What's On TV Tonight: Tuesday 18th November 2025

Tuesday's got secret cameras, Peak District murders, and the last Buzzcocks of the run. Plus there's a heartbreaker from the ambulance service and Yinka Shonibare telling his own story. Not a bad night, all things considered.

Table of Contents

Quick Picks: Tonight's Best

• The Black Swan - Secret cameras film a lawyer advising Danish gangsters (9pm, BBC Four) ⭐
• Cooper & Fry - New detective duo solve Peak District murders (8pm, Channel 5)
• Ambulance - When paramedics can't save a patient (9pm, BBC One)
• Never Mind the Buzzcocks - Last episode of the series with Nadine Coyle dropping F-bombs (9pm, Sky Max)

Early Evening: Comfort Viewing (6pm-8pm)

The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer - Channel 4, 8pm

Because apparently we can't go a week without some form of Bake Off, this Stand Up to Cancer special brings out the celebrities who reckon they can handle a soggy bottom. Paul and Prue will be doing their usual judge thing whilst four famous faces attempt to bake something edible.

It's harmless stuff. You know what you're getting. If you want gentle Tuesday night viewing that won't challenge you too much, this'll do the job.

The Martin Lewis Money Show: Live - ITV1, 8pm

Martin's doing a Christmas special, which basically means: how not to financially ruin yourself over the next six weeks. Given it's mid-November and the festive spending hasn't even started yet, this is probably worth watching. He'll cover the usual - best deals, avoiding scams, not bankrupting yourself on a turkey.

Martin Lewis doing his thing. Solid, useful, occasionally eye-opening when he reveals just how much we're all being ripped off.

Prime Time: Crime and Chaos (9pm onwards)

The Black Swan - BBC Four, 9pm ⭐

Denmark gets named the least corrupt country in the world for six years running, then filmmaker Mads Brügger rocks up with this absolute belter that shows a very different side to the nation. Secret cameras film lawyer Amira Smajic - who used to advise notorious gangs - in undercover meetings with criminal clients.

Tonight's double bill covers illegal toxic waste dumping and managing bankruptcy without scrutiny. Which, you know, sounds dry on paper but is absolutely riveting when you're watching it unfold in real time with hidden cameras.

Brügger's got form for this stuff (remember The Mole infiltrating North Korea?). He doesn't do things by halves, and this series looks like it's going to be massive. Denmark's squeaky-clean image is taking a proper battering here.

If you're into true crime that isn't just rehashing old cases, this is the one. First terrestrial showing, BBC Four doing what it does best.

Ambulance - BBC One, 9pm

This series usually focuses on the life-saving moments, the dramatic rescues, the happy endings. But this week's episode shows the other side - the times when the paramedics can't save someone, and what that actually looks like.

Nick arrives at a family home where a 78-year-old man has stopped breathing. Despite everything he tries, the patient doesn't make it. Nick has to ask the man's shocked wife to say her goodbyes. It's heartbreaking telly, but it's important. This is what these crews deal with constantly.

The show's always been brilliant at showing the human side of emergency medicine, not just the heroics. This episode feels especially raw.

I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! - ITV1, 9pm

The jungle reality juggernaut continues with whatever fresh hell Ant and Dec have cooked up for tonight's batch of trials. Someone's eating something vile, someone's screaming, Nigel Farage is probably still there making everyone uncomfortable.

If you're into it, you're already watching. If you're not, nothing's changed your mind by now.

Never Mind the Buzzcocks - Sky Max, 9pm

Last episode of the current run, and it's going out with a bang. Greg Davies referees what's described as a "raucous" show (which, let's be honest, is every Buzzcocks). Girls Aloud's Nadine Coyle and Tom Grennan compete to drop the most F-bombs, whilst Strictly champion Chris McCausland gamely goes along with an impromptu edition of Blind Date.

The rock'n'roll quiz has found its groove again after being dead and buried for years. Greg's been a brilliant host - lets the chaos happen but knows when to rein it in. Nadine Coyle swearing is already TV gold before we've even started.

Shame this is the last one of the series, but at least they're ending on a high.

Summerwater - Channel 4, 9pm

New drama focusing on the Zaliskevicius-Piotrowskas family. If you've been following along with this series, tonight's the continuation of whatever tensions have been building. If you haven't, you might want to start from episode one because jumping in mid-series rarely works with these character-driven things.

Late Night: Art and Drama (10pm onwards)

In My Own Words: Yinka Shonibare - BBC One, 10:40pm

British-Nigerian visual artist Yinka Shonibare tells his own story, and it's genuinely affecting stuff. You might remember his Nelson's ship in a bottle that sat in Trafalgar Square in 2010 (iconic, that). Here he talks about contracting a spinal virus as a student in London, and how that's shaped his outlook and creativity over 45 years.

He's wry, candid, and deeply thoughtful - everything you'd want from an artist talking about their own work. The personal bits about the illness and how it changed his perspective give real weight to his creative journey.

This isn't your standard "famous artist talks about being famous" doc. Shonibare's actually got something to say.

Tell Me Lies - BBC One, 11:20pm

Halloween at Baird college means everyone's secrets are bubbling up. Evan's having doubts about Bree (who's sneaking off with creepy Oliver), Lucy's grades are tanking after dropping Stephen's class, and Stephen's stirring up trouble trying to ruin Lucy's relationships.

It's peak college drama - relationships imploding, academic disasters, bad decisions all round. Evil is afoot, apparently. If you're into messy relationship dramas with attractive young people making terrible choices, this hits the spot.

If You're Not Into True Crime

Cooper & Fry - Channel 5, 8pm

Sound the new mismatched detective duo klaxon! Robert James-Collier (yes, Thomas Barrow from Downton) plays DC Ben Cooper, partnered with Mandip Gill's newcomer DC Diane Fry. They're solving murders in the Peak District with - you guessed it - completely opposite approaches.

First case: a body's unearthed on a Derbyshire farm during renovations. Cooper and Fry immediately clash on how to handle it. It's ITV crime drama by numbers, but sometimes that's exactly what Tuesday night needs.

James-Collier's got the acting chops, Gill's solid, the Peak District looks gorgeous. You could do worse.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - ITV2, 8:10pm

The second Potter film, with the giant snake and Kenneth Branagh being insufferable as Gilderoy Lockhart. If you've somehow never seen it (where have you been?), it's the one where Harry can talk to snakes and everyone thinks he's the heir of Slytherin.

Three hours long with ad breaks, so you're in for the long haul. But it's comfort viewing if you want something familiar that doesn't require too much brain power.

What's on Streaming

• Netflix: The latest Ryan Murphy thing you'll binge in a weekend then never think about again
• Disney+: Andor Season 2 if you're one of the few who watched (and loved) the first one
• Apple TV+: Severance continues being the best thing nobody's watching

The Viewing Schedule Table

Final Verdict

Tuesday's headliner is absolutely The Black Swan on BBC Four - Danish true crime with secret cameras filming actual criminal consultations. If you're not into that, the new Cooper & Fry detective duo should scratch the ITV crime drama itch, whilst Buzzcocks is going out with one final chaotic hurrah. The Ambulance episode looks emotionally brutal but important, and Yinka Shonibare's late-night slot is worth staying up for if you're into thoughtful arts documentaries. Not a blockbuster night, but there's enough variety to find something decent.