TV Guide UK Tonight: Fri 28 Aug 2026 – The Marlow Murder Club, The Rainmaker & Celebrity MasterChef

Friday 28 August 2026. BBC Two brings The Marlow Murder Club over from streaming and drops the whole series on iPlayer at the same time, while ITV1 starts a John Grisham adaptation and does exactly the same on ITVX. BBC One has Celebrity MasterChef at 8pm and Fontaines DC late, and BBC Four hosts the Met Orchestra’s first ever Prom. EastEnders is off until Monday.

Quick Picks: Tonight’s Best

• The Marlow Murder Club BBC Two, 9pm. Full series on iPlayer from today.
• The Rainmaker ITV1, 9pm. Grisham, and John Slattery on excellent form.
• BBC Proms BBC Four, 7pm. The Met Orchestra’s Proms debut, all Strauss.
• Celebrity MasterChef BBC One, 8pm. Tom Kerridge and one very large fish.
• EastEnders isn’t on tonight. Fridays never carry it — back Monday.

Early Evening

Sister Boniface Mysteries – BBC One, 2pm

An afternoon slot for the series three opener, first shown on U&Drama in 2024, in which a killer works through the screen tests for the latest outing of a 1960s superspy renamed Jonas Best. Ian Fleming’s estate has never seemed to mind these things much. Lorna Watson’s scooter-riding nun works her way through a suspect list drawn entirely from the film unit, with Jerry Iwu, Max Brown and Ami Metcalf alongside her. The whole series goes onto iPlayer today.

BBC Proms – BBC Four, 7pm

The Metropolitan Opera’s orchestra rarely leave Carnegie Hall, so a first appearance at the Proms is an occasion — and they’ve brought music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin with them. Petroc Trelawny hosts an all-Richard Strauss programme: a suite from Der Rosenkavalier that pours out a good deal of Vienna in a short space of time, the closing scene of Salome with Elza van den Heever, who has been getting exceptional notices in the role, and Ein Heldenleben to finish.

Celebrity MasterChef – BBC One, 8pm

Four celebrities left, working in pairs on a three-course Mexican-inspired menu for Grace Dent and Giorgio Locatelli. One of them needs six attempts at a squid-ink tuile, and when it finally reaches the table Dent’s verdict involves a vacuum cleaner. Things improve when Tom Kerridge arrives with one of his own Michelin-starred recipes: he talks them through the timings, the technique and the traps, and beheads a fish of near-mythical proportions on somebody’s behalf. It’s clear enough by the end who is going.

Gardeners’ World – BBC Two, 8pm

Anyone who has spent August watching a border give up will recognise the state of things: brown lawns, restrictions on the hose, and weeks of heat that showed no sign of breaking. Monty Don has practical fixes for the plants that took it worst, and a longer view on whether any of us should be planting the same things next year. Rekha Mistry shows what she has managed to grow in containers on a sun-baked Peak District patio, Joe Swift visits a family-run nursery in Dorset, and an Essex grower shows off a collection of agaves that suddenly looks rather forward-thinking.

Jimmy Doherty’s Big Bear Rescue – Channel 4, 8pm

Jimmy and Michaela Doherty bought a Suffolk farm and ended up running a wildlife refuge, which is roughly how these things go. When a Swedish zoo closed and polar bear Ewa and her cub Miki needed somewhere to live, the Dohertys took them — the bears were born in captivity and could never be released. This three-part series, first shown last year, follows the whole build from that first meeting to the animals arriving in Britain. Some of it is hard going. Channel 4 has it at 8pm.

Emmerdale – ITV1, 8pm

The week that started on Monday reaches Dawn Fletcher and Joe Tate’s wedding day, with DS Ramsden still circling the village.

Coronation Street – ITV1, 8.30pm

Sarah Platt is on remand for murder and has just found out what fellow inmate Kacey has arranged for her son Harry on the outside. She asks ex-boyfriend and copper Kit Green to step in and protect them both, and when that goes nowhere useful she loads a sock with snooker balls and sets off for Kacey’s cell. Nothing about the walk down that landing suggests she intends to talk it out.

Prime Time

The Marlow Murder Club – BBC Two, 9pm ⭐

Amateur sleuth clubs sell an enormous number of books these days, and this one took a strange route to the screen. Robert Thorogood, who created Death in Paradise, pitched The Marlow Murder Club as a series back in 2015 and was turned down. He wrote it as a novel instead, only to find another author working on something with a very similar title. It reached the screen via U&Drama in 2024, and now BBC Two. Samantha Bond plays Judith Potts, a retired archaeologist who treats a Buckinghamshire murder as a puzzle worth doing properly, joined by dog walker Suzie Harris (Jo Martin) and vicar’s wife Becks Starling (Cara Horgan). The full series goes onto iPlayer today, which is the correct way to release it.

The Rainmaker – ITV1, 9pm

You know the shape of a Grisham before it starts. Young lawyer with more principle than experience, a corporation with limitless money, and a case no sensible person would take. This one makes no attempt to hide any of that, and is much better for it. Milo Callaghan takes the Rudy Baylor role Matt Damon played in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1997 film, and John Slattery is unimprovable as opposing counsel Leo F Drummond, announcing himself in a staff meeting as the punishment of God. Lana Parrilla and PJ Byrne turn up as South Carolina ambulance chasers to keep the tone from getting heavy. The case is medical malpractice, a second series is already commissioned, and every episode is on ITVX from today.

