What’s on telly tonight? Our pick of the best shows on Thursday 19th July

Our Shirley Valentine Summer

TV Times top picks for today

What’s on telly tonight? Here the TV Times team of expert reviewers highlight the best shows on Thursday 19th July

Our Shirley Valentine Summer, 9.30pm, ITV

Who wouldn’t want to escape to a Greek island for the Summer? That’s what eight lucky female celebrities get to do in this new series. All single and all in their late forties or over, the women share a villa on Naxos for three and a half weeks. In the first episode, the group, comprising Lizzie Cundy, Ingrid Tarrant, Nancy Dell’Olio, Annabel Giles, Aggie MacKenzie, Ninia Benjamin, Melinda Messenger and Siân Lloyd, settle into their villa and explain what they hope to get out of the show – be it discovering a new passion or maybe having a summer romance. Made by the team who gave us The Real Marigold Hotel, this promises to be an enjoyable sun-kissed summer treat. Rating: *****

How the Other Half Lives, 9pm, Channel 5

Get ready for another irresistible look at the luxurious lifestyles of the world’s richest people, as Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford head to Monaco’s moneyed capital Monte Carlo in the first of a new series. The sun-drenched sovereign state on the French Riviera is famed as the playground of the wildly wealthy, including former F1 boss Flavio Briatore, who invites lucky Eamonn and Ruth to hang out at his exclusive club. This is a land of glamour and glitz where every A-lister dreams of living, but it’s also the world’s most crowded and highest-priced property market – don’t expect $30million to go far! Rating: ***

Prison, 9pm, C4

Violent assaults, suicide attempts and increasingly clever ways of smuggling in drugs – nothing is off limits as BAFTA-winning director Paddy Wivell gains unprecedented access to HMP Durham in this two-part series. Following staff and inmates over several months, it offers a stark window onto the challenges facing our UK prisons at a time when funding has been cut. Compelling viewing, containing unlikely pockets of warmth and humour. Rating: *****

More previews tomorrow.

David Hollingsworth
Editor

David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest television and film news for What To Watch.

Before working for What To Watch, David spent many years working for TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough. 

David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards. David is a huge Death in Paradise fan, although he's still failed to solve a case before the show's detective! He also loves James Bond and controversially thinks that Timothy Dalton was an excellent 007.

Other than watching and writing about telly, David loves playing cricket, going to the cinema, trying to improve his tennis and chasing about after his kids!