TV Guide UK Tonight: Mon 6 Apr 2026 – I’m a Celebrity South Africa, Babies & China with Ben Fogle

Updated: 21 April 2026

Tonight’s TV highlights (Easter Monday 6 April 2026): I’m a Celebrity… South Africa returns for a second all-stars series on ITV1 at 9pm, with Harry Redknapp, Sir Mo Farah, Scarlett Moffatt and Gemma Collins among fifteen returning campmates. Babies continues on BBC One at 9pm with Paapa Essiedu and Siobhán Cullen. Ronan Keating’s Wild Atlantic premieres on BBC Two at 6:30pm. China with Ben Fogle launches on Channel 5 at 9pm. Emmerdale airs on ITV1 at 8pm. EastEnders is not on — bank holiday.

It’s Easter Monday, which means the bank holiday schedule kicks in and the big event tonight is ITV1 bringing back I’m a Celebrity… South Africa at 9pm — the second all-stars run, fifteen returning campmates, and a grand final that will be broadcast live from London. On BBC One at the same time, Babies continues as one of the more quietly impressive dramas of 2026. There are two new series starting tonight as well: Ronan Keating’s Wild Atlantic on BBC Two at 6:30pm and China with Ben Fogle on Channel 5 at 9pm. No EastEnders tonight — the soap doesn’t air on bank holidays.

Quick Picks: Tonight’s Best

• I’m a Celebrity… South Africa ⭐ — ITV1, 9pm — All-stars cast, South African wilderness, live final coming. Harry Redknapp is the bookies’ tip
• Babies — BBC One, 9pm — Paapa Essiedu and Siobhán Cullen in one of the year’s best dramas. Painful and funny in the same breath
• Ronan Keating’s Wild Atlantic — BBC Two, 6:30pm — New series, west coast of Ireland, more emotional substance than you’d expect
• China with Ben Fogle — Channel 5, 9pm — New series, three parts, and China is complicated enough to fill all of them
• Emmerdale — ITV1, 8pm — Graham Foster is back from the dead and Marlon Dingle is watching. It’s a mess, in the best way
• Pilgrimage: The Road to Holy Island — BBC Two, 9pm — Ashley Blaker’s reaction to the Reform synagogue in Newcastle is the scene of the night

What’s New Tonight

Three new starts on Easter Monday 6 April 2026:

• I’m a Celebrity… South Africa — ITV1, 9pm — Second all-stars series. Fifteen returning campmates including Harry Redknapp, Scarlett Moffatt, Adam Thomas, Sir Mo Farah, Sinitta, Craig Charles, Jimmy Bullard, Seann Walsh and Gemma Collins compete in the South African wilderness to be crowned ultimate legend. The grand final is broadcast live from London. Catch up via ITVX.
• Ronan Keating’s Wild Atlantic — BBC Two, 6:30pm — New series. Ronan Keating begins a five-part travelogue exploring the wild west coast of Ireland, starting in Cork. He forages for edible plants, tries road bowling against his footballer nephew, and visits Ireland’s first Tibetan Buddhist temple while processing grief for his late brother Ciarán. Catch up via BBC iPlayer.
• China with Ben Fogle — Channel 5, 9pm — New series. Ben Fogle opens a three-part journey through China, exploring its contradictions: the Great Wall alongside the futuristic skyline of Shanghai, personal freedom for some alongside policed Tiananmen Square. Continues tomorrow. Catch up via 5 streaming.

What Drama is on TV Tonight?

Two strong drama options on Easter Monday:

• Babies — BBC One, 9pm — Paapa Essiedu and Siobhán Cullen continue as Stephen and Lisa, told “everything is normal” after unexplained miscarriages, while Amanda (Charlotte Riley) sits on a discovery about Dave (Jack Bannon) that she knows will hurt the people she cares about. Continues tomorrow. Full series on BBC iPlayer.
• Emmerdale — ITV1, 8pm — Rhona Goskirk is caught between her husband Marlon Dingle and Graham Foster, who faked his own death six years ago and has now resurfaced. Marlon follows Rhona to Home Farm and sees more than he wanted to. Catch up via ITVX.

