Call the Midwife is just one of the gems on today...
Special delivery – Call the Midwife 2021 is here, Hastings' nemesis returns in Line of Duty, and Guy Martin traces the story of the Battle of Britain. Here’s what you shouldn’t be missing 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
- 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
Line of Duty, 9pm, BBC1
Oh, the tension is cranking up now! Kate remains sure that shifty Joanne is not a wrong’un and, while we beg to differ, we do feel sorry for the DCI as her attempts to distance herself from the dodgy goings-on she’s caught up in are not going to plan… Meanwhile, Hastings is dealing with his impending forced retirement by working even harder to solve the murder of Gail Vella. But the highlight is the return of DCS Patricia Carmichael (the brilliant Anna Maxwell Martin), who has some bombshells to deliver...
★★★★★ CC
Call the Midwife, 8pm, BBC1
We’ve been itching to see the Poplar midwives again, but if this opener is anything to go by, it’s been worth the wait! Emotions are running high in spring 1966 and worrying difficulties arise at a birth, while Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) sends Trixie (Helen George) on secondment to a private maternity clinic to try to raise vital funds. Elsewhere, marvellous Sister Hilda (Fenella Woolgar) puts on a fashion show to try to get some cutting-edge new nuns’ habits! Welcome back, ladies, we’ve missed you!
★★★★★ CC
Guy Martin's Battle of Britain, 9pm, C4
For his latest two-part documentary, Guy Martin traces the story of the Battle of Britain, meeting veterans of the conflict and their descendants, as well as investigating the pioneering work of plastic surgeons and air-sea rescue teams. There’s lots to learn but it wouldn’t be a Guy documentary without him doing something hair-raising and this time he finds out what it would have been like to be a Battle of Britain pilot by undergoing an intense training course and experiencing a ‘dogfight’ – an aerial duel between fighter planes conducted at close range.
★★★ NC
Best box set to watch on TV tonight
Arrested Development, seasons one to five, Netflix
Actress Jessica Walter, who died last month aged 80, plays imperious, drink-sodden matriarch Lucille Bluth in this comedy gem about the oddball, selfish members of a once wealthy family who continue to lead extravagant lives despite their assets being frozen.
Best film to watch on TV tonight
I, Tonya, 10pm (not NI), BBC2
As shamed ice skater Tonya Harding, Margot Robbie is electrifying in this brilliant, brutal biopic which earned her an Oscar nomination. Working-class in a middle-class world, Harding wasn’t your typical figure skater, with a cruel mother (Oscar-winning Allison Janney) and a toxic relationship with her husband. In mockumentary style, this attempts to consider all perspectives, helping to explain and humanise Harding and the craziness surrounding her.
Live sport
- FA Cup Football: Leicester v Southampton 6pm (k-o 6.30pm), BT Sport 1
If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…
Don't miss Call the Midwife on TV tonight – Poplar, we've missed you!
Not found anything you want to watch on TV tonight? Check out our TV Guide.
Happy viewing!
