On TV tonight, new drama Desperate Measures starts on Channel 5, Inside our Autistic Minds concludes over on BBC Two, and the Martin Lewis Money Show dishes out more financial advice. Here's what you shouldn't miss on TV Tonight.
- Our hand-selected recommendations for what's on TV tonight include 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
Desperate Measures, 9 pm, Channel 5
Amanda Abbington heads the cast of this drama about the drastic lengths a mother will go to for the sake of her child. She plays single mum Rowan, a diligent bank clerk, whose life spirals out of control when her teenage son Finn (newcomer Jesse Cescatti-McFarlane) is coerced into a botched drug deal on their crime-ridden estate.
With Finn’s life in danger unless a desperate Rowan can pay back the £25,000 he lost, things take a far-fetched Ocean’s Eleven-style turn as Rowan hooks up with her career-criminal ex, Patrick (Warren Brown), to carry out a heist at her bank. Look out for Casualty’s Sunetra Sarker as Rowan’s co-worker and loyal friend, Varisha. Continues until Friday.
★★★ HD
Inside Our Autistic Minds, 9 pm, BBC Two
In the concluding part of his documentary looking to help autistic people express their true selves, Chris Packham visits Anton, 26, a trance DJ and Middlesbrough football fan who would like his friends to understand why routine and precision-timing is so important to him. He also meets Ethan, 19, whose hypersensitivity to noise is isolating him from his fellow students at college. Chris recognises elements of himself, and his younger self, in both of them so he’s the ideal person to get to know them and help them make their short films to show family and friends what they’re feeling. Recommended watching for everyone.
★★★★★ JP
The Martin Lewis Money Show, 8 pm, ITV1
The financial guide is a 90-minute special this week, delving into the complicated business of pension pots. Martin answers questions on both private investment and the state-funded scheme, ever more urgent since the cost-of-living crisis has forced many to cut contributions to their retirement funds. Martin, thanks for your expert advice.
★★★ NT
Panorama: Ukraine's War Diaries, 9 pm, BBC One
This Friday, 24 February, marks one year since Russian forces invaded Ukraine. A Panorama special tonight features five Ukrainians who kept video diaries over the year, including Pavlo, who worries he won’t see his young son again, and Bella, who visits her home town of Irpin and finds utter devastation there. ‘I’m sure we’re going to win,’ she says, standing by a new cemetery full of bodies. ‘I’m sure we are, but at what cost?’ Other programmes this week marking the one-year anniversary include Ukraine from Above (Sunday, C4, All4, 10pm), a Newsround special (Wednesday, CBBC, BBC iPlayer, 7.55am) and Life and War: Ukraine a Year On (Thursday, ITV, 9pm).
★★★★★ JP
U-Boat Wargamers, 9 pm, Sky History
This docudrama series tells the largely forgotten story of the women who helped win World War Two. By 1943, German U-boats had brought Britain to the brink of starvation by sinking merchant ships in the Atlantic. Members of the Women’s Royal Naval Service ended up doing what Admiralty top brass couldn’t – come up with a tactic to out-think the U-boats, turn the tide of the war and become some of the greatest wargamers of their generation. Call the Midwife’s Jack Ashton portrays Nazi U-boat maestro Karl Donitz.
★★★ HD
Best box set on TV tonight
If you love a good dating show, this Netflix offering could be perfect for you. In Perfect Match, stars from Netflix's popular reality shows, such as Love Is Blind, Too Hot To Handle, The Ultimatum and The Mole jet off to a tropical paradise to try and find love.
As they compete to form relationships, the most compatible couples will play matchmaker, breaking up other couples and sending them on dates with brand-new singles they’ll invite to the villa, so there's plenty of drama in store. Episodes are dropping in batches of four, so perfect binge-watch material.
LB
Best film on TV tonight
The Banshees of Inisherin, Disney Plus
Released at the end of last year, writer-director Martin McDonagh’s latest film is among those leading the pack with multiple nominations in awards season, including 10 BAFTA nods and 9 Oscar nominations. Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell (who also starred in McDonagh’s excellent In Bruges) play Colm and Pádraic, lifelong friends until Colm announces one day that he can’t face any more of Pádraic’s inane wittering and that the friendship is over.
There’s a dark and serious point being quietly made along with all the craic and buffoonery, and some brilliantly gruff acting from Gleeson, though it’s Farrell who takes the honours as the infuriating but sweet-natured Pádraic.
★★★★ SM
Soaps
- EastEnders, 7.30 pm, BBC One
- Emmerdale, 7.30 pm, ITV1
- Hollyoaks, 6.30 pm, Channel 4
- Home & Away, 6 pm, 5Star
Live Sport
- UEFA Champions League: Liverpool v Real Madrid, 7 pm, BT Sport 1
- EFL Trophy Football: Plymouth Argyle v Cheltenham Town, 8 pm, Sky Sports Main Event
If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…
Don't miss Desperate Measures on TV tonight.
Not found anything you want to watch on TV tonight? Check out our TV Guide.
Happy viewing!
