BBC One's Honey Gives Killing Eve's Carolyn Martens a Cold War Origin Story

BBC One premieres Honey tonight at 9pm, a Killing Eve prequel set in East Berlin in 1982 that tells the origin story of MI6 oddball Carolyn Martens. Ann Skelly plays the young Martha/Carolyn, a bored junior spy whose assignment from Rory Kinnear's agent Graham Anderson pulls her into a menage a trois with a CIA operative and a Stasi officer.

The Guardian's Phil Harrison offers the verdict that matters: "It doesn't quite manage the irreverent mischief of prime Killing Eve but it's still spicy fun." For fans of Fiona Shaw's famously eccentric spymaster, that's the draw — the show explains how the character got that way.

What else is on tonight?

• Strictly Come Dancing, 6.25pm, BBC One. With Bethany eliminated and Blackpool looming, the remaining couples face the dance-off question. Priya Elan's smart money is on Dani Dyer and/or Will Best. One relief, per Elan: viewers no longer endure the judges mispronouncing Jowita's name.
• Griff Across the Alps, 8pm, Channel 4. Rhys Jones travels from France to Slovenia through the mountains, examining their influence on history, war and trade. This episode reaches the Dolomites, where he scales the Grand Cir, drives a Lotus along the Sella Pass, and meets local wolves and bears.
• The F Ward, 9pm, Channel 4. The last two episodes of the Australian medical drama starring Anna Friel. Interns in an underfunded hospital face a sink-or-swim reality, and young medics Jimmy and Ellie share a night shift that forces them to confront their feelings.
• Yaga, 9pm, Sky Atlantic. Carrie-Anne Moss's Katherine notes that different versions of the eldritch enchantress Baba Yaga exist everywhere. Investigators Rapp and Carson start wondering where they're being led. Phil Harrison calls it "a clever, creepy mystery that delights in keeping us guessing."
• Dark Winds, 9pm, U&Alibi. The fifth episode of the fourth series of the Navajo Nation-set detective show. Tribal police leads Leaphorn (Reservation Dogs' Zahn McLarnon) and Chee assist the FBI's investigation in exchange for information.

Which films are worth streaming tonight?

Heartland (Shana Feste, 2026) arrives on Netflix, with Jessica Chastain as Misty Jones, a Stetson-wearing, gun-toting has-been singing star who reluctantly returns to Nashville when her up-and-coming niece Charlie goes missing. Simon Wardell writes that despite suspects "oddly reminiscent of Scooby-Doo" and some on-the-nose songs, Chastain pulls it off.

Ran (Akira Kurosawa, 1985) screens at 9pm on BBC Four. Kurosawa's version of King Lear transposes the story to Japan's feudal past, with Tatsuya Nakadai as the ageing warlord Hidetora, who abdicates in favour of his eldest son but presumes he keeps his status. Wardell singles out Mieko Harada's manipulative Lady Kaede as "a villain the Bard would have been proud to call his own."

Live sport: a packed Saturday

• Nations Championship Rugby: Italy v Argentina, 11am, ITV1; Wales v New Zealand, 1.40pm; England v Japan, 4.30pm; Ireland v Fiji, 7.30pm.
• Women's Super League: Chelsea v Man City, 1.15pm, BBC One, with Erin Cuthbert captaining the home side in a top-of-the-table clash. Arsenal v London City follows Sunday at 4.15pm on Sky One.
• Uefa Nations League: Norway v Wales, 4.45pm, BBC Two; then Northern Ireland v Ukraine at 7.15pm.
• ODI Cricket: Australia v England, 3am, TNT Sports 1 — the second one-day international at Adelaide Oval.

With Honey and Ran anchoring the 9pm slot across BBC One and BBC Four, the evening's strongest choice is between cold war intrigue and feudal epic.