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

Published: 27 August 2026

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: Friday 28 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete That’s TV schedule for Friday 28 August 2026, on Freeview 56.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on That’s TV today

Friday opens with a Benidorm double at 12am and 12:25am, then Minder’s overnight outing at 12:55am. A run of Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, Man About the House and The Kenny Everett Video Show carries the small hours through to 3:15am, when the clip strand That’s 60s – Best Music Live! appears. A Nearest and Dearest double follows either side of 4am, before Shop with Shop Unlimited’s teleshopping block runs from 5am through to 8am.

The daytime is a straight run of single episodes rather than one sitcom stripped across the morning. Rising Damp opens at 8am, Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em follows at 8:35am, then You Rang, M’Lord? at 9:15am, Bread at 10:15am, Steptoe and Son at 10:55am and Oh, Doctor Beeching! at 11:30am. Rising Damp gets a second, different episode at 12:10pm.

The afternoon holds to a single run rather than doubling back on the morning: Goodnight Sweetheart at 12:40pm, an hour-and-five-minute When the Boat Comes In from 1:40pm and Minder’s second outing of the day at 2:45pm. Just Good Friends runs at 3:50pm, Man About the House returns with a different episode at 4:25pm, Bread repeats at 4:55pm, and Birds of a Feather closes out the pre-primetime run at 5:30pm.

That’s TV tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the That’s TV primetime line-up for tonight, Friday 28 August 2026.

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

A five-minute burst of archive 1960s music footage bridges the daytime schedule and the run of sitcoms that follows.

Rising Damp — That’s TV, 6:05pm

Rigsby is convinced a legacy from his late uncle has made him a rich man, only to find the money comes with strings attached that force him to lean on Miss Jones for help. Leonard Rossiter and Frances de la Tour lead, with Andrew Sachs guesting in the episode.

Steptoe and Son — That’s TV, 6:35pm

Harold faces the grim job of telling his father Albert that their horse has died, a small domestic tragedy played for maximum discomfort between the pair. Harry H Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell star as the feuding rag-and-bone duo.

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? — That’s TV, 7:15pm

Old rivalries resurface when Bob and Terry turn a bike ride into an impromptu race, neither willing to let the other win. Rodney Bewes and James Bolam reprise the sparring double act, with Brigit Forsyth also featuring.

Minder — That’s TV, 7:55pm

A property developer reneges on a deal struck with his former business partner just as the man walks free from prison, and the fallout turns violent enough that Terry is hired to protect the developer’s son. George Cole and Dennis Waterman lead, with Gareth Hunt and Alfie Bass among the guest cast. This is a different case from the one That’s TV showed in the small hours at 12:55am.

Benidorm — That’s TV, 9pm

Mick talks his reluctant family into entering a pub quiz with serious prize money on the line, and he’s as shocked as anyone when they actually win. The Oracle doesn’t take losing well, demanding a recount and turning nasty when he doesn’t get one. Elsewhere at the resort, Madge can’t keep quiet about what Kate has told her regarding Martin, while Donald works to put Gavin’s mind at rest about Troy. This is the pub-quiz episode, and it comes round again later tonight at 11:55pm.

Benidorm — That’s TV, 9:30pm

A trip to the beach turns sour for Mick, who’s short of cash and gets caught out by a scam, then blindsided again by a photographer with bad news. Martin tells Kate that her brief fling with Mateo has actually done their relationship some good, and the Oracle finally decides he’s too old to keep holidaying with his mother. Steve Pemberton and Johnny Vegas head the cast in this second half of tonight’s double bill, a different episode from the one at 9pm.

Shameless — That’s TV, 9:55pm

Shane is knocked sideways by news that he can’t have children, and Kelly starts bracing herself for a future without them, but the Maguire brothers aren’t ready to let it drop and cook up a plan of their own. Back on the estate, Carl and Chesney sneak into Joe’s storeroom without anyone noticing, until Maxine catches them and risks her relationship with Ian trying to get them clear of trouble.

Man About the House — That’s TV, 10:55pm

Mr Roper’s car gets borrowed by Chrissy and Robin for a football outing to Southampton, and it turns out to be every bit as unreliable as its owner.

Mind Your Language — That’s TV, 11:25pm

Jeremy takes it upon himself to help a Russian defector settle in, with predictably chaotic results for the English class.

Benidorm — That’s TV, 11:55pm

A repeat of the 9pm pub-quiz episode, not a new outing.

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

The archive clip strand billed as That’s 60s drops in several times a day, live performance footage from 1960s music shows and 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?

Birds of a Feather runs to 6pm, then a five-minute clip strand, That’s 60s – Best Music Live!, before Rising Damp at 6:05pm, Steptoe and Son at 6:35pm and Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? at 7:15pm carry the early evening. Minder takes the 7:55pm slot, then a Benidorm double bill runs at 9pm and 9:30pm. Shameless is at 9:55pm, Man About the House has its primetime showing at 10:55pm, and Mind Your Language follows at 11:25pm, before Benidorm returns at 11:55pm with a repeat of the 9pm episode. 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. Friday’s daytime is less repetitive than the channel can be: instead of stacking one sitcom across several hours, single episodes of Rising Damp, Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, You Rang M’Lord?, Bread and Steptoe and Son rotate through the morning, most of them shows most British viewers have already seen several times over.

The evening keeps its usual shape, built around two different episodes of Benidorm rather than one. Sitcoms carry the early slots into Minder at 7:55pm, before handing over to the night’s real event: a Benidorm double bill at 9pm and 9:30pm. Shameless holds its 9:55pm slot, Man About the House gets its single primetime outing at 10:55pm, Mind Your Language follows at 11:25pm, and the night closes with Benidorm’s 9pm episode played again at 11:55pm.

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