ITV3 TV Guide: Listings, Schedule & What’s On ITV3 Tonight

Published: 30 August 2026

ITV3 is ITV’s drama channel, launched on 1 November 2004 as a home for the broadcaster’s back catalogue of detective series, period drama and classic sitcoms. Midsomer Murders, Lewis, Poirot, Heartbeat: if it involves a village, a body and a detective in no hurry to leave, it has probably run here. Today, Monday 31 August 2026, the day runs to ten programme titles across twenty-three slots. The channel’s two archive soap strands are back after a day off yesterday, with Classic Emmerdale and Classic Coronation Street each getting four outings apiece through the morning and afternoon. Primetime opens with the second of a consecutive pair of Heartbeat cases at 6:55pm, moves into a feature-length Midsomer Murders at 8pm, then Lewis at 10pm and Poirot closing the night at 11:50pm. There’s no film and no Vera or Wycliffe on ITV3 today.

ITV3 Schedule: Monday 31 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete ITV3 schedule for Monday 31 August 2026, on Freeview 10.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on ITV3 today

Overnight, a crime drama called The Dark runs from 12:55am (series 1, episode 3), followed by George and Mildred at 1:55am (series 1, episode 2), a short burst of Unwind with ITV at 2:20am and then teleshopping through to 6am.

George and Mildred returns properly at 6am with two back-to-back half-hours (series 1, episodes 7 and 8), before the day’s first archive soap block: Classic Emmerdale at 7:05am and 7:35am, then Classic Coronation Street at 8:05am and 8:40am, all dating from 2009. Poirot takes the late-morning slot from 9:10am with a feature-length case (series 4, episode 3), and Heartbeat opens at 11:30am with the first of two consecutive series 13 episodes, the second following at 12:35pm.

A feature-length Midsomer Murders case airs mid-afternoon at 1:35pm (series 3, episode 4), a considerably older run than tonight’s. The archive soaps come back for a second helping from 3:35pm: two more Classic Emmerdale episodes at 3:35pm and 4:05pm, then two more Classic Coronation Street at 4:40pm and 5:15pm. Heartbeat closes out early evening with a second consecutive pair, at 5:50pm and 6:55pm, the second of which opens primetime. From 8pm it’s tonight’s Midsomer Murders case, then Lewis at 10pm and Poirot at 11:50pm to close the night. Eight of today’s twenty-three slots belong to the two archive soap strands alone.

ITV3 tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the ITV3 primetime line-up for tonight, Monday 31 August 2026: a second consecutive Heartbeat case, a feature-length Midsomer Murders, Lewis and a Poirot to close the night. Before any of that, the day’s other returning strand is worth a mention: Classic Emmerdale and Classic Coronation Street, both 2009 vintage, are back on ITV3 today after being left off yesterday’s schedule, running four times each through the morning and afternoon.

Heartbeat — ITV3, 6:55pm

Heartbeat’s evening pair concludes at 6:55pm with Brought to Book (series 13, episode 8). Steve ends up supervising a party of local troublemakers on an outward bound course, which tests his patience rather more than his policing. It follows straight on from episode 7, Waifs and Strays, at 5:50pm, so the two cases run back to back for anyone watching from the start.

Midsomer Murders — ITV3, 8pm

At 8pm, Midsomer Murders returns with The Curse of the Ninth (series 19, episode 6). A winner of a prestigious classical music award turns up dead, and Barnaby has to work out who in the world of competitive musicianship wanted them gone.

Lewis — ITV3, 10pm

The 10pm hour belongs to Lewis and One for Sorrow. A body turns up at the bottom of a well, and Lewis finds himself getting used to a new boss while trying to work out how it got there.

Agatha Christie’s Poirot — ITV3, 11:50pm

Poirot closes the night at 11:50pm with Murder on the Links (series 6, episode 3), the case that takes the detective away from London to a French golf course, where a body has been found in a shallow grave near the fairway.

What kind of shows are on ITV3

Detective drama and cosy crime

The backbone. Midsomer Murders, Vera, Inspector Morse, Endeavour and Wycliffe cover roughly four decades of British detective television between them, and ITV3 works through them in long runs rather than one-off repeats. You can usually pick a series up mid-week and stay with it.

Period and literary adaptation

The Darling Buds of May, and Agatha Christie’s Poirot when it comes round. David Suchet played the part across thirteen series for ITV between 1989 and 2013. These tend to be scheduled in full-series blocks.

Classic sitcom

George and Mildred and its ITV contemporaries fill the overnight and early-morning slots. Nobody’s setting an alarm for these; they’re on while the day gets going.

How to watch ITV3

Channel numbers

Here’s where to find ITV3 across the main UK television platforms:

Free on all of them, no subscription. Numbers shift regionally, so check your on-screen guide if one doesn’t match.

Streaming online

ITV3 streams live and free through ITVX, at itv.com/watch and via the ITVX app on smart TVs, mobiles, tablets and most games consoles. A free account is all that’s needed, no payment details. The ITVX library also carries individual episodes and full boxsets from the channel, Vera and Poirot included, if you’d rather not wait for a repeat to come round.

ITV3 +1 and sister channels

The +1 channel is less useful than it used to be. Since November 2023 it has broadcast only a reduced overnight window rather than a full hour-behind simulcast, so if you’ve missed the start of something, ITVX catch-up is the better bet.

ITV3 sits alongside ITV1, home to Coronation Street, Emmerdale and the network’s biggest primetime shows, and ITV4, which handles sport, action films and older action series.

Frequently asked questions

What channel is ITV3 on Freeview?

Channel 10, free to air.

What’s on ITV3 tonight?

Heartbeat closes out an evening pair at 6:55pm, then it’s a feature-length Midsomer Murders at 8pm, Lewis at 10pm and Poirot at 11:50pm. There’s no Vera or Wycliffe on the schedule today, and no film. Times are in the rundown above.

Can I watch ITV3 online for free?

Yes, live through ITVX on the website, the app, and most smart TVs and consoles.

Is ITV3 free to watch?

Yes, and it has been since 2004. There’s advertising, but no subscription fee on any platform.

Verdict

ITV3 has never pretended to be about new television, and today’s line-up leans harder than usual on the archive: ten programme titles across twenty-three slots, and eight of those slots belong to Classic Emmerdale and Classic Coronation Street, both back today after a day off. Around them, Poirot and two Heartbeat pairs fill the morning and early evening, and a feature-length Midsomer Murders case from an older series takes mid-afternoon. Primetime is the tighter, more familiar shape: the second half of tonight’s Heartbeat pair at 6:55pm, a current-series Midsomer Murders at 8pm, Lewis at 10pm and Poirot closing the night at 11:50pm. There’s no film today and no Vera or Wycliffe. It’s a schedule built for one kind of viewer rather than several, and if cosy detective drama and a double helping of soap nostalgia is what you’re after, today delivers plenty of both.

Related: ITV1 TV Guide | ITV4 TV Guide | What’s On TV Tonight | Films on TV This Week