TV Guide UK Tonight: Sat 16 May 2026 – Eurovision Grand Final, FA Cup Final & Monsieur Spade

Updated: 13 May 2026

Saturday 16 May 2026. Two huge live events on the same Saturday. The Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final lands on BBC One at 8pm from Vienna, with Graham Norton on commentary and the UK fielding Look Mum No Computer’s electro-pop oddity Eins, Zwei, Drei. Earlier, the FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester City kicks off at 3pm, the first time these two clubs have ever met in the final. After the singing, Monsieur Spade continues on U&Drama, and BBC Four has German classroom thriller The Teachers’ Lounge at 9pm.

Quick Picks: Tonight’s Best

• Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final 2026 ⭐ — BBC One, 8pm — Live from Vienna. Graham Norton. The 70th edition
• FA Cup Final: Chelsea v Manchester City — BBC One, 2pm (k/o 3pm) — Wembley. Pep’s eighth title or McFarlane’s miracle?
• Monsieur Spade — U&Drama, 9pm — Episode 2. Clive Owen, six dead nuns, southern France
• The Teachers’ Lounge — BBC Four, 9pm — German staffroom drama. Leonie Benesch is superb
• Angela Rippon’s River Cruises — Channel 5, 8pm — Salzburg, smoked beer in Bamberg
• World’s Most Secret Hotels — Channel 4, 8pm — A crane in Hamburg, a Utah trailer park, Scottish Highlands aluminium

Sport

Football: Scottish Premiership – Celtic v Hearts – Sky Sports Main Event, 11:30am (k/o 12:30pm)

The headline fixture of the final day of the Scottish Premiership season. Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football from 11:30am, kick-off 12:30pm.

Athletics: Diamond League – BBC Two, 12 noon

The 2026 Diamond League season opens in Shaoxing, China. BBC Two from midday.

Football: FA Cup Final – Chelsea v Manchester City – BBC One, 2pm (k/o 3pm)

The first FA Cup final ever contested between these two clubs. Manchester City arrive trying to lift the trophy for an eighth time, having lost the last two finals, and on what could be Pep Guardiola’s final match at Wembley. Chelsea, midway through a rollercoaster campaign under fresh-faced interim manager Calum McFarlane, look short on confidence after a difficult run. BBC One coverage from 2pm. Also live on TNT Sports 1 from 1pm. Highlights on BBC One at 12:10am.

Early Evening

Celebrity Bridge of Lies – BBC One, 5:55pm

Four soap regulars take the bridge tonight, with Perry Fenwick (Albert Square), Sue Cleaver (Weatherfield), Rebecca Sarker (Emmerdale) and Nick Pickard (Hollyoaks). Plenty of practice at fibbing on screen, though that won’t necessarily translate to this format. Ross Kemp presides. Catch up via BBC iPlayer.

Britain’s Got Talent – ITV1, 6pm

Fourth live semi-final, with another wave of acts hoping the public vote sends them through to the final. Ant and Dec host. Catch up via ITVX.

Blankety Blank – BBC One, 6:55pm

Bradley Walsh hosts. The latest panel mug for the cameras and trade gentle jokes ahead of the big-event evening. Catch up via BBC iPlayer.

Prime Time

Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final 2026 ⭐ – BBC One, 8pm

The headline event of the night, no contest. Live from Vienna, the 70th edition brings the usual key-changes, jury-pause chaos, and Graham Norton’s commentary box quietly stealing the show. The UK is represented this year by Look Mum No Computer (the alter-ego of musician Simon Battle), whose entry Eins, Zwei, Drei leans hard into Europop with a self-aware lyric about escaping the country and “munchin’ roly poly with custard”. After a string of underwhelming UK results, it’s at least an interesting swing. Boy George performs for San Marino, Delta Goodrem represents Australia, and Finland are the bookies’ favourites. A handful of countries (Slovenia, the Netherlands, Iceland, Spain and Ireland) have stepped back from this year’s contest over Israel’s participation, which adds a heavier note to proceedings. Three and a half hours, free on BBC iPlayer.

Angela Rippon’s River Cruises – Channel 5, 8pm

Angela’s Danube journey heads to Mozart’s birthplace, Salzburg, where she samples local chocolate, attempts the Schuhplattler folk dance and (gamely) carries it off. From there it’s on to Nuremberg, the medieval town rebuilt postwar as a city of peace and human rights, and Bamberg, where she tries the city’s distinctive smoked beer. Later episodes will move further afield, to the Mekong in Cambodia. Catch up via 5 streaming.

World’s Most Secret Hotels – Channel 4, 8pm

Tonight’s tour is properly varied. There’s a South African reserve that’s tilted its safaris away from big game and towards rare flora; a Kent train station with Pullman carriages now serving as luxury bedrooms; a hotel suspended inside a working crane overlooking Hamburg docklands; an aluminium-clad pilot house in the Scottish Highlands; and a Utah trailer park you wouldn’t normally associate with luxury. Catch up via Channel 4 streaming.

