TV Guide UK Tonight: Sat 18 Jul 2026 – Wicked Little Letters, World Cup Play-Off & Casualty

Updated: 9 August 2026

Saturday 18 July 2026. Channel 4 gives Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley’s poison-pen comedy Wicked Little Letters its first terrestrial outing at 9pm, and it’s the clear pick of a genuinely stacked Saturday. Sport shares top billing: England close out their Nations Championship summer away to Argentina on ITV1 from 7:30pm (kick-off 8:10pm), and the World Cup third-place play-off follows on BBC One from 9:30pm (kick-off 10pm). Add a Casualty episode built around Dylan’s estranged father and Channel 4’s must-watch has real competition. One thing that’s off the schedule tonight: EastEnders doesn’t air on Saturdays.

Quick Picks: Tonight’s Best

• Wicked Little Letters ⭐ Channel 4, 9pm. Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley in the terrestrial premiere of the 2023 poison-pen comedy.
• England v Argentina (Rugby) ITV1, 7:30pm (kick-off 8:10pm). England round off their Nations Championship summer in Santiago del Estero.
• World Cup: Third-Place Play-Off BBC One, 9:30pm (kick-off 10pm). Live from Miami, the day before Sunday’s final.
• Casualty BBC One, 8:20pm. Dylan’s estranged father resurfaces with a revelation that changes everything.
• The Sentinels BBC Four, 9pm. French wartime sci-fi drama reaches its midpoint.
• EastEnders isn’t on tonight — the soap only airs Monday to Thursday, so there’s no episode this evening.

Early Evening

Alan Carr’s Picture Slam – BBC One, 6:05pm

A new series of Alan Carr’s picture-based quiz kicks off the evening, sending three pairs racing through four rounds of visual puzzles for a shot at a £10,000 Super Slam. Tonight’s line-up pairs a couple of mates from London against cousins from South Wales and a couple from Motherwell, and the format’s pace does most of the work — there’s barely time to catch your breath between rounds. BBC iPlayer.

Pointless Celebrities – BBC One, 6:50pm

The celebrity edition returns with a genuinely eclectic panel: broadcaster Gavin Ramjaun, journalist Sally Magnusson, reality star Pete Wicks, Vicky Pattison, food critic Jay Rayner, chef Thomasina Miers, and Love Island alumnae Remel London and London Hughes. As ever, the fun is in watching famous faces sweat over questions they’d normally answer without thinking. BBC iPlayer.

Dad’s Army – BBC Two, 7pm

BBC Two dips back into the archive for a repeat of the beloved Home Guard sitcom. This one finds Mainwaring and Wilson caught inside the bank as an air raid gets under way and an unwelcome visitor makes things considerably worse, dragging Pike, Frazer and Godfrey into the chaos. It’s not shown in Northern Ireland or Wales tonight, but everywhere else it’s a reliable slice of Saturday comfort viewing. BBC iPlayer.

The Weakest Link – BBC One, 7:35pm

Romesh Ranganathan hosts another celebrity edition, and this week’s bank includes Joe Pasquale, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Charlotte Crosby, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Sandro Farmhouse, Helen McGinn, Russell Watson and Beth Tweddle. Ranganathan’s dry put-downs remain the format’s biggest upgrade on the Anne Robinson years — sharper, funnier, and somehow still merciless. BBC iPlayer.

Prime Time

Alexander Armstrong Across America – Channel 5, 8pm

The last episode of the series brings Xander’s coast-to-coast trip to a close in Florida, taking in Miami’s speedboats and pastel-coloured skyline, a detour into the Everglades, and a Gulf Coast stretch full of people who’ve reinvented themselves somewhere sunnier. A gentle, likeable way to end a run that’s covered a lot of ground. Channel 5 streaming.

Casualty – BBC One, 8:20pm ⭐

Dylan’s estranged father Brian, now living in a nursing home, resurfaces after years of silence, and the timing couldn’t be worse: a parallel discovery that Matty is biologically Dylan’s own son forces two reckonings at once. It’s the kind of episode Casualty does well when it slows down and lets William Beck carry the weight of a plotline rather than rushing it through a single scene. BBC iPlayer.

The Sentinels – BBC Four, 9pm & 9:40pm

This subtitled French drama hits its midpoint with a double bill. Believing her husband Gabriel dead, Irène starts digging into what really happened to him, unaware he’s secretly become the superhuman soldier the army’s General Staff has now been ordered to eliminate. The steampunk touches stay in the background here, which suits a story that’s really about a marriage built on a lie neither side chose. BBC iPlayer, with the full run continuing on the service.

