{"id":462977,"date":"2026-03-07T17:55:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T17:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/462977\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T17:55:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T17:55:09","slug":"downton-abbey-star-penelope-wiltons-wonderful-british-drama-is-on-tv-tonight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/462977\/","title":{"rendered":"Downton Abbey star Penelope Wilton&#8217;s &#8220;wonderful&#8221; British drama is on TV tonight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"3\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, a 2023 film starring Downton Abbey&#8217;s Penelope Wilton and Paddington&#8217;s Jim Broadbent, is being shown on TV tonight. The film will be screened on Channel 4 at 10pm, and should hopefully be available to stream on the broadcaster&#8217;s streaming service afterwards.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"9\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Based on the 2012 novel by Rachel Joyce, the film follows a man who learns that his friend is in a hospice dying of cancer. He tells her that he&#8217;s going to walk all 500 miles to visit her, and that she needs to hold out until then.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"13\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">It&#8217;s been directed by Hettie Macdonald, who previously helmed the beloved Doctor Who episode &#8216;Blink&#8217; as well as several episodes of Normal People. <\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"jim broadbent, penelope wilton, the unlikely pilgrimage of harold fry\" title=\"Jim Broadbent,  Penelope Wilton, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1012\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry-jim-broadbent-penelope-wilton-1675425167.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>eOne<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"18\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tech\/best-tech-deals\/g35899960\/best-streaming-services\/\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tech\/best-tech-deals\/g35899960\/best-streaming-services\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Best streaming services\" data-node-id=\"18.2\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Best streaming services<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"22\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The film did well with the critics, standing at 74% positive on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/m\/the_unlikely_pilgrimage_of_harold_fry\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/m\/the_unlikely_pilgrimage_of_harold_fry\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Rotten Tomatoes\" data-node-id=\"22.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rotten Tomatoes<\/a> from 43 reviews.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"26\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"><a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2023\/04\/28\/the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry-review-18691527\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2023\/04\/28\/the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry-review-18691527\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Metro\" data-node-id=\"26.0\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Metro<\/a> called Harold Fry &#8220;unabashedly sentimental&#8221; and &#8220;cheesy&#8221; with some &#8220;on the nose&#8221; dialogue, but added that &#8220;this cheese has a distinctly English flavour \u2013 a movie equivalent of Ticklemore. Bittersweet and eccentric&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"31\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film\/2023\/apr\/30\/the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry-review-jim-broadbent-linda-bassett-penelope-wilton-hettie-macdonald-terminal-illness-odyssey\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film\/2023\/apr\/30\/the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry-review-jim-broadbent-linda-bassett-penelope-wilton-hettie-macdonald-terminal-illness-odyssey\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"The Observer\" data-node-id=\"31.0\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Observer<\/a> called it a &#8220;politely unassuming little film [that] builds into a wrenching examination of grief, guilt and eventual closure&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"35\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/films\/0\/the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry-review-jim-broadbent\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/films\/0\/the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry-review-jim-broadbent\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"The Telegraph\" data-node-id=\"35.0\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Telegraph<\/a> praised it for the way it &#8220;makes a definite effort to show us modern Britain, warts and all, rather than some Richard Curtis fantasyland&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"jim broadbent, the unlikely pilgrimage of harold fry\" title=\"Jim Broadbent, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"6000\" height=\"4000\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry-jim-broadbent-6441663e5af78.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1g79fud0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>eOne<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"40\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/movies\/a70620175\/best-streaming-movies-february-27-march-5\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/movies\/a70620175\/best-streaming-movies-february-27-march-5\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"5 best movies added to Netflix, BBC and more this week including Jim Carrey&#039;s &quot;unforgettable&quot; drama\" data-node-id=\"40.0.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">5 best movies added to Netflix, BBC and more this week including Jim Carrey&#8217;s &#8220;unforgettable&#8221; drama<\/a> <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"44\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">Over on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt14097206\/?ref_=rwurv_ov_i\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt14097206\/?ref_=rwurv_ov_i\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"IMDb\" data-node-id=\"44.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IMDb<\/a>, the film has an average user score of 6.8\/10 from over 7,000 viewer ratings.