Sophie: The Royal Family’s Hidden Gem – Channel 5, 9pm

Channel 5’s royal documentary mill turns its attention to Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, who joined the firm in 1999 and has quietly become one of its more reliable members. She was reputedly the late Queen Elizabeth II’s favourite daughter-in-law. Vanessa Feltz hosts, with historian Tessa Dunlop and biographer Sean Smith contributing. Familiar territory, but watchable. Catch up via 5 streaming.

Monsieur Spade – U&Drama, 9pm

Episode 2 of the AMC drama that imagines what Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade would be doing in retirement in the south of France. The answer, courtesy of Clive Owen at his most weary and watchful, is: trying to stay out of it, and failing badly. The murder of six nuns has the village of Bozouls reeling, with police chief Patrice growing fanatically territorial and hints of Second World War atrocities surfacing. There’s an unexplained gunshot, a homicidal monk, and a boy who may be the key to the whole thing. Spade gets pulled in. Catch up via U.

The Teachers’ Lounge – BBC Four, 9pm

A 12-rated 2022 German drama from director İlker Çatak that punches well above its weight. Leonie Benesch plays Carla, a new teacher who takes it upon herself to investigate a string of staffroom thefts, a decision that very quickly escalates beyond her control. Çatak has said he wrote the role with Benesch in mind, having tracked her work since The White Ribbon (2009), and that he gave himself a rule on set: if a scene contained no conflict, it was cut. Plays out like a low-key thriller. Catch up via BBC iPlayer.

Late Night

Their Finest – BBC Two, 10pm

A second handsome 12-rated film of the night, this one Lone Scherfig’s 2016 wartime tale starring Gemma Arterton as a budding screenwriter writing morale-boosting propaganda films during the Blitz. Bill Nighy is exactly the actor you want as the chronically self-absorbed leading man whose declining career she’s quietly rescuing. Sad, funny, neatly observed. Catch up via BBC iPlayer.

Saturday Night Live UK – Sky One, 10pm

Ncuti Gatwa hosts the final episode of the current run, with Holly Humberstone providing the music slot. The series returns later in the year.

MOTD: FA Cup Final Highlights – BBC One, 12:10am

Match of the Day with the day’s only real headline: FA Cup final highlights, condensed for anyone who chose Eurovision over Wembley.

The Viewing Schedule

What’s On Streaming

BBC iPlayer: Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final, FA Cup Final, Blankety Blank, Celebrity Bridge of Lies, The Teachers’ Lounge, Their Finest, MOTD: FA Cup Final Highlights
Channel 4 streaming: World’s Most Secret Hotels
ITVX: Britain’s Got Talent
5 streaming: Angela Rippon’s River Cruises, Sophie: The Royal Family’s Hidden Gem
U: Monsieur Spade
Sky / Now: Saturday Night Live UK, Scottish Premiership
TNT Sports: FA Cup Final (alternative coverage)

Frequently Asked Questions

What time is the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final 2026 on BBC One tonight?

The Grand Final is live on BBC One from 8pm tonight (Saturday 16 May 2026), broadcasting from Vienna. The UK is represented by Look Mum No Computer (Simon Battle) performing Eins, Zwei, Drei, with Graham Norton on commentary. Catch up via BBC iPlayer.

What time is the FA Cup Final on BBC One tonight?

The FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester City is live on BBC One from 2pm (kick-off 3pm). It’s also on TNT Sports 1 from 1pm. The highlights show MOTD: FA Cup Final Highlights follows at 12:10am.

Is EastEnders on TV tonight (Saturday 16 May 2026)?

No, EastEnders is not on tonight. The soap runs Monday to Thursday on BBC One. New episodes return on Monday 18 May at 7:30pm. Catch up via BBC iPlayer.

Who is the UK entry for Eurovision 2026?

The UK’s 2026 Eurovision entry is Look Mum No Computer (the stage name of solo artist Simon Battle), performing the electro-pop track Eins, Zwei, Drei. Graham Norton provides BBC One commentary live from Vienna.

What time is Monsieur Spade on tonight?

Monsieur Spade Episode 2 is on U&Drama at 9pm tonight. Clive Owen stars as the retired American detective drawn into a six-nun murder investigation in 1963 Bozouls. Catch up via U.

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

The Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final on BBC One at 8pm: three and a half hours of pure pop spectacle from Vienna. Before that, the FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Manchester City at 3pm. Monsieur Spade continues on U&Drama at 9pm.

Final Verdict

Eurovision on BBC One at 8pm is the obvious must-watch: a 70th-edition Grand Final, live from Vienna, and the UK at least sending something genuinely different in Eins, Zwei, Drei. Before then, the FA Cup Final at 3pm, Chelsea v Manchester City, first time at Wembley between them. After Eurovision finally winds down, Monsieur Spade Episode 2 on U&Drama at 9pm or The Teachers’ Lounge on BBC Four.

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