Monday 28 September 2026. The soaps are back and so is EastEnders, at 7.30pm. The 9pm hour is three-way again: The Split Up continues on BBC One, ITV1’s The Blame turns its investigation on Emma herself, and BBC Two has the concluding part of David Olusoga’s slave-trade series. Over on Channel 5, Michael Palin starts a new run in the Philippines, arriving in Manila on a politically charged anniversary. BBC Four gives the late evening to Henry Moore.

Page Contents

Quick Picks: Tonight’s Best

See also: Friday's TV Guide | Thursday's TV Guide

Michael Palin in the Philippines Channel 5, 9pm. New series, and a sharper one than the format usually allows.
Finding Britain’s Slave Traders BBC Two, 9pm. Olusoga’s conclusion, and the harder half of the argument.
The Split Up BBC One, 9pm. Dhruv’s own secrets surface.
Colin from Accounts BBC Two, 10pm. A death in the family, handled properly.
EastEnders is on tonight — BBC One, 7.30pm.

Early Evening

House of Games – BBC Two, 6pm

A new run, and one with a countdown attached: Richard Osman is still asking the questions but the handover to Michael Sheen has been announced, so this series is effectively a long goodbye. BBC Two then runs the full quiz block — Mastermind at 7.30pm, Only Connect at 8pm and University Challenge at 8.30pm, with Emmanuel College, Cambridge against Somerville College, Oxford.

Strictly: It Takes Two – BBC Two, 6.30pm

Ellie Taylor’s first night in the job, picking over Saturday’s opening live show. The spin-off matters more than usual this week because Saturday’s scores carry over rather than being settled, so there is actually something to argue about.

Dream Horse – Film4, 6.45pm

Toni Collette leads a Welsh village syndicate who club together to breed a racehorse on pub-collection money. Based on the real Dream Alliance. Film4 has a strong night: Nobody at 9pm and Shane Meadows’ Dead Man’s Shoes at 10.50pm.

Heartbeat – ITV3, 6.55pm

Aidensfield before a Midsomer Murders double at 8pm and feature-length Downton Abbey at 10pm. ITV3 is not trying anything new and does not need to.

Hollyoaks – E4, 7pm

A brand-new episode rather than the daytime repeat, with Below Deck Down Under at 8pm and Made in Chelsea at 9pm following on E4.

EastEnders – BBC One, 7.30pm

Back after the weekend gap. Monday is the week’s opening episode, and if you would rather not wait for it the full week is already on iPlayer as a boxset from this morning.

Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing – Dave, 7pm

Two men, a riverbank and a running conversation about their own hearts. Dave follows it with a Would I Lie To You? double and Have I Got a Bit More News for You at 9pm.

Ice Road Truckers: Deadliest Roads – ITV4, 7pm

A new run on ITV4, before the channel clears the 9pm slot for The Terminator.

Prime Time

Michael Palin in the Philippines – Channel 5, 9pm ⭐

Palin is 83 and still the best at this, largely because he refuses to make anywhere simpler than it is. He lands in Manila to find protests marking 40 years since Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown, which sets the register for the whole film: this is a country with martial law inside living memory, a territorial standoff with China, and real poverty, and Palin says so.

Then he goes and has a surprisingly cordial meeting with President Bong Bong Marcos, the former dictator’s son, which he is plainly aware is an odd thing to be doing. Later he visits Pagasa Island in the contested waters of the South China Sea, and stays overnight on a deserted beach in a bamboo hut with no hot water or electricity. His line about “paradise” being an overused word, and this being close to it anyway, is the sort of thing he has earned the right to say.

New series, three parts. Channel 5 follows it with true crime at 10pm.

Finding Britain’s Slave Traders with David Olusoga – BBC Two, 9pm

The concluding half, and the more uncomfortable one. The first part dealt with the famous names; this one shows how many thousands of ordinary British people had a stake in the trade — hospitals, theatres, schools and civic halls funded by it, the privatisation of the business spreading the profits far wider than a handful of Bristol and Liverpool merchants.

Olusoga’s method is to follow the money rather than make speeches, which is why the programme lands. The casual brutality in the records is the part that stays with you.

