On TV tonight, World on Fire is back after a four-year hiatus, it's the last episode in Bettany Hughes' travelogue, and The Lionesses join A League of Their Own. 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
World on Fire, 9 pm, BBC One
Writer Peter Bowker brought us a refreshing take on World War Two with a drama comprising the conflict’s less famous chapters in 2019, so we’re delighted to see World on Fire back on screens.
The second series opens in 1940 and takes us from the deserts of North Africa to the bombed-out streets of Manchester, where British soldier Harry Chase (Jonah Hauer-King) returns with his Polish bride Kasia (Zofia Wichlacz) to meet the mother of his baby, Lois (Julia Brown). It’s quite a love triangle, especially for Harry’s snobby mother Robina, played with elan by Lesley Manville.
★★★★ SMA
Exploring India's Treasures with Bettany Hughes, 8 pm, Channel 4
Bettany explores southern India in the final part of her jam-packed historical travelogue. She explores the mysterious 500-year-old abandoned city of Hampi with its ornate granite temples, scales the Nilgiri Mountains onboard India’s steepest railway line to Ooty (built during imperial rule to transport wealthy Brits escaping the summer heat). On arriving in Ooty, she meets the Toda women, indigenous people who revere the train and celebrate it in song. There’s more singing and dancing later as Bettany travels to Kerala to witness the time-honoured devotional ritual of walking on hot coals…
★★★★ MC
The Lionesses: A League Of Their Own Special, 8 pm, Sky Showcase
With the women’s World Cup just around the corner, former striker Jill Scott shows Maisie Adam and Katherine Ryan what it takes to become a Lioness when she invites the comics for a training session with the England squad. Adam recently played in this year’s Soccer Aid match when Scott was on the opposing team, but how will she compare with England’s elite?
★★★★ RMC
A Spy Among Friends, 9 pm, ITV1
There are no flies on fabulously indomitable MI5 agent Lily Thomas (Anna Maxwell Martin), who remains convinced that MI6 operative Nicholas Elliott (Damian Lewis) is holding something back, even after she has quizzed him about his treacherous friend Kim Philby (Guy Pearce) and listened to a recording of his intriguing final meeting with Philby in Beirut.
As Lily tries to pull his strings, an unsettled Elliott visits an old friend to delve into what Philby was really up to before and during the war. But will he or Lily get the answers they need? Meanwhile, Philby arrives in Moscow.
★★★★ 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
Rocketman, 9 pm, Channel 4
Elton John enters an addiction rehabilitation session, and recounts his life in a flashback, covering his days as young Reginald Dwight growing up in 1950s Britain. He takes piano lessons, makes his way into the Royal Academy of Music, and hones his craft in local pubs before becoming one of the world's biggest pop stars. Golden Globe-winning biopic, starring Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell and Richard Madden.
Live Sport
- Goodwood Festival of Speed Live, from 1:30 pm, ITV1
If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…
Don't miss World on Fire on TV tonight.
Not found anything you want to watch on TV tonight? Check out our TV Guide.
Happy viewing!