You’re Killing Me – Drama, 8pm

Brooke Shields’s bestselling novelist has gone from worrying about book sales to running someone else’s wedding, hosting it at her own sprawling property as a favour to a family friend. Naturally it turns into a disaster, though the thing that finally does for her may be embarrassment rather than murder — and a piece of costume jewellery so heavy it looks prehistoric. Drama has the full series on U.

Ann Droid – BBC Three, 9pm

Another airing for the first two episodes of the sitcom with Sue Johnston as a widow and Diane Morgan as the robot assigned to look after her. The full run is on iPlayer already, which rather undermines the point of a repeat, but the pairing is worth an hour of anyone’s time.

Late Night

2-Tone Night – BBC Four, from 10.20pm

BBC Four spends the rest of the evening with the Coventry label that gave British music one of its most distinctive runs, opening with a 2021 Radio 6 Music session featuring the Specials.

Fontaines DC at Reading Festival – BBC One, 10.40pm

Highlights of the Irish band’s set. Forty minutes, and worth staying up for.

Tuesday – BBC Two, 11.05pm

Daina O Pusic’s 2023 drama gives Julia Louis-Dreyfus a mother facing her daughter’s death and Lola Petticrew the daughter herself, then hands the role of Death to a talking bird. That device will lose some viewers immediately. The performances are sincere enough to hold the rest, even if the film never quite settles on what it wants the bird to mean.

Sport

Crystal Palace host Manchester City at Selhurst Park with an 8pm kick-off on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League — City won both meetings between the sides 3-0 last season. Day two of the second England v Pakistan Test at Lord’s begins at 11am on Sky Sports Main Event and Cricket, with highlights on BBC Two at 7pm. Stage seven of La Vuelta covers 149.8km from Vall d’Alba to Aramón Valdelinares, live on TNT Sports 3 from 12.15pm.

The Viewing Schedule

What’s On Streaming

• BBC iPlayer: Sister Boniface Mysteries (full series), Celebrity MasterChef, Gardeners’ World, BBC Proms, The Marlow Murder Club (full series), Ann Droid, Tuesday
• ITVX: Emmerdale, Coronation Street, The Rainmaker (full series)
• Channel 4 streaming: Jimmy Doherty’s Big Bear Rescue
• U: You’re Killing Me (full series)

Frequently Asked Questions

Is EastEnders on tonight (Friday 28 August 2026)?

No. EastEnders doesn’t air on Fridays. BBC One runs Celebrity MasterChef at 8pm instead, and the soap returns on Monday. Thursday’s episode is still on iPlayer if you missed it.

What time is The Marlow Murder Club on tonight?

The Marlow Murder Club is on BBC Two at 9pm, and the full series is available on iPlayer from today. Samantha Bond plays retired archaeologist Judith Potts, with Jo Martin and Cara Horgan as her fellow sleuths.

What is The Rainmaker on ITV1 about?

The Rainmaker starts on ITV1 at 9pm. Adapted from John Grisham’s novel, it follows rookie lawyer Rudy Baylor (Milo Callaghan) as he takes a medical malpractice case against a corporation represented by John Slattery’s Leo F Drummond. The full series is on ITVX from today, and a second has already been commissioned.

What live sport is on TV tonight: Friday 28 August 2026?

Crystal Palace host Manchester City at Selhurst Park, kicking off at 8pm on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League. Day two of the second England v Pakistan Test at Lord’s starts at 11am on Sky Sports, with highlights on BBC Two at 7pm, and stage seven of La Vuelta is on TNT Sports 3 from 12.15pm.

What’s the best thing to watch on TV tonight (Friday 28 August 2026)?

The Marlow Murder Club on BBC Two at 9pm is the pick, especially as every episode lands on iPlayer at the same time. The Rainmaker on ITV1 is the alternative if you’d rather a courtroom than a riverbank.

What time is Celebrity MasterChef on tonight?

Celebrity MasterChef is on BBC One at 8pm tonight, an hour earlier than its usual midweek slot. Four celebrities are left, cooking a Mexican-inspired menu before a Tom Kerridge challenge.

What’s on BBC Two tonight?

BBC Two runs Gardeners’ World at 8pm, The Marlow Murder Club at 9pm and the 2023 film Tuesday at 11.05pm, with England v Pakistan cricket highlights at 7pm.

What time is Coronation Street on tonight?

Coronation Street is on ITV1 at 8.30pm, after Emmerdale at 8pm. Sarah Platt, on remand for murder, prepares a weapon from snooker balls and a sock after learning what fellow inmate Kacey has planned for her son.

What live music is on TV tonight?

The Metropolitan Opera orchestra make their Proms debut on BBC Four at 7pm with an all-Strauss programme. BBC Four then has 2-Tone Night from 10.20pm, and BBC One shows Fontaines DC at Reading Festival at 10.40pm.

Final Verdict

Friday 28 August is a good night to give up and binge something. The Marlow Murder Club takes it, with all six episodes on iPlayer the moment the first one finishes, and The Rainmaker does the same trick on ITVX with a cast worth the effort. Celebrity MasterChef narrows to a final four, Gardeners’ World faces up to the summer we’ve had, and the Met Orchestra’s Proms debut is the classiest hour of the week. No EastEnders tonight — Monday.

Related: What’s On TV Tonight Friday | What’s On TV Tonight Thurs 27 Aug 2026 | What’s On TV Tonight Saturday