The Split Up – BBC One, 9pm

Aria is not the only one keeping things back. Dhruv’s remarks to his PA Linda in court were bad enough, and he defends them as necessary to win; his high-handed running of the family firm is worse. But he is now taking meetings in hotel rooms with rival lawyer Zoya Bassu, and the episode is fairly unsubtle about where that is heading. “I can’t take any more lies,” Aria says, which is the kind of line a drama only gives a character just before it produces several more.

The Blame – ITV1, 9pm

Having spent the weekend narrowing the suspects to the station itself, tonight complicates it by turning the lens on Emma, who may have made some sizeable errors in an earlier investigation. It is a smart move: the programme’s argument is about a culture rather than a few bad men, and that argument is stronger if the sympathetic character is also implicated. ITV1 has the full series on ITVX.

Jamie’s 20 Minute Meals – Channel 4, 8pm

New series, and the gimmick is the filming: one continuous take per dish, no cuts to hide prep, no pausing to weigh anything. It is a fair answer to the usual complaint that TV cooks operate on a different clock from the rest of us. Camembert and onion rice, then breadcrumbed chicken with garlic beans, while he talks through knife work. Channel 4 follows it with a new run of 999: What Happened Next at 9pm.

Ghost Plates: Drivers Cheating the Law – Panorama – BBC One, 8pm

Cloned and deliberately obscured number plates, and how many drivers are simply not being caught. Half an hour, before Clickbait Clinic with Stacey Dooley at 8.30pm, which takes on online health fads including the carnivore diet and supplements being sold as natural Ozempic.

Bill Bailey’s Jungle Hero – Yesterday, 8pm

Bailey retraces Alfred Russel Wallace through Indonesia, making the case that Wallace deserves rather more credit for natural selection than he got. Yesterday runs Canal Boat Diaries at 9pm and a Bangers & Cash double after that.

Britain’s Lost Masterpieces: Glasgow – BBC Four, 8pm

Art historians chase an attribution through a Glasgow collection, in the slot before BBC Four turns the evening over to Henry Moore.

The Terminator – ITV4, 9pm

Cameron’s 1984 original, made cheaply and all the better for it. Nothing in the sequels matches the relentlessness of the first.

Nobody – Film4, 9pm

Bob Odenkirk as a suburban nobody with a carefully suppressed past, which a home invasion duly unsuppresses. Brutal, funny and eighty-odd minutes long, which is exactly right.

Rambo – GREAT! Action, 9pm

GREAT! Action has Stallone’s fourth outing, which is comfortably the most violent of them.

Ant Anstead: Born Mechanic – Quest, 9pm

A new run on Quest, with The Repair Shop following at 10pm.

The Curse Of Oak Island – Blaze, 9pm

A new series of the treasure hunt that has been about to find something since 2014. Blaze pairs it with History’s Greatest Mysteries.

Big Brother – ITV2, 9pm

Continuing on ITV2, with The Group Chat at 10pm.

Late Night

Colin from Accounts – BBC Two, 10pm

The penultimate episode of the series, and it does the thing this show does better than almost any other comedy: Ash’s nan has died, Gordon turns up to be supportive, and Ash immediately uses the opening to grill him about where he has put his mother. Gordon’s brother Heavy then lowers the tone at the funeral. Very strong language, and an unexpected musical number. Northern Ireland viewers get it tomorrow at 11.10pm.

Henry Moore: A Culture Show Special – BBC Four, 10.10pm

BBC Four’s Moore evening opens at 10pm with his daughter Mary’s recollections, then this Culture Show profile in which Alan Yentob looks at how Moore used television to reach an audience. A 1960 Monitor follows at 11.10pm, with Huw Wheldon visiting the sculptor, and at 12.25am Moore sits down with John Freeman for Face to Face.

Nickel Boys – BBC Two, 11.05pm

The 2024 adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s novel, in which Elwood Curtis is sent to a Florida reform school built on cruelty. Shot largely in first person, which sounds like a stunt and is not.

Dead Man’s Shoes – Film4, 10.50pm

Shane Meadows’ revenge film, Paddy Considine coming back to a Midlands town to settle something. Short, nasty, and one of the best British films of its decade.

Downton Abbey – ITV3, 10pm

Feature-length, after the Midsomer double.

