TV Guide UK Tonight: Sat 19 Sept 2026 – Strictly Come Dancing, Wisdom of the Crowd & Shang-Chi

Published: 16 September 2026

Saturday 19 September 2026. It’s the biggest night of the TV year for BBC One: Strictly Come Dancing launches live at 7.25pm under a completely new hosting team, with Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman both gone and Emma Willis, Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdicombe sharing the job between them. ITV1 counters with The Voice UK at 6.10pm and Win Win at 7.25pm, while Channel 4 has Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings at 9.15pm and Channel 5 launches Buckingham Palace: A Year in the Life at the same time. BBC Two devotes its evening to a Dolly Parton tribute season from 9.15pm. EastEnders isn’t on — it’s a weekday show.

Quick Picks: Tonight’s Best

• Strictly Come Dancing BBC One, 7.25pm. Live launch night with three brand-new hosts and no safety net.
• Wisdom of the Crowd BBC One, 9.15pm. New quiz series with John Bishop.
• Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Channel 4, 9.15pm. Marvel’s origin story for its first Asian lead.
• Dolly Parton Night BBC Two, from 9.15pm. A tribute season built around her 2014 Glastonbury set.
• EastEnders is not on tonight — it returns Monday at 7.30pm.

Early Evening

The Voice UK – ITV1, 6.10pm

A new episode, though one filmed well before this year’s coaching reshuffle made headlines, so Tom Jones is still turning his chair as normal. There’s something slightly odd about watching a show already overtaken by news of its own future, but the blind auditions themselves haven’t lost any of their appeal.

Titanic’s Tragic Twin: HMS Britannic – Channel 5, 6.35pm

Kate Humble and Andy Torbet head down to the wreck of Titanic’s sister ship, sunk while serving as a hospital vessel during the First World War. Less famous than her sibling by a wide margin, but arguably a sadder story: a ship built to save lives, lost while doing exactly that.

The Celebrity Inner Circle – BBC One, 6.40pm

Alan Carr keeps order as five famous faces, including Kym Marsh, Rita Simons, Chris Hughes, Mike Bushell and Thanyia Moore, try to sniff out how much prize money their rivals are quietly sitting on. It’s a simple enough premise but the paranoia it generates among people who clearly know each other well is most of the fun.

The Day After Tomorrow – Channel 4, 6.55pm

Roland Emmerich’s 2004 disaster film gets an early evening outing, Dennis Quaid’s climatologist racing against a sudden global freeze to reach his son in New York. Silly in places, but the ice-age set pieces still land, and it’s the sort of film that’s genuinely improved by a big TV and a bag of crisps rather than any pretension to being taken seriously.

Win Win with People’s Postcode Lottery – ITV1, 7.25pm

Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins keep the tone light on this interactive quiz, where viewers at home can play along for a shot at the prize pot alongside the studio contestants. Comfortable, low-stakes Saturday filler that knows exactly what it is.

Strictly Come Dancing – BBC One, 7.25pm ⭐

This is the one everyone’s talking about. Strictly returns live tonight with genuinely no safety net: Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman have both left after more than a decade fronting the show, replaced by Emma Willis, Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdicombe sharing hosting duties between them for the first time. Unlike a pre-recorded format shake-up elsewhere, there’s no editing room to smooth over an awkward handover if the chemistry doesn’t click straight away.

The celebrity line-up is a proper mixed bag this year, from athlete Tabby Stoecker and Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey to EastEnders’ own Lacey Turner and Jaime Winstone, hairstylist Chris Appleton and singer Delta Goodrem. Whether the story tonight ends up being about the dancing or about how three new hosts cope with live television is genuinely up in the air, and that uncertainty is exactly what makes it worth watching.

Why Ships Sink: The Zeebrugge Disaster of ’87 – Channel 5, 7.45pm

A sober look back at the capsizing of the Herald of Free Enterprise off Zeebrugge, one of the worst peacetime disasters to befall a British ferry. Handled with more restraint than the channel’s usual disaster-doc house style.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – ITV2, from 8pm

The second Potter film gets a proper evening slot after Philosopher’s Stone earlier in the day, paused briefly for a short FYI Daily bulletin around 9pm before picking straight back up. Comfort viewing for anyone who’s seen it a dozen times already.

The 1% Club – ITV1, 8.25pm

Lee Mack’s logic-puzzle quiz does its usual trick of thinning out a big studio crowd with questions that get progressively nastier as the correct-answer percentage drops. Reliably good fun, and the format rarely outstays its welcome.

Prime Time

Paris Police 1910 – BBC Four, 9pm

French period crime drama returns to BBC Four with two episodes back to back, Jérémie Laheurte’s detective Antoine Jouin pulled into a case loosely inspired by a real Belle Époque scandal involving a society hostess and a double murder. Handsomely shot, unhurried, and a genuine change of pace from the channel’s usual archive-heavy Saturday.

