TV Guide UK Tonight: Sat 9 May 2026 – Monte Cristo Finale, Simply Red Night & The Miracle Club

Published: 5 May 2026

Saturday 9 May 2026. A properly loaded Saturday. The Count of Monte Cristo wraps on BBC Four with a final double bill at 9pm and 9:50pm — episodes 3 and 4 of the lavish French adaptation. Simply Red Night on BBC Two from 8:45pm marks 40 years of Mick Hucknall. Earlier, The Miracle Club at 7:20pm BBC Two — Dame Maggie Smith’s final film. Casualty at 8:45pm, Blankety Blank 6:25pm, sport all day.

Quick Picks: Tonight’s Best

• The Count of Monte Cristo ⭐ — BBC Four, 9pm & 9:50pm — Series finale double bill. Pierre Niney. Don’t skip the ending
• The Miracle Club — BBC Two, 7:20pm — Maggie Smith’s final film. Kathy Bates, Laura Linney. Worth your evening
• Simply Red Night — BBC Two, 8:45pm — 40 years of Simply Red, archive clips plus a live Chile concert
• Monsieur Spade — U&Drama, 9pm — Clive Owen as Sam Spade, retired to 1963 France. Promising new series
• Blankety Blank — BBC One, 6:25pm — Julian Clary, Tom Allen, Liza Tarbuck, Judi Love. Bradley Walsh hosts
• Britain’s Got Talent — ITV1, 7pm — Third live semi-final. Ant & Dec

Sport

Football: Premier League – Liverpool v Chelsea – TNT Sports 1, 11am (k/o 12:30pm)

Liverpool host Chelsea in a Premier League midday kick-off. TNT Sports 1 from 11am.

Rugby Union: Women’s Six Nations – Italy v England – BBC Two, 1:30pm (k/o 2pm)

Italy take on England. BBC Two, kick-off 2pm.

Rugby League: Challenge Cup – St Helens v Wigan Warriors – BBC One, 2pm (k/o 2:30pm)

St Helens v Wigan Warriors in the Challenge Cup. Free on BBC One, kick-off 2:30pm.

Rugby Union: Women’s Six Nations – Scotland v France – BBC Two, 4pm (k/o 4:15pm)

Scotland v France follows on BBC Two. Kick-off 4:15pm.

Football: Premier League – Manchester City v Brentford – Sky Sports, 5pm (k/o 5:30pm)

Manchester City host Brentford. Sky Sports Main Event from 5pm, kick-off 5:30pm.

Early Evening

Celebrity Bridge of Lies – BBC One, 5:40pm

Charlie Brooks gets the EastEnders gossip out by bonding with Ross Kemp over their dogs (Kemp, apparently, a self-described dog obsessive). Sara Damergi tackles songs missing colours, Tim Vine does football one-liners, Dr Amir Khan navigates motorway geography. BBC iPlayer.

Blankety Blank – BBC One, 6:25pm

Six-strong panel: Julian Clary, Sophie Willan, Harry Pinero, Liza Tarbuck, Judi Love and Tom Allen. Bradley Walsh holds it together. BBC iPlayer.

Prime Time

The Miracle Club – BBC Two, 7:20pm

Dame Maggie Smith’s final film. 2023, rated 12. Three Dublin housewives head on pilgrimage to Lourdes: Lily (Smith), Eileen (Kathy Bates, midway through a health scare), and Dolly (Agnes O’Casey), hoping for an answer for her mute young son. Into the trip arrives Chrissie (Laura Linney), back for the first time since being bundled out as a teenager decades earlier. Old wounds aired, religious questions kept open. Smith is quietly, typically precise. BBC iPlayer.

Britain’s Got Talent – ITV1, 7pm

Third live semi-final. Ant and Dec host. ITVX.

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

Mount Pilatus in Switzerland (carved into rock); a Brutalist classic in Mexico; a lighthouse hotel in La Palma; off-grid pods in the English countryside; an East Sussex coaching inn with hidden tunnels and alleged ghostly residents. Decent pre-9pm company. C4 streaming.

Angela Rippon’s River Cruises – Channel 5, 8pm (NEW SERIES)

Angela Rippon opens her four-part Danube series in Budapest — cream cakes, Spanish Riding School dressage (Rippon’s a rider herself), Viennese waltz lesson. Later episodes move to Cambodia and Vietnam. 5 streaming.

