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

Published: 16 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: Thursday 17 September 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete That’s TV schedule for Thursday 17 September 2026, on Freeview 56.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on That’s TV today

Thursday 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! from around 3am. A Nearest and Dearest pair leads into a teleshopping run from 6am — cruise holidays, then a folding eFoldi mobility scooter, then cruise holidays again — before Upstairs, Downstairs resumes the schedule proper at 8am.

You Rang, M’Lord? opens the morning at 9:05am, then Bread, Steptoe and Son, Oh, Doctor Beeching! and Rising Damp carry the schedule through to lunchtime. Man About the House, Goodnight Sweetheart and When the Boat Comes In fill early afternoon, before a second Minder rerun and Just Good Friends lead into 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, Thursday 17 September 2026.

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

A short burst of archive 1960s music performance footage opens the evening, the clip strand that stands in for the group’s old decade-themed channels.

Rising Damp — That’s TV, 6:05pm

Rising Damp follows, Leonard Rossiter’s shabby-bedsit sitcom and one of the two or three shows the channel is built around.

Steptoe and Son — That’s TV, 6:40pm

Steptoe and Son, the rag-and-bone father-and-son comedy, keeps the run of classic sitcoms going into early evening.

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

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? picks up the two Geordie friends years on from the original series, now dealing with marriage, work and each other in their thirties.

Minder — That’s TV, 7:55pm

Minder closes out the pre-9pm hour, Arthur Daley and Terry McCann working the murkier end of London’s secondhand-goods trade.

Benidorm — That’s TV, 9pm

Benidorm airs at 9pm, the ensemble sitcom set among the guests and staff of the fictional Solana resort on the Costa Blanca.

Shameless — That’s TV, 10pm

Shameless follows at 10pm, the Manchester-set Gallagher family drama-comedy and the newest thing in the schedule by some margin.

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

Man About the House, the flatshare sitcom that spun off Robin’s Nest and George and Mildred, rounds out the late slot.

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

Goodnight Sweetheart closes the night, the time-travel sitcom that shuttles its lead between 1990s London and the Blitz.

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?

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? leads early evening at 7:15pm, then Minder takes the 7:55pm slot. Benidorm follows at 9pm and Shameless at 10pm, 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. Thursday’s afternoon runs the same unthemed stitch of 1970s and 1980s reruns as any other day: Rising Damp and Oh, Doctor Beeching! carry the middle of the day, with Goodnight Sweetheart and When the Boat Comes In filling out early afternoon.

The evening opens with Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? at 7:15pm, then Minder takes the 7:55pm slot. Benidorm at 9pm is the strongest patch of the night, with Shameless close behind at 10pm. 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