TV Guide UK Tonight: Sun 4 Oct 2026 – The Reluctant Vampire, Strictly Results & The Blame

Published: 1 October 2026

Sunday 4 October 2026. A new sitcom, The Reluctant Vampire, opens the night on BBC One at 6.40pm, with the first Strictly results show of the series tacked on at 7.10pm. Wales play Denmark on BBC Two from 7.30pm, and ITV1 saves Star Trek: Strange New Worlds for after the news. EastEnders isn’t on.

Quick Picks: Tonight’s Best

• The Reluctant Vampire BBC One, 6.40pm. New six-part sitcom, all on iPlayer.
• Strictly Come Dancing: The Results BBC One, 7.10pm. Fifteen couples, one dance-off.
• Wales v Denmark BBC Two, 7.30pm. Nations League, kick-off 7.45pm.
• The Split Up and The Blame BBC One and ITV1