Simply Red Night – BBC Two, from 8:45pm

Forty years since Simply Red first appeared. The BBC have done the right thing: pulled the archive and let the songs speak. Holding Back the Years, Something Got Me Started, Stars — the late 80s/90s run stands up better than almost any comparable British act of the era. Followed (regions permitting) by a 40th-anniversary live concert at the Movistar Arena, Chile. BBC iPlayer.

Casualty – BBC One, 8:45pm

The Wyvern Hill Estate story deepens: now suspected as the source of premature births, respiratory issues and cardiac cases clogging the ED. An explosion. Gas mains ruled out. Chemical waste investigation begins. Armed forces called in, led by Colonel Jack Bard (Mark Womack), who takes an immediate dislike to paramedic Teddy (Milo Clarke). BBC iPlayer.

9pm: The Main Event

The Count of Monte Cristo ⭐ – BBC Four, 9pm & 9:50pm (LAST IN SERIES)

This is the one. The lavish four-part French adaptation reaches its finale with a proper double bill. Edmond Dantès (Pierre Niney) has spent years building to this. He’s inside the social circles of the men who destroyed his life, his plans are in motion, and the question his prison mentor Faria posed at the start (“Will you do good or will your heart fill with hate?”) is about to get answered. Subtitled, lavish, exactly what BBC Four is for. Two episodes tonight, 9pm and 9:50pm. Full series on BBC iPlayer.

Charles: the Women Who Made the King – Channel 5, 9pm

King Charles’s story told through the women around him: the Queen Mother (gardening and the arts), the late Queen (duty and service), Diana (a more involved father), Camilla (steadiness once the crown arrived). Familiar royal-doc territory, thoughtfully assembled. 5 streaming.

Monsieur Spade – U&Drama, 9pm (NEW SERIES)

Clive Owen plays Sam Spade in 1963 southern France, retired to the sun-drenched town of Bozouls and attended by an unimpressed housekeeper. He came to deliver Teresa (daughter of The Maltese Falcon’s Brigid O’Shaughnessy) to her father — until Teresa’s grandmother made her feelings clear via a shotgun. Owen plays it with weariness; hints of Bogart, enough distance to make it his own. Catch up via U.

The Viewing Schedule

What’s On Streaming

BBC iPlayer: The Count of Monte Cristo, The Miracle Club, Simply Red Night, Casualty, Celebrity Bridge of Lies, Blankety Blank
C4 streaming: World’s Most Secret Hotels
ITVX: Britain’s Got Talent, Dermot’s Taste of Ireland
5 streaming: Angela Rippon’s River Cruises, Charles: the Women Who Made the King
U: Monsieur Spade
TNT Sports / Sky Sports: Premier League fixtures (subscription required)

Frequently Asked Questions

What time is The Count of Monte Cristo finale on BBC Four tonight?

Episode 3 at 9pm and Episode 4 at 9:50pm on BBC Four. Pierre Niney stars. Full series on BBC iPlayer.

Is EastEnders on TV tonight (Saturday 9 May 2026)?

No. EastEnders runs Mon-Thu on BBC One. Returns Monday 11 May at 7:30pm. BBC iPlayer.

What time is Simply Red Night on BBC Two tonight?

From 8:45pm BBC Two. BBC archive trawl plus a 40th-anniversary live concert from the Movistar Arena, Chile. BBC iPlayer.

What time is The Miracle Club on BBC Two tonight?

BBC Two at 7:20pm. Maggie Smith’s final film with Kathy Bates and Laura Linney. Rated 12. BBC iPlayer.

What time is Casualty on BBC One tonight?

BBC One at 8:45pm. Wyvern Hill Estate arc: explosion, chemical waste investigation, armed forces. BBC iPlayer.

What’s the best thing to watch on TV tonight (Saturday 9 May 2026)?

The Count of Monte Cristo on BBC Four at 9pm and 9:50pm — finale double bill. Simply Red Night on BBC Two from 8:45pm. The Miracle Club at 7:20pm BBC Two for Maggie Smith’s final film.

Final Verdict

The Count of Monte Cristo on BBC Four is the must-watch of the weekend — two concluding episodes, Pierre Niney at his best, free on Freeview. Before that, The Miracle Club at 7:20pm BBC Two for Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates and Laura Linney. Simply Red Night on BBC Two from 8:45pm if you’d rather a 40th-anniversary trawl.

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