TV Tonight: our highlights for Thursday, March 17, 2022

TV tonight – Joanna joins a protest on the streets of Paris.

Joanna joins a protest on the streets of Paris. (Image credit: ITV)

On TV tonight, new travel show Joanna Lumley's Great Cities of the World begins on ITV, get ready for more laughs, this time about nature in Billy Connolly Does… on GOLD/NOW, The Apprentice continues on BBC1 and guess who's back? Finally, there's also an awe-inspiring episode of Extraordinary Escapes with Sandi Toksvig on C4. Here’s what you shouldn’t miss on TV tonight.

Our hand selected recommendations for what's on TV tonight include four TV shows, a film 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 Great Cities of the World, 9pm, ITV

TV tonight Joanna with the Moulin Rouge. — Joanna with the dancers of the world-famous Moulin Rouge. (Image credit: ITV)

Joanna is bringing us more adventures and insights, this time from Berlin, Rome and, in her first stop, Paris. Whether it’s hanging out with Moulin Rouge dancers, getting involved with a protest or chatting to refugees learning to become beekeepers, she is getting under the skin of each city as well as checking out familiar landmarks. Tonight’s Parisian trip includes a fascinating peek inside Notre-Dame Cathedral, which has been closed to the public ever since it was ravaged by a fire in 2019.

★★★★★ TL

Billy Connolly Does… 9pm, GOLD/NOW

TV tonight Billy finds humour in nature — Billy finds humour in nature. (Image credit: GOLD)

This week’s theme is one of Billy’s great loves – nature. ‘You’re not supposed to understand the world,’ he says. ‘You’re supposed to be wowed by it. And I’ve been seriously wowed by it.’ Subjects covered include a carp’s funeral, why polar bears cover their noses and which film star Billy thinks penguins resemble when they walk. And, incidentally, did you know that Scotland’s national animal is a unicorn? Best of all is the comedian’s much-loved routine about lionesses Agnes and Betty stalking wildebeest, which is very funny to watch but also shows Billy to be a keen student of nature programmes.

★★★★ JP

The Apprentice, 9pm, BBC1

TV tonight Claude’s back to pick over business plans — Claude’s back to pick over business plans. (Image credit: BBC)

Surviving to the penultimate week of this competition is no mean feat – some of the finalists might even be feeling a bit pleased with themselves. But before they get too carried away, there’s a special guest for tonight’s intense interview round – and he’s a tried-and-tested expert at picking apart business plans full of bluster and popping overinflated egos… Welcome back, Claude Littner! A cycling accident has kept him off the show until now, but for one brutal interview round only, he’s back, and his time off convalescing hasn’t done anything to improve his mood.

★★★★ JL

Extraordinary Escapes with Sandi Toksvig, 9pm, C4

TV tonight Sandi and Sara make friends in Scotland — Sandi and Sara make friends in Scotland. (Image credit: C4)

Whoever finds the properties in this engaging series should give themselves a pat on the back. The houses in tonight’s episode are breathtaking (especially the 16th-century castle, or maybe the beach house, or possibly the cabin in the woods – it’s impossible to choose!). Sandi Toksvig whisks comedian and writer Sara Pascoe to the east of Scotland for a blast of fresh air, al fresco baths, choppy boat trips and plenty of chat and relaxation in the most stunning locations.

★★★★ JL

Perfect House, Secret Location, 8pm, C4

TV tonight Steve has just the house for you! But where is it? — Steve has just the house for you! But where is it? (Image credit: C4)

Is it possible that the past couple of years have changed people’s perceptions of ‘home’ so much that it’s now not just about the where but the what when you’re looking to buy a new house? In this property series with a twist, Steve Jones tests this approach by trying to find house-hunters the perfect place to live without initially revealing its location.

★★★ JP

Best box set to watch on TV tonight

Formula 1: Drive to Survive, season 4, Netflix

TV tonight The drivers get ready to race. — The Mercedes drivers get ready to race. (Image credit: Netflix)

Get ready for the start of the new F1 season (with the first race roaring into action on Sunday, March 20, 2022 in Bahrain) with more behind-the-scenes drama as this enthralling series returns for a dramatic fourth season. The fly-on-the-wall show, which delves into the ultra-competitive world of F1, will look back at the controversial 2021 title decider between Mercedes driver Sir Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen as they duel over 22 races in a world-title battle that goes right up to the wire.

Best film to watch on TV tonight

Black and Blue, 9pm, Film4

TV tonight Naomie Harris stars. — Naomie Harris stars. (Image credit: Film4)

A gripping police thriller with a sharp political edge, this stars Naomie Harris as a war veteran turned rookie New Orleans police officer who inadvertently captures on her body cam the murder by two bent narcotics cops of a young black drug dealer. The film isn’t particularly original, but Harris is terrific, while the story’s critique of police racism has a great deal of cogency.