Drama TV Guide: Listings, Schedule & What’s On Drama Tonight

Published: 1 September 2026

Drama launched on 8 July 2013 and is owned by BBC Studios as part of the UKTV stable alongside Dave, Yesterday and W. It was rebranded U&Drama on 16 July 2024, though most viewers and on-screen guides still call it Drama. Tonight, Wednesday 2 September 2026, three consecutive episodes of Last of the Summer Wine run from 6pm to 8pm — “The Treasure of the Deep”, “Dancing Feet” and “That Certain Smile”. The Chelsea Detective then takes the two hours from 8pm as a single two-part case, “Myths and Legends”: a murdered antiques dealer, a stuffy music society and mudlarks combing the riverbed, with a missing gold coin driving the plot. New Tricks takes the 10pm hour and Copper closes out the night at 11pm.

Drama Schedule: Wednesday 2 September 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete Drama schedule for Wednesday 2 September 2026, on Freeview 20.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on Drama today

Wednesday’s overnight on Drama opens with Sister Boniface Mysteries at 12:55am (series 1, episode 1) and At Home with the Braithwaites at 1:55am (series 1, episode 1), before the British Sign Language edition of The Chelsea Detective at 2:55am (series 2, episode 5, part one of “The Reliable Witness”) sees out the small hours. Teleshopping then carries the schedule from 4am to 7:25am.

The Bill opens the daytime at 7:25am (series 17, episode 26) and the same episode repeats at 12pm. Between the two showings, the archive strand runs two Classic Doctors episodes (8:20am and 9am), one Classic Holby City (9:40am) and one Classic Casualty (11am) — all flagged “New.” by the feed, which on these archive repeats means first shown in this run rather than a new commission. The same applies to the daytime soap archive that follows: two Classic EastEnders at 1pm and 1:40pm (series 2011, episodes 70 and 71, Zainab and Masood’s secret rendezvous) and two Classic Neighbours at 2:20pm and 2:50pm (series 1, episodes 65 and 66). Sister Boniface Mysteries repeats at 3:20pm, Kingdom takes 4:20pm and As Time Goes By closes out the early evening at 5:20pm before three episodes of Last of the Summer Wine lead into primetime. Jonathan Creek doesn’t feature today.

Drama tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the Drama primetime line-up for tonight, Wednesday 2 September 2026.

Last of the Summer Wine — Drama, 6pm-8pm

Three consecutive episodes of Last of the Summer Wine run back to back from 6pm: “The Treasure of the Deep” (series 10, episode 2) at 6pm, “Dancing Feet” (episode 3) at 6:40pm, and “That Certain Smile” (episode 4) at 7:20pm.

The Chelsea Detective — Drama, 8pm-10pm

The Chelsea Detective takes the two hours from 8pm as a single two-part case, “Myths and Legends” (series 3, episodes 3 and 4), shown whole rather than as two separate episodes. A collector of antiques turns up murdered, and Max and Layla end up chasing leads through a snobbish music circle and the mudlark community that combs the Thames shoreline, all built around a coin that has gone missing. Part one lays out the puzzle; part two takes a false turn before the case is finally cracked.

New Tricks — Drama, 10pm

New Tricks takes the 10pm slot with “The Rock – Part Two” (series 10, episode 2): the UCOS team dig up old buried history on Gibraltar while trying to work out who killed a wealthy shipping boss.

Copper — Drama, 11pm

Copper closes out the night at 11pm (series 1, episode 3), “In the Hands of an Angry God”. It’s a first-in-this-run showing on Drama’s archive schedule, not a new series — Copper is a 2012 drama.

What kind of shows are on Drama

Classic BBC and ITV archive drama

The backbone of the schedule is British drama from the last forty-odd years. Jonathan Creek, New Tricks, Lovejoy, Birds of a Feather and Miss Marple all get regular daytime and early-evening outings, most of them first shown on BBC One or ITV. The whole point of the channel is that you can drop in at almost any hour and land on something you half-remember.

Cosy crime and international mysteries

Drama also runs a decent sideline in gentler, often overseas, crime. The Brokenwood Mysteries from New Zealand and Harry Wild from Ireland are the two regulars: puzzle-driven, light on violence, usually tied up within the hour or two.

Newer acquired and prestige drama

The Count of Monte Cristo and The Boy That Never Was are newer, high-profile productions in the schedule alongside all the archive material.

How to watch Drama

Channel numbers

Drama’s channel numbers across the main UK platforms:

Drama is free on all of the above platforms, with no subscription required. Drama+1 on Freeview is a limited-reach service, so availability can depend on your transmitter; your on-screen guide is the definitive source if these don’t match.

Streaming online

Drama streams live at u.co.uk and via the U app on smart TVs, iOS, Android and Freeview Play devices. You’ll need a free U account, and a large on-demand library sits alongside the live stream.

Drama +1 and sister channels

Drama+1 carries the same schedule an hour behind, for catching whatever’s just been missed on the main channel.

Drama sits inside the wider UKTV portfolio, which includes U&Dave for comedy and panel shows, U&Yesterday for history and factual programming, and U&W for factual entertainment, all free-to-air, plus the pay channels U&Alibi, U&Eden and U&Gold. Dave is the nearest alternative on the electronic programme guide for comedy rather than mystery.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s on Drama tonight?

Tonight opens with three consecutive episodes of Last of the Summer Wine (6pm-8pm), then The Chelsea Detective takes the two hours from 8pm to 10pm as a single two-part case, “Myths and Legends” — a murdered antiques dealer, a stuffy music society and mudlarks combing the riverbed. New Tricks and Copper close out the night at 10pm and 11pm. Check the schedule table above for the full day’s listings.

What channel is Drama on Freeview?

Drama is on channel 20 on Freeview, BT TV, TalkTalk TV and YouView. Drama+1 is on Freeview channel 60 as a limited-reach service. Both are free.

What channel is Drama on Sky, Virgin Media and Freesat?

Sky channel 143, Virgin Media channel 116, and Freesat channel 158. Drama+1 is on Sky 243 and Virgin Media 316.

Can I watch Drama for free on U?

Yes. It streams live at u.co.uk and through the U app, with a large on-demand archive alongside it. You’ll need a free U account, but there’s no subscription fee.

Is Drama free to watch?

Yes, completely free to air on every platform, with advertising breaks during and between programmes but no subscription cost.

Verdict

Drama does one thing and does it well: British mysteries and procedurals filled out with newer acquisitions solid enough to hold their own against the archive material. Tonight’s evening has a clean shape: three episodes of Last of the Summer Wine open primetime, then The Chelsea Detective tells one case across a full two hours rather than splitting into unrelated episodes, before New Tricks and Copper close out the night. No film interrupts any of it — six programmes, back to back.

The trade-off is a daytime schedule built largely from reruns — The Bill’s early showing repeated at midday, Classic Doctors, Classic Holby City, Classic Casualty, Classic EastEnders and Classic Neighbours archive strands filling the morning and early afternoon, and a run of teleshopping before any of it starts. Jonathan Creek doesn’t feature today. Regular viewers put up with Drama’s rerun-heavy daytime because the evening line-up is reliably well chosen.

Related: Freeview Channel Guide | Dave TV Guide | Films on TV This Week