Emotional restorations and personal journeys lead primetime
Thursday night television leans into stories of rebuilding, both physical and personal, with a schedule that feels reflective for midwinter.
George Clarke’s Building Home, 8pm, Channel 4 opens the evening with the kind of grounded, emotional storytelling that has become Clarke’s signature. This return episode heads to Derbyshire, where a couple attempt to transform a cottage inherited from family. It is not simply a renovation project, it is an act of preservation, memory stitched into brick and timber. The scale of the work is daunting, walls coming down, rooms reimagined, but the emotional stakes carry the narrative. Clarke remains at his best when architecture meets lived experience, and this opener sets the tone for the series.
Travel provides a gentler counterpoint on Spain With Michael Portillo, 8pm, Channel 5. Mallorca is the latest stop, explored through food, farming and heritage transport. Tramlines, mountain air and open sandwiches create an easy rhythm. It is comfort viewing, but never empty, Portillo’s curiosity keeps it engaging without demanding too much of the viewer.
Entertainment and enterprise in familiar formats
At 8pm on BBC One, Dragons’ Den continues its long run of inventive, occasionally baffling entrepreneurship. The standout pitch comes from the beauty sector, skincare created from waste tomato ketchup and oranges. Sustainability sells, but credibility matters, and the Den remains a fascinating pressure chamber for both. Gary Neville’s return as guest Dragon adds a recognisable edge, bridging sport, business and media in the way modern investment culture often does.
An hour later, The Apprentice, 9pm, BBC One shifts the tone towards competitive chaos. Children’s books and audiobooks form this week’s task, a deceptively risky space where tone matters as much as profit. Toilet humour versus safer storytelling becomes the dividing line. Reputations are made quickly here, and undone even faster. As ever, the format thrives on misjudgement.
Human stories and high stakes factual TV
Factual programming dominates the 9pm hour elsewhere.
Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild, 9pm, Channel 5 delivers one of the evening’s most affecting narratives. A widower living alone on a canal boat near Macclesfield opens up about grief, solitude and recovery. Fogle’s interviewing style remains understated, allowing silence and landscape to do much of the work. It is contemplative television, unhurried and sincere.
Across on Sky Witness, FBI returns with a new series opener. The procedural wastes little time, launching into a missing judge case tied to militia activity on a remote island. It is pacey, familiar territory for fans of Dick Wolf’s universe, but polished enough to draw casual viewers.
Film fans have a quieter but notable option on Disney+. Ella McCay marks James L Brooks’ return to directing after a long absence. Emma Mackey leads as a reluctant political figure thrust into power, supported by Jamie Lee Curtis and Woody Harrelson. It balances comedy and drama, imperfect but engaging, with strong performances carrying its lighter political observations.
For night owls, Name Me Lawand, 2.50am, Channel 4 offers a deeply moving documentary portrait of a deaf Kurdish boy adapting to life in the UK. It explores communication, displacement and resilience with care. A powerful, if late night, watch.
Six Nations lights up the sporting calendar
Live sport takes centre stage tonight with the start of one of rugby’s biggest tournaments.
France v Ireland, Six Nations, 7.20pm, ITV1 opens the championship under the Paris lights. It is a heavyweight curtain raiser, two title contenders meeting immediately. We have already published a full tournament preview covering fixtures, form and viewing options, which readers can explore for deeper insight across the competition.
The Six Nations always carries a sense of seasonal arrival. Floodlit stadiums, national rivalries, the slow build towards spring. This opener should set the emotional and competitive tone for the weeks ahead.
Premier League Darts begins its roadshow spectacle
Also launching tonight, though often flying under the mainstream radar, is one of the most entertaining live sporting circuits of the year.
Premier League Darts, Night 1, 7pm, Sky Sports+ and Main Event begins in Newcastle, marking the start of a 16 week travelling tournament that blends elite sport with arena scale theatre.
Luke Humphries returns as reigning champion, but the narrative spotlight inevitably falls on Luke Littler. His rise has reshaped darts’ audience and profile, bringing younger viewers into what was already one of television’s most watchable formats. The weekly roadshow structure keeps momentum high, moving from city to city before culminating in the Play Offs at London’s O2 Arena in May.
For viewers, access is straightforward. Coverage runs across Sky Sports channels, with streaming via Sky Go for subscribers. NOW memberships provide flexible access for those without long term packages, making it one of the more accessible live sports offerings across the spring calendar.
Streaming and viewing beyond the living room
Thursday’s line up, spanning renovation, factual storytelling and live sport, also highlights how fragmented viewing has become.
Traditional broadcast remains central for tentpole moments such as Six Nations rugby or primetime BBC entertainment. Yet streaming platforms and mobile apps now sit alongside them as standard. Sky Go, ITVX, BBC iPlayer and NOW ensure that travel or schedule rarely blocks access.
For viewers watching from outside the UK, access can become more complex due to regional restrictions on live sport and catch up services. Many turn to secure network tools to maintain continuity with home subscriptions while abroad, particularly during major sporting tournaments or live event television. Get your 48-hour free trial from LibertyShield VPN now and catch all of tonight’s TV highlights and more.
Thursday night balance
What stands out tonight is balance.
Emotion sits alongside enterprise, sport beside documentary, comfort viewing next to heavier real world storytelling. George Clarke’s Derbyshire restoration speaks to heritage and memory, while darts arenas and Six Nations stadiums pulse with noise and national energy.
It is a schedule that understands February’s mood. Cold evenings, long nights, appetite for stories that either warm or distract.
Whether it is rugby in Paris, arrows in Newcastle, or a family cottage rebuilt from the inside out, Thursday’s television offers scale, but also intimacy.