British Telly

All Creatures Great and Small is a warm antidote to the autumn chill. Plus: Olly Murs explores his family origins. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, Channel 5Back to the lovely fictional Yorkshire village of Darrowby as the bucolic veterinary drama returns. It’s spring 1941 and Siegfried is struggling to keep the surgery going in the absence of James and Tristan. However, he might be in luck as uncertainty surrounds James’s RAF deployment. As ever, the success of this reboot hangs on its entirely reasonable reluctance to depart too radically from the vibes and values of the original. Phil Harrison

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Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos robustly defended Baby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd while speaking at the Royal Television Society (RTS) London conference today, announcing the streamer has just agreed a multi-year first-look deal with Gadd for scripted series.

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“Baby Reindeer is his true story… it is not a documentary. And there are elements of the story that have been dramatised. We’re watching it performed by actors on television. We think it is abundantly clear that there is dramatisation involved.”

Sarandos also said that “it’s a fairly British debate – this debate is not happening anywhere else in the world.”

Sarandos also used his RTS platform to praise the UK as a home for producing film and TV series.

He said the streamer’s top four rating shows worldwide from the first six months of 2024 were produced in the UK: Fool Me Once, Baby Reindeer, Bridgerton and The Gentleman. The four shows were watched a combined total of 360 million times, he said.

Sarandos said: “I’ve always thought of the UK as the birthplace of prestige television. It’s why Netflix invests more here in the UK than anywhere else outside of the United States.”

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He said Netflix had invested $6bn in the UK creative industries since 2020, and had worked with over 30,000 cast and crew. “Today, we have over 100 productions active in the UK,” he said, citing Bridgerton and Thursday Murder Club and features My Oxford Year and Wake Up Deadman: A Knives Out Mystery.

He said the roots of UK creative industry success lay in its “great public service broadcasting system” and institutions for nurturing a wealth of talent, as well as regulation that supports creativity, investment in arts education and the UK’s ‘highly competitive tax incentive.”

Superb series following Ukraine’s leader comes to an end. Plus: John Major chats with by Amol Rajan. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, BBC Two

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It’s been almost 20 years since the pastel-hued houses in the picture-perfect harbour village of Balamory appeared on television screens.

On Tuesday, the BBC has announced it had commissioned two new series of the beloved CBeebies show to return in 2026.

Originally produced between 2002 until 2005, it is expected that the new series will once again be set in the Scottish village of Balamory where coloured houses nestle round a charming harbour with stories centred on a nursery school and teacher.

Balamory’s first run attracted millions of viewers across the world, spawned a live show and won best pre-school live action series at the 2004 Bafta children’s awards.

The show will once again be filmed in Scotland, the broadcaster said, either in the original location of Tobermory or another Scottish location such as Rothesay.

Huw Edwards has been spared jail for accessing indecent images of children as young as seven.

The former BBC presenter was sentenced at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London after he pleaded guilty to three counts of "making" indecent images of children.

The court heard how he paid up to £1,500 to a paedophile who sent him 41 illegal images between December 2020 and August 2021, seven of which were of the most serious type.

Of those images, the estimated age of most of the children was between 13 and 15, but one was aged between seven and nine.

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As part of his sentence, the 63-year-old must attend a sex offender treatment programme and 25 rehabilitation sessions.

He is also required to sign the sex offenders' register for seven years and pay £3,128 in costs and a victim surcharge.

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The court heard that Edwards had told his probation officer that his offending arose out of his fixation on online communications of a sexual nature, his poor mental health, using alcohol and the deterioration of his marriage.

The hearing was told of Edwards' "long-standing mental health struggles" and how he had been diagnosed with arteriosclerosis - a vascular disease which causes the gradual hardening of arteries - last December.

Mr Hope noted "the effect of these conditions includes impact on and impairment of mood, behaviour and judgement".

The court heard Edwards is an in-patient at a private hospital.

The BBC presenter Jay Blades has been charged with engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour against his wife. The Repair Shop presenter appeared at Kidderminster magistrates court on Friday, West Mercia police said.

The Guardian understands that the BBC took steps to remove a programme featuring Blades from its Friday evening schedule after the charge, and that no programmes with the former furniture maker would be shown in the foreseeable future.