Early Evening

Ronan Keating’s Wild Atlantic – BBC Two, 6:30pm

Ireland’s west coast doesn’t need much help looking dramatic, but having Ronan Keating wander through it with genuine grief on his mind gives this travelogue something most of the genre lacks — an actual reason to be made. Keating lost his older brother Ciarán, and the pull back to the country’s Atlantic fringe is tied to that loss in a way that comes through clearly in the first episode.

The show opens in Cork, the country’s southernmost county, where Keating takes on road bowling — a sport involving throwing a heavy iron ball along a public road, which sounds chaotic and apparently is — against his professional footballer nephew Ruairi. He also spends time on a rewilding project foraging for edible plants, and visits Ireland’s first Tibetan Buddhist temple, where the conversation turns to grief in a way that doesn’t feel staged. The scenery is exactly what you’d want from the title, and Keating is a more thoughtful guide than his pop career might suggest. Four more episodes to come, nightly. Catch up via BBC iPlayer.

Château DIY – Channel 4, 5pm

The series following British buyers taking on French châteaux returns for a new run. Tonight’s opener deals with the restoration of a chapel that’s been sitting unused for years — one of those projects that sounds romantic until you see the state of the stonework. If you like watching people make wildly optimistic renovation decisions in beautiful buildings, this is for you. Catch up via Channel 4 streaming.

Prime Time

Emmerdale – ITV1, 8pm

Graham Foster has been dead for six years — or so everyone thought. His return has now put Rhona Goskirk in an impossible position. She’s been married to Marlon Dingle for four years, but the feelings for Graham haven’t stayed buried as neatly as Graham himself apparently has.

Tonight’s episode pushes things further than the show has been willing to go before. Marlon, suspicious, follows Rhona to Home Farm and sees enough of what passes between her and Graham to understand what he’s looking at. The crunch moment comes when he asks Rhona directly whether she still has feelings for Graham — and she can’t answer. It’s a properly good soap scene, the kind where no one is quite the villain because everyone is just behaving like a human being in an awful situation. Catch up via ITVX.

The Dog House – Channel 4, 8pm

Two puppies, one difficult choice. Fizz and Poppy came to Woodgreen together after a home that couldn’t manage them properly, and the team has decided the best outcome is separate adoptions. That’s hard to watch when they’ve clearly been each other’s company through everything so far, but the logic is sound.

Steve and Marta are hoping Poppy might complete their family — their daughter Alina, adopted, immediately connects with the idea of giving a dog a home it deserves. Fizz, the more nervous of the two, is going to need a settled environment and ideally another dog already in the house. Ian thinks his schnauzer cross Teddie might be the right match. Warm, predictable, and hard to switch off before the end. Catch up via Channel 4 streaming.

Mastermind / University Challenge – BBC Two, 8pm and 8:30pm

Two in a row on BBC Two for quiz fans. Clive Myrie chairs Mastermind, with specialist subjects including the men’s England World Cup squad. Then Amol Rajan takes over for the first University Challenge semi-final, which is where things start getting serious. Both on BBC iPlayer.

Dom Chinea’s Cornish Workshop – U&Yesterday, 8pm

Dom Chinea’s Cornish farmhouse renovation continues with a familiar problem: too much to do, not enough time to do it. The immediate priority is getting his cowshed workshop properly watertight, but an opportunity to help a Newlyn family fit out a mini ice-cream van proves too much fun to pass up. He and his friend Sam are the kind of engineering enthusiasts who make fixing things look genuinely enjoyable rather than stressful. They also build a custom tin sign for the workshop, which tells you where their priorities lie. Catch up via U.

Babies – BBC One, 9pm

“Everything is normal. There’s nothing wrong with either of you.” That’s what Stephen and Lisa have been told, which should be reassuring and isn’t — because if there’s nothing wrong, why does it keep happening? Paapa Essiedu and Siobhán Cullen carry the weight of this episode without once making it feel like a misery showcase. The show trusts its actors to find the comedy in awful situations, and both of them are good enough to make that work.

