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

GREAT! TV is a free-to-air channel that lives on vintage British and American drama and sitcoms, and it sits at Freeview 34 with three sister channels for company. It has been through four names and one full closure since Sony launched it in 2011; Narrative Entertainment has run it since 2021.

Tonight, Thursday 6 August 2026, GREAT! TV runs four MASH episodes back to back from 7pm, then hands 9pm to Carry on Constable, the 1960 comedy with Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor and Joan Sims. The film pauses for a short news break at 9:52pm and picks up again at 9:57pm. Robin’s Nest doubles up from 10:55pm, and a fifth MASH, repeating the 7pm episode, closes the night at 11:55pm. Channel numbers for every platform are further down the page.

GREAT! TV Schedule: Thursday 6 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete GREAT! TV schedule for Thursday 6 August 2026, on Freeview 34.

What’s on GREAT! TV today

Daytime opens with The Waltons at 8am, Doctor Finlay’s Highland surgery drama at 9am and the first part of Hamish Macbeth’s Destiny at 10am, in which TV John’s long-lost brother turns up sprung from a South American jail. Little House on the Prairie takes over from 11am with The Talking Machine and The Pride of Walnut Grove, then The Waltons runs three episodes from 1pm: The Battle of Drucilla’s Pond, followed by both halves of The Children’s Carol. The schedule then loops back on itself: the same two Little House episodes repeat at 4pm and 5pm, and Hamish Macbeth’s 10am episode airs again at 6pm, right before MAS*H takes over for the night.

The small hours are more of a mixed bag. Two MAS*H episodes open the graveyard shift from midnight, followed by one episode each of Rising Damp and Man About The House, two editions of the rescue documentary Air Rescue, and two hours of Highway to Heaven split by short Good News on GREAT! Extra bulletins. TJC then takes over the breakfast slot from 5am to 8am, teleshopping that most viewers skip straight past.

GREAT! TV tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the GREAT! TV primetime line-up for tonight, Thursday 6 August 2026.

Hamish Macbeth — GREAT! TV, 6pm

The first part of Destiny gets a second airing at 6pm, having already gone out at 10am. TV John’s long-lost brother Kenneth is broken out of a South American jail by a millionaire chasing rumours of the Stone of Destiny. It’s the same episode as this morning, not a new instalment.

MAS*H — GREAT! TV, 7pm, 7:30pm, 8pm, 8:30pm and 11:55pm

GREAT! TV settles into its nightly MAS*H strip from 7pm, running four episodes back to back before handing over to the evening film. *That Darn Kid* opens the run at 7pm, with Klinger’s pet goat swallowing the camp’s payroll cash; Hey, Look Me Over follows at 7:30pm as the nurses return from an evacuation to find the camp left in a state ahead of an inspection. The Joker Is Wild and Who Knew? take the 8pm and 8:30pm slots, the latter dealing with the death of a nurse in a minefield. A fifth episode closes the night at 11:55pm — it’s That Darn Kid again, repeating the 7pm slot rather than moving the story on.

Carry on Constable — GREAT! TV, 9pm

Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor and Joan Sims lead the 1960 comedy Carry on Constable at 9pm, following three raw recruits let loose on the beat. The film pauses for a five-minute Good News on GREAT! bulletin at 9:52pm and resumes at 9:57pm to see the rookies through to the end. It’s one film shown either side of the news break, not two separate showings.

Robin’s Nest — GREAT! TV, 10:55pm and 11:25pm

Robin’s Nest runs two episodes back to back after the film. Just Desserts at 10:55pm has Robin moving in with his father-in-law after an old flame of his causes trouble for Vicky’s dad, and Away From All What? follows at 11:25pm as Robin and Vicky try to arrange cover at the restaurant so they can finally get away on holiday.

What kind of shows are on GREAT! TV

American family drama and rural nostalgia

Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons and Highway to Heaven carry the daytime hours, and two of the three are largely Michael Landon’s doing — he starred in and directed much of Little House, and created Highway to Heaven outright. The register barely shifts between them: slow, sincere, usually ending on a lesson learned.

