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

Published: 4 September 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, Saturday 5 September 2026, the day is built around two long detective runs rather than the usual soap-and-sitcom mix: three A Touch of Frost cases through the morning, then four Midsomer Murders episodes running from early afternoon into primetime. Vera closes at 10:05pm and Inspector Morse rounds off the night from 11:50pm. There’s no film today.

ITV3 Schedule: Saturday 5 September 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete ITV3 schedule for Saturday 5 September 2026, on Freeview 10.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on ITV3 today

Overnight, a single George and Mildred episode plays at 1:55am, followed by Unwind with ITV and then Teleshopping through to 6am.

A Touch of Frost takes over the morning with three consecutive cases, from 6am, 8:10am and 10:10am, David Jason’s Denton copper working through a full weekend of it before lunch. Poirot fills the early afternoon from 12:05pm, then Midsomer Murders settles in for the rest of the day: two episodes before teatime, at 2:25pm and 4:15pm, then the same again either side of primetime at 6:10pm and 8:10pm. Vera takes the 10:05pm hour and Inspector Morse closes the night from 11:50pm. No soap reruns and no sitcom block today — it’s detective drama from breakfast to the small hours.

ITV3 tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Four Midsomer Murders episodes run across today, and the evening gets the last two of them before Vera and Inspector Morse close things out.

Midsomer Murders — ITV3, 6:10pm

Barnaby and Winter are called out to a rugby club death in this early-series-20 case, one of two Midsomer episodes bookending primetime tonight.

Midsomer Murders — ITV3, 8:10pm

The second of the evening’s pair turns a family friend’s wedding into a crime scene. Same detectives, different village, same unhurried pace the show has run on for three decades.

Vera — ITV3, 10:05pm

Brenda Blethyn’s DCI Stanhope digs into Newcastle’s drug underworld in this series 7 case. The slot suits her: later, slower, and a shade darker than the Midsomer double before it.

Inspector Morse — ITV3, 11:50pm

An artist known for stirring up trouble ends up murdered, and Morse and Lewis are left to work through the suspects. Closes out the night from just before midnight.

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?

The last two of today’s four Midsomer Murders episodes, at 6:10pm and 8:10pm, then Vera at 10:05pm and Inspector Morse closing the night from 11:50pm. There’s no film today. 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 is about as pure a detective-drama day as the channel runs: three A Touch of Frost cases through the morning, Poirot at lunchtime, then four Midsomer Murders episodes carrying from early afternoon into primetime. Vera and Inspector Morse take the two latest slots. Nothing here is new, and there’s no film today, but it’s a schedule built for one kind of viewer, and anyone after a full day of cosy crime will find little else worth switching over for.

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