The parallel storyline involves Amanda (Charlotte Riley) sitting on a discovery about Dave (Jack Bannon) that she knows will hurt the people she cares about most. The series is now five episodes in and has earned the right to make you dread what’s coming. Continues tomorrow at 9pm. Full series on BBC iPlayer.

I’m a Celebrity… South Africa ⭐ – ITV1, 9pm

The all-stars format is back for a second time — first ran in 2023, now returns with a new batch of veterans. The premise is simple enough: take fifteen people who have already done the Australian jungle, put them in the South African wilderness instead, and ask which of them is the ultimate legend of the format. Most of it is pre-recorded, but the grand final comes live from London, which at least means viewers get a say in the result.

Ant and Dec are, of course, along for the ride. The cast is a good one. Harry Redknapp — wheeler-dealing, unfailingly cheerful, utterly at home in any situation — is the early bookies’ favourite. Scarlett Moffatt, who made a bigger impression on Gogglebox than she ever did in the Australian camp, gets another shot. Adam Thomas brings Emmerdale credibility. Sir Mo Farah brings an Olympic gold medal and presumably excellent stamina for the trials.

Then there’s Gemma Collins, who lasted exactly three days in Australia in 2014 and has presumably been thinking about a rematch ever since. Also in the camp: Sinitta, Craig Charles, Jimmy Bullard and Seann Walsh. The field of fifteen is strong enough that whoever wins will have earned it. The show promises “epic and extreme trials”, which in practice means things that are unpleasant to watch and impossible to look away from. Catch up via ITVX.

Pilgrimage – The Road to Holy Island – BBC Two, 9pm

The walkers have reached Newcastle, and tonight’s visit to a Reform synagogue produces the standout scene of the series so far. Ashley Blaker grew up in an orthodox Jewish household — he’s since moved away from strict observance, but the liberal, inclusive atmosphere of the Reform congregation still hits a nerve. The gap between the two traditions is wide enough that his reaction is visceral, and it catches everyone off guard. Hasan Al-Habib’s perspective as an observant Muslim watching this unfold adds another layer. Concludes tomorrow. Full series on BBC iPlayer.

China with Ben Fogle – Channel 5, 9pm

Ben Fogle argues at the top of this new three-parter that most people in Britain have a very incomplete picture of what China actually is, and the first episode exists to make that argument stick. Within forty minutes he’s stood on the Great Wall, marvelled at the cyberpunk skyline of Shanghai, spoken to LGBTQ+ people about feeling free to be themselves, and taken a trip to Tiananmen Square where the atmosphere is noticeably different.

The contradictions are the point — ancient and futuristic, open and closed, vibrant and oppressive, sometimes within the same city block. Fogle is a steady presence for this sort of thing, curious without being wide-eyed, and China is complicated enough to sustain three hours of television without straining for material. Continues tomorrow. Catch up via My5.

Late Night

Caroline Walker: Women’s Work – BBC Four, 10pm

Scottish painter Caroline Walker’s work is about labour that doesn’t get noticed — the domestic, the medical, the caring. As she prepares for an exhibition, this documentary shows the process: how the paintings are made, who sits for them, and what the women in the pictures make of having their work recorded in oils rather than overlooked entirely. Several pieces deal with childbirth and early motherhood, showing the attention and care of medical staff during labour. First broadcast in Scotland. Catch up via BBC iPlayer.

Also Worth Noting

The Last Hunt for Nazi Gold (Sky History, 9pm) — Guy and Justine meet a miner with an unusual tunnel network, which takes the search somewhere new. The series has been better than the title might suggest.

Rooster (Sky One, 10pm) — Charly Clive’s Katie is in genuine free fall: dumped by her husband (also her colleague), who is now expecting a baby with a student. The kind of storyline that would seem too much in a drama but lands in a comedy.

The Viewing Schedule

What’s On Streaming

ITVX: I’m a Celebrity… South Africa, Emmerdale
BBC iPlayer: Babies, Ronan Keating’s Wild Atlantic, Mastermind, University Challenge, Pilgrimage: The Road to Holy Island, Caroline Walker: Women’s Work
Channel 4 streaming: The Dog House, Château DIY
My5: China with Ben Fogle
U: Dom Chinea’s Cornish Workshop

Frequently Asked Questions

Is EastEnders on tonight (Monday 6 April 2026)?

