On TV tonight, Monica and Giles are under the desert sun as a new series of Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby begins on BBC2, on Alibi season 2 of crime drama Traces begins, This Is Going to Hurt continues on BBC1 and Ben Fogle is in Northumberland in New Lives in the Wild on Channel 5. 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, 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
Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby, 9pm, BBC2
‘I think that’s our ride,’ says Monica Galetti to Giles Coren as they return for more behind-the-scenes visits to the world’s most remarkable hotels. But they’re not being ferried to their latest destination by an Uber – instead, a couple of camels are on hand to take them across the desert to the Qasr Al Sarab resort, around 200km from Abu Dhabi, which is surrounded by sand as far as the eye can see. How do staff keep the premises sand-free? And how does a luxury hotel get water in the middle of a desert? Giles and Monica are about to find out…
★★★★ JP
Traces, season 2, 9pm, Alibi
The forensic crime drama created by Amelia Bullmore and Val McDermid is back for a second series. Four months on, Daniel (Martin Compston) is about to be a witness in the murder trial of his father, who’s accused of killing the mother of Daniel’s girlfriend, Emma (Molly Windsor). Meanwhile, Emma and her colleagues at the Scottish Institute of Forensic Science are investigating a bombing campaign in Dundee. Series one was built on a somewhat unlikely premise, but this returning show has a cracking cast, intriguing new cases and an emotional heart as the young couple negotiate their way through extraordinarily testing times.
★★★ IM
This Is Going to Hurt, 9pm, BBC1
Racked with guilt over his failure to spot a severe case of pre-eclampsia, Adam (Ben Whishaw) is in a spiral of self-doubt. He becomes unwilling to discharge any patients until he’s tested them for just about everything, to the annoyance of his colleagues – particularly poor Shruti (Ambika Mod), the unwilling executor of his many, many referrals, whose own reputation is in tatters as a result. And it’s not just at the hospital where Adam’s causing chaos. Steel yourselves for the dinner party from hell where he ruins the evening with just one word…
★★★★★ SP
Ben Fogle's New Lives in the Wild, 9pm, Channel 5
Ben Fogle is in Northumberland this week with Kezz and Nathalie, a couple who gave up their rock’n’roll lifestyle to move to a secluded forest in England’s least populated county. Now they live in a straw-bale house that they built, and earn a living from their sustainable charcoal-making business. Ben quickly gets under the skin of this laid-back pair and discovers that the trees around them are not just the source of their income but also their sense of wellbeing.
★★★ JL
Best box set to watch on TV tonight
Inventing Anna, season 1, Netflix
In 2017, New York’s wealthiest residents were stunned to learn that police had arrested a German socialite, Anna Delvey, who had made her name by rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous after introducing herself as a millionaire art collector. The nine-part drama, produced by Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy and Bridgerton) and starring Julia Garner (Ozark) as Anna, explores how Delvey – real name Anna Sorokin – managed to trick high society into believing she was a stylish heiress with a trust fund.
Best film to watch on TV today
Journeyman, 11.20pm, Film4
Paddy Considine goes the distance as director and star of this powerful drama about a boxing champion whose toughest fight is outside the ring as he tries to rebuild his life with his wife and baby daughter after a fateful bout against a cocky younger rival leaves him mentally and physically impaired. Considine is terrific, as is Jodie Whittaker as his anguished wife.
Live Sport
- Winter Olympics 2022, from 6am, BBC2 & BBC1
- UEFA Champions League, Sporting Lisbon v Manchester City, 7pm (k-o 8pm), BT Sport 2
Soaps on TV tonight
- EastEnders, 7.30pm, BBC1
- Emmerdale, 7pm, ITV
- Hollyoaks, 6.30pm, C4
- Neighbours, 6pm, Channel 5
- Home and Away, 6pm & 6.30pm, 5Star
If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…
Don't miss Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby on TV tonight – Monica and Giles visit a truly unique place.
Not found anything you want to watch on TV tonight? Check out our TV Guide.
Happy viewing!
