What's on TV: Jodie Whittaker stars in One Night, BBC Two celebrates Roy Orbison, and more

Telegraph

10 hours ago

From a new Jodie Whittaker drama to a documentary following Ozzy Osbourne's final three years to a biopic of Amanda Knox, here's what to watch on television and streaming tonight and this week.
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Monday
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Wednesday
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Friday
Saturday 16 August
One Night
ITV1/ITVX, 9.30pm
First shown on Paramount+ and boxsetted tonight on ITVX, One Night is the latest Australian mystery drama to arrive in the UK. Like The Last Anniversary, The Secrets She Keeps and to a lesser extent Apples Never Fall, Emily Ballou's six-part series is a female-focused story of shared childhood trauma addressing the collision of fact and fiction, truth and perspective, both on the page and in the flesh. Jodie Whittaker stars, complete with a pretty flawless Australian accent, as Tess. Returning with her wife Vick (Kat Stewart) after 20 years in London, she discovers that her estranged childhood friend Simone (Nicole da Silva) has anonymously published her debut novel, drawing upon a profoundly distressing experience they endured as teenagers.
The precise nature of that experience is teased out through flashbacks, but its impact is apparent in both women's struggles with drinking, along with Simone's anger issues, Tess's tattoos and problems with body image. Simone's dementia-stricken father (William Zappa) and their rock-solid mutual friend Hat (Yael Stone) will also doubtless have roles to play, while the enduring presence of the perpetrators acts as a constant, hovering threat to everyone still reckoning with the fallout, two decades on.
Athletics: Diamond League Silesia
BBC Two/iPlayer, 3pm
The build-up to Tokyo's World Championships continues with an event that has a knack for featuring broken world records, ensuring it attracts a high-calibre line-up of athletes. Watch out for the remarkable middle-distance runner Faith Kipyegon and a rerun of the Olympic 100m final between Noah Lyles and Kishane Thompson.
24 Hours: the Japanese Surrender
Channel 4, 8.10pm
Not even nuclear bombs guaranteed a Japanese surrender: an attempted military coup very nearly extended the conflict through a sense of honour that could have proved unassailable had Emperor Hirohito not taken matters into his own hands. Amid a wealth of documentaries around VJ Day, Rosemary Cafferkey's film is enlightening and sobering.
Beck
BBC Four/iPlayer, 9pm
A new case brings Beck (Peter Haber) back into the fold when connections are found to a questionable online university and the Balcony Man.
Andrew and Fergie: Duke and Duchess of Excess
Channel 5, 9pm
Always a reliable source of scuttlebutt, the Duke and Duchess of York will here have their finances raked over by the usual rogue's gallery of commentators one more time for our horrified delectation, from the gimmicky (Pitch@Palace, Budgie the Helicopter) to the grotesque (Jeffrey Epstein).
Roy Orbison Night
BBC Two/iPlayer, 9.10pm
Roy Orbison's unparalleled way with a sad song was underpinned by real-life tragedy; tonight's themed night demonstrates both, starting with archive performances from the BBC at 9.10pm and a greatest hits set accompanied by famous fans (Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, kd lang) at 9.45pm. At 10.45pm he delivers many of the same numbers alone, before a documentary at 11.15pm pays tribute to an extraordinary life and that skyscraping voice. GT
Sunday 17 August
Murder Case: The Vanishing Cyclist
BBC Two, 9pm; already available on iPlayer
A desperately sad real-life crime story that, full of twists, turns and secrets, gets its hooks in early and never lets go. At its heart is the pain of a family who, one weekend in 2017, said goodbye to 63-year-old husband and father Tony Parsons as he set off from Fort William in Scotland to complete a 100-mile solo charity cycle ride, only for him to vanish without a trace.
