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

Published: 10 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: Friday 11 September 2026 (Full Listings)

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

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on That’s TV today

Friday 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 a short That’s 60s clip and the 1970s drama Upstairs, Downstairs resume the schedule proper from 8am.

From there it’s the channel’s usual half-hour reruns with no particular theming: You Rang, M’Lord?, Bread, Steptoe and Son and Oh, Doctor Beeching! carry the morning, then 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, Friday 11 September 2026.

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

A five-minute clip of archive music footage, one of several short slots the strand fills across the day.

Rising Damp — That’s TV, 6:05pm

Leonard Rossiter’s landlord Rigsby holds court in one of British sitcom’s most quoted creations, still a fixture of the channel’s early-evening run decades on.

Steptoe and Son — That’s TV, 6:40pm

The rag-and-bone father-and-son act that inspired Sanford and Son in America, still one of the sharpest bits of writing the channel repeats.

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

Bob and Terry’s friendship survives marriage, work and each other across this 1970s follow-up to the original Likely Lads.

Minder — That’s TV, 7:55pm

Arthur Daley and his minder Terry work London’s grey markets in a series that made a folk hero out of a small-time crook.

Benidorm — That’s TV, 9pm

The Solana resort’s regulars carry the strongest hour of the night, a newer, sharper comedy than most of what surrounds it.

Shameless — That’s TV, 9:55pm

The Gallagher family’s chaos on a Manchester estate, another of the channel’s few 21st-century imports among the older reruns.

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

The flat-share farce that later spun off into both Robin’s Nest and George and Mildred.

Goodnight Sweetheart — That’s TV, 11:30pm

A time-slip comedy sending its lead back and forth between the 1990s and the Blitz, closing out the night.

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 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? airs at 7:15pm and Minder takes the 7:55pm slot. Benidorm follows at 9pm and Shameless at 9:55pm, before Man About the House at 10:55pm and Goodnight Sweetheart close the night 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. Friday’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. Man About the House follows at 10:55pm, and Goodnight Sweetheart closes out the night at 11:30pm.

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