British classic drama and sitcom

The British side is thinner but sharper. Ballykissangel and Doctor Finlay handle the gentle end. Rising Damp handles the other, with Leonard Rossiter’s Rigsby prowling a shabby Yorkshire bedsit house being appalling about more or less everything.

Stripped US sitcoms and evening films

MAS*H is the one the channel leans on hardest, sometimes ten episodes deep in a single night. Films turn up most evenings — disaster pictures, old British comedies — and the seams get filled with Air Rescue and the short Good News on GREAT! bulletins.

How to watch GREAT! TV

Channel numbers

Here’s where to find GREAT! TV across the main UK television platforms:

All four are free, with no subscription of any kind. Freesat is the exception: GREAT! TV was pulled from it on 7 February 2024 along with eight other Narrative Entertainment channels, and it has not come back since.

Streaming online

GREAT! TV streams free through Great! Player at great-player.com, no account or sign-in needed. The app is also available on Freeview Play, YouView, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung and LG smart TVs, plus dedicated apps on the App Store and Google Play. It carries content from GREAT! TV alongside GREAT! Movies and GREAT! Action, so you can browse the whole network from one place.

GREAT! sister channels

Four channels carry the GREAT! banner, all run by Narrative Entertainment UK Limited, and the split between them is straightforward enough.

A seasonal fifth, GREAT! Movies Christmas, runs festive films from September to December, and GREAT! Real joined the line-up in 2024 with unscripted programming. The year-round channels all share the free Great! Player service.

Frequently Asked Questions

What channel is GREAT! TV on Freeview?

GREAT! TV is on channel 34 on Freeview, free and with no subscription. It moved onto the COM6 multiplex in June 2023, which took its coverage to nearly every Freeview household.

What channel is GREAT! TV on Sky, Virgin Media and Freely?

Channel 157 on Sky, channel 170 on Virgin Media, channel 32 on Freely. All free. Not on Freesat since February 2024.

What’s on GREAT! TV tonight?

Tonight, Thursday 6 August 2026, GREAT! TV runs four MASH episodes from 7pm to 8:30pm, then Carry on Constable, the 1960 comedy with Sid James and Kenneth Williams, takes over at 9pm. The film breaks for the news at 9:52pm and resumes at 9:57pm, Robin’s Nest airs two episodes from 10:55pm, and a fifth MASH, repeating the 7pm episode, closes the night at 11:55pm. Exact times are in the schedule table above.

Why does GREAT! TV show so much MAS*H?

Because 251 episodes across eleven seasons is enough to strip nightly for years without a viewer noticing the loop. The channel applies the same maths to Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons and Highway to Heaven during the day.

Is GREAT! TV free to watch, and does it carry adverts?

Yes, entirely free on Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media and Freely, with no subscription. It is funded by advertising, which is also why the short Good News on GREAT! bulletins turn up between programmes.

Who owns GREAT! TV?

Narrative Entertainment UK Limited. It launched as Sony Entertainment Television in 2011, became Sony Channel in 2016, shut down in 2018, came back in 2019, and took the GREAT! TV name in May 2021 after Narrative Capital bought Sony’s UK free-to-air channels.

What are the GREAT! sister channels?

GREAT! Movies, GREAT! Action and GREAT! Romance, plus the seasonal GREAT! Movies Christmas and the unscripted GREAT! Real. Same owner, same free Great! Player app.

Can I watch GREAT! TV online for free?

Yes, through Great! Player at great-player.com, with apps on Freeview Play, YouView, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung and LG smart TVs. No account is needed.

Verdict

GREAT! TV knows precisely who is watching and never once tries to surprise them. That is both the criticism and the compliment.

A repeat of Hamish Macbeth’s Destiny has the 6pm slot, then four MASH episodes run from 7pm to 8:30pm before Carry on Constable takes 9pm, breaking briefly for the news at 9:52pm and returning at 9:57pm to see its three rookie coppers through to the end. Robin’s Nest doubles up from 10:55pm, and one of the evening’s MASH episodes repeats at 11:55pm to close the night. The daytime schedule loops through The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie and Doctor Finlay beforehand.

Related: Freeview Channel Guide | Talking Pictures TV Guide