The story of the massive search that took place along the A82 main route near Glencoe, and the challenge of locating any missing person in the vast emptiness of the Highlands, is minutely told. The hurt and bafflement, even anger, of family and friends as the search yielded nothing and three long years went by with no new developments, is captured in interviews with family members and the police involved in the stalled investigation. Then, a single phone call changed everything. To say more might spoil what is a finely balanced story, which only gets more complex from that point onwards. Tonight's opening part takes us up to the identification of suspects; next week's conclusion heads into the courtroom for the eventful trial.
Live Premier League: Manchester United v Arsenal
Sky Sports Main Event, 4pm; kick-off 4.30pm
Man U take on Arsenal at Old Trafford in the most eagerly anticipated clash of the Premier League's opening weekend. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will be praying his £64 million new striker Viktor Gyökeres gets off to a dream start.
Mrs Robinson
Sky Documentaries/NOW, 8pm
Mary Robinson was only 46 when she was elected president of Ireland in 1990, but she already had a career in politics and the law that put her contemporaries in the shade. This new profile explains, in her own words, how she got there and how she went on to become one of the world's best-known advocates for justice, equality and human rights.
Ridley
ITV1/ITVX, 8pm
The realisation that a body found in the woods is that of a woman who went missing six years earlier forces consultant detective Alex Ridley (Adrian Dunbar) back in touch with Jean Dixon (Elizabeth Berrington), the disgraced former cop who caused him so much strife before.
Aurora Orchestra Plays Shostakovich's Fifth
BBC Four/iPlayer, 8pm
It's a major feat for any orchestra to play a symphony from memory, but it's one the Aurora Orchestra, under conductor Nicholas Collon, perform regularly at the Proms. This time, to mark the 50th anniversary of composer Dmitri Shostakovich's death, they take on his Fifth Symphony.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
BBC One, 9.20pm; already available on iPlayer
The brooding adaptation of Richard Flanagan's Booker-winning novel reaches a powerful conclusion as Dorrigo (Jacob Elordi/Ciarán Hinds) fulfils the promise he made in Burma, flitting between past and present, love and loss, and the ghost of what might have been. GO
Monday 18 August
Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home
BBC One/iPlayer, 9pm
It has been just over a month since Ozzy Osbourne performed a heroic last gig with Black Sabbath in Birmingham. The concert was billed as a homecoming for the Brummie-born Osbourne. But it was also a farewell. The frail singer, no longer able to walk due to Parkinson's disease, performed while sitting down on a throne. Two weeks later, he died from a heart attack.
This intimate fly-on-the-wall documentary follows the final three years of Osbourne's life. It was originally commissioned by the BBC as Home to Roost, a spiritual sequel to noughties reality hit The Osbournes. The 10-part series would have chronicled Ozzy and his wife Sharon's return from Los Angeles, where they had lived for 25 years, to their country house in Buckinghamshire. Coming Home has taken that footage and recut it as an hour-long tribute and portrait.
It is a poignant watch. The last years of Ozzy's life were marked by his declining health, which had worsened even further after complications from a fall. His anxious children, Jack and Kelly, wonder if he has the strength to make the journey to the UK. Or indeed, to follow through on his determination to perform one last time.
The Answer Run
BBC One/iPlayer, 4.30pm
Jason Manford returns with a second series of his zippy daytime quiz show, airing every day this week. In today's opener, contestants from Warrington, London and North Bangor test their wits against a series of tricky quick-fire 50/50 questions. A simple but addictive format.
The Great Ticket Rip-Off: Scams & Scandals
BBC Two, 7pm; already available on iPlayer
Reporter Steffan Powell explores the murky world of ticket touts, who have become notorious for snapping up tickets for high-profile concerts like Oasis and reselling them at extortionate prices. As Powell learns, the sophisticated techniques touts use to bypass online queues are ruining the fun for everyone else.
The Brokenwood Mysteries
U&Drama, 8pm
The eccentric New Zealand detective drama returns with an 11th series of cosy crime. Tonight's feature-length opener sees detective Shepherd (Neill Rea) and partner Kristin (Fern Sutherland) investigate a murder at the reunion gig of a 1980s pop band. All good fun, if a tad too mannered.
