On TV tonight, King Charles III takes us inside Dumfries House estate, Beth and Eric host a special tea in Two Doors Down, Adrian Dunbar concludes his Irish travel series and classic drama The Singing Detective is repeated. 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
A Royal Grand Design, 9 pm, ITV1
This revealing documentary has been more than a decade in the making and sees King Charles III proudly reveal how he and a dedicated team of experts have battled against the odds to revive the fortunes of the dilapidated Dumfries House estate in East Ayrshire, which he bought with a consortium in 2007.
Since then, the monarch has overseen conservation on the house’s furnishings, a makeover of the stunning walled garden and schemes to regenerate the local area. The overall impression is of a man with a huge passion for trying to preserve the past while keeping a compassionate eye on the future.
★★★★ CC
Two Doors Down, 10.10pm, BBC Two
Christine (Elaine C Smith) is celebrating her 69th birthday, so Beth and Eric – who else? – host a special tea for their perpetually grumbling neighbour. Everyone’s brought cakes, meaning Alan spends most of the episode puzzling over the difference between brownies and blondies, and Christine’s brought Gaviscon.
Despite Beth’s best efforts, the talk turns to funerals and Christine has big plans for hers. While the past couple of series don’t quite have the zing of earlier ones, there are still lots of laughs. ‘At the end of my funeral,’ says Christine mistily, ‘I’d like my favourite piece of music of all time.’ ‘Reet Petite?’ asks Colin…
★★★ JP
Adrian Dunbar: My Ireland, 8 pm, Channel 5
Where Martin Compston’s Scottish Fling (available on BBC iPlayer) is all about the craic, his Line of Duty co-star Adrian Dunbar’s journey around his homeland is more of a serious history lesson. In this second leg, Adrian tours the ancient east coast of Ireland, more unfamiliar to tourists than the west.
His promise to show us the best scenery is not broken as he wonders at the neolithic tomb of Newgrange, visits the splendour of the Italian garden at Powerscourt — voted the third best garden in the world, but Adrian declares it ‘one of the most beautiful views in Ireland’ — and takes a ride along the Waterford Greenway, which is ‘like cycling in the air’.
★★★ NT
The Singing Detective, from 10 pm, BBC Four
This week’s classic drama slot features the groundbreaking Dennis Potter series The Singing Detective, which was first shown in the BBC One schedule on Sunday evenings in 1986. Michael Gambon is outstanding (he won a Best Actor BAFTA) as a writer, who, while hospitalised, alternates between reality, memories of his childhood and a fantasy about being a detective, one of his fictional characters.
Potter had already used the device of lip-syncing to old songs in Pennies from Heaven, but it really made an impact with this series. A great supporting case includes Patrick Malahide, Joanne Whalley and Alison Steadman, who gives a short introduction before the first episode.
★★★★★ JP
Warwick Davis reprises the titular role of kind-hearted sorcerer Willow Ufgood in this eight-part sequel series to the 1988 fantasy film of the same name (also available to stream on Disney Plus). The new adventure picks up 20 years after the movie, with Willow heading up a new gang of unlikely young heroes to rescue a missing prince and once again save his magical realm.
Joanne Whalley also returns as now Queen Sorsha along with Kevin Pollak, who reprises his role of cheeky brownie Rool. Among the new cast is Erin Kellyman (Top Boy), who plays aspiring knight Jade, and Ellie Bamber (The Trial of Christine Keeler) as kitchen maid Dove.
★★★★RM
Best box set on TV tonight
1899 is the latest series by Dark creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese. Their newest offering is an enigmatic show that will have viewers question what is going on at every turn of its eight-episode first season, so it's perfect for those looking for a twisty new thriller to entertain them over the weekend.
All eight episodes are now available to stream on Netflix and feature a great cast including The Pursuit of Love's Emily Beecham and It’s for Your Own Good's Andreas Pietschmann.
★★★★ LB
Best film on TV tonight
Alien, 9 pm, ITV Four
With Sigourney Weaver about to take a key role in the new Avatar: The Way of Water movie (in cinemas in December), here’s a reminder of the film that made her name, launched a franchise and made a superstar director of Ridley Scott. As the vulnerable but tough Ripley, Sigourney was a groundbreaking heroine in a groundbreaking piece of sci-fi, and her defining piece of dialogue – ‘How do we kill it?’ – would power the franchise through three sequels, a prequel series, as well as games and TV spin-offs.
And to think it could just as easily have been Meryl Streep in the role. She was down to the last two with Sigourney!
★★★★★ SM
Soaps
- Emmerdale, 7 pm, ITV
- Coronation Street, 8 pm, ITV
- Hollyoaks, 6:30 pm, Channel 4
Live Sport
- FIFA World Cup: Tunisia v France, 2:30 pm (k-o 3 pm), BBC One
- FIFA World Cup: Australia v Denmark, 2:45 pm (k-o 3 pm), BBC Two
- FIFA World Cup: Poland v Argentina, 6:15 pm (k-o 7 pm), BBC One
- FIFA World Cup: Saudi Arabia v Mexico (k-o 7 pm), BBC Two
If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…
Don't miss A Royal Grand Design — a documentary that has been more than a decade in the making!
Not found anything you want to watch on TV tonight? Check out our TV Guide.
Happy viewing!
