TV Guide UK Tonight: Sat 4 Apr 2026 – The Boat Race, Bill Bailey’s Vietnam & FA Cup

Published: 2 April 2026

Saturday has a bit of everything. The Boat Race makes its historic Channel 4 debut after 99 years on the BBC — Clare Balding on the Thames from 1:30pm, with both races through the afternoon. Bill Bailey ends his Vietnam series in Ha Long Bay at 9pm on C4. Southampton v Arsenal is the FA Cup draw of the evening, live on BBC One from 7:30pm. Celebrity Sabotage has Monica Galetti running a fake cooking show while Jill Scott tries to ruin it from a secret room. Hidden Assets returns with a double bill on BBC Four from 9:35pm. And there’s a Lauren Price world title fight on BBC Two at 8pm if you want your boxing live and free. No EastEnders tonight — it doesn’t air on Saturdays.

Quick Picks: Tonight’s Best

• Bill Bailey’s Vietnam ⭐ — C4, 9pm — Series finale at Ha Long Bay. One of the better travel shows of the year, and this is the best episode
• FA Cup: Southampton v Arsenal — BBC One, 7:30pm (k/o 8pm) — The evening’s big match. Free on BBC One
• Celebrity Sabotage — ITV1, 8pm — Monica Galetti, Jill Scott, a fake cooking show, and gullible members of the public. Does what it says
• The Boat Race — C4, 1:30pm — History on the Thames. First time in 99 years it’s not on the BBC
• Hidden Assets — BBC Four, 9:35pm — Strong double bill of the Dublin-Bilbao crime drama
• Lauren Price v Piñeiro — BBC Two, 8pm — Welsh world champion defending her welterweight title, free to air

Daytime

Flaming Feasts — BBC One, 11:30am

Chris “Flamebaster” Roberts is back, and as ever he’s not messing around. This week he pitches up in Llanberis, the village at the foot of Mount Snowdon, where in 1954 the community celebrated the end of wartime rationing by roasting a whole cow for the village to share. Roberts pays tribute by attempting the same thing — a Welsh Black on a 30-hour fire cook using a bespoke steel barbecue he’s had built for the purpose. He meets some of the Llanberis residents who were there in 1954, which gives the episode an unexpected emotional core underneath all the fire and meat. The scale of ambition is mad, and it’s the kind of cooking show that makes you glad people like Roberts exist. Catch up via BBC iPlayer.

The Boat Race — Channel 4, 1:30pm

Here’s a genuine piece of British broadcasting history: for the first time since 1927, The Boat Race is not on the BBC. Channel 4 takes over with Clare Balding presenting, covering the women’s race at 2:21pm and the men’s at 3:21pm, both on the same river, the same four-mile stretch from Putney to Mortlake that it’s always been.

The BBC held broadcasting rights to this event since the corporation’s earliest days. The first radio broadcast came from the deck of a boat called the Magician in 1927, carrying half a ton of equipment just to transmit the race. Television arrived in 1938. Nearly a century on, Channel 4 gets its turn.

Cambridge are the team to beat in both races. The men have won six of the last seven; the women have won the last eight in a row. Oxford know they’re the underdogs but they’ll have heard that before. The event itself never really needs selling — it’s a boat race on the Thames, it’s been doing this for nearly two centuries, and the will to win is the same as it ever was. Catch up via Channel 4 streaming.

The Good Life: Inside Out — U&Gold, 4:15pm

A 2025 retrospective on the 1970s BBC sitcom that invented self-sufficiency for the British middle classes, featuring rare archive interviews with co-creators Bob Larbey and John Esmonde alongside cast members. The standout sequence is Dame Penelope Keith revisiting a recreation of Margo’s drawing room and handling her original costumes — there’s clearly a real affection for the character that goes well beyond nostalgia. Larbey’s summary of the show — “two people trying to make their life better without hurting anybody else” — is still the best description of it anyone has managed. Catch up via Now.

Death on the Nile — BBC Two, 4:50pm (PG)

The Peter Ustinov version, not the Kenneth Branagh one. Ustinov’s Poirot is a different animal altogether from Suchet’s — more playful, more social, less interested in letting the other characters feel the weight of his intelligence. This 1978 film was his first outing in the role, and he returned five more times because audiences responded to a warmth that the character doesn’t always get. The plot is among Christie’s cleverest — a murder mystery aboard a Nile steamer where the usual assumptions about motive and opportunity simply don’t apply in the ways you expect. If you’ve seen it before, you already know the trick. If you haven’t, make sure nobody tells you before you watch. Catch up via BBC iPlayer.

Prime Time

Britain’s Got Talent — ITV1, 6:45pm

The annual circus is back. Singers, magicians, acrobats, comedians, and people doing things with dogs that probably took eight months to train: all competing for a large cash prize and a slot at the Royal Variety Performance. The formula hasn’t changed much since 2007 and doesn’t need to. Catch up via ITVX.