Confessions of a Brain Surgeon
BBC Two/iPlayer, 9pm
Prestigious brain surgeon Henry Marsh is no stranger to death. Yet a recent diagnosis of advanced prostate cancer has led him to reevaluate his career through a patient's perspective. This moving documentary follows Marsh as he reflects on life, mortality and the people he couldn't save.
Matthew Perry: a Hollywood Tragedy
ITV1/ITVX, 9pm
This sensational documentary examines the life and death of Friends star Matthew Perry, who died from a ketamine overdose in 2023. It is an acquisition from American network Peacock but features new material regarding the recent trial of Dr Salvador Plasencia, who has pleaded guilty to giving Perry ketamine. SK
Tuesday 19 August
Stalking Samantha
Disney+
Stalking is a sinister crime with shamefully low rates of prosecution and conviction, both in the US and UK. In October 2022, social worker Samantha Stites was kidnapped in Michigan by her stalker of 11 years, Christopher Thomas; he broke into her home, restrained her and transported her to a specially built bunker nearby. Only two months previously, a court had denied Stites a restraining order against him.
A remarkably composed Stites tells her story in full for the first time here, with her friends, cops and lawyers fleshing out her account with help from CCTV and police bodycam footage. Episode one builds up to the kidnapping, with Stites recounting Thomas's growing obsession with her from university onwards. Episode two covers the kidnap; Stites recalling that her first thought when finding herself at the mercy of her tormentor in a soundproofed room: 'If I'm going to get out of this, it's going to be with my mind.' This chilling, compulsive true crime story serves as another indictment of a criminal justice system failing to protect women. You'll likely binge all three episodes today.
The Repair Shop
BBC One/iPlayer, 8pm
This soothing series leaves us all shook up tonight when a giant stuffed hound dog gifted by Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis's manager, to the UK Elvis fan club in 1972 arrives so threadbare that it presents the Teddy Bear Ladies, Julie and Amanda, with their biggest fix-up yet. Also lovingly restored are a shepherd's bag and sewing machine.
The Great British Sewing Bee
BBC One/iPlayer, 9pm
It's kids' week, but there's precious little playtime for the seven contestants left in the sewing contest. The Pattern Challenge of making toddlers' dungarees introduces a tough new element – adaptive fashion, or clothes designed for the disabled. There's fun in the final task, when nine-year-olds model imaginative garments based on the sewers' childhood dreams.
Jasper Carrott Remembers
BBC Four/iPlayer, 9pm
Turning 80 earlier this year hasn't dimmed the verve of Brummie funnyman Jasper Carrott, whose shows Carrott's Commercial Breakdown and The Detectives are still remembered fondly. In this charming retrospective, Carrott recounts his start in comedy, career highlights and names the celebrity whose praise meant the most to him. It's followed by an evening of repeats, including comedy special The Ones (9.30pm), stand-up compilation Back to the Front (10.10pm) and his appearance on Wogan from 1988 (11.10pm).
In Flight
Channel 4, 9pm; all episodes are already available online
Jo (Katherine Kelly) gets a surprise when her son's former paramour, Kayla (Corinna Brown), turns up with news as the propulsive thriller continues. But Jo's determination to get her son out of jail means recklessly putting herself in peril, even following dangerous drug lord Cormac (Stuart Martin) to a rendezvous. Runs nightly until Thursday.
Pompeii: Life in the City with Dan Snow
Channel 5, 9pm
Snow and co-presenter Kate Lister tackle Pompeii's lawlessness in the finale of this breezy docu-series. One Roman wag joked at the time, 'Going out to dinner in Pompeii without writing a will is irresponsible.' We learn how posh folk fortified their houses and of the inhumane punishments meted out to suspects. VP
Wednesday 20 August
The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox
Disney+
The wrongful conviction (and eventual exoneration) of American student Amanda Knox for the murder of her British friend and roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia in 2007 has all the ingredients of a classic true-crime thriller. Crucially, the four-part miniseries has Knox on board as an executive producer. No less crucially, Kercher's family have distanced themselves from the project.