No, EastEnders doesn’t air on Easter Monday. The Bank Holiday means the soap is off today — it normally runs Monday to Thursday on BBC One. Catch up on anything you’ve missed on BBC iPlayer.

Is Emmerdale on Easter Monday 6 April 2026?

Yes, Emmerdale is on ITV1 at 8pm tonight. Rhona Goskirk is caught between her husband Marlon Dingle and the very much not-dead Graham Foster. Marlon follows Rhona to Home Farm and sees rather more than he wanted to. Catch up via ITVX.

What time is I’m a Celebrity South Africa on ITV1 tonight?

I’m a Celebrity… South Africa is on ITV1 at 9pm tonight (Monday 6 April 2026). This is the second all-stars series, with fifteen returning campmates in the South African wilderness. The grand final will be broadcast live from London, with viewers able to vote. Catch up via ITVX.

What time is Babies on BBC One tonight?

Babies is on BBC One at 9pm tonight (Monday 6 April 2026), with Paapa Essiedu and Siobhán Cullen as a couple dealing with unexplained miscarriages. Amanda’s storyline also takes a turn. The series continues tomorrow at 9pm. Full series on BBC iPlayer.

What new series start on Easter Monday?

Two new series begin tonight. Ronan Keating’s Wild Atlantic starts on BBC Two at 6:30pm — five nightly episodes following Keating along Ireland’s Atlantic coast, opening in Cork. China with Ben Fogle opens on Channel 5 at 9pm, beginning a three-part journey through China. Both are worth watching.

What’s the best thing to watch on TV tonight?

The standout is I’m a Celebrity… South Africa on ITV1 at 9pm — it’s the biggest entertainment event of Easter Monday, and the all-stars cast is strong. For drama, Babies on BBC One at 9pm is one of the best things on British television right now, and if you haven’t started it, tonight is a good night to catch up on iPlayer before this episode airs.

Will I’m a Celebrity South Africa have a live final?

Yes. Most of the series is pre-recorded in South Africa, but the grand final is broadcast live from London, giving viewers the chance to vote for the winner. The show opens tonight (Monday 6 April 2026) at 9pm on ITV1.

What drama is on TV tonight (Monday 6 April 2026)?

Babies is on BBC One at 9pm — Paapa Essiedu and Siobhán Cullen continue as Stephen and Lisa dealing with unexplained miscarriages, while Amanda (Charlotte Riley) discovers something about Dave (Jack Bannon) she knows will hurt the people she cares about. Emmerdale airs on ITV1 at 8pm, with Marlon Dingle following Rhona to Home Farm after Graham Foster’s return. Both continue on their usual channels’ catch-up services.

What’s on Channel 5 tonight (Monday 6 April 2026)?

China with Ben Fogle launches on Channel 5 at 9pm tonight. Ben Fogle opens a three-part journey through China, standing on the Great Wall, marvelling at Shanghai’s cyberpunk skyline, speaking to LGBTQ+ people about personal freedom, and noting the different atmosphere at Tiananmen Square. Continues tomorrow. Catch up via My5.

Final Verdict

I’m a Celebrity… South Africa is the event of Easter Monday. The first all-stars series in 2023 proved the format held up with returning campmates, and this second version has an even stronger field. Harry Redknapp has always been one of the format’s great naturals — curious, funny, utterly impossible to dislike — and having Gemma Collins back for a proper run rather than her three-day cameo in 2014 is the wildcard the series needed. Ant and Dec are on comfortable ground, the South African setting looks good, and the live final gives the whole thing genuine stakes.

Babies at 9pm on BBC One is the drama of the week, possibly the month. Essiedu and Cullen are extraordinary together, and the show has found a way to make grief and disappointment feel like something other than an endurance test. If you’re not watching it, you should be.

Ronan Keating’s Wild Atlantic is the pleasant surprise of the night. Put it on at 6:30pm on BBC Two and see if the Irish coast and a genuine personal story don’t make for better television than you were expecting.

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