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

Published: 30 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: Monday 31 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete That’s TV schedule for Monday 31 August 2026, on Freeview 56.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on That’s TV today

Monday opens with a Benidorm double bill from midnight, then Minder, Birds of a Feather, Man About the House and The Kenny Everett Video Show see out the small hours before the clip strand That’s 60s – Best Music Live! drops in at 3:10am. A Nearest and Dearest outing at 4am runs into Shop with Shop Unlimited’s teleshopping block, which holds the schedule from 5am to 8:15am. The feed then goes blank between 8:15am and 10:10am with no programme listed at all, before seven back-to-back episodes of On the Buses fill 10:10am through to 1:50pm.

The afternoon that follows is, purely by coincidence of scheduling, given over to Christmas episodes in August: a 1973 Steptoe and Son Christmas special at 1:50pm, a 2014 Birds of a Feather Christmas special at 2:45pm, and a 1974 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? Christmas episode at 3:15pm.

From 4:10pm the channel runs the whole of Going Straight, the Porridge sequel, six episodes straight through to 7:55pm, ending on the wedding-reception episode. The last three of those land in primetime, so early evening effectively runs on into the night’s main line-up.

That’s TV tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the That’s TV primetime line-up for tonight, Monday 31 August 2026.

Going Straight: the Porridge sequel runs all six episodes — That’s TV, 6:05pm, 6:40pm and 7:15pm

That’s TV runs the whole of Going Straight, the Porridge follow-up that picked up Fletcher’s story after his release, as six episodes back to back from mid-afternoon. The last three land in primetime: 6:05pm has Fletcher settling into a new job, 6:40pm turns on a suspected conman, and 7:15pm, the closing episode of the run, has Fletch spotting a chance at easy money that lands him at his daughter’s wedding reception. No episode numbers are given by the feed, so they’re identified here by what happens in them rather than a series and episode count.

Minder — That’s TV, 7:55pm

Arthur Daley tries to turn a missing footballer into a payday in this hour of Minder at 7:55pm, the kind of scheme-first plot the series built its reputation on.

Benidorm double bill — That’s TV, 9pm and 9:30pm

Benidorm holds the 9pm and 9:30pm slots with a genuine two-parter. At 9pm, Kelly’s mother Sylvia turns up in the resort, played by guest star Wendy Richard, to sort out the fallout with Mateo. The 9:30pm follow-up has Donald and Jacqueline stepping in to help Kelly get her own back on him.

Shameless — That’s TV, 9:55pm

Kelly steps in to look after a sibling she has just discovered is sleeping rough, in this episode of Shameless, closing out the strongest hour of the night alongside Benidorm.

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

Robin finds himself caught in a love triangle in this late outing of Man About the House at 10:55pm.

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

Jeremy is drawn into a heated classroom argument in Mind Your Language at 11:25pm.

Benidorm repeat — That’s TV, 11:55pm

The night closes with a second showing of the 9pm Benidorm episode, Sylvia’s arrival and the Mateo fallout, rather than a new instalment.

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, Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, 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 on the crime and drama side, often turning up more than once in a day. Benidorm and Shameless, both decades younger than the rest of the schedule, 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?

The last three episodes of a six-part Going Straight run air at 6:05pm, 6:40pm and 7:15pm, before Minder takes the 7:55pm slot. From 9pm it’s a Benidorm double bill, then Shameless at 9:55pm. Man About the House gets one more outing at 10:55pm, Mind Your Language follows at 11:25pm, and the night closes with a repeat of the 9pm Benidorm. 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. Monday’s afternoon happens to land on three Christmas episodes in a row purely by scheduling coincidence: a 1973 Steptoe and Son special, a 2014 Birds of a Feather special, and a 1974 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? episode, none of it a planned theme. There’s also an unexplained gap in the morning feed between 8:15am and 10:10am, with nothing listed at all.

The evening belongs to Going Straight, which runs the whole six-episode Porridge sequel from 4:10pm, its last three instalments landing in primetime and ending on Fletcher’s daughter’s wedding reception. Minder takes the 7:55pm slot with Arthur chasing a payday over a missing footballer, then a genuine two-part Benidorm story at 9pm and 9:30pm is the strongest patch of the schedule, with Shameless following straight after at 9:55pm. Man About the House gets a single primetime showing at 10:55pm, Mind Your Language follows at 11:25pm, and the night closes with a repeat of the 9pm Benidorm rather than a new episode.

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