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

Published: 7 September 2026

That’s TV runs almost entirely on British television’s back catalogue: sitcoms from the 1970s and 1980s, a bit of crime 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 runs a straight stretch of classic sitcoms through early evening before Minder at 7:55pm, then Benidorm into Shameless is the strongest pairing of the night. Full times for every programme are in the table below.

That’s TV Schedule: Tuesday 8 September 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete That’s TV schedule for Tuesday 8 September 2026, on Freeview 56.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on That’s TV today

Tuesday opens with Benidorm just after midnight, then Minder, Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em and Man About the House carry the small hours before The Kenny Everett Video Show and the archive clip strand That’s 60s – Best Music Live! drop in from 3am. A Nearest and Dearest pair and British Railway Journeys run into a teleshopping stretch from 6am — cruise holidays, then a folding mobility scooter, then cruise holidays again — which holds until Rising Damp resumes the sitcoms at 8am.

From there it’s the channel’s usual half-hour reruns with no particular theming: Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em, You Rang, M’Lord?, Bread, Steptoe and Son and Oh, Doctor Beeching! carry the morning, then a second Rising Damp, an early Man About the House, Goodnight Sweetheart and the archive drama When the Boat Comes In fill the early afternoon. Minder and Just Good Friends run through to a further Man About the House and Bread by late afternoon, with Birds of a Feather at 5:30pm ahead of the evening line-up below.

That’s TV tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the That’s TV primetime line-up for tonight, Tuesday 8 September 2026.

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

A brief archive clip strand drawn from 1960s live music television, filling five minutes ahead of the evening’s sitcoms rather than a full programme. It’s a leftover from the era when the group ran separate decade-themed music channels, now folded into short filler slots on the main service. Nothing to plan an evening around — just a quick bridge into what follows.

Rising Damp — That’s TV, 6:05pm

Leonard Rossiter’s landlord Rigsby gets his regular early-evening rerun, still one of British sitcom’s sharpest studies in petty tyranny and class anxiety decades after it first went out. It’s the second airing of the day on this channel, following an earlier showing around midday. A dependable half hour if you already know the show.

Steptoe and Son — That’s TV, 6:40pm

The rag-and-bone father-and-son sitcom that later inspired America’s Sanford and Son gets its evening slot, the bitter comic friction between Albert and Harold as sharp now as on first broadcast. It’s stripped across the schedule most days, so this isn’t a rare showing, but it holds up regardless.

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

The 1970s sequel to The Likely Lads picks up Bob and Terry years on — one settled and aspirational, the other unchanged and resentful of it — and the friction between them remains one of the better character studies British sitcom produced. Forty minutes gives it more room to breathe than most of tonight’s half-hour slots. Worth a look even for viewers who only know the earlier series.

Minder — That’s TV, 7:55pm

George Cole’s dodgy car dealer Arthur Daley and Dennis Waterman’s minder Terry McCann get their main evening outing, the show that put phrases like “‘er indoors” into everyday use. It’s already had one outing in the small hours, making this its second airing of the day. A reliable slice of London crime comedy-drama either way.

Benidorm — That’s TV, 9pm

Derren Litten’s package-holiday sitcom, set at the fictional Solana resort, is one of the newest titles in tonight’s line-up by some distance, and its broader, more knockabout comedy stands out against the decades-older sitcoms either side of it. It’s the strongest patch of the evening for anyone after something sharper than the 1970s reruns surrounding it.

Shameless — That’s TV, 9:55pm

Paul Abbott’s Manchester estate drama follows the chaotic Gallagher family through comedy as dark as anything else in tonight’s schedule, a world away from the gentler sitcoms earlier in the evening. It follows Benidorm directly as the second of the night’s two newer titles. Not one for anyone expecting the same tone as the 6pm run.

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

A separate, later showing of the flat-share sitcom that spun off both Robin’s Nest and George and Mildred — a different episode from the one that aired earlier in the afternoon, not a repeat of it. Its late placement suggests it’s filling space ahead of the night’s final slot rather than acting as a second highlight. Familiar rather than essential.

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

The 1970s sitcom set in an English-language class for adult immigrants closes out the night, its broad culture-clash humour having aged more awkwardly than most of tonight’s other reruns, and it now draws almost as much comment for that as for its jokes. It’s here as a late-night curiosity as much as straightforward comedy. Worth knowing what you’re getting before pressing play.

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?

A run of classic sitcoms carries early evening from 6pm, then Minder takes the 7:55pm slot. Benidorm follows at 9pm and Shameless at 9:55pm, before a separate, later Man About the House airs alone at 10:55pm — a different episode, not a continuation of the earlier run. Mind Your Language closes the night at 11:25pm. 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 afternoon runs the same unthemed stitch of 1970s and 1980s reruns as any other day: Rising Damp and Man About the House through midday, Goodnight Sweetheart and the archive drama When the Boat Comes In taking up early afternoon, then Minder and Just Good Friends carrying it towards evening.

The evening opens with a run of classic sitcoms from 6pm, then Minder takes the 7:55pm slot. Benidorm at 9pm is the strongest patch of the night, with Shameless close behind at 9:55pm. A separate, later Man About the House gets its own showing at 10:55pm — a different episode from the earlier run, not a repeat of it — and Mind Your Language closes the night at 11:25pm.

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