Inside Britain’s National Parks — BBC Two, 7:05pm

Pembrokeshire this week, and it opens with the kind of moment that makes nature television worth watching: a climber called Steven abseils over a cliff edge to check on nesting choughs, then free-climbs back up from the beach. Just casually. The rest of the programme is more gently paced — ringing migratory birds, cutting back reed beds, monitoring grey seals — but no less good for it. Conservationist Cleopatra has been filming seals playing underwater and describes them as “the puppies of the sea,” which is exactly right and makes the footage even better. Catch up via BBC iPlayer.

Celebrity Sabotage — ITV1, 8pm

Another week, another unsuspecting group of people who think they’re competing in a real television show. The fictional format this time is called The Great Kitchen Cook Off, with chef Monica Galetti playing the host, doing her best to look like this is a straightforward cooking competition. It isn’t. From a secret headquarters, celebrity saboteurs — including a Jill Scott who very much doesn’t want to be there — are watching and scheming and trying to cause as much chaos in the fake kitchen as possible.

The show has a clever structural joke built in: the fake format they’re using to trick people could absolutely pass as a real show, which says something either about how good Celebrity Sabotage is at construction, or about the general state of Saturday night television, or possibly both. Catch up via ITVX.

FA Cup – Southampton v Arsenal ⭐ — BBC One, 7:30pm (k/o 8pm)

The biggest match of the evening and free to air on BBC One. Southampton and Arsenal meet in what is a significant FA Cup tie — Southampton, fighting their own battles this season, hosting one of the division’s big guns with a trip to Wembley in the prize. Arsenal will start as heavy favourites, but the Cup has a habit of making that irrelevance at a single venue on a single night.

Chelsea meet Port Vale earlier in the afternoon on BBC One from 5pm (k/o 5:15pm), with Manchester City v Liverpool on TNT Sports at 11:30am (k/o 12:45pm). It’s a proper FA Cup Saturday. All BBC One coverage is available on BBC iPlayer.

Lauren Price v Stephanie Piñeiro — BBC Two, 8pm

Welsh world champion Lauren Price defends her unified WBA, WBC and IBF welterweight title against Puerto Rico’s Stephanie Piñeiro in a live fight on BBC Two. Price is one of British boxing’s best stories — Olympic gold medallist turned professional world champion — and getting her fights on free-to-air television is exactly what the sport needs to build an audience. Whether Piñeiro provides a serious challenge is the question the fight will answer. Catch up via BBC iPlayer.

Late Night

Bill Bailey’s Vietnam — Channel 4, 9pm (LAST IN SERIES)

The series has saved its best location for last. Ha Long Bay, in northern Vietnam, is one of those places that photographs look too good to be real — limestone karsts rising out of emerald water, hundreds of islands in an archipelago that stretches across 1,500 square kilometres. Bailey is upfront about this: he says himself that being there in person makes everything he’s filmed look inadequate, which is both true and the kind of honest admission most travel presenters never make.

He spends time on one of the islands with a local fisherman, goes into the sculptural limestone caves, and is slightly less keen on the tourist boat activity that involves fish nibbling dead skin from your feet. Fair enough. The emotional note of the finale is his obvious affection for Vietnam as a whole — not just the scenery but the people he’s met throughout the series. Bill Bailey’s Thoughtifier stand-up show follows at 10pm on the same channel. Catch up via Channel 4 streaming.

Heated Rivalry — Sky Atlantic, from 8pm

Sky Atlantic is repeating the full run of this Canadian drama from 8pm, which is useful if you missed it in January or, more likely, if you watched it in January and want an excuse to go through the whole thing again. The setup: ice hockey stars Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov are professional rivals whose story dominates sports coverage over several years. What the press doesn’t know is that they’re also in a relationship. The show has been praised for the seriousness with which it handles both the sport and the politics of queerness in hockey — the different pressures on a Canadian and a Russian player are explored with care. If you haven’t seen it, 8pm on a Saturday is a reasonable place to start. Available via Now.

Hidden Assets — BBC Four, 9:35pm and 10:25pm

A double bill of the Irish-Spanish co-production that does something slightly unusual: Dublin detectives working a case in Bilbao, where many of the relevant witnesses and suspects are Irish ex-pats. It solves the language problem with an elegant device — DS Wallace (Nora-Jane Noone) uses a translation app on her phone to follow along with Spanish interviews in real time. It’s a small thing but it looks and feels right in a way that subtitles wouldn’t.

The bigger problem this week is an assassin who keeps getting in the way of the investigation and who has an implausible tolerance for serious physical injury. He’s the weakest element in an otherwise well-structured thriller, and the episode hints that his employers may be about to lose patience with him, which at least promises a more interesting threat next week. Full series available on BBC iPlayer.

That Summer! — Talking Pictures TV, 9:05pm

A curio worth catching if you’re awake at that hour: Harley Cokeliss’s 1979 drama, set in Torquay specifically because the director was looking for somewhere that had seen better days. Ray Winstone is in his film debut as Steve, a young man trying to build something after a youth detention stint. The plot is fairly standard kitchen-sink territory, but the soundtrack is not — Ian Dury, Elvis Costello and The Attractions, The Undertones and The Ramones playing from background radios and pub jukeboxes, capturing that particular late 1970s moment when punk had mutated into New Wave and nothing quite knew what it wanted to be yet. Catch up via TPTV Encore.

