TV Guide UK Tonight: Sun 2 Aug 2026 – Van der Valk, Richard E Grant & The Piano

Published: 1 August 2026

Sunday 2 August 2026. ITV1 opens a new series of Van der Valk at 8pm, dropping Marc Warren’s detective into a case tangled up with his own history. Channel 4 sends Richard E Grant round the Mediterranean after Homer’s Odyssey, then parks The Piano at London Bridge station for 9pm. BBC One pairs Antiques Roadshow with a knottier instalment of The Rapture, and there’s a full day of Commonwealth Games, golf and cycling around it. No EastEnders, as always on a Sunday.

Quick Picks: Tonight’s Best

• Van der Valk ⭐ ITV1, 8pm. New series opener drags Piet back into his own past.
• Richard E Grant’s Very Modern Odyssey Channel 4, 8pm. New series retracing Homer’s Odyssey, starting in Malta.
• The Piano Channel 4, 9pm. Jools Holland joins the judging panel at London Bridge station.
• Commonwealth Games wrap up in Glasgow, alongside the Women’s Open finale and the start of the Women’s Tour de France.
• EastEnders isn’t on tonight. The soap only airs Monday to Thursday.

Early Evening

Countryfile – BBC One, 7pm

Adam Henson meets 23-year-old Erin, one of a new generation of young farmers taking on British food production at a point when it’s never looked like a harder career to choose. BBC iPlayer.

Force of Nature – ITV1, 7pm

Second episode, subtitled Rising Waters. Pygmy elephants battle their way across a swollen African river, a platypus is swept off its feet by a flash flood, and a lioness works out how to turn high water into an easy meal. ITVX. Over on Channel 5, Josie Gibson spends the same hour eating her way through a week of 1970s diet food.

Prime Time

Van der Valk – ITV1, 8pm ⭐

New series opener, and it’s a rough one for Piet. Two witnesses who could bring down crime boss Bibi Franken (Anastasia Hille) are meant to be safe in police hands; when one turns up dead, getting the second to trial in one piece becomes urgent. The officer who let it slip is Kalie Tenkers (Kim Riedle) — Piet’s ex, and someone he’s never quite forgiven for what happened to his dog. ITVX.

Richard E Grant’s Very Modern Odyssey – Channel 4, 8pm

New series. Grant grew up gripped by Homer and spends four episodes tracing the ten-year route Odysseus took home from Troy, starting in Malta — one of several islands that claim to be where the nymph Calypso kept him for seven years. He wanders round Valletta’s cathedral and has a go at traditional tile-making along the way. Channel 4 streaming.

Antiques Roadshow – BBC One, 8pm

Fiona Bruce and the team set up at Brodie Castle in Morayshire, where the valuations run from a rare diamond brooch to a three-legged ceramic toad and a stash of Highland Games memorabilia. First shown in 2022.

Murder by Decree – Sky Arts, 8pm

The 1979 film most people picture when Sherlock Holmes meets Jack the Ripper. Christopher Plummer’s Holmes is unusually tender, James Mason’s Watson sharper than the bumbling stereotype, and the plot rests on a Ripper theory historians have since picked apart. Now.

The Rapture – BBC One, 9pm

Third episode. Gabs and a colleague start piecing together exactly what Leonard’s been hiding, and things get more complicated between her and Frasier just as the heatwave plot cranks up another notch. Expect at least one scene that tips fully into melodrama. BBC iPlayer.

The Piano – Channel 4, 9pm

This week’s stop is London Bridge station, and Jools Holland joins Claudia Winkleman and Mika on the judging panel. A ten-year-old called Edwin gets an entire concourse singing along, an engineer surprises everyone with a burst of Charles Aznavour, and Holland’s own stories about early gigs by Squeeze and U2 come close to stealing the show from the contestants. Channel 4 streaming.