Braveheart – Film4, 9pm

Mel Gibson’s Oscar-sweeping account of William Wallace’s rebellion against English rule remains one of the most repeated films on terrestrial television, and it’s easy to see why: three hours of proper old-fashioned spectacle that still holds up, freedom speech included.

Celebrity Gogglebox – E4, 9pm

Famous pairs take a turn on the sofa-critic format, reacting to the week’s television with considerably less self-awareness than you’d expect from people used to being watched themselves.

Fifty Shades of Grey – 5Star, 9pm

The first film in the franchise gets a Saturday-night outing, split by a short news bulletin around 10pm before resuming for its second half. Not exactly critically adored on release, but it clearly still pulls an audience or it wouldn’t keep getting repeated.

Not Going Out – Dave, 9pm

A double bill of the long-running sitcom, Lee Mack and Sally Bretton still trading barbs over the everyday chaos of family life. Dependable rather than essential, but that’s fine for a Saturday night rerun.

Wisdom of the Crowd – BBC One, 9.15pm

New series hosted by John Bishop, built on a neat bit of behavioural theory: a contestant guesses the answer to an estimation question, the studio audience guesses too, and whoever’s closer wins the money. Get it right and you walk off with £10,000; get it wrong and the cash goes into a shared pot for the crowd. Bishop’s easy, unforced manner is a good fit for a format that lives or dies on keeping the room warm between rounds.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – Channel 4, 9.15pm

Marvel’s 2021 attempt at a proper origin story for its first Asian lead character, with Simu Liu’s low-key martial artist dragged back into the criminal empire run by his own father, played with real menace by Tony Leung. The character has an awkward history in the Marvel comics as the son of a pulp-fiction villain built on old racist stereotypes, and this film quietly drops all of that baggage rather than trying to explain it away. Comes after Avengers: Endgame in the studio’s own internal chronology, for anyone tracking that sort of thing.

Buckingham Palace: A Year in the Life – Channel 5, 9.15pm

New series going behind the scenes at a palace that now functions more like a ceremonial headquarters than a full-time home. Expect Trooping the Colour preparations, garden party logistics and the run-up to the birthday honours list, with the kind of small human moments — nervous investiture guests, staff quietly managing the chaos — that make this sort of access documentary worth the licence fee.

Dolly Parton Night – BBC Two, from 9.15pm

A fitting tribute season following her death last month, opening with her now-legendary 2014 Glastonbury headline set, one of the festival’s most talked-about bookings in years. It runs into a documentary on her friendships with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, and closes with a trawl through her BBC archive appearances across five decades. Three hours that make the case for her as one of the format’s great survivors, on her own terms, without ever chasing cool.

Romesh Ranganathan’s Parents’ Evening – ITV1, 9.25pm

Romesh Ranganathan sits down with well-known parents for conversations that steer away from the usual promotional chat towards how they actually raise their kids. His deadpan delivery keeps it from ever getting too soft-focus.

Late Night

Vera – ITV3, 10pm

A repeat outing for the Northumberland detective drama, Brenda Blethyn as watchable as ever in the coat and hat, working through another slow-burn case against a bleak coastal backdrop.

Match of the Day – BBC One, 10.20pm

Gary Lineker rounds up the day’s Premier League action, including Nottingham Forest’s home game against Coventry City, in the usual highlights package. Still the closest thing British football has to a Saturday-night institution of its own.

Sisters in Country: Dolly, Linda and Emmylou – BBC Two, 10.25pm

The second part of BBC Two’s tribute night, tracing the friendship and musical partnership between Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, three of country music’s most distinctive voices working together across several decades.

Rush Hour 3 – ITV1, 10.35pm

The buddy-cop franchise’s third and, as it turned out, final outing sends Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan to Paris chasing down a Triad conspiracy. Weaker than the first two, but the two leads’ chemistry still papers over most of the plot’s shortcuts.

When TV Favourites Goes Horribly Wrong – Channel 5, 10.40pm

A clips compilation of broadcasting mishaps and on-air disasters, the sort of programme that exists entirely to be half-watched while you check your phone.

Sport

Saturday is the busiest sporting day of the week and this one is no exception. The PGA Championship occupies Sky Sports Golf from 9am, with BBC Two carrying a highlights package at 7.30pm for anyone who’d rather have the day condensed into an hour. In the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa kicks off at 12.30pm on TNT Sports 1, and Nottingham Forest v Coventry City follows at 5.30pm on Sky Sports Main Event. BBC Two also has Women’s Super League football at 12.15pm, with Charlton Athletic hosting London City Lionesses, then Warrington Wolves v Hull KR in the rugby league at 5.15pm. England’s T20 against Sri Lanka starts at 2.30pm on Sky Sports Cricket, and if you miss it there are highlights in the small hours on BBC Two at 1.10am. And the evening closes the way Saturdays are supposed to: Match of the Day at 10.20pm.

