TV tonight: our highlights for Thursday 7th January

Death in paradise season 10
(Image credit: BBC / Red Planet / Denis Guyenon)

Death in Paradise is just one of the gems on tonight...

Death in Paradise is back with a brand new series, while Sheridan Smith puts the country's best dog groomers to the test in Perfect Pooch. Here's what else you shouldn’t miss on TV tonight. 

  • Our hand-selected recommendations for what's on TV tonight include three TV shows, a film 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

Death in Paradise, 9pm, BBC1 

DS Florence Cassell and DI Neville Parker enjoy dinner together

Will Florence and Neville help each other work through their difficulties? (Photo: BBC/Red Planet/Denis Guyenon) (Image credit: BBC / Red Planet / Denis Guyenon)

Honoré police station is looking woefully empty at the start of this new series. Madeleine has landed a promotion in Paris and taken Ruby with her, while DI Neville Parker is avoiding the place entirely as he’s convinced it’s given him Sick Building Syndrome. Fortunately for overworked JP, DS Florence Cassell returns to Saint Marie just in time to assist with the investigation into the death of TV reporter Melanie Sharpe. The prime suspect is hugely popular, presenter Garfield Tourné (Patrick Robinson) but since he was live on air when Melanie died, he has a cast-iron alibi… ★★★★ SP

Big Fat Quiz of Everything, 9pm, C4 

If your family has only just recovered from disagreements that arose during Boxing Day’s Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2020, brace yourself because here’s the bumper Big Fat Quiz of Everything. Jimmy Carr returns as quizmaster, with celebrity contestants including Oti Mabuse, Rob Brydon, Katherine Ryan, Rob Beckett, Nish Kumar and Roisin Conaty. ★★★ JP

Pooch Perfect,  8pm, BBC1 

Pooch Perfect Sheridan Smith

Sheridan Smith and her canine sidekick, Stanley, in Pooch Perfect (Picture: BBC) (Image credit: BBC/Beyond Productions)

More Bark Off than Bake Off, this entertaining dog grooming contest sees fur fly as 16 of the country’s best groomers work their magic with clippers to win over judges Verity Hardcastle and Colin Taylor. In the first heat, four competitors trim some gorgeous Shih Tzus for the Breed Makeover Challenge, before they demonstrate their creative flair in the Dogwalk Challenge with teddy bear-style cuts. But which two will feel the puppy love and make it to the quarter-finals and who’ll be in the dog house? Devoted dog-lover Sheridan Smith is a natural presenter for this lovely competition, but her canny canine co-host Stanley might just steal the show! ★★★★ CC

Best box set to watch on TV tonight

The Cry, BBC iPlayer, series one

The Cry TV Tonight

Jenna Coleman and Ewen Leslie star in The Cry. (Picture: Synchronicity Films Ltd/Lachlan Moore/Matt Burlem) (Image credit: Synchronicity Films Ltd/Lachlan Moore/Matt Burlem)

This four-part BBC thriller, starring Victoria favourite Jenna Coleman, is a drama not to be missed. When Joanna and Alistair travel to Australia with their baby son, Noah, they are bracing themselves to fight for custody of Alistair's daughter. But soon their lives start to unravel when they face an unthinkable tragedy. However, not everything is as it seems, and soon Joanna is about to discover that the truth is far worse than she could have ever imagined.

Best film to watch on TV tonight

Pieces of a Woman / Netflix

Vanessa Kirby (the young Princess Margaret in The Crown) plays Martha, a woman traumatised by the death of her newborn baby while also negotiating tensions with her husband (Shia LaBeouf) and domineering mother (Ellen Burstyn). But as she deals with her loss, she also must face in court the midwife responsible for her daughter’s death. A compelling performance by Vanessa’s troubled protagonist. ★★★★ NC

Soaps on TV tonight

If you watch just one thing on TV tonight… 

Don't miss the new series of Death in Paradise - a little burst of sunshine on a January day.

Not found anything you want to watch on TV tonight? Check out our TV Guide. 

Happy viewing!

CATEGORIES
Claire Crick
Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch

Claire is Assistant Managing Editor at What To Watch and has been a journalist for over 15 years, writing about everything from soaps and TV to beauty, entertainment, and even the Royal Family. After starting her career at a soap magazine, she ended up staying for 13 years, and over that time she’s pulled pints in the Rovers Return, sung karaoke in the Emmerdale village hall, taken a stroll around Albert Square, and visited Summer Bay Surf Club in sunny Australia. 

After learning some tricks of the trade at websites Digital Spy, Entertainment Daily, and Woman & Home, Claire landed a role at What’s On TV and whattowatch.com writing about all things TV and film, with a particular love for Aussie soaps, Strictly Come Dancing and Bake Off

She’s interviewed everyone from June Brown — AKA Dot Cotton — to Michelle Keegan, swapped cooking tips with baking legend Mary Berry backstage at the NTAs, and danced the night away with soap stars at countless awards bashes. There’s not a lot she doesn’t know about soaps and TV and can be very handy when a soapy question comes up in a pub quiz! 

As well as all things soap-related, Claire also loves running, spa breaks, days out with her kids, and getting lost in a good book.