TV Guide UK Tonight: Fri 31 Jul 2026 – Granite Harbour, Ann Droid & Amanda Knox

Published: 24 July 2026

Friday 31 July 2026. BBC One runs its usual Friday one-two: Granite Harbour reaches the middle of its three-part run at 8pm, with DC Davis Lindo racing to work out whether a caravan fire was an accident or something worse, before Ann Droid follows at 9:30pm with Michael handing his songwriting career over to an eldercare robot. ITV1 keeps The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox moving at 9pm as the prosecution starts building its case, BBC Two pairs Gardeners’ World with a sharper-than-usual Bergerac, and More4 closes out The Sommerdahl Murders with its series finale. Throw in day eight of the Commonwealth Games and the first weekend of Scottish football and there’s a lot to get through. One thing that isn’t on: EastEnders doesn’t air on Fridays.

Quick Picks: Tonight’s Best

• Granite Harbour ⭐ BBC One, 8pm. Episode two asks whether last week’s caravan fire was arson.
• Ann Droid BBC One, 9:30pm. Michael puts his pop career in an android’s hands.
• The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox ITV1, 9pm. The prosecution’s case starts taking shape.
• The Sommerdahl Murders More4, 9pm. Series finale ties off the Danish crime drama.
• Commonwealth Games day eight from Glasgow, live across TNT Sports, BBC Alba and S4C.
• EastEnders isn’t on tonight. The soap only airs Monday to Thursday, so there’s no episode this evening.

Early Evening

The Hairdresser Mysteries – BBC One, 2pm

This afternoon’s cosy crime drama turns properly macabre: a retired army officer who used to belittle his troops with garden-themed put-downs is found dead beneath a barbell, a flower left in his mouth. A grimly literal punishment for a man who never let anyone forget his insults. BBC iPlayer.

BBC Proms – BBC Four, 7pm

BBC Four hands the evening to Elgar, with Petroc Trelawny introducing Ryan Wigglesworth conducting the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra through the First Symphony, followed by a replay of Sheku Kanneh-Mason’s 2019 account of the Cello Concerto. A proper two-hour sit-down for anyone who likes their Proms substantial. BBC iPlayer.

Granite Harbour – BBC One, 8pm ⭐

The middle episode of this three-parter is where the tension really bites. DC Davis Lindo, played by Romario Simpson, is still the sort of officer who charges in without thinking things through. Last week that meant sprinting into a burning caravan while his partner Bart yelled at him to stay back. Tonight it’s about getting the confused Rose out safely, and working out whether that fire was an accident or arson. Suspicion lands on Alex, the go-between with the local Traveller community, who’s gone quiet, while Chief Constable Graeme Willis keeps demanding answers nobody has yet. This is the one to watch tonight. It doesn’t wrap anything up, mind, because that’s next week’s job. Full series on BBC iPlayer.

Gardeners’ World – BBC Two, 8pm

Monty Don is out clearing harvested veg beds and sowing a fresh round of crops to keep things productive through a summer that refuses to cool down, topping up the borders with late-flowering perennials along the way. There’s a nice tribute strand too, with Adam Frost visiting the East Midlands garden the late Geoff Hamilton left behind, thirty years on. BBC iPlayer.

Prime Time

Ann Droid – BBC One, 9:30pm

Michael’s latest scheme has him leaning on Linda, his mother’s battered eldercare android, to knock out a chart-topping single, on the logic that a robot with no ear for music is somehow his best shot at a hit. It’s a neat setup for the show’s favourite trick: Michael spends half the episode insisting music needs a human soul, then quietly lets AI-written lyrics slide into his inbox anyway. Full series on BBC iPlayer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox – ITV1, 9pm & 10:05pm

With the trial grinding on, tonight’s double bill turns up the pressure on Amanda Knox’s co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito, pushed by his own legal team to put clear water between his defence and hers before a verdict comes in. It’s a colder, more calculating hour than earlier episodes, built around the self-preservation instincts of people staring down a life sentence. ITVX.

Eight Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown – Channel 4, 9pm

Jon Richardson teams up with Harriet Kemsley to take on Rob Beckett and Richard Ayoade in the numbers-and-letters panel show that’s never once taken Countdown seriously. Expect the conundrum to get thoroughly ignored in favour of whatever tangent Ayoade decides to chase this week. Channel 4 streaming.

Bergerac – BBC Two, 9pm

Zoë Wanamaker’s Charlie Hungerford has spent this reboot needling Damien Molony’s Jim about his parenting from a position of moral superiority, and tonight she finally makes good on it, agreeing to help him work Jersey’s wealthiest circles for a lead on the Wakefield family, though only in exchange for something in return. It’s the sharpest this version of the double act has been all series. Full series on BBC iPlayer.

The Sommerdahl Murders – More4, 9pm

The series wraps up with the drowning of small-time dealer Otto, and detectives Dan and Flemming spend most of the finale getting nowhere fast, not helped by their habit of taking every witness at their word. Before the credits roll there’s an abduction, an unexpected family tie and one painful betrayal, and the show just about earns its ending. Channel 4 streaming.

Station Eleven – Sky Atlantic, 9pm & 10pm

Tonight’s double bill splits neatly in two: the first half rewinds through artist Miranda’s collapsing marriage and her increasingly desperate attempt to get out of Malaysia as a pandemic takes hold, with Danielle Deadwyler quietly excellent in the role. The second jumps forward two decades to Mackenzie Davis’s Kirsten, a travelling performer whose fate turns out to be tangled up with Miranda’s old work in ways a menacing cult leader is far too interested in. Catch up on Now.

Late Night

Austin – BBC One, 10:40pm & 11:05pm

Series two signs off with proper farce: Ingrid, played by Sally Phillips, somehow falls for a stranger she’s only ever seen inside a giant bear costume, while Austin himself, played by Michael Theo, spends the finale watching his own fame spiral away from him rather than driving it. Ben Miller and Phillips wring plenty of comedy out of a marriage quietly falling apart in the background. A third series has already been confirmed. BBC iPlayer.

Chuck Chuck Baby – BBC Two, 11pm

Janis Pugh’s warm, occasionally bawdy 2023 musical drama gets a late slot tonight, following Louise Brealey as a factory worker stuck in a miserable home life until an old crush, played by Annabel Scholey, comes back into the picture. Pugh based it on her own years in a chicken-packing plant, and it shows in the details, right down to casting real factory workers as extras in her hometown of Flint. BBC iPlayer.

Ramy – Channel 4, 12:10am & 12:45am

Ramy Youssef’s fictional alter ego has wrecked his own marriage and now reckons the diamond trade might be his way out of the mess he’s made. A fearsome Israeli dealer dangles a partnership, but only if Ramy’s willing to seal it face to face, which feels like exactly the kind of decision this character always gets wrong. Channel 4 streaming.

Sport

Day eight of the Commonwealth Games keeps Glasgow busy from 8:30am on TNT Sports 2, with further coverage on TNT Sports 3 and 4 through the early evening and Welsh-language commentary on S4C from 8pm; Freeview viewers without a subscription can catch the highlights on Channel 5 at 10pm. Golf’s Women’s Open reaches day two at Royal Lytham and St Annes, live on Sky Sports Golf from 9am. And Scottish football’s new season kicks off with Dundee United hosting Rangers, live on Sky Sports Football from 7pm ahead of an 8pm kick-off.

The Viewing Schedule

What’s On Streaming

• BBC iPlayer: The Hairdresser Mysteries, BBC Proms, Granite Harbour, Gardeners’ World, Ann Droid, Bergerac, Chuck Chuck Baby, Austin
• ITVX: The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox
• Channel 4 streaming: Eight Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, The Sommerdahl Murders, Ramy
• Now: Station Eleven

Frequently Asked Questions

Is EastEnders on tonight (Friday 31 July 2026)?

No. EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday on BBC One at around 7:30pm and doesn’t broadcast on Fridays, so there’s no new episode tonight. Catch up on the week’s episodes via BBC iPlayer, or wait for Monday’s return.

What time is Granite Harbour on tonight?

Granite Harbour airs on BBC One at 8pm tonight. It’s the second of three episodes, with DC Davis Lindo trying to work out whether last week’s caravan fire was an accident or arson. The full series is on BBC iPlayer.

Is Ann Droid new tonight?

Yes. A new episode of Ann Droid airs on BBC One at 9:30pm, with Michael turning to his android housemate Linda to help write him a hit song. It’s available afterwards on BBC iPlayer.

What live sport is on TV tonight: Friday 31 July 2026?

Day eight of the Commonwealth Games runs across TNT Sports, BBC Alba and S4C from Glasgow, with highlights on Channel 5 at 10pm. The Women’s Open golf reaches day two at Royal Lytham and St Annes on Sky Sports Golf, and Scottish football’s new season kicks off with Dundee United hosting Rangers, live on Sky Sports Football from 7pm.

What’s the best thing to watch on TV tonight (Friday 31 July 2026)?

Granite Harbour on BBC One at 8pm is the pick of the night, with its tense second episode digging into whether a fire was set deliberately. Ann Droid at 9:30pm is the night’s other BBC One highlight.

Final Verdict

Friday 31 July belongs to BBC One‘s double act once again. Granite Harbour ⭐ hits its stride at 8pm with a gripping arson mystery, and Ann Droid keeps the laughs coming straight after at 9:30pm. Over on BBC Two, Bergerac and Gardeners’ World both hold their own, while ITV1’s Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox and More4’s Sommerdahl Murders finale give the 9pm slot real depth. Sport fans have a packed night too, from the Commonwealth Games to Scottish football’s season kick-off. One thing you won’t find: EastEnders, which sits out Fridays as usual.

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