Also Worth Noting

Saturday Night Live UK (Sky One, 10pm) — Riz Ahmed hosts with music from Kasabian. SNL UK is still finding its feet but Ahmed is a compelling host and Kasabian on a Saturday night is never a bad time.

The Jonathan Ross Show (ITV1, 10pm) — Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, Katherine Ryan, and singer-songwriter Sienna Spiro. Scott Thomas alone is worth the hour. Catch up via ITVX.

Sport

Football: FA Cup — Three matches across the day. Manchester City v Liverpool kicks off at 12:45pm on TNT Sports. Chelsea v Port Vale on BBC One from 5pm (k/o 5:15pm). Southampton v Arsenal is the headline act on BBC One from 7:30pm (k/o 8pm), also on TNT. All BBC One matches available on iPlayer.

Rowing: The Boat Race — Channel 4, 1:30pm. Women’s race at 2:21pm, men’s race at 3:21pm. Historic first time on Channel 4 in 99 years.

Boxing: Lauren Price v Stephanie Piñeiro — BBC Two, 8pm. unified WBA, WBC and IBF welterweight world title fight. Free to air.

The Viewing Schedule

What’s On Streaming

BBC iPlayer: FA Cup football (Chelsea v Port Vale, Southampton v Arsenal), Inside Britain’s National Parks, Death on the Nile, Lauren Price boxing, Hidden Assets
Channel 4 streaming: The Boat Race, Bill Bailey’s Vietnam, Bill Bailey’s Thoughtifier
ITVX: Celebrity Sabotage, Britain’s Got Talent, The Jonathan Ross Show
Now: Heated Rivalry (Sky Atlantic), The Good Life: Inside Out (U&Gold)
TPTV Encore: That Summer!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is EastEnders on tonight (Saturday 4 April 2026)?

No, EastEnders does not air on Saturdays. It runs Monday to Thursday on BBC One. If you’ve missed any recent episodes, catch up on BBC iPlayer.

What time is The Boat Race on TV today?

The Boat Race is on Channel 4 from 1:30pm today (Saturday 4 April 2026). The women’s race starts at 2:21pm and the men’s race at 3:21pm. This is the first time in 99 years that The Boat Race has been broadcast on a channel other than the BBC. Clare Balding presents throughout. Catch up via Channel 4 streaming.

What time is the FA Cup on BBC One tonight?

Southampton v Arsenal kicks off at 8pm tonight on BBC One, with coverage from 7:30pm. Chelsea v Port Vale is also on BBC One earlier, with kick-off at 5:15pm (coverage from 5pm). Manchester City v Liverpool is on TNT Sports at 11:30am (k/o 12:45pm). BBC One FA Cup football is available on BBC iPlayer.

What time is Bill Bailey’s Vietnam on Channel 4 tonight?

Bill Bailey’s Vietnam is on Channel 4 at 9pm tonight (Saturday 4 April 2026). This is the final episode of the series, ending at Ha Long Bay. His stand-up show Bill Bailey’s Thoughtifier follows immediately at 10pm. Catch up via Channel 4 streaming.

What time is Celebrity Sabotage on ITV1 tonight?

Celebrity Sabotage is on ITV1 at 8pm tonight (Saturday 4 April 2026). Chef Monica Galetti plays the host of a fake cooking competition while Jill Scott and other celebrity saboteurs attempt to cause havoc from a secret headquarters. Catch up via ITVX.

What time is Hidden Assets on BBC Four tonight?

Hidden Assets is on BBC Four at 9:35pm and 10:25pm tonight (Saturday 4 April 2026). It’s a double bill of the Irish-Spanish crime drama, with Dublin detective DS Wallace (Nora-Jane Noone) investigating a financial crime case with Spanish colleagues in Bilbao. The full series is available on BBC iPlayer.

Where can I watch The Boat Race if I miss it live?

The Boat Race will be available to catch up on Channel 4 streaming after broadcast. Sign in for free on the Channel 4 website or app to watch on demand.

Final Verdict

Bill Bailey’s Vietnam is the pick of Saturday night. The series has been quietly one of the better travel programmes on television this year, and Ha Long Bay is the right place to end it — extraordinary to look at, and Bailey’s clear affection for the country gives the finale real emotional weight. Not to be missed if you’ve been watching.

The FA Cup is where the evening’s drama will be. Southampton v Arsenal on BBC One from 7:30pm is free to watch and will have a lot riding on it. The Boat Race in the afternoon gives the whole day a sporting backbone, and the historic move to Channel 4 makes 2026’s edition worth watching for reasons beyond just the racing.

Hidden Assets on BBC Four from 9:35pm is solid late-night crime drama with a clever structure, and the double bill makes it a proper night in if BBC Four is your thing.

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