Inside the Four Seasons: Park Lane – Channel 5, 9pm

New series. Back inside one of London’s grandest hotels, where a guest’s request for two horsehair pillows lands squarely on the manager’s desk and the assistant manager gets landed with what’s described as a “booby trap” of a challenge. My5.

Late Night

Live at the Apollo – BBC Two, 9:30pm

New series, and BBC Two gives it the late slot. Nabil Abdulrashid hosts, introducing Jake Lambert and Rachel Fairburn. BBC iPlayer.

Bill Paterson Remembers… The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil – BBC Four, 10pm

Paterson was part of 7:84, the touring company behind John McGrath’s original 1974 play, and spends a quarter of an hour on the ceilidhs and quick-change sketches before BBC Four screens the drama itself at 10:15pm. It runs from the aftermath of Culloden through the Highland Clearances to the 1970s North Sea oil boom, with a cast that also included Alex Norton and Elizabeth MacLennan. BBC iPlayer. Elsewhere it’s Shakespeare in Love on BBC Two at 10pm, Erin Brockovich on Channel 4 at 10:05pm, and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back on ITV1.

Sport

Glasgow hosts the final day of the Commonwealth Games, live from 8:30am on TNT Sports 2, with highlights on Channel 5 at 10pm taking in medal deciders in netball, judo, bowls and track cycling. The Women’s Open finishes at Royal Lytham & St Annes, live on Sky Sports Golf from midday, with highlights on BBC Two at 11:55pm. The Women’s Tour de France opens with a 148km stage from Aigle to Geneva on TNT Sports 1 from 2:30pm. BBC Two also has The Hundred from 6pm.

The Viewing Schedule

What’s On Streaming

• BBC iPlayer: Countryfile, Antiques Roadshow, The Rapture, Live at the Apollo, Bill Paterson Remembers…
• ITVX: Force of Nature, Van der Valk, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
• Channel 4 streaming: Richard E Grant’s Very Modern Odyssey, The Piano, Erin Brockovich
• My5: The 1970s Diet: Could It Work for You?, Inside the Four Seasons: Park Lane
• Now: Murder by Decree

Frequently Asked Questions

Is EastEnders on tonight (Sunday 2 August 2026)?

No. EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday on BBC One at around 7:30pm and doesn’t broadcast on Sundays, so there’s no new episode tonight. Catch up on the week’s episodes via BBC iPlayer, or wait for Monday’s return.

What time is Van der Valk on ITV1 tonight?

Van der Valk starts on ITV1 at 8pm tonight, opening a new series with Marc Warren returning as the Amsterdam detective. Catch up afterwards on ITVX.

What’s new on Channel 4 tonight?

Channel 4 launches Richard E Grant’s Very Modern Odyssey at 8pm, a new series tracing Homer’s Odyssey from Malta, before The Piano continues its search for a concert finalist at 9pm.

What live sport is on TV tonight: Sunday 2 August 2026?

The Commonwealth Games reach their final day in Glasgow, live from 8:30am on TNT Sports 2. The Women’s Open golf finishes at Royal Lytham & St Annes on Sky Sports Golf from midday, and the Women’s Tour de France begins with a stage around Geneva on TNT Sports 1 from 2:30pm.

What’s the best thing to watch on TV tonight (Sunday 2 August 2026)?

Van der Valk on ITV1 at 8pm is the pick of the night, a strong series opener that drags Piet back into his own past. Richard E Grant’s Very Modern Odyssey and The Piano, both on Channel 4, are the other highlights.

Final Verdict

Tonight belongs to Van der Valk ⭐, and putting a fresh, personal case in front of Piet on day one of the new series is a smart way to hook people back in. Richard E Grant’s Very Modern Odyssey and The Piano give Channel 4 a strong pairing at 8pm and 9pm, while Antiques Roadshow and The Rapture keep BBC One busy, and Live at the Apollo returns quietly on BBC Two. Sport fills the rest of the day nicely between the Commonwealth Games finale and the Women’s Open. No EastEnders, as ever on a Sunday.

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