Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Hollie Richardson, Jack Seale, Hannah J Davies and Graeme Virtue

TV tonight: Nigel Havers and Anita Dobson’s retirement village romance

Frank (Nigel Havers )and Cynthia (Anita Dobson) standing and talking in Frank's room at Cedarwood Retirement Village
Give it another whirl … Nigel Havers as Frank and Anita Dobson as Cynthia in Never Too Late. Photograph: Dan Fearon Designs/5/Vertigo Films

Play for Today: Never Too Late

9pm, Channel 5
“Of all the retirement villages, she walks into mine.” In the first of this drama anthology inspired by the classic BBC strand, Anita Dobson plays quick-witted septuagenarian Cynthia, who realises charismatic old flame Frank (Nigel Havers) is her new nextdoor neighbour. Old wounds are reopened as Cynthia reckons with ageing – will she come to accept her second act? Tracy-Ann Oberman and Nina Wadia also star. Hollie Richardson

Celebrity Race Across the World

8pm, BBC One
Anita and her father Bal are the first to leave checkpoint one, as they head to El Zonte in El Salvador – a leg of the journey dangerous enough to warrant a “no travelling after dark” warning from the producers. They, and the teams behind them, can go via the Guatemalan jungles, the Belize beaches or the less-visited Honduras. HR

Classic Movies: The Railway Children

8pm, Sky Arts
The warming 1970 adaptation of E Nesbit’s beloved novel is the next film favourite under critic Ian Nathan’s spotlight series. From its inception by director Lionel Jeffries to filming in West Yorkshire, he celebrates the story’s enduring childhood nostalgia. HR

The Ridge

9pm, BBC Two
Scot-in-New Zealand Mia (Lauren Lyle) continues to ignore every convention of the crime-mystery genre as this unusual drama continues. Having very nearly had disrespectful sex at the wake of her possibly murdered sister, she embarks on a monster opioid comedown. Lyle’s unpredictable energy makes her character, and the show, compelling. Jack Seale

Taskmaster: The Final

9pm, Channel 4

If you’ve ever wondered what Sanjeev Bhaskar would look like dressed as Jack Sparrow (no?), then look no further, as the mildly sadistic comedy gameshow concludes. Plus, Reece Shearsmith makes a questionable cuppa with help from Maisie Adam, and Alex Horne gets a good hose-down. Hannah J Davies

The Iris Affair

9pm, Sky Atlantic
The sun-drenched techno-thriller from Luther creator Neil Cross reaches its climax, with irate codebreaker Iris (Niamh Algar) racing to unplug Charlie Big Potatoes, the mysterious mainframe that is much scarier than it sounds. Can she outsmart both a sentient AI and sneering moneyman Pym (Harry Lloyd)? Graeme Virtue

Live sport

International football, England v Serbia 7pm, ITV1. A World Cup group K qualifier. Slovakia v Northern Ireland is on Friday at 7.30pm on BBC Three.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.