Tom Oakley won't let cystic fibrosis hold him back. (Image credit: C4)

It’s hard enough to win a place at one of the world’s most prestigious dance schools, let alone if you have the life-limiting lung condition cystic fibrosis. But this moving film follows 17-year-old cystic fibrosis suffer Tom Oakley (you might remember him from last year’s The Greatest Dancer on BBC1) as he pushes his body to the limit to get into London’s famous Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. Every year the school receives thousands of applications from all over the world for only 45 places, so a tall order for anyone. Plus Tom has a few setbacks in the run-up to the audition, including a severe cystic fibrosis attack. But Tom’s so determined yet humble that by the time he gets through to the final stages, you’re really rooting for him…

★★★★ HD

Write Around the World with Richard E Grant, 9pm, BBC4

TV Tonight Richard E Grant is in Italy, following in the footsteps of some of his favourite authors.

Actor Richard E Grant is in Italy, following in the footsteps of some of his favourite authors. (Image credit: BBC)

Actor Richard E Grant follows in the footsteps of authors who have been inspired by some fabulous locations. He begins in Naples, Italy, where My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante is set. He visits the markets and neighbourhoods brought alive by Ferrante in the evocative book about friendship and freedom. He also visits Pompeii for the Robert Harris novel of the same name, the beautiful coastal town of Positano where The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith is based and the remarkable town of Matera where Carlo Levi wrote his moving memoir Christ Stopped at Eboli. A must-see series for all book-lovers. 

★★★★ JL  

Cooking with the Stars, 9pm, ITV

TV tonight the Cooking with the Stars contestants

 Cooking with the Stars contestants. (Image credit: ITV)

The final five celebrities are on tenterhooks, having made it over halfway through the fierce cooking contest. Let’s hope that their food isn’t anywhere near as tough as tonight’s challenge – French cuisine. We’re sworn to secrecy regarding the identity of the remaining contestants, but can reveal Duck à l’Orange, Coq au Vin and Bourride are on the menu. They only have an hour to prepare and the heat is on, as everyone wants to baguette a place in the next round. But, sadly for one star, c’est fini. Hopefully without regrets… 

★★★★ ER

Best box set to watch on TV tonight

Clarkson's Farm, Amazon Prime Video

TV Tonight Jeremy Clarkson on his farm.

Jeremy Clarkson has a lot to learn about farming! (Image credit: Amazon Prime Video)

Jeremy Clarkson stays true to his acerbic, bolshie TV persona as this entertaining new eight part series tracks his progress getting to grips, (or not, as seems to be the case at first), with the 1,000-acre Cotswold farm where he lives. The opening episode sees him purchase a ludicrously huge Lamborghini tractor that he is clueless about operating, make a hash of ploughing some fields and get a severe telling-off from his new right hand man, young farmer Kaleb, who brings fun and youth to proceedings. Fans of Clarkson will enjoy it. Farmers will be rolling their eyes in despair!

★★★★ TL

Best film to watch on TV tonight

Almost Famous, 9pm, GREAT! Movies

TV tonight: Patrick Fugit stars as William Miller in the film Almost Famous.

Patrick Fugit stars as William Miller in Almost Famous. (Image credit: Columbia Tri-Star)

Patrick Fugit and Kate Hudson star in writer-director Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical tale about a precocious teenage rock journalist writing for Rolling Stone magazine in the 1970s. Despite a rose-tinted approach to a notoriously debauched era – Crowe downplays the sex 'n' drugs in favour of the rock 'n' roll – the film is effortlessly enjoyable and an obviously affectionate portrait of the music biz.

Live Sport

  • Olympics 2020, from 6am, BBC1/BBC2/iPlayer/Red Button
  • Cricket: The Women's Hundred, London Spirit v Northern Superchargers, 2.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event/NOW
  • Cricket: The Hundred, London Spirit v Northern Superchargers, 6pm, Sky Sports Main Event/NOW

Soaps on TV tonight

If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…

Don't miss The Boy Who Can't Stop Dancing on TV tonight – an inspiring film about a remarkable young man.

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.