Sport

A quiet Monday on Freeview: there is no live sport at all on the free-to-air channels tonight. Everything of note is behind a subscription. The Darts World Grand Prix has reached day one at the Mattioli Arena in Leicester, with Luke Littler defending, on Sky Sports Main Event from 6pm. The ATP tennis tour is running the Chengdu and Hangzhou Opens on Sky Sports Tennis from 10am, and TNT Sports has second-round snooker from the Shenzhen Open. ITV4’s motoring evening is the closest Freeview gets, and that is Goodwood Revival highlights at 8pm rather than anything live.

What’s On Streaming

BBC iPlayer — EastEnders (full week boxset), The Split Up, Finding Britain’s Slave Traders (both parts), Colin from Accounts (full series), Clickbait Clinic.

ITVX — The Blame (full series), Emmerdale, Coronation Street.

Channel 4 — Jamie’s 20 Minute Meals, 999: What Happened Next, Geordie Coppers.

5 — Michael Palin in the Philippines, Police Interceptors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is EastEnders on tonight (Monday 28 September 2026)?

Yes. EastEnders is on BBC One at 7.30pm tonight. It is the first episode of the week after the weekend break, and the whole week arrives on iPlayer as a boxset this morning if you would rather not wait.

What time is The Split Up on tonight?

The Split Up is on BBC One at 9pm. Tonight the focus moves to what Dhruv is hiding, while Aria’s meetings with rival lawyer Zoya Bassu start looking like something other than professional courtesy.

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

Michael Palin in the Philippines on Channel 5 at 9pm. It is the start of a new series and Palin arrives in Manila as protesters mark 40 years since the overthrow of Ferdinand Marcos, which gives the travelogue an unusually political edge.

What time is Michael Palin in the Philippines on?

Channel 5 at 9pm, the first episode of a new three-part series. Palin visits Pagasa Island in the South China Sea and meets President Bong Bong Marcos.

What’s on BBC Two tonight?

BBC Two runs its full quiz block from 6pm, then Finding Britain’s Slave Traders with David Olusoga at 9pm, Colin from Accounts at 10pm and the film Nickel Boys at 11.05pm.

Is Colin from Accounts on tonight?

Yes. Colin from Accounts is on BBC Two at 10pm, in the week Ash loses her nan. Northern Ireland viewers get it on Tuesday at 11.10pm instead.

What happens in Emmerdale and Coronation Street tonight?

Emmerdale is on ITV1 at 8pm and Coronation Street follows at 8.30pm, both in their regular Monday slots, before the drama The Blame at 9pm.

What film is on TV tonight?

Film4 has Dream Horse at 6.45pm, Nobody at 9pm and Shane Meadows’ Dead Man’s Shoes at 10.50pm. ITV4 shows The Terminator at 9pm and BBC Two closes with Nickel Boys at 11.05pm.

What is Finding Britain’s Slave Traders with David Olusoga?

A two-part BBC Two documentary concluding tonight at 9pm, in which Olusoga shows that slave trading was not confined to a few wealthy merchants but involved thousands of ordinary British people.

What live sport is on TV tonight: Monday 28 September 2026?

Nothing on Freeview. The Darts World Grand Prix from Leicester, the ATP tennis in Chengdu and Hangzhou and the Shenzhen Open snooker are all on subscription channels tonight.

Tonight by Channel

A channel-by-channel breakdown of Monday 28 September 2026, so you can jump straight to the one you actually watch.

BBC One

7pm — The One Show
7.30pm — EastEnders
8pm — Ghost Plates: Drivers Cheating the Law – Panorama
8.30pm — Clickbait Clinic with Stacey Dooley
9pm — The Split Up
10.40pm — Have I Got News for You

BBC Two

6pm — House of Games
6.30pm — Strictly: It Takes Two
8pm — Only Connect
8.30pm — University Challenge
9pm — Finding Britain’s Slave Traders with David Olusoga
10pm — Colin from Accounts
11.05pm — Nickel Boys

ITV1

7.30pm — Millionaire Hot Seat
8pm — Emmerdale
8.30pm — Coronation Street
9pm — The Blame

Channel 4

8pm — Jamie’s 20 Minute Meals
9pm — 999: What Happened Next

Channel 5

6pm — The Big Steam Train Adventure
8pm — Police Interceptors
9pm — Michael Palin in the Philippines
10pm — A Killer Makes a Call

