Wednesday's an eclectic mix - from JMW Turner's private sketches to Irish dancers battling for perfection, plus Shetland's hilariously incompetent drug dealing subplot. Not your average midweek telly lineup.

Table of Contents

Quick Picks: Tonight's Best

Early Evening: Aspirational Viewing (8pm)

Grand Designs: House of the Year - Channel 4, 8pm

Grand Designs: House of the Year

Time for your weekly dose of extreme property envy. Kevin McCloud and his team are nosing around the Riba (Royal Institute of British Architects) house of the year shortlist, kicking off with six homes built against absolutely bonkers odds.

One of them's on a collapsing hillside on the south coast, which sounds like the start of a disaster film but is apparently architectural genius. This show has a way of making you simultaneously impressed and depressed about your own living situation.

If you're into Grand Designs, you already know the drill. If you're not, this is basically voyeuristic architecture porn with Kevin providing earnest commentary.

Portrait Artist of the Year 2025 - Sky Arts, 8pm

Portrait Artist of the Year 2025

This week's famous faces sitting for their portraits: Big Boys creator Jack Rooke, ballet dancer Reece Clarke, and retired astronaut Tim Peake. Stephen Mangan hosts as nine artists compete to capture them best.

Watching people paint for an hour might sound dull, but there's something oddly compelling about seeing the portraits take shape. Plus Tim Peake's been to actual space, which automatically makes him more interesting than most portrait subjects.

Prime Time: Culture and Crime (9pm onwards)

Turner: The Secret Sketchbooks - BBC Two, 9pm ⭐

Turner: The Secret Sketchbooks

This is the one you shouldn't miss tonight. JMW Turner didn't leave behind a diary, but he did leave 37,000 private sketches that have just been made public for the first time. Turns out they're basically his personal journal in visual form.

Clinical psychologist Orna Guralnik, Timothy Spall (who played Turner in Mike Leigh's film), Tracey Emin, and Chris Packham are among the people digging through these pages searching for clues to his character. The big question they're exploring: was Turner neurodivergent?

It's fascinating stuff. These aren't the polished masterpieces everyone knows - they're messy, personal, revealing. Seeing experts and fans piece together what made Turner tick feels like detective work. First terrestrial showing, BBC Two doing what it does best with arts documentaries.

Shetland - BBC One, 9pm

Troubled care-leaver Stevie is shooting up the suspect list for Eadie's murder, thanks to a beady-eyed cab driver who's clearly been paying attention. Meanwhile, the Chris and Hayley subplot continues to be the most entertainingly incompetent drug dealing operation north of the border.

Honestly, these two are terrible at crime. Sandy wants to re-interview Chris about his statement, which isn't helping their already dodgy situation. If you've been following this series, you know it's been solid - atmospheric, well-acted, with enough plot threads to keep things interesting without getting confusing.

Battle of the Irish Dancers - Sky Arts, 9pm

Battle of the Irish Dancers

Young hopefuls prepare for the dance of their lives in what's basically the biggest Irish dancing challenge in the world. In Birmingham, 17-year-old Lauren hopes to qualify for the world championships. In Dublin, Ella from the Niall Holly Academy performs at the Irish Shield Feis.

Newcastle teacher Kelly Hendry's leaving her pupils in no doubt about expectations: "At the end of the day, this is about you being perfect." No pressure then.

It's intense, high-stakes stuff. Irish dancing at this level is insanely competitive and physically demanding. These kids are basically elite athletes in sparkly costumes.

Late Night: Comedy and Entertainment

BBC New Comedy Awards 2025: Final - BBC One, 10:40pm

Over its 30-year history, this competition's been a springboard for Lucy Beaumont and national treasure Alan Carr. Tonight, six finalists including London standouts Blank Peng and Sharifa Butterfly battle it out at Bradford's Alhambra theatre for the chuckle crown.

Amy Gledhill hosts, Fatiha El-Ghorri judges, and there's a special set from 2024's champion Paul Hilleard. If you're into discovering new comedy talent before they're everywhere, this is worth staying up for.

If You're Not Into Arts Documentaries

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

The jungle continues. Someone's eating something horrific, someone else is having a breakdown, Ant and Dec are making it all entertaining. You know exactly what you're getting.

If you're watching at this point, you're committed. If you're not, nothing's changed.

What's on Streaming

  • Netflix: Whatever Ryan Murphy thing everyone's bingeing this week
  • Disney+: More Star Wars content that half the internet will complain about
  • Apple TV+: Severance Season 2 continues being excellent and criminally underwatched

The Viewing Schedule Table

Time Channel Programme Why Watch
8:00pm Channel 4 Grand Designs: House of the Year Extreme property envy
8:00pm Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year Tim Peake sits for portrait
9:00pm BBC Two Turner: The Secret Sketchbooks 37,000 private sketches revealed ⭐
9:00pm BBC One Shetland Incompetent drug dealers continue
9:00pm Sky Arts Battle of the Irish Dancers High-stakes competitive dancing
9:00pm ITV1 I'm a Celebrity Jungle chaos
10:40pm BBC One BBC New Comedy Awards Final Six finalists compete

Final Verdict

Wednesday's headliner is Turner: The Secret Sketchbooks - 37,000 never-before-seen sketches revealing the artist's character and potentially his neurodivergence. It's genuinely fascinating arts telly. If you're not into that, Grand Designs offers solid aspirational property viewing, whilst Shetland continues its reliably good Scottish crime drama run. The Irish dancing documentary looks intense if you're into competitive dance, and the comedy awards final is worth catching for discovering new talent. Decent midweek lineup.