On TV tonight, there's a regal theme in The Repair Shop Jubilee Special on BBC One as the restorers get their mighty mitts on some very precious items. It's Music Week on The Great British Sewing Bee on BBC One, Inside No 9 comes to a close on BBC Two, DNA Family Secrets continues on BBC Two and take a trip down memory lane as BBC Four shows the iconic TV play Abigail's Party. 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
The Repair Shop Jubilee Special, 8pm, BBC One
Four items with a royal connection are brought into the barn, including a precious lantern used for more than a century in the Ceremony of the Keys, the ritual of locking up the Tower of London and Crown Jewels each night. Brought in by Beefeater Peter, the lantern needs the expert help of super-fixer Steve Fletcher to keep it lighting up the way of this ancient tradition. There is also a Pearly King suit in need of finishing, a smashing commemorative plate from the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887 and a cyclist who wants to get back on his patriotic tandem bike.
★★★★ JL
The Great British Sewing Bee, 9pm, BBC One
Fans of David Bowie are in for a treat when the music legend becomes the muse for tonight’s remaining sewers. Music Week kicks off with a perplexing pattern for a parka, that much-loved coat adopted by 1960s mod culture, while old denim gets the country music treatment in the Transformation task. But it’s the Made to Measure challenge that wows, with the stitchers paying tribute to Bowie, choosing one of his many iconic looks to create outlandish outfits. Judges Esme Young and Patrick Grant are in their element as imaginations run riot.
★★★★ RF
Inside No 9, season 7, 10pm, BBC Two
Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton sign off the latest series with a brooding tale of a man struggling to escape the pain of his past. Ronnie has spent his life following the advice of Wise Owl, a bossy cartoon bird who appeared in safety videos in the 1970s, but where was Owl when he needed him? Ron Cook guest stars, but it’s the unsettling animations by Sam O’Leary that really set your teeth on edge, as the atmosphere of this haunting parable slowly builds.
★★★★ SMA
DNA Family Secrets, 9pm, BBC Two
Clare, 38, hopes to find out whether her dad was a British soldier during the Troubles as her mum led her to believe. Family friends have made her doubt her mum's story so she's called on host Stacey Dooley and expert Professor Turi King to help her discover the truth about her father's identity. Also, Leigh wants to know if he has a secret sister and Jenna and Ryan want to know more about the genetic mutation they both carry that could affect their future children.
★★★ JL
Abigail's Party, 10pm, BBC Four
The 1977 TV play that cemented viewers’ love for Alison Steadman gets a welcome repeat. Mike Leigh’s domestic comedy-drama about social aspiration in suburbia, which spawned the catchphrase ‘a little top-up?’ and a cult following for Greek singer Demis Roussos, plays for laughs as it introduces tragic lives. The groundbreaking series of which it was part, Play for Today, is celebrated in Drama Out of a Crisis (11.45pm).
★★★★★ NT
Best box set to watch on TV tonight
Stranger Things, season 4 (part 1), Netflix
The much-loved series makes the shift from the nostalgic 1980s supernatural smash to full-blown horror as it returns for its much-anticipated fourth series (part one’s eight episodes are available from Friday, May 27; part two from July 1). Three years in the making, the penultimate chapter begins with a now powerless Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) in California with the Byers clan, while her pals back home head to high school in Hawkins. The show’s creators have promised lots of answers, as we delve deeper into the parallel world of the Upside Down, and there’s also a terrifying new monster on the prowl, played by Nightmare on Elm Street’s Robert Englund.
Best film to watch on TV today
Elizabeth: A Portrait in Parts, Prime Video
How many hands has Her Majesty shaken? How many countries visited, ribbons cut and speeches given? It’s extraordinary to think about how much the Queen has witnessed during her 70-year reign. This film (also showing in cinemas) tells her story using masses of archive material, with no voiceover or commentary, just footage spanning the seven decades of her reign and encompassing every aspect of her life. Split into chapters with titles such as At Home, In the Saddle and Horribilis, it celebrates the life of a truly extraordinary woman, the one constant in an ever-changing world.
Live Sport
- World Cup Qualifier, Scotland vs Ukraine, 7pm (k-o 7.45pm), Sky Sports Main Event/NOW
Soaps on TV tonight
- EastEnders, 7.30pm, BBC One
- Emmerdale, 7pm, ITV
- Coronation Street, 7.30pm, ITV
- Hollyoaks, 6.30pm, C4
- Neighbours, 6pm, Channel 5
- Home and Away, 6pm & 6.30pm, 5Star
If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…
Don't miss The Repair Shop Jubilee Special on TV tonight – four fabulous items, all with a royal link, are brought in for much-needed restorations.
Not found anything you want to watch on TV tonight? Check out our TV Guide.
Happy viewing!
