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

Updated: 17 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. Tonight, Thursday 17 September 2026, an overnight of classic crime drama and soap reruns gives way to Inspector Morse holding the late-morning slot for over two hours. Two Heartbeat episodes open primetime, Vera takes the 8pm slot, Downton Abbey follows at 10pm, and Scott and Bailey closes the night at 11:10pm. There’s no Midsomer Murders and no film today.

ITV3 Schedule: Thursday 17 September 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete ITV3 schedule for Thursday 17 September 2026, on Freeview 10.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on ITV3 today

Overnight, Scott and Bailey and The Royal lead into Unwind with ITV and Teleshopping from 2:30am.

Wild at Heart opens breakfast at 6am, followed by two Classic Emmerdale and two Classic Coronation Street episodes, before Inspector Morse takes the late-morning slot from 9:10am for over two hours. A Heartbeat episode and The Royal fill early afternoon, then Wild at Heart, a further Classic Emmerdale episode and two more Classic Coronation Street episodes carry the schedule to a further Heartbeat pair ahead of tonight’s primetime.

ITV3 tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the ITV3 primetime line-up for tonight, Thursday 17 September 2026.

Heartbeat — ITV3, 5:50pm and 6:55pm

Two episodes lead into primetime. The 5:50pm edition is series 14, episode 8; the 6:55pm follow-up turns on a murder investigation in the village (series 14, episode 9).

Vera — ITV3, 8pm

Vera Stanhope digs into a wealthy businesswoman’s past for the truth behind a Northumberland killing (series 9, episode 3).

Downton Abbey — ITV3, 10pm

Carson is rattled by a sudden panic attack as the household’s usual order comes under strain (series 2, episode 2).

Scott and Bailey — ITV3, 11:10pm

Rachel and Janet investigate the murder of a wealthy man, working through the people closest to him (series 3, episode 3).

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.

That long-run scheduling shows up starkly in the data. Across 48 days we logged 933 ITV3 slots drawn from just 26 different programmes, with Heartbeat alone accounting for 138 of them — the most concentrated schedule on Freeview. For a nostalgia channel that is arguably the product working as intended; the full figures are in our study of repeats on UK television.

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?

Two Heartbeat episodes run from 5:50pm, then Vera takes the 8pm slot. Downton Abbey follows at 10pm, and Scott and Bailey closes the night at 11:10pm. There’s no Midsomer Murders and 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 leans on the channel’s usual rotation rather than any single event. Inspector Morse holds the late-morning slot for over two hours, and a run of Classic Emmerdale and Classic Coronation Street episodes fills much of the rest of the day.

The evening has a clearer shape: two Heartbeat episodes lead into a Vera case at 8pm, then Downton Abbey at 10pm and Scott and Bailey to close. Nothing here is new, and there’s no film today, but it’s a schedule built for detective-drama regulars happy to settle into a familiar rhythm.

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