TV tonight: Jack Thorne’s epic Lord of the Flies adaptation

Jack Thorne has adapted William Golding’s Lord of the Flies for television in a faithful, epic four‑parter that has the support of Golding’s family. It follows a group of schoolboys who, while fleeing from a war in the 1950s, crash‑land on a Pacific island with all the adults dead; the boys must decide how to survive and be rescued.

Each episode is told from the perspective of one of the core four — Ralph, Piggy, Simon and Jack — with Piggy opening the series; it was shot on location in Malaysia and is performed by a cast of more than 30 young actors. ITV1’s Betrayal is a moreish four‑parter by playwright David Eldridge, with Shaun Evans as an MI5 agent drawn into a gangland plot and Romola Garai as his wife Claire.

Winter Olympics coverage begins at 9am on BBC Two as the first week of Milano Cortina 2026 gets under way, with Clare Balding, Hazel Irvine and Jeanette Kwakye toggling between BBC One and BBC Two each day. Sunday’s gold medal events include the men’s singles luge and the team figure skating.

Malaysia, Milano Cortina

jack thorne, lordoftheflies, william golding, adaptation, piggy, ralph, simon, itv1, betrayal, winter olympics