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

That’s TV runs almost entirely on British television’s back catalogue: sitcoms from the 1970s and 1980s, a bit of period drama, archive music clips, and a long teleshopping stretch before breakfast. It’s free to air on Freeview, Sky, Freesat and Virgin Media, with no subscription and no app of its own. Tonight’s strongest pairing, Benidorm into Shameless, arrives once the early evening sitcoms have cleared. Full times for every programme are in the table below.

That’s TV Schedule: Tuesday 11 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete That’s TV schedule for Tuesday 11 August 2026, on Freeview 56.

What’s on That’s TV today

Weekdays on That’s TV drop the weekend’s marathon blocks for a single-episode rhythm, one show roughly every half hour rather than repeats of the same title stacked together. The teleshopping strand Shop with Shop Unlimited holds the channel from 5am to 8am, then the sitcoms take over: Never the Twain at 9:05am, On the Buses at 9:40am, Bread at 10:10am, Steptoe and Son at 10:45am and Oh, Doctor Beeching! at 11:25am carry the morning through to lunchtime.

Rising Damp opens the afternoon at noon, with Rigsby trying to impress Ruth’s replacement, Brenda, by buying new furniture on the never-never. Man About the House, Goodnight Sweetheart, When the Boat Comes In and Minder fill the two hours after that, before Man About the House returns at 4:25pm and Bread closes out the daytime run at 4:55pm.

That’s TV tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the That’s TV primetime line-up for tonight, Tuesday 11 August 2026.

That’s 60s – Best Music Live! — That’s TV, 6pm

A 15-minute clip strand of archive footage before the sitcoms resume: a selection of live performances lifted from 1960s TV music shows, used here to bridge the gap ahead of Rising Damp.

Rising Damp — That’s TV, 6:15pm

Leonard Rossiter’s Rigsby meets his match in Seymour, a smooth-talking new tenant whose aristocratic manner hides a plan to con him out of his life savings. Henry McGee guest stars opposite Rossiter in one of the show’s sharper long cons.

Steptoe and Son — That’s TV, 6:50pm

Harold’s latest scrap-dealing scheme goes wrong when he brings a cartload of coffins back to the yard, to his father’s evident horror. Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H Corbett star.

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? — That’s TV, 7:20pm

Terry goes looking for old girlfriends from his past. His probing turns up more embarrassment than romance.

Minder — That’s TV, 7:55pm

Terry takes on a boxer as a minding job and isn’t pleased to learn the promoter has money riding on the other fighter. Arthur, true to form, switches his own bet once he finds out. Alfred Marks and Paul Barber round out the guest cast, along with Vicki Michelle.

Benidorm — That’s TV, 9pm

Jodie heads home to the UK with Loretta for an advert shoot, leaving Rob free run of her room at the Hotel Beltoro, an offer more than one other guest has their eye on. Billy and Sheron try some role play to liven things up, and Kenneth and Liam fall out in the salon.

Shameless — That’s TV, 9:55pm

Shane’s accident has left him partially paralysed, and Mimi and Kelly argue over who takes charge of his recovery. Norma weighs up her own future on the estate now Monica has gone, and Karen starts to worry about Mandy and Joe’s relationship.

Man About the House — That’s TV, 11pm

Chrissy and Robin get an evening to themselves, and without a chaperone in the flat, Robin’s amorous side gets the better of him. Richard O’Sullivan stars.

Mind Your Language — That’s TV, 11:30pm

Barry Evans’ language school comedy closes the night, running through to 12:05am.

What kind of shows are on That’s TV

Sitcoms from the 1970s and 1980s

This is the bulk of the channel. Rising Damp, Steptoe and Son, Man About the House, Bread, Birds of a Feather, Just Good Friends and Mind Your Language cycle through daytime and early evening on a near-constant loop. There’s no theming to speak of: they’re familiar half-hours filling the space between the shopping strands and whatever the channel has lined up for the evening.

Crime and drama reruns

Minder does most of the heavy lifting, often twice in a day, while When the Boat Comes In supplies the one genuinely serious hour in the daytime. Benidorm and Shameless, both decades younger than the rest of it, hold primetime.

Music and variety nostalgia

That’s 60s – Best Music Live! drops in several times a day as a filler strand of archive performance footage, a leftover from when the group ran full decade-themed music channels. Longer compilations such as Ronnie Barker: The Very Best Of turn up as one-off hours.

Teleshopping

Roughly 5am to 8am, given over to mattresses and garden multitools. A free channel with no subscription income has to fill the small hours with something that pays for itself.

How to watch That’s TV

Channel numbers

Here’s where to find That’s TV across the main UK platforms:

Virgin Media’s number shifts more often than the others, so your on-screen guide is the definitive source if it doesn’t match.

Streaming online

There’s no That’s TV app, no catch-up service and no live stream of its own, which puts it a long way behind Channel 4 or ITV. You watch it as it goes out, through a Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media or Freesat box or smart TV. A Freeview Play-enabled television will find and tune the channel for you with no extra setup.

That’s TV regional and sister channels

That’s TV belongs to That’s Media, whose chief executive, Daniel Cass, built the group out of local television licences: around 20 of them, awarded under Ofcom’s Local Digital Television Programme. That’s Manchester, That’s Solent and That’s Glasgow all opt out for local news and community programming for part of the day, then simulcast the national schedule for the rest.

That’s TV 2 works the same archive on a separate schedule. The group also tried standalone channels themed to the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s; several were folded back into the main service or closed outright earlier in 2026, which is why the 60s music show now appears as a filler strand rather than a channel in its own right.

Frequently asked questions

What channel is That’s TV on Freeview?

Channel 56 nationally, or 80 in Greater Manchester. That’s TV 2 is on 65, and the local opt-out versions sit on 7 or 8 depending on where you live.

What’s on That’s TV tonight?

Steptoe and Son opens the evening at 6:50pm, followed by Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? at 7:20pm and Minder at 7:55pm. Benidorm takes the 9pm slot, Shameless follows at 9:55pm, and the night closes with Man About the House at 11pm and Mind Your Language at 11:30pm. The table above has the full day.

Is That’s TV free to watch?

Yes, on every platform that carries it. Ad breaks during programmes and teleshopping before breakfast are how it pays for itself.

Verdict

That’s TV is comfort viewing and makes no pretence otherwise. Tuesday’s daytime keeps to a single-episode rhythm, one show roughly every half hour instead of the marathon blocks that fill weekends, built almost entirely on sitcoms British viewers have already seen several times, in some cases before they owned a colour set.

Tonight’s evening run is stronger than most. Steptoe and Son and Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? back to back from 6:50pm are two of the best-written sitcoms in the channel’s library, and Benidorm at 9pm into Shameless at 9:55pm gives the night a proper primetime pairing. Benidorm’s repeat just after midnight, once Mind Your Language has closed the schedule, is the one genuine oddity in an otherwise straightforward Tuesday.

Related: What’s On TV Tonight | Freeview Channel Guide | Talking Pictures TV Guide | Films on TV This Week