The first episode whisks us through Knox's (Grace van Patten) chaotic but loving upbringing, early experiences in Italy and gradual immersion into Perugian culture, before the murder is discovered and suspicion aroused by her curious response to it, then stoked by the language barrier during police interviews. As drama, it works fitfully; if one were feeling generous, the florid narration could be put down to its callow protagonist: 'In the haze of tragedy, I was a deer in the headlights, unaware that my hunter was about to arrive.' Yet for all the careful efforts to honour her memory, Kercher still feels like a footnote and, in the absence of a showrunner with both experience of the territory and the ability to navigate it – KJ Steinberg (This is Us) is no Jeff Pope – this particular twisted tale feels distasteful and exploitative.
Mystery of the Desert Kites
BBC Four/iPlayer, 8pm
This French-made three-part series is a lavishly photographed and intellectually engrossing affair, following the work of archaeologists as they attempt to make sense of the 'desert kites' across Saudi Arabia and Jordan: megastructures that far predate the Egyptian pyramids, the Peruvian Nazca lines and Stonehenge.
George Clarke's Kitchen vs Garden
Channel 4, 8pm
In the second episode of the series, George Clarke and Luke Millard offer their designs to a couple in Bristol who face a choice between a lavish kitchen or a Japanese garden.
Destination X
BBC One/iPlayer, 9pm
After a stuttering start, this appealingly bizarre contest is picking up speed as the X-bus arrives in an ancient vineyard and a walled city, with Rob Brydon on hand to offer the enticing possibility of sabotage. Continues on Thursday.
Soldier: for King and Country
Channel 5, 9pm
Tonight's double bill of military derring-do begins with the adventures of a few of the Royal Welsh's finest: members of Charlie and Delta Companies enter the Prince of Wales competition and test their physical and mental endurance against each other, while a rugby match and vehicle maintenance offer further diverse challenges. Special Forces: Most Daring Missions follows at 10pm with an account of a perilous rescue operation in Sierra Leone.
Mudtown
U&Alibi/Sky/NOW, 9pm
Driven by the chalk-and-cheese pairing (and shared history) of magistrate Clare Lewis (Erin Richards) and gangster Saint Pete (Tom Cullen), this dark, wryly humorous and supremely confident Newport-set crime drama follows the fallout of an arson attack implicating a friend of Clare's daughter and costing Pete the kind of money he will need to rustle up quickly or risk losing his criminal empire. GT
Thursday 21 August
Hostage
Netflix
You just know things won't go smoothly for newbie British prime minister Abigail Dalton (Suranne Jones) when she spends much of the opening scene fretting about the risk of, one day, having to choose between politics and family. You don't have to be a genius, either, to suspect that if a serving British prime minister's angelic doctor husband (Ashley Thomas) heads off to a war zone to dispense vaccines to sick children, without an armed security detail in tow, it's unlikely to have a good outcome.
But if you can hold your disbelief at bay (and plenty more will test it as the story unfolds), there's a great deal to enjoy in this fast-moving five-part thriller. Especially the entertaining swordplay between Dalton and her devious French opposite number Vivienne Toussaint (Julie Delpy), who not only holds the key to most of Dalton's problems but isn't afraid to use that power to leverage major political gains for her election campaign back home. Lucian Msamati and Jehnny Beth are also superb in support as the two prime ministers' chief advisors, constantly checking phones and weighing the odds, desperately trying to avert all the other political disasters hurtling their way.
Tom Kerridge Cooks Spain
ITV1/ITVX, 8.30pm
The TV chef is in Extremadura where, at the scenic Lake Orellana reservoir, he learns how to catch the ingredients for a crayfish cocktail. From there it's on to melons in Murcia, where he joins in at the annual piel de sapo harvest.
