Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Phil Harrison, Hannah Verdier, Graeme Virtue, Jack Seale and Simon Wardell

TV tonight: the most well-known piece of classical music turns 200

Nicholas Collon conducts the Aurora Orchestra during the Proms performance.
Arguably the most well-known piece of classical music … Nicholas Collon conducts the Aurora Orchestra during the Proms performance. Photograph: Sisi Burn

Beethoven’s Ninth Unwrapped

8pm, BBC Four
It is the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and given that it’s arguably the most well-known piece of classical music, it’s only right that it is commemorated. Nicholas Collon conducts the Aurora Orchestra in a signature memorised Proms performance. Soloists include Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, Brenden Gunnell and Christopher Purves. The National Youth Choir of Great Britain joins for the final, joyous movement. Phil Harrison

Our Lives: The Seal Whisperer

7.30pm, BBC One
In the Farne Islands, a GP has a strange connection with seals. This charming film follows Ben Burville as he dives into the icy waters of the North Sea and comes back with remarkable footage. Ben credits the seals, and the natural world, with improvements to his mental health. PH

Rescue 999: Seconds to Save a Life

8pm, Channel 5
Remote locations give an extra edge to these real-life rescues, whether that’s a trek down a rocky ravine in the Peak District to find a woman who has fallen, or a lifeboat rushing to help a stranded party in the Solent. Meanwhile, a Cambridgeshire helicopter crew must assess a motorcyclist’s injuries quickly after a crash. Hannah Verdier

Gardeners’ World

9pm, BBC Two

Autumn is approaching but Monty Don is in hopeful mood, already thinking of next spring, getting some daffodil bulbs planted in readiness. Less pleasantly, he’s dealing with the horror of bindweed. Elsewhere, Frances Tophill visits pioneering horticulturist Josh Sparkes in Devon. PH

Terror at 30,000 Feet

9pm, Channel 5
If something goes wrong on a plane, you hope the captain will respond calmly. So what happens if they have been sucked halfway out of the cockpit window? That was the situation on a flight from Birmingham to Malaga in 1990. The story is retold via dramatic reconstructions and first-hand testimony from passengers. Graeme Virtue

The Golden Cobra

10pm, BBC Three
Another very funny, majestically crude double bill of the animated comedy centred on Ebbw Vale’s worst curry house. In the first episode, Basil vows to make a TV advert and, when we finally see it, it does not disappoint. Then we flash back to Nick’s shameful past as an unstable mixed martial arts enthusiast. Jack Seale

Film choice

Madame Web (SJ Clarkson, 2024), 11.25am, 8pm, Sky Cinema Premiere
It brings with it a ton of negative baggage – largely owing to its lead actor, Dakota Johnson, slamming it on the promotional tour – but the new Spider-verse flick is not the total car crash you might be expecting. The origin story for Johnson’s Cassandra Webb, a paramedic who can see the future, and three teenage girls (Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, Celeste O’Connor), who will grow up to be spider-women, is more like Marvel’s TV series: rooted in ordinary urban life, with the action small-scale and rarely super. Simon Wardell

Live sport

Paralympics Paris 2024, 8am, Channel 4 Day two, featuring first heats in the para rowing and para athletics.

Athletics: Diamond League Rome, 7pm, BBC Two The Golden Gala Pietro Mennea at Stadio Olimpico.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.