Blades, 54, was charged with one count of engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship. The presenter will appear at Worcester crown court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on 11 October.

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According to court documents, the charge relates to his fitness instructor wife, Lisa Zbozen, who announced on her Instagram page on 2 May that their relationship was over.

Blades has become a well-known figure thanks to the BBC restoration programme The Repair Shop, in which members of the public take damaged but treasured family heirlooms to be restored by a team of experts. A source at the broadcaster said Blades was not a BBC employee and the charge was unrelated to his work at the BBC.

Blades’ rise from furniture maker to TV celebrity has been meteoric since he first featured on the show in 2017. In August Channel 4 broadcast Dame Judi and Jay: The Odd Couple, which charts the friendship between Blades and Dench, who he first met on The Repair Shop two years ago.

On Friday the BBC removed the seventh episode of the first series of David & Jay’s Touring Toolshed, Blades which was first shown by the broadcaster in January and features Blades and David Jason touring the UK meeting master crafters and hobbyists.

In 2022 Blades featured in the BBC documentary Jay Blades: Learning to Read at 51, which followed his journey of learning to read and write, having not been taught to do so in childhood.

Ahead of a timely re-airing of Mick Jackson’s famously bleak, rarely seen docudrama, its director recalls why he unleashed a mushroom cloud on Sheffield in 1984, while our writer explores the film’s lasting legacy

The Ilford standup delves into the murky world of American vigilantes. Plus: could another White House coup attempt be on the cards? Here’s what to watch this evening

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The writer is unsentimental about his devastating accident in a moving new film. Plus: Richard E Grant on Mozart the musical prodigy. Here’s what to watch this evening

10.40pm, BBC OneWriter Hanif Kureishi’s world changed on Boxing Day 2022 when a fall left him needing 24-hour care. In this moving film, he ponders his life before and after his accident. While he seems admirably unsentimental about almost everything, Kureishi is in reflective mood, talking about his new working practices, the paradoxes in his celebrated 80s work and being thrown out of a mosque for being friends with Salman Rushdie. Phil Harrison

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Joe Cole stars in Nightsleeper, the BBC’s new adrenalised treat for Sunday nights. Plus, a harrowing look at the civilian cost of the conflict in Israel and Gaza. Here’s what to watch this evening

Sun, 9pm, BBC One

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Junk food TV advertisements are to be banned from airing before the 9pm watershed as part of the government’s drive to improve public health.

In addition, online ads for products that are high in fat, salt and sugar will be banned altogether, Andrew Gwynne, the public health minister, told the Commons on Thursday. Both measures will come into force on 1 October 2025.

Health campaigners welcomed the move as an overdue restriction on firms’ ability to bombard children with ads for their unhealthy food and drink products.

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The previous, Conservative government pledged to bring in the TV watershed ban from January 2023. But a month before its introduction, Rishi Sunak decided to delay it until 2025, prompting a wave of criticism that he had put the interests of big business ahead of improving children’s health.

Chris McCausland, Toyah Willcox and Punam Krishan are among the celebs braving the dancefloor. Plus: flag-waving mayhem at the Royal Albert Hall as the Proms conclude. Here’s what to watch this evening

BBC One, 7.20pm

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From Mark Elder’s final performance with the Hallé to the Kanneh-Masons covering Bob Marley, relive all of this year’s most epic Proms. Plus: Funny Woman is back. Here’s what to watch this evening

8pm, BBC FourMark Elder’s final Proms performance as music director of the Hallé; the Kanneh-Mason rendition of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song; Beethoven’s Ode to Joy climax on its 200th birthday. There are many beautiful Proms moments to catch up with on iPlayer, but here are the very best of the best in a joyous, poignant hour. Hollie Richardson

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BBC Factual has announced that Sir David Attenborough will present Asia, a seven-part natural history series for BBC One and iPlayer about the wildlife of our planet’s largest continent. Covering the length and breadth of Asia, the series will reveal its most remarkable landscapes and animals, and feature dramatic, previously unseen behaviour.

Filmed over the course of nearly four years, this is the first time that Asia has been the focus of a major BBC wildlife series. From the vast Gobi Desert to the jungles of Borneo, and from the polar wilderness of Siberia to the coral seas of the Indian Ocean, this series will showcase the breath-taking variety of Asia’s wildest places.

