Here’s our TV tonight picks for Thursday, August 14 (for more information about what’s on TV, see our TV Guide)…
Tom Kerridge Cooks Spain, ITV1, 8.30 pm
With a reputation built on serving hearty, flavourful modern British food, and a pair of Michelin-starred pubs in the quintessentially English town of Marlow in Buckinghamshire, it’s clear chef Tom Kerridge feels a strong connection to the culinary culture of his home country. But, as this whistle-stop series continues to demonstrate, he is keen to embrace influences from further afield, and his passion for the produce and people of Spain is infectiously genuine. Tonight, he visits the region around the beautiful central city of Cuenca to get a taste of garlic straight from the earth, before a trip south to Murcia, ‘the fruit basket of Spain’.
Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild, 5, 9 pm
Returning for a new series profiling far-flung relocations, Ben Fogle’s wanderlust takes him first to Botswana, where he meets Norwegian model Aleks, who lives alongside the Ju’/hoansi people, hunter-gatherers in southern Africa for thousands of years. As usual, Ben throws himself into any jobs that need doing, beginning by constructing bush fences to protect against desert lions. As Ben gets to know Aleks, wondering why she swapped cold climes for arid ones, he realises she’s driven principally by love – for the biodiversity of the land she now calls home, for the indigenous culture of her adopted tribe and for the owner of a nearby safari camp, whom she has recently married.
Saving Lives at Sea, BBC2, 8 pm
There’s no need to see a summer blockbuster when you can watch the bodycam footage of the first rescue bid in this week’s edition of the RNLI docuseries. Remember 2022’s Storm Eunice, with its record wind speeds? The Portsmouth lifeboat crew are called out to a diabetic windsurfer who goes out in it, for an ‘exciting challenge’, and ends up stranded on a tiny island. After deciding they must launch to save a life, despite having no helicopter support – the wind is too strong – the volunteers are then faced with standing waves. It’s heart-in-mouth action, described by the casualty as ‘immensely brave’. Other watersport enthusiasts in trouble include a kayaker, a wingfoiler and a yacht crew.
The One Show, BBC1, 7 pm
Tonight’s episode marks a special edition broadcast from the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire, and looks ahead to the upcoming events to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VJ Day.