Wicked Little Letters – Channel 4, 9pm ⭐

The 2023 comedy gets its first terrestrial airing tonight, and it more than earns the slot. Olivia Colman plays Edith Swan, a devoutly proper Littlehampton spinster, opposite Jessie Buckley as Rose Gooding, her foul-mouthed Irish neighbour and the prime suspect once a wave of obscene anonymous letters starts landing on doorsteps across the 1920s seaside town. Timothy Spall adds friction as Edith’s controlling father, and director Thea Sharrock keeps the tone light without ever losing sight of the real 1920s case the story’s loosely drawn from. Colman and Buckley are a genuinely great double act, trading insults with a rhythm that never once feels like a stunt. Channel 4 streaming.

Late Night

TOTP: Big Hits 2001 – BBC Two, 10pm

An archive Top of the Pops compilation pulls together some of 2001’s biggest chart moments — Blue, Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me”, Gorillaz and So Solid Crew among them — followed at 11pm by a companion look back at how the show itself was changing that year. Pure nostalgia, and better for it.

The Black Forest Murders – BBC Four, 10:25pm & 11:10pm

The German crime drama wraps up its run with a double bill finale. Detective Kramer, played by Nina Kunzendorf, ties a second death to an unsolved case across the Austrian border just as her superiors move to downsize her team, leaving her racing the clock as much as the killer. A tense, unshowy way to close things out. BBC iPlayer.

Later still, Schitt’s Creek reruns continue on BBC Three from 11:55pm, while Sky One’s Animal Control has been running since mid-afternoon for anyone after something lighter earlier in the day.

Sport

Terrestrial viewers get an unusually strong night. ITV1 rounds off England’s Nations Championship summer with coverage of Argentina v England from Santiago del Estero, starting at 7:30pm ahead of an 8:10pm kick-off — a tough away fixture to close out a campaign that’s shown England in seriously good form. It’s followed later on BBC One by the World Cup third-place play-off, live from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens from 9:30pm (kick-off 10pm), setting up Sunday’s final at the same venue.

Away from Freeview, day three of The Open Championship continues from Royal Birkdale, with live coverage from around 11am on Sky Sports Golf and switching to Sky Sports Main Event from 4pm; BBC Two runs highlights at 8:30pm for anyone without a subscription. Earlier in the day, BBC One carried live coverage of the Diamond League athletics meeting from the London Stadium from 1pm.

The Viewing Schedule

What’s On Streaming

• BBC iPlayer: Alan Carr’s Picture Slam, Pointless Celebrities, Dad’s Army, The Weakest Link, Casualty, The Sentinels, TOTP: Big Hits 2001, TOTP: The Story of 2001, The Black Forest Murders
• ITVX: Argentina v England rugby
• Channel 4 streaming: Wicked Little Letters
• My5: Alexander Armstrong Across America

Frequently Asked Questions

Is EastEnders on tonight (Saturday 18 July 2026)?

No. EastEnders only broadcasts Monday to Thursday on BBC One at around 7:30pm and has no weekend slot, so there’s nothing new from Walford tonight. The next episode airs Monday.

What time is Wicked Little Letters on Channel 4?

Wicked Little Letters has its terrestrial premiere on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm. The 2023 comedy stars Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley and also streams on Channel 4 streaming from broadcast.

What time does the World Cup third-place play-off kick off?

BBC One’s coverage of the World Cup third-place play-off from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens starts at 9:30pm, with kick-off at 10pm. Sunday’s final follows on BBC One tomorrow.

What time is the Argentina v England rugby on ITV1?

ITV1’s coverage of England’s Nations Championship match away to Argentina in Santiago del Estero begins at 7:30pm, with kick-off at 8:10pm, rounding off England’s summer campaign.

What’s the best thing to watch on TV tonight (Saturday 18 July 2026)?

Wicked Little Letters on Channel 4 at 9pm is the standout, giving Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley’s poison-pen comedy its first terrestrial airing. For sport, England’s rugby on ITV1 from 7:30pm and the World Cup third-place play-off on BBC One from 9:30pm both make this an unusually strong night for Freeview viewers.

Final Verdict

Saturday 18 July is as close to a full house as terrestrial TV gets this summer. Wicked Little Letters on Channel 4 at 9pm is the night’s genuine event — Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley are worth building an evening around — but it’s not fighting an empty schedule. England’s rugby finale against Argentina on ITV1 from 7:30pm and the World Cup third-place play-off on BBC One from 9:30pm give sport fans just as strong a claim on the remote, and Casualty at 8:20pm quietly delivers one of its better episodes of the year. One thing tonight isn’t offering: EastEnders sits out Saturdays, so don’t go looking for it on BBC One.

Watch

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