Tonight by Channel

A channel-by-channel breakdown of Saturday 19 September 2026, so you can jump straight to the one you actually watch.

BBC One

• 6.40pm — The Celebrity Inner Circle
• 7.25pm — Strictly Come Dancing
• 9.15pm — Wisdom of the Crowd
• 10.20pm — Match of the Day

BBC Two

• 12.15pm — Women’s Super League: Charlton Athletic v London City Lionesses
• 5.15pm — Rugby League: Warrington Wolves v Hull KR
• 7.30pm — Golf: PGA Championship Highlights 2026
• 9.15pm — Dolly Parton Night
• 10.25pm — Sisters in Country: Dolly, Linda and Emmylou

ITV1

• 6.10pm — The Voice UK
• 7.25pm — Win Win with People’s Postcode Lottery
• 8.25pm — The 1% Club
• 9.25pm — Romesh Ranganathan’s Parents’ Evening
• 10.35pm — Rush Hour 3

Channel 4

• 6.55pm — The Day After Tomorrow
• 9.15pm — Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Channel 5

• 6.35pm — Titanic’s Tragic Twin: HMS Britannic
• 7.45pm — Why Ships Sink: The Zeebrugge Disaster of ’87
• 9.15pm — Buckingham Palace: A Year in the Life
• 10.40pm — When TV Favourites Goes Horribly Wrong

Sky Sports Main Event

• 2.30pm — Cricket: England v Sri Lanka
• 5.30pm — Football: Nottingham Forest v Coventry City

The Viewing Schedule

What’s On Streaming

• BBC iPlayer: Strictly Come Dancing, The Celebrity Inner Circle, Wisdom of the Crowd, Dolly Parton Night, Paris Police 1910, Match of the Day
• ITVX: The Voice UK, Win Win with People’s Postcode Lottery, The 1% Club, Romesh Ranganathan’s Parents’ Evening, Rush Hour 3
• Channel 4 streaming: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, The Day After Tomorrow, Renfield
• My5: Buckingham Palace: A Year in the Life, Titanic’s Tragic Twin: HMS Britannic, Why Ships Sink

Frequently Asked Questions

Is EastEnders on tonight (Saturday 19 September 2026)?

No. EastEnders is a Monday-to-Thursday show on BBC One, so it doesn’t air on Saturdays at all. The next new episode is Monday 21 September at 7.30pm.

What time is Strictly Come Dancing on tonight?

Strictly Come Dancing is live on BBC One from 7.25pm tonight, the first show of a new era with a completely different hosting line-up.

Who are the new hosts of Strictly Come Dancing?

Emma Willis, Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdicombe take over hosting duties tonight, following the departures of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, with the format adjusted to share the job between three people instead of two.

What’s the best thing to watch on TV tonight (Saturday 19 September 2026)?

Strictly Come Dancing’s live launch on BBC One at 7.25pm is the story of the night, given the wholesale change of hosts, with Wisdom of the Crowd’s new series at 9.15pm the pick of the rest.

What live sport is on TV tonight (Saturday 19 September 2026)?

Nottingham Forest host Coventry City in the Premier League on Sky Sports from 5.30pm kick-off, with England playing Sri Lanka in a men’s T20 international on Sky Sports Cricket from 2.30pm and Warrington facing Hull KR in Super League’s elimination play-offs earlier in the day.

What time is Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on Channel 4?

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is on Channel 4 at 9.15pm tonight, Marvel’s 2021 film starring Simu Liu as its first Asian lead character.

What channel is Match of the Day on tonight?

Match of the Day is on BBC One at 10.20pm tonight, rounding up Saturday’s Premier League fixtures including Nottingham Forest against Coventry City.

What’s on Channel 5 tonight?

Channel 5 has Titanic’s Tragic Twin: HMS Britannic at 6.35pm, followed by Why Ships Sink at 7.45pm and the new series Buckingham Palace, A Year in the Life at 9.15pm.

What film is on TV tonight?

The pick of the films is Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on Channel 4 at 9.15pm, with Braveheart on Film4 and The Day After Tomorrow on Channel 4 earlier at 6.55pm also on offer.

Is The Voice UK a new episode tonight?

Yes, ITV1 has a new episode at 6.10pm, though it’s from the batch filmed last summer, before this year’s coaching line-up changes were announced, so Tom Jones is still coaching as normal.

Final Verdict

Strictly Come Dancing‘s live launch is the only thing that matters tonight — three new hosts, zero safety net, and a genuine chance it could go either way. Wisdom of the Crowd is a solid new addition to BBC One’s Saturday line-up, and Shang-Chi gives Channel 4 a proper blockbuster to counter with. Dolly Parton Night on BBC Two is worth dipping into even if you’re not staying for all three hours. EastEnders returns Monday at 7.30pm.

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