TV tonight: Our highlights for Tuesday, August 29

Martin Shore
·5 min read
The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies key art
The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies key art
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

On TV tonight, new con-artist drama The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies begins on BBC One, it's the semi-finals in Celebrity MasterChef and Bake Off: The Professionals, and iHuman: Storyville explores the power of artificial intelligence. Here's what you shouldn't miss on TV Tonight.

  • Our hand-selected recommendations for what's on TV tonight include TV shows, a film, live sport and the latest trending need-to-binge-on-now box set

  • Keep up to date with the latest soap spoiler storylines on TV tonight with our daily soap synopsis

  • For more information about what’s on TV tonight see our TV Guide

What's on TV tonight

Our expert TV journalists have picked the best things on TV tonight...

Best TV shows on TV tonight

The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies

Alice (Rebekah Staton) in The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies
Alice (Rebekah Staton) in The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies

The obsession for con-artist stories continues, but this five-part comedy thriller offers a different perspective, as a master manipulator’s victims set out to take him down. It begins with Oxford-based personal assistant Alice Newman (Rebekah Staton) running into her swindling ex-husband (Alistair Petrie) 15 years after he robbed her of her money and integrity. Now he’s calling himself Dr Robert Chance and allegedly saving the world as a climate scientist. But when Robert sets his sights on wealthy widow Cheryl Harker (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), Alice comes up with a plan to give the trickster a taste of his own medicine. Refreshing, darkly funny and a delight to watch.

★★★★★ RM

Bake Off: The Professionals, 8 pm, Channel 4

The toughest patisserie show on the planet has reached the semi-final, and guest judge Philip Khoury, Head Pastry Chef at Harrods, sets the bar high with the first challenge – to recreate his Dawn of a New Day dessert, a vegan Signature, with scant instruction to guide them. Next, they have five hours to create a miniature village scene with enough bûche entremet to serve 40 diners, and the ‘Land of the Giants’ theme must have an absorbing storyline and all-edible elements to impress the judges enough to put them through to the final.

★★★ MC 

Celebrity MasterChef 2023, 8 pm, BBC One

The blue team selecting ingredients in Celebrity MasterChef 2023
The blue team selecting ingredients in Celebrity MasterChef 2023

Eight celebrities have made it to this week’s semi-finals and will be giving it their all as the competition heads to the North East. They are split into two teams and tasked to create a menu for 100 staff and volunteers at Beamish Museum, which includes four impressive recipes – a meat, a fish and a veggie dish, plus dessert. But their first obstacle is getting used to cooking under canvas with unfamiliar equipment. The next challenge seems easy, but don’t be fooled, the celebs must make the ultimate sandwich for judges Gregg Wallace and John Torode. Continues Thursday (with Big Zuu as guest judge) and Friday.

★★★★ MC

iHuman: Storyville, 10 pm, BBC Four

It’s with a growing sense of unease that this documentary unfolds, explaining the power of AI, or AGI (artificial general intelligence), which will do anything humans can do – only better. Experts and scientists all agree on one thing – AI is going to revolutionise the way we live in the next 10 to 15 years as scientists successfully programme robots to self-learn and create their own goals. AI has the potential to eradicate poverty, solve climate change and cure disease, but, in the wrong hands, it’s a tool for weaponry, cyber fraud and fake news – ‘killing, spying and brainwashing’ as one scientist says, chillingly.

★★★★ MC

Best box set on TV tonight

Who is Erin Carter?, Netflix

An episodic still from Who Is Erin Carter? showing Erin (Evin Ahmad) standing on a rooftop, holding her hands up while a man behind her is pointing a gun at her
An episodic still from Who Is Erin Carter? showing Erin (Evin Ahmad) standing on a rooftop, holding her hands up while a man behind her is pointing a gun at her

Who Is Erin Carter? is an excellent question – and you’ll want to stick with this action-packed thriller to find out the answer! Erin (Evin Ahmad) is a Brit abroad, working as a teacher in Barcelona. But after Erin and her daughter Harper (Indica Watson) get caught up in a robbery in the supermarket and Erin expertly disarms one of the robbers with just the groceries she can lay her hands on, it’s clear she’s more than just a teacher. As word of her heroism spreads, people start asking awkward questions – and Erin gets deeper into trouble. The star-spangled cast also includes Douglas Henshall, Denise Gough, Susannah Fielding and Jamie Bamber.

★★★★★ SP 

Best film on TV tonight

Kick-Ass 2, 10.05 pm, BBC Three

Amateur superhero Dave joins a team of like-minded crimefighters, while lethal young vigilante Mindy retires and tries to be a normal teenager. Both of them become targets of Dave's twisted former friend, who has reinvented himself as the world's first supervillain. Action comedy sequel, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Jim Carrey.

Soaps

Live Sport

  • EFL Cup: Salford City v Leeds United, 7.30 pm (k-o 8 pm), Sky Sports Main Event/NOW

  • US Open Tennis, from 3.30 pm, Sky Showcase

If you watch just one thing on TV tonight…

Don't miss The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies on TV tonight.

Not found anything you want to watch on TV tonight? Check out our TV Guide.

Happy viewing!