TV tonight: the new series of First Dates starts with a twist | Television

First Dates

10pm, Channel 4
Fresh from getting married himself, TV’s most romantic man Fred Sirieix resumes playing Cupid as he once more opens the doors to the First Dates restaurant. In what is surely a first for the show, Sophie’s husband sits at the bar as she goes on a date with a woman for the first time. Elsewhere in the room, Mike is a widowed dad looking for someone who understands his grief. And Derek and June are old romantics looking for a classic love story. Hollie Richardson

Sun, Sea and Selling Houses

6.05pm, Channel 4
Even post-Brexit, Spain remains a favourite destination for Brits. This time, Sharon and Steve Garner are hunting for a property for Tracy and Graham in Almería. But the couple aren’t on the same page. Can they both be satisfied within a relatively modest budget? For Graham, it will depend on the quality of nearby golf courses. Phil Harrison

Beechgrove Garden

7.30pm, BBC Two
More mellow plant inspiration from the Beechgrove team, who are full of useful tips for wherever you garden (if you’re not already tickling your tomatoes, you really should be …) As July begins, Calum harvests his potatoes and shallots, while Brian offers a guide to grass. Hannah J Davies

Gardeners’ World

8pm, BBC Two
Hedgehogs, chillies and homegrown dahlias all have their moment in the glorious sunshine this week, as Gardeners’ World visits the RHS Hampton Court garden festival. We learn about how even small, urban gardens can support one of the UK’s most endangered mammals and what kind of heat would motivate an Aberdeen couple to move south. Ellen E Jones

Not Going Out

9pm, BBC One

Still not going out … Lucy (Sally Bretton) and Lee (Lee Mack) in Not Going Out. Photograph: BBC/Avalon/Mark Johnson

It’s the night of the first of Oasis’s reunion gigs and – along with most of us – ticketless Lee has Fomo (that’s Fear of Missing Oasis). Instead of happily getting a takeaway and watching an old concert on YouTube, he blames Lucy for missing out and bitterly recalls the day spent in the cursed online ticket queue. HR

St Denis Medical

10.40pm, BBC One
From sitcom writer Justin Spitzer (Scrubs, The Office, Superstore), this hospital mockumentary continues to deliver light laughs. The double bill starts with two prison inmates rushed in with injuries they gave to each other. Then, Joyce decides she wants to know more work gossip and find out who’s dating who. HR

Film choice

White House Down, Friday, 9pm, E4

An impossibly silly film … Channing Tatum in White House Down. Photograph: Cinematic/Alamy


If you couldn’t get enough of Heads of State on Amazon Prime, here’s a film that must have at least partly inspired it. Although it suffered at the time from comparisons to Olympus Has Fallen – Gerard Butler’s dour action film about a terrorist attack on the presidential residence – White House Down is a far lighter affair. Sure, the same things happen, but this has Channing Tatum instead of Butler, and he’s intent on delivering all his lines with the biggest wink imaginable. This is an impossibly silly film and, if you’re drunk enough, it forms a perfect double bill with Heads of State. Stuart Heritage

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