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"48\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt14097206\/review\/rw9264481\/?ref_=tturv_22\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt14097206\/review\/rw9264481\/?ref_=tturv_22\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"One fan\" data-node-id=\"48.0\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">One fan<\/a> called it &#8220;a wonderful, heart warming and at times heart wrenching story&#8221; with &#8220;so many lessons to teach&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"52\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt14097206\/review\/rw9034529\/?ref_=tturv_perm_2\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt14097206\/review\/rw9034529\/?ref_=tturv_perm_2\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Another fan\" data-node-id=\"52.0\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Another fan<\/a> praised the film for its representation of real human emotion. They wrote: &#8220;I left feeling that as humans we don&#8217;t have to change the world, sometimes just giving someone a smile on a day when they&#8217;re really struggling can make the world of difference to them&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"56\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">There&#8217;s also a musical version of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry that&#8217;s currently running at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, with tickets available at <a href=\"https:\/\/go.redirectingat.com?id=127X991730&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.atgtickets.com%2Fshows%2Fthe-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry%2Ftheatre-royal-haymarket%2F\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.atgtickets.com\/shows\/the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry\/theatre-royal-haymarket\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"ATG Tickets\" data-vars-ga-product-id=\"f3c16ce2-56a1-407e-abfd-f97769a56f55\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-node-id=\"56.4\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.atgtickets.com\/shows\/the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry\/theatre-royal-haymarket\/\" data-product-url=\"https:\/\/www.atgtickets.com\/shows\/the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry\/theatre-royal-haymarket\/\" data-affiliate=\"true\" data-affiliate-url=\"https:\/\/go.redirectingat.com?id=127X991730&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.atgtickets.com%2Fshows%2Fthe-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry%2Ftheatre-royal-haymarket%2F\" data-affiliate-network=\"{&quot;site_id&quot;:&quot;53fd7fa5-d43c-401b-823b-b21cf6cddcd6&quot;,&quot;metadata&quot;:null,&quot;network&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Skimlinks&quot;},&quot;product_metadata&quot;:null,&quot;afflink_redirect&quot;:&quot;\/_p\/afflink\/12Yjs\/atgtickets-the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold&quot;}\" data-vars-ga-product-brand=\"ATG\" data-vars-ga-product-price=\"$0.00\" data-vars-ga-product-retailer-id=\"8b74933f-6b09-4d49-8e9e-c3441ad9f021\" data-vars-ga-product-sem3-brand=\"ATG\" data-vars-ga-link-treatment=\"(not set) | (not set)\" class=\"body-link product-links css-1gyyefe e1aq0z090\">ATG Tickets<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/go.redirectingat.com?id=127X991730&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lovetheatre.com%2Fshows%2Fthe-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry-tickets%2F\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.lovetheatre.com\/shows\/the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry-tickets\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"LoveTheatre\" data-vars-ga-product-id=\"db2bad5e-8b2a-4a38-9a50-c7b8898c5b5a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-node-id=\"56.6\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.lovetheatre.com\/shows\/the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry-tickets\/\" data-product-url=\"https:\/\/www.lovetheatre.com\/shows\/the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry-tickets\/\" data-affiliate=\"true\" data-affiliate-url=\"https:\/\/go.redirectingat.com?id=127X991730&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lovetheatre.com%2Fshows%2Fthe-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry-tickets%2F\" data-affiliate-network=\"{&quot;site_id&quot;:&quot;53fd7fa5-d43c-401b-823b-b21cf6cddcd6&quot;,&quot;metadata&quot;:null,&quot;network&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Skimlinks&quot;},&quot;product_metadata&quot;:null,&quot;afflink_redirect&quot;:&quot;\/_p\/afflink\/12Yjt\/lovetheatre-the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold&quot;}\" data-vars-ga-product-price=\"$0.00\" data-vars-ga-product-retailer-id=\"98be69cf-5033-4b0b-92a8-c044da676197\" data-vars-ga-link-treatment=\"(not set) | (not set)\" class=\"body-link product-links css-1gyyefe e1aq0z090\">LoveTheatre<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/go.redirectingat.com?id=127X991730&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.todaytix.com%2Flondon%2Fshows%2F45160-the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.todaytix.com\/london\/shows\/45160-the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"TodayTix\" data-vars-ga-product-id=\"5f4430e5-a508-47fa-a040-841c7fd91fa5\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-node-id=\"56.8\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.todaytix.com\/london\/shows\/45160-the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry\" data-product-url=\"https:\/\/www.todaytix.com\/london\/shows\/45160-the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry\" data-affiliate=\"true\" data-affiliate-url=\"https:\/\/go.redirectingat.com?id=127X991730&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.todaytix.com%2Flondon%2Fshows%2F45160-the-unlikely-pilgrimage-of-harold-fry\" data-affiliate-network=\"{&quot;site_id&quot;:&quot;53fd7fa5-d43c-401b-823b-b21cf6cddcd6&quot;,&quot;metadata&quot;:null,&quot;network&quot;:{&quot;name&quot;:&quot;Skimlinks&quot;},&quot;product_metadata&quot;:null,&quot;afflink_redirect&quot;:&quot;\/_p\/afflink\/12Yju\/todaytix-an-unexpected-error-occurred&quot;}\" data-vars-ga-product-price=\"$0.00\" data-vars-ga-product-retailer-id=\"2c71a716-01fc-496e-9586-15fbe018f45b\" data-vars-ga-link-treatment=\"(not set) | (not set)\" class=\"body-link product-links css-1gyyefe e1aq0z090\">TodayTix<\/a><br data-node-id=\"56.9\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"60\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry will air on Channel 4 tonight at 10pm.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"65\" class=\"css-18ljdn6 emevuu60\">The new edition of Living Legends, a 100-page all-colour celebration of Harry Styles, is here! <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hearstmagazines.co.uk\/livinglegendsharrystyles\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.hearstmagazines.co.uk\/livinglegendsharrystyles\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Buy Harry Styles in newsagents or online\" data-node-id=\"65.3\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Buy Harry Styles in newsagents or online<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6bf117e6-90c2-44bc-a2bb-92355b4636ba_1550228669.file.png\" alt=\"Headshot of Joe Anderton\" title=\"Headshot of Joe Anderton\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"css-o0wq4v ev8dhu53\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he&#8217;s covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TV<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/movies\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">movies<\/a> both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I&#8217;m a Fish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, a 2023 film starring Downton Abbey&#8217;s Penelope Wilton and Paddington&#8217;s Jim Broadbent,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[147950,379,166188,381,96,2788,1156,166187,391,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-462977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-collection-latest-news","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-0d7f0e2a-6b03-4e74-8155-0fcd027bbe4d","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-hasproduct-true","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-downton-abbey-stars-wonderful-british-drama-on-tv-tonight","tag-tv","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}