Seven one-hour episodes will feature thrilling wildlife stories from each corner of the continent.

Fun antics as Alex Horne gets force-fed bubblegum in the new season of the TV challenge show. Plus: Jessica Ennis-Hill delves into her family history. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, Channel 4TV’s greatest challenge show is getting a junior spin-off this autumn, but before that another cohort of game celebrities is taking on taskmaster Greg Davies: Andy Zaltzman, Babátúndé Aléshé, Emma Sidi, Jack Dee and Rosie Jones. In the first round, they have to search for a seal, throw yoga balls in a theme park and force-feed Alex Horne a bowlful of bubblegum. Nothing’s changed here then. Hollie Richardson

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Celebrating the grandest and greenest of house designs. Plus: who will get the gongs at The National Television Awards? Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, Channel 4Sorry to make you feel ancient but Kevin McCloud’s self-building property series first aired a quarter of a century ago. Within that time, what started as an aspirational show of marvel now feels like a kick in the teeth during a housing crisis. Still, McCloud marks the anniversary by starting the newest series with a look at some of the most ambitious, green and emotionally draining designs. Hollie Richardson

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Kemp revisits the strange death of Robert Calvi, found hanging from Blackfriars Bridge in London. Plus: a new term at Waterloo Road. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, Sky HistoryRoss Kemp is back at it and this time is delving into the world of mafia bosses, capos and hitmen in the UK. He starts in London, with the story of Roberto Calvi, an Italian banker who, in 1982, was found hanging from scaffolding under Blackfriars Bridge, with bricks in his pockets. But there were many clues that strongly suggested it wasn’t suicide though the case is still officially unsolved. Hollie Richardson

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Portrait of the artist whose pregnant figure caused outrage when it was erected as a Trafalgar Square sculpture in 2005. Plus: what if Trump wins? Here’s what to watch this evening

10.40pm, BBC OneMarc Quinn’s sculpture of pregnant artist Alison Lapper was a celebration of motherhood and disability, but it outraged many people when it was erected on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square in 2005. She is still angry at the reaction, clips of which she rewatches in this frank documentary, before telling her remarkable and colourful life story. The main focus here, though, is on the beautiful relationship she had with her son, Parys, who died of an accidental drug overdose aged 19 after battling mental health issues. “All the doubting Thomases, they kind of won didn’t they?” she says, heartbreakingly, as she pours her grief into an exhibition of paintings about him.Hollie Richardson

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Jean-Michel Jarre headlines the closing ceremony. Plus: the puzzle starts to make sense in James Graham’s visceral drama Sherwood. Here’s what to watch this evening.

6.30pm, Channel 4

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All the action from the Radio 2 weekender in Preston. Plus: French drama Sambre: Anatomy of a Crime continues to grip and disturb. Here’s what to watch this evening

10.15pm, BBC TwoFestival season winds down with Radio 2’s weekender in Preston. Manic Street Preachers, Sugababes, Gabrielle and Paul Heaton are all set to play, with their sets available on iPlayer. Sting gets the Saturday headline slot, including songs from his new album, The Bridge. Tune in on Sunday for Pet Shop Boys. Hollie Richardson

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In his appearance, Moffat also discussed his latest show, Douglas Is Cancelled, an ITV commission with SkyShowtime, which was produced by Hartswood Films and launched at the annual BBC Studios Showcase in London earlier this year. The series, which debuted in the U.K. in June and will be rolling out in other markets soon, stars Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey, Paddington) and Karen Gillan (Doctor Who, Guardians of the Galaxy) in four 45-minute episodes revolving around respected news host Douglas, regarded as a national treasure, and his younger co-anchor Madeline. Co-starring are Ben Miles (Hijack, The Crown), Alex Kingston (A Discovery of Witches, Treason), Nick Mohammed (Ted Lasso, Intelligence), and Simon Russell Beale (Firebrand, Thor: Love and Thunder). Ben Palmer (Breeders) directed the series.

