The 5 best shows on TV tonight: Tuesday 13 July

Amy Johnson
·Contributor
·3 min read
The top TV picks for Tuesday 13 July.
The top TV picks for Tuesday 13 July.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Emma Willis and Tom Allen front a new show on ITV tonight as famous faces prepare to hone their cooking skills.

Cooking With The Stars sees the celebs rustle up culinary delights to try and stay in the competition, with help from a chef mentor.

Plus, Ray Mears heads to China to check out its wildlife for a new programme.

Read more: Dean Gaffney becomes a grandad at the age of 43

There's also the opportunity to catch an acclaimed space-set blockbuster too.

Wild China With Ray Mears - 7.30pm - ITV

Ray Mears and wall expert Dr William Lindesay on The Great Wall of China. (ITV)
Ray Mears and wall expert Dr William Lindesay on The Great Wall of China. (ITV)

The presenter is off on an adventure in China and he kicks it off in the nation's capital, Beijing.

He explores the local wildlife of what is considered one of the world's greenest cities and heads to the Beijing Raptor Rescue Centre Ray where he meets a vet who treats injured birds and returns them to the wild.

Mears also checks out the wild side of The Great Wall of China and learns about its history, while conservationist Huang Qiaowen from the Bring the Leopards Home project explains how China’s biggest cats are being encouraged to return to the region.

Love Your Small Garden Special - 8pm - ITV

Charity worker Maxine with Alan Titchmarsh. (ITV)
Charity worker Maxine with Alan Titchmarsh. (ITV)

This special instalment of the garden improvement show sees the team help transform a narrow backyard in London for charity worker Maxine as well a small garden for a family in Kent.

Read more: Tearful Ranvir Singh challenges Richard Madeley's privilege

The team offer tips on tricks on how to make the best out of small outdoor spaces to make them feel bigger.

Gravity - 8.35pm - BBC One

'Gravity' opens with a lengthy, unbroken sequence in outer space. (Credit: Warner Bros)
'Gravity' opens with a lengthy, unbroken sequence in outer space. (Credit: Warner Bros)

While not a TV show, the acclaimed 2013 science fiction thriller airing on BBC One this evening is worth checking out for something different.

Sandra Bullock and George Clooney star as astronauts who get stranded in outer space after their Space Shuttle is destroyed mid-orbit.

They're cut off from mission control and must embark on a life-threatening journey as they try to get to safety.

Forensics: The Real CSI - 9pm - BBC Two

Forensics: The Real CSI - investigator Drew Birtles. (BBC/Blast! Films/Ryan McNamara)
Forensics: The Real CSI - investigator Drew Birtles. (BBC/Blast! Films/Ryan McNamara)

There's a search for evidence after a woman in her 50s tells police an engineer who visited her home to fit a smart meter indecently exposed himself.

Read more: Lord Sugar gives update on Claude Littner after accident

Investigator Drew Birtles sets about using forensic light sources and DNA evidence to piece together what went on.

Cooking With the Stars - 9pm - ITV

Cooking With The Stars contestants Denise van Outen, Naughty Boy, Catherine Tyldesley, Harry Judd, Johnny Vegas, Shirley Ballas, AJ Odudu and Griff Rhys Jones. (ITV)
Cooking With The Stars contestants Denise van Outen, Naughty Boy, Catherine Tyldesley, Harry Judd, Johnny Vegas, Shirley Ballas, AJ Odudu and Griff Rhys Jones. (ITV)

Celebs including Denise Van Outen, Shirley Ballas and Johnny Vegas are testing their culinary skills in this new competition.

Paired up with professional chef mentor, they will battle it out to produce the tastiest dishes over the course of six episodes while avoiding elimination.

Emma Willis and Tom Allen host while the chefs include Rosemary Shrager, Nisha Katona and Joseph Denison Carey.

Watch: Emma Willis said she's happily take part in Strictly Come Dancing