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TV tonight: Diane Morgan and Sue Johnston’s great new sitcom

Catch the latest TV shows tonight, featuring Diane Morgan's new sitcom and a stylised drama about Amanda Knox, on BBC One, ITV1, and more

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Editorial Team
July 17, 2026
3 min read
Ann Droid 9.30pm, BBC One She has given us Philomena Cunk and Mandy, and now Diane Morgan has created another great comedy character in humanoid robot Linda. When widow Sue (Sue Johnston) has a fall, her son buys an outdated care robot, Ann Droid, to keep her company and help out around the house. But Sue is sceptical and, after spitefully renaming her Linda (the name of her sister, whom she hates), swears to return her after a 48-hour trial. Can Linda change her mind? She may be socially awkward and a hindrance more than a help, but there’s no denying she has a certain charm. It’s a sitcom with a lot of heart, tapping into themes of loneliness and grief, and Morgan’s brand of deadpan humour ensures big laughs. Hollie Richardson The Hairdresser Mysteries 2pm, BBC One Just a trim? ... The Hairdresser Mysteries on BBC One. Photograph: BBC/Mill Bay Media/Gary Moyes A gloriously camp comedy drama about a northern English hairdresser obsessed with the 70s who finds herself solving mysteries in the village where she has just opened a retro salon. Sally Phillips plays our kooky protagonist, Lily Petal, who is making friends with the eccentrics of Blossom Vale when she encounters her first crime, involving a teacup and saucer. HR First Night of the Proms 7pm, BBC Two Let the Proms begin! With the classical spectacular celebrating American independence, it’s only right to kick off with performances of Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man and Gershwin’s An American in Paris. HR Surgery Secrets of the Super Rich 8pm, Channel 4 The world recently saw its first trillionaire and now we have this show: serving up footage of people who spend the equivalent of a normal person’s annual salary on a new smile. Nauseating content includes a meeting with the “rock star of facelifts” and a look at a new “tweakment”. Alexi Duggins The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox 9pm, ITV1 Slow burner ... Grace Van Patten as Amanda Knox. Photograph: Andrea Miconi/Disney “Amanda ... I don’t like this at all.” The opening words in this stylised drama (executive produced by one A Knox) were echoed by many when it dropped on Disney+ last year, not least by Meredith Kercher’s sister who found it “difficult to understand” its purpose. The slow-burn double bill is a troubling watch, in many ways. Ali Catterall Austin 10.40pm, BBC One More from the unremarkable sitcom about a self-centred, cancelled children’s author who discovers he has a neurodivergent son. As Julian uses Austin’s autism to edge back into public life, there’s a hitch as their book has its title changed. Will Julian pass this test of his principles? Of course not. Phil Harrison Film Anaconda (Tom Gormican, 2025) , 9.15am, 8pm , Sky Cinema Premiere Welcome to the jungle ... Jack Black (left) and Paul Rudd in Anaconda Photograph: Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy When you have secured the likes of Jack Black and Paul Rudd for your film, there isn’t much else you need to do to make it a fun watch. Writer-director Tom Gormican does add some meta trimmings to his comedy-focused reboot. Two old friends, bit-part actor Griff (Rudd) and wedding video director Doug (Black), and two mates (the rather underused Thandiwe Newton, plus Steve Zahn), enthusiastically head off to the Amazon to make a no-budget remake of Anaconda. Naturally, things immediately go pear- (or snake-) shaped. Simon Wardell Live sport Women’s Vitality T20 Blast cricket (9.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event) The final at the Oval.

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