TV tonight: our highlights for Saturday, August 9, including the new Outlander prequel series

Julia and Henry hold hands on one side of a wall, while Brian and Ellen hold hands on the other side in the Scottish Highlands
(Image credit: MGM+ / Blood of My Blood © 2024 Starz Entertainment, LLC)

Here's our TV tonight picks for Saturday, August 9 (for more information about what's on TV, see our TV Guide)...

Outlander: Blood of My Blood, MGM+

Brian and Ellen in Outlander: Blood of My Blood

(Image credit: MGM+ / Blood of My Blood © 2024 Starz Entertainment, LLC)

Although the final series of Outlander is in the offing, there’s more to come from the world created by Diana Gabaldon. This 10-part prequel follows the parents of Claire and Jamie Fraser, who met after she was transported from 1945 to 1743 via a stone circle. It begins in Scotland in 1714 with the romance between Jamie’s folks, Ellen (Harriet Slater) and Brian (Jamie Roy), who come from rival clans. Then, in the 1920s, Claire’s parents Julia (Hermione Corfield) and Henry (Jeremy Irvine) end up at the stones and are subsequently forced apart. Tonight sees the first two episodes air, and the rest of the series will follow weekly.

Annika, BBC1, 9.10 pm

Glasgow’s Marine Homicide Unit relocates to Edinburgh in this episode of the crime drama, after a body is found in a cage beneath the Forth Bridge. As Annika (Nicola Walker) and Michael (Jamie Sives) work together on the case, it presents an opportunity for her to finally let him know he’s the father of her daughter, but she decides it’s easier to blather on about Walter Scott instead. Will she ever work up the courage to tell him? Meanwhile, something doesn’t add up in their current investigation, but, on the plus side, the unit’s attachment, Harper (Doctor Who’s Varada Sethu), knows the name of Walter Scott’s dog, so she and Annika are going to get along like a house on fire…

The Ritz: The World’s Most Famous Hotel, 5, 8 pm

Take a wander through the corridors of The Ritz, London’s luxurious five-star hotel, where the phrase ‘ritzy’ originated and where a palatial suite can set you back £12,000 a night. This documentary reveals all about the opulent establishment, famed for serving afternoon tea in its plush Palm Court, which opened its doors in 1906. Narrated by Fay Ripley and featuring contributions from historians and journalists – and actor Nigel Havers, whose grandparents took him there for a treat because they liked the food – this gives viewers a peek into the hotel’s history and some of its famous guests

Casualty, BBC1, 8.20 pm

Teddy in his paramedic uniform at work in someone's living room.

(Image credit: BBC STUDIOS.)

It’s the morning after Holby ED was inundated with partygoers who’d popped pills laced with deadly synthetic opioids, and Indie has gone missing – last seen leaving a nightclub with her druggie friend Badger. Elsewhere, Dylan clashes with Flynn over his handling of the drug crisis, and Iain becomes certain he knows who the morphine thief is. The senior paramedic can hardly believe his eyes when he catches Teddy stealing medication from a deceased patient. A first-rate and tense two-hander between Casualty actors Michael Stevenson and Milo Clarke follows, as Iain decides whether or not to report his once-trusted colleague…

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. 

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