On TV tonight, Joanna Lumley's Spice Trail Adventure sees the star heading back to India, it's the quarter-finals of The Great British Sewing Bee, George Clarke's Old House, New Home returns for its ninth series, Sandi Toksvig heads off for the last episode of Extraordinary Escapes, and Murder on the Blackpool Express hits BBC Two. 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
Joanna Lumley's Spice Trail Adventure, 9 pm, ITV1
Joanna Lumley tickles her taste buds with some of India’s famous flavours when she returns to the land of her birth to continue her voyage uncovering the mysteries of the spice trade. In the south of the country, she travels around Kerala, Karnataka and Goa, where she learns that ginger is currently one of India’s biggest spice exports and that pepper was once so expensive it was referred to as ‘black gold’. Along the way, she experiences an Ayurvedic massage, takes part in a Hindu festival and enjoys a gentle cruise along some of Kerala’s backwaters. But she also becomes rather taken with a local spicy liquor called feni, which is flavoured with fiery peppercorns!
★★★★ HD
George Clarke's Old House, New Home, 8 pm, Channel 4/Channel 4 On Demand (box set)
The effortlessly enthusiastic architect is back for a ninth series of his makeover series which transforms properties into abodes fit for 21st-century living. First, he takes an Arts and Crafts-inspired place in Manchester out of the Edwardian era, before converting a 1930s flat in south London into an open social space. Will fuschia-loving Flo’s flat be pretty in pink? ★★★ NT
The Great British Sewing Bee 2023, 9 pm, BBC One
It’s the quarter-finals and the sewers are paying tribute to the greatest trendsetters of all time in Fashion Icons Week! First, in the Pattern Challenge, they create their own versions of Audrey Hepburn’s legendary dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Then, for the Transformation Challenge, they turn a transparent shower curtain into a piece of high fashion to emulate a collection that ever-wonderful judge Esme Young once produced for Swanky Modes! Finally, in the Made to Measure Challenge, they channel Noël Coward by making stunning smoking jackets. But whose hopes will go up in smoke when they miss out on a place in the semi-finals?
★★★★ CC
Extraordinary Escapes with Sandi Toksvig, 9 pm, Channel 4/ Channel 4 On Demand (box set)
In this week’s final episode, Two Doors Down actor Doon Mackichan joins Sandi in Ireland to explore more remote luxury resorts. Their first stop is in the Fanad Peninsula in a stunning zinc-clad house shaped like a kelp frond. The views from the wall-to-ceiling windows take Doon’s breath away. ‘I’m in paradise!’ she says, before taking Sandi to the beach for a ‘feel the fear’ swim. Alas, their one night passes quickly, but their next stop is as enthralling – an eco-glamping site on Lough Mardal with a huge circular communal lodge. Sandi sighs, ‘It’s like being in a hug.’
★★★ MC
Murder on the Blackpool Express, 9 pm, BBC Two
A coach trip to Blackpool sounds lovely, but not if you’re travelling with this dodgy lot! This blackly comic whodunnit, previously shown on GOLD, finds Johnny Vegas and Sian Gibson as coach driver Terry and guide Gemma, who are leading a tour around the locations used in the novels of a flamboyant mystery writer (Griff Rhys Jones). But they’re horrified when their passengers start dying in macabre ways. The acting royalty is clearing having a ball, including the late Una Stubbs as a troublesome OAP.
★★★★ CC
Best box set on TV tonight
In Is It Cake Too?, a fresh batch of bakers who specialize in hyperrealistic bakes are tasked once again to make the most unlikely objects out of cake — this time around, think baseball gloves, weekender bags, toilets, and even the Mona Lisa herself — with the hopes of deceiving a slew of seasoned chefs and celebrity guests.
The new season sees 10 chefs hoping to take home their share of a $120,000 prize pot, so there's everything to bake for.
LB
Best film on TV tonight
Rocky III, 9 pm, ITV4
Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa quits the ring to marry his sweetheart and become a father. However, times prove hard and money is tight, so when Balboa is offered another shot at Apollo Creed's heavyweight title, the fighter is lured out of retirement. Drama sequel, starring Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers, Burt Young and Burgess Meredith.
Soaps
- EastEnders, 7.30 pm, BBC One
- Emmerdale, 7.30 pm, ITV1
- Coronation Street, 8 pm, ITV1
- Hollyoaks, 6.30 pm, Channel 4
- Home and Away, 6 pm, 5Star
Live Sport
- Wimbledon 2023, from 12.15 pm, BBC One/ BBC Two
- Women's Ashes, 1 pm, Sky Sports Main Event
If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…
Don't miss Joanna Lumley's Spice Trail Adventure on TV tonight.
Not found anything you want to watch on TV tonight? Check out our TV Guide.
Happy viewing!
