Television schedules this evening bring a harrowing drama about the forced removal of Indigenous children in Canada, a new seaside sculpting competition, and a documentary on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder that has already stirred controversy. Also on offer are celebrity cooking mishaps, a nostalgic look back at a landmark British sitcom, and live rugby league.
Little Bird, airing at 9pm on Sky Atlantic, follows a young Canadian woman named Esther Rosenblum as she uncovers the circumstances of her own adoption at age five in Montreal and searches for the siblings she was separated from decades earlier. The drama uses flashbacks set fifteen years prior to depict the night she and her siblings were taken from their parents, part of a wider historical pattern in which Canadian authorities systematically removed Indigenous children from their families and placed them into the child welfare system.
What is Race Against the Tide, and why is it airing now?
At 7:30pm on BBC Two, viewers can watch Race Against the Tide, a gentle sand-sculpting competition hosted by Iain Stirling and adapted from a Canadian format. Pairs made up of professional sculptors and amateur newcomers compete to construct elaborate beach artworks before time runs out. According to the BBC's media pack, the series features seven teams pairing a professional sand sculptor with a novice, all racing to finish their creations before the incoming tide destroys them. The programme first premiered on BBC Scotland on 17 August 2026 before moving to BBC Two the following evening, with the full run made available on the corporation's streaming service from 17 August 2026, according to BBC media materials. The BBC Two schedule for 18 August 2026 confirms this broadcast as the opening instalment of a six-part series.
Why has The Great ADHD Myth? drawn criticism before airing?
's 8pm documentary, presented by NHS psychiatrist and author Max Pemberton, has already provoked objections from ADHD advocacy groups over its provocative title. One GP featured in the programme states plainly that ADHD is not, in their view, a legitimate medical condition, and the film also follows a young boy hoping to come off his ADHD medication. The documentary, a one-hour film produced by Minnow Films and directed by Xavier Alford, was built around the central question of whether ADHD constitutes a genuine neurodevelopmental disorder, according to a press release, which explains the strength of the backlash the title itself has generated. The charity ADHD UK went further, stating in an open letter reported by ADHD UK's own statement that damage was being caused well before broadcast.
It's certainly not a medical condition as far as I'm concerned.
[Harm is being done] in the listings, in the commentary, before a single frame is broadcast.
What else is worth watching tonight?
Celebrity MasterChef continues at 9pm on BBC One, with Love Island's Shakira Khan, Olympic weightlifter Emily Campbell, former boyband member Jay McGuiness, comedian Joe Pasquale and presenter Jason Mohammad all attempting to impress the judges in the kitchen, with mixed and occasionally chaotic results.
Elsewhere, the final instalment of Joe & David's Magical Sitcom Tour sees comedians Joe Wilkinson and David Earl reflect on the enduring impact of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's breakthrough series The Office, despite the unevenness of Gervais's career since. The pair meet cast members, visit filming locations — many since demolished — and endure Gervais's distinctive laugh along the way.
At 11:05pm, BBC Two airs The Vampire Lestat: Interview with the Vampire, in which the tormented vampire Lestat, played by Sam Reid, pushes himself to dangerous extremes — including deliberately burning in daylight — in pursuit of the perfect musical note. Further flashbacks explore his fixation with music and his fraught history with the fearsome Queen Akasha.
Live sport tonight includes Super League Rugby's clash between Hull KR and Warrington, kicking off at 7:30pm on Sky Sports Main Event from Craven Park Stadium.
What happens next for Race Against the Tide?
Viewers who miss tonight's opening episode can catch a repeat broadcast on BBC Two on 22 August 2026 at 12:55pm, according to the BBC's published schedule. The second episode of the six-part series is due to air on BBC Scotland on 24 August 2026 at 8:30pm, followed by its BBC Two broadcast on 25 August 2026 at 7:30pm, per BBC programme information.
- Little Bird dramatises the mass removal of Indigenous children from their families under Canadian authorities, following one woman's search for her lost siblings.
- Race Against the Tide premiered on BBC Scotland on 17 August 2026 and airs as a six-part series on BBC Two from 18 August 2026, with seven teams of professionals and amateurs competing.
- The Great ADHD Myth? has drawn criticism from ADHD UK over its title, with the charity arguing harm occurs before broadcast even begins.
- Joe & David's Magical Sitcom Tour concludes with a visit to former Office filming locations and encounters with Ricky Gervais.
- A repeat of Race Against the Tide airs on 22 August 2026, with episode two following on 24-25 August 2026.