Football's Financial Shame: The Story of the V11
BBC Two/iPlayer, 9pm
An exposé of the 'biggest scandal in the history of the Premier League'. Richard Milway's documentary uncovers what's alleged to be one of elite football's most closely guarded secrets, as 11 former Premier League stars claim they lost millions to a culture of financial exploitation and abuse.
Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild
Channel 5, 9pm
A particularly charming edition gets to the heart of why some seek solitude and alternative ways of living. Fogle is in Japan to meet 57-year-old Rupert, whose search for a simpler lifestyle led him to the southern island of Kyushu and the hardworking life of a traditional rice farmer.
Talking Pictures
BBC Four/iPlayer, 9.35pm
Ahead of tonight's screening of The Silence of the Lambs, at 10.20pm, Celia Imrie rummages through the archives to find out why Jonathan Demme's 1991 crime-chiller exerts such a hold on the public imagination, and how Anthony Hopkins set about becoming one of the movies' most memorable monsters, Hannibal Lecter.
Death Inc
Netflix
A third season for this Spanish funeral-home comedy. When founder Torregrosa passes away, his second-in-command expects to take over the business until the old man's widow announces she's taking charge. With a power vacuum at the top, a rival firm spots an opportunity for expansion. GO
Friday 22 August
Peacemaker
Sky Max/NOW, 2am/10pm
You could be forgiven for feeling fatigued by the idea of yet another superhero show; we are already awash with forgettable comic book slop. The first series of DC Comics' black comedy Peacemaker, however, rivals The Boys as one of the genre's sharpest outliers. It stars John Cena as the titular Peacemaker, an absurd gun-toting anti-hero who believes that the only way to achieve peace is to kill for it. In the 2021 film The Suicide Squad, he was a cartoonish satire of American patriotism. Here, Cena makes him into something more layered and likeable; bolstered by a hilarious script from DC supremo James Gunn.
The second series opens tonight with Peacemaker at a low ebb. He is grieving the death of his white supremacist father (whom he had to kill). His audition to be part of a new superhero gang doesn't go well. And his foray into a mysterious pocket dimension – introduced in Gunn's recent Superman movie – ends with a disastrously bonkers cliffhanger. We cannot reveal specifics, of course, except to say that it is one of those great emotional science fiction ideas that gives Cena the chance to show his range. Perhaps the superhero is not beaten after all.
007: Road to a Million
Amazon Prime Video
The jet-setting James Bond-themed reality contest returns with a more competitive format. In today's lavish opening episode, for instance, teams must compete directly against each other to retrieve a data disk in Thailand. The highlight remains host Brian Cox, who chews the scenery as the villainous Controller.
Invasion
Apple TV+
The first two series of this epic science fiction thriller followed humanity's desperate response to an alien invasion. Today's slow-burning third season premiere picks up two years after Earth's ostensible triumph. But has the threat gone away? Or has it merely evolved?
The Truth about Jussie Smollett?
Netflix
In 2019, actor Jussie Smollett claimed to be the victim of a hate crime in Chicago; he was later accused of staging the attack. This documentary utilises interviews with detectives, lawyers and Smollett himself to argue that the case is more complex than it seems.
Women's Rugby World Cup 2025: England v USA
BBC One/iPlayer, 6.30pm; kick-off 7.30pm
The Women's Rugby World Cup gets underway in Sunderland, as hosts England face the USA in the first group stage match of the tournament. England were the runners-up at the 2022 World Cup and are the favourites to win tonight at the Stadium of Light.
Miriam Margolyes Discovers New Zealand
BBC Two/iPlayer, 9pm
Last year, Miriam Margolyes made a BBC documentary about returning to her 'second home' of Australia. In this two-part acquisition from Australian network ABC, she hops over to neighbouring New Zealand to see what all the fuss is about. Tonight, that mainly entails rugby, hobbits and the inspiring struggles of the Maori community. SK
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