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Asked to explain the premise to the audience since the show hasn’t aired in Canada yet, Moffat quipped: “Illegally download it.” He later joked: “Please watch my new show. Legally.” In the context of piracy, Moffat shared that he used to look online to see how quickly new shows of his became available, suggesting the entertainment industry’s approach to release and windowing strategies may not be the best. “We are a strange industry. We get really, really cross that people are so enthusiastic about our product that they desperately want to get it early,” Moffat said. “I feel as though some other industries might have had a different solution to that. Yeah, it may not be the greatest business idea in the world: ‘no, you can’t have it yet’.”

Moffat does not believe in the argument that in an age of political correctness comedy can’t be successfully conceived. “You make comedy by breaking rules, right? So the more rules there are, the better,” he explained.

Was he ever canceled? He recalled that when he worked on Doctor Who, there was much hatred from fans directed at him. “The level of hate you get could down three passenger jets. I mean, seriously, it doesn’t stop,” he shared. “I was vilified endlessly. I was a homophobe, misandrist and a misanthrope and a sexist and misogynist and a racist. I was against so many people I could only be described as an omni- bigot, which I would suggest means I’m treating everybody equally.” Moffat concluded by joking that any Doctor Who showrunner is taking on the role of “chief Satan of the nation.”

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Moffat closed his appearance by explaining that his advice on writing is simple. “Every sentence has to make you want to read the next sentence,” he shared. “Keep people reading.”

The second season of the charming ode to British comedy begins. Plus: Michael Palin visits Africa’s biggest floating slum. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, Sky Max

Gemma Arterton is back for a second season as the 60s sitcom star Sophie Straw in this charming ode to British comedy, written by Morwenna Banks and based on Nick Hornby’s hit 2014 novel Funny Girl. Now that her breakthrough show, Barbara & Jim, has been cancelled, she is going it alone with Just Barbara. Will she reunite with the old writing gang to ensure its success? The bigger question for fans, though, is: can she and Dennis (Arsher Ali) finally be together? Hollie Richardson

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The ceremony will be broadcast live from Abbey Road studios. Plus: a throuple seek help in Couples Therapy. Here’s what to watch this evening

8pm, BBC Four

A sense of mounting disarray surrounds the music awards this year – expect a scaled-down event at Abbey Road studios (no sponsor has been forthcoming) and the usual sense of mild confusion about what exactly is being celebrated. The do is being filmed and broadcast live, with this year’s leading contenders including Charli xcx (for the summer-defining Brat), Corinne Bailey Rae (for Black Rainbows), Cat Burns (above, for Early Twenties) and Beth Gibbons (for Lives Outgrown). Annie Macmanus and Huw Stephens host the ceremony. Phil Harrison

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With Lost back in the air for its 20th anniversary, and the wait for Yellowjackets Season 3 stretching on, you might be looking for your next desert island TV fix. And the BBC has picked up your message in a bottle: the broadcaster (along with Australian streamer Stan) is preparing to strand a cast of kids on a faraway shore in a new four-part series take on Lord Of The Flies. William Golding’s novel is being adapted by none other than the perpetually-busy Jack Thorne, with director Marc Munden behind the camera. While the series was announced last year, new details are emerging now that it's started filming in Malaysia.

Most notably, Hans Zimmer has signed on to provide a score – along with Kara Talve – meaning this take on the castaway tale should sound suitably epic. “Hans has already shared his first sketches for the score, which are hugely inspiring. We are honoured to be working with him,” says executive producer Joel Wilson. Plus, after an open casting call, the cast of youngsters has been confirmed: David McKenna will play Piggy; Winston Sawyers is Ralph; Lox Pratt is Jack; Isaac Talbut is Simonl; Thomas Connor is Roger; Noah and Cassius Flemyng are twins Sam and Eric; Cornelius Brandreth is Maurice; Tom Page-Turner is Bill.

How a TV star playing a fictional leader went on to lead Ukraine. Plus: Rob and Romesh perform a Metallica classic at Download. Here’s what to watch this evening

9pm, BBC Two

It is not a new story, but it is remarkable and almost unbelievable – the TV comedian who played a fictional president and went on to be elected the real president of Ukraine. It’s told here in three parts. In the first episode, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, his wife, Olena, and the people who know him best rewind and paint a portrait of a clever, funny, popular man who had the unlikeliest rise to power. Other contributors include Nancy Pelosi and the Guardian’s Luke Harding. Hollie Richardson

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