TV tonight: Our highlights for Friday, June 9
Black Ops is just one of the gems on TV tonight.
On TV tonight, Black Ops wraps up, Gardeners' World offers up some new ideas for green-fingered viewers, Susan Calman's Grand Day Out takes her to Morecambe, Hidden Treasures of the National Trust visits a medieval manor in Kent, and Tom Holland stars in the latest Apple TV Plus thriller, The Crowded Room. 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
Black Ops, 9.30 pm, BBC One/iPlayer (box set)
Gardeners' World, 8 pm, BBC Two
If coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show has inspired you to get planting, this BBC2 perennial is always blooming with ideas. There’s home-grown fruit and veg on the menu tonight, with Monty Don harvesting gooseberries and planting out squash. Rekha Mistry faces a few challenges as she starts planning out her new garden in the Peak District, while Adam Frost is inspired by a visit to an Arts and Crafts garden in North Yorkshire.
★★★ JPM
The Crowded Room, Apple TV Plus
Get the What to Watch Newsletter
The latest updates, reviews and unmissable series to watch and more!
We’re used to seeing Tom Holland playing an all-action movie hero like Spider-Man, but this psychological thriller sees the star flexing those acting muscles as Danny, a shy teen who’s arrested after a shooting in New York City in 1979 – an incident he claims to have no memory of. Through a series of intense interviews with interrogator Rya (Mamma Mia!’s Amanda Seyfried), Danny unlocks a traumatic past which sheds light on who committed the crime. While it’s a slow burn, the series boasts a tour de force turn from Holland that is so mesmerising, you’ll be glued. The first three episodes are available today.
★★★★ VW
Susan Calman's Grand Day Out, 8 pm, Channel 5
This week’s itinerary includes wild swimming in Darwen in Lancashire and a visit to Carnforth railway station, where Brief Encounter was filmed. In Morecambe, Susan is thrilled to not only be in the birthplace of her comedy hero Eric Morecambe but to visit an RSPB hide named after him (he was a keen birdwatcher) and use his own binoculars. She also gets some training at a local boxing gym – cue the Rocky theme and a montage of Susan in a tracksuit and headband – and visits the restored theatre at the Winter Gardens. ‘There’s always a welcome and there’s always cake,’ is how Susan sums up her visit to Morecambe. Who could ask for anything more?!
★★★★ JP
Hidden Treasures of the National Trust, 9 pm, BBC Two
If you know someone with a mania for redecorating every two or three years, tonight’s episode could be triggering for them, as the drawing-room wallpaper in Ightham Mote has been there since the 18th century. The National Trust medieval manor house in Kent has had many fascinating inhabitants, with the wallpaper imported from China by ambitious courtiers the Selbys. Now, however, it needs attention as it’s being eaten by silverfish. Less than half an hour’s drive away is Winston Churchill’s former home, Chartwell. In his library, a relief map of a World War Two invasion is showing signs of cracking. Can it be saved before the damage becomes too great?
★★★ JP
Best box set on TV tonight
Poker Face, Sky Max/NOW (box set)
Rian Johnson’s anthology series has a pleasing retro feel about it from the titles onwards. Imagine, if you can, Mr Benn in the hands of Quentin Tarantino, as drifting ‘Poker Face’ Charlie (Natasha Lyonne) sets out to solve a different mystery in each episode.
★★★★ JP
Best film on TV tonight
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, 8 pm, 5Star
The party of dwarves and their hobbit ally continue the quest to reclaim their lost kingdom, journeying through the forest home of ancestral enemy the elves and finally facing the dragon that drove them from their home. Meanwhile, Gandalf the wizard investigates the rise of Necromancer, a mysterious dark power residing in Dol Guldur with the ability to summon the spirits of the dead. Part two of Peter Jackson's fantasy adventure trilogy based on JRR Tolkien's novel, starring Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage and Orlando Bloom, with Luke Evans, Evangeline Lilly and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Soaps
- Emmerdale, 7.30 pm, ITV1
- Coronation Street, 8 pm, ITV1
- Hollyoaks, 6.30 pm, Channel 4
- Home and Away, 6 pm, 5Star
Live Sport
- BT Sport Fight Night Live, 7 pm, BT Sport 1
- Betfred Super League: St Helens v Wigan Warriors, 7.30 pm (k-o 8 pm), Sky Sports Main Event
If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…
Don't miss Black Ops on TV tonight.
Not found anything you want to watch on TV tonight? Check out our TV Guide.
Happy viewing!
Martin was a Staff Writer with WhatToWatch.com, where he produced a variety of articles focused on the latest and greatest films and TV shows. Now he works for our sister site Tom's Guide in the same role.
Some of his favorite shows are What We Do In The Shadows, Bridgerton, Gangs of London, The Witcher, Doctor Who, and Ghosts. When he’s not watching TV or at the movies, Martin’s probably still in front of a screen playing the latest video games, reading, or watching the NFL.