E4

6pm — The Simpsons
7pm — Hollyoaks
8pm — Below Deck Down Under
9pm — Made in Chelsea

Film4

6.45pm — Dream Horse
9pm — Nobody
10.50pm — Dead Man’s Shoes

BBC Four

8pm — Britain’s Lost Masterpieces: Glasgow
10.10pm — Henry Moore: A Culture Show Special

ITV3

6.55pm — Heartbeat
10pm — Downton Abbey

ITV4

7pm — Ice Road Truckers: Deadliest Roads
9pm — The Terminator

The Viewing Schedule

Time	Channel	Programme
6pm	BBC Two	House of Games
6pm	Channel 5	The Big Steam Train Adventure
6pm	E4	The Simpsons
6.30pm	BBC Two	Strictly: It Takes Two
6.45pm	Film4	Dream Horse
6.55pm	ITV3	Heartbeat
7pm	BBC One	The One Show
7pm	E4	Hollyoaks
7pm	Dave	Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing
7pm	ITV4	Ice Road Truckers: Deadliest Roads
7pm	Channel 5	Traffic Cops
7.30pm	BBC One	EastEnders
7.30pm	BBC Two	Mastermind
7.30pm	ITV1	Millionaire Hot Seat
8pm	BBC One	Ghost Plates: Drivers Cheating the Law – Panorama
8pm	BBC Two	Only Connect
8pm	ITV1	Emmerdale
8pm	Channel 4	Jamie’s 20 Minute Meals
8pm	Channel 5	Police Interceptors
8pm	BBC Four	Britain’s Lost Masterpieces: Glasgow
8pm	E4	Below Deck Down Under
8pm	Yesterday	Bill Bailey’s Jungle Hero
8pm	ITV3	Midsomer Murders
8pm	ITV4	Goodwood Revival Highlights
8.30pm	BBC One	Clickbait Clinic with Stacey Dooley
8.30pm	BBC Two	University Challenge
8.30pm	ITV1	Coronation Street
9pm	BBC One	The Split Up
9pm	BBC Two	Finding Britain’s Slave Traders with David Olusoga
9pm	ITV1	The Blame
9pm	Channel 4	999: What Happened Next
9pm	Channel 5	Michael Palin in the Philippines
9pm	ITV2	Big Brother
9pm	E4	Made in Chelsea
9pm	Film4	Nobody
9pm	ITV4	The Terminator
9pm	GREAT! Action	Rambo
9pm	Quest	Ant Anstead: Born Mechanic
9pm	Blaze	The Curse Of Oak Island
9pm	Yesterday	Canal Boat Diaries
10pm	BBC Two	Colin from Accounts
10pm	BBC Four	Mary Moore Remembers Henry Moore
10pm	Channel 4	Geordie Coppers
10pm	Channel 5	A Killer Makes a Call
10pm	ITV2	Big Brother: The Group Chat
10pm	ITV3	Downton Abbey
10.10pm	BBC Four	Henry Moore: A Culture Show Special
10.40pm	BBC One	Have I Got News for You
10.50pm	Film4	Dead Man’s Shoes
11.05pm	BBC Two	Nickel Boys
11.10pm	BBC Four	Monitor: Henry Moore

Final Verdict

Two very different hours are competing at 9pm and both deserve the slot. Olusoga’s conclusion is the more important programme — the argument that slave trading ran through ordinary British life rather than a few famous families is one most people have not had put to them this plainly. Palin’s opener is the more enjoyable, and he is the rare traveller who can meet a dictator’s son and let the viewer draw their own conclusion.

Underneath them, BBC Four’s Henry Moore evening is the quietly excellent bit of the night, and Colin from Accounts at 10pm is its usual self: a proper laugh, then something that catches you out.

Written by

TV Radar Team

TV Radar Team is the byline on TV Radar's automatically generated TV guides — covering BBC One, BBC Two, ITV1, Channel 4, Channel 5 and beyond. Each evening's schedule is built from the published listings (titles, start times, run lengths and episode numbers) and checked against our listings data before publication, so you can decide in two minutes what to record and what to skip. These guides are generated automatically rather than written by hand; a human editor spot-checks them, but not every page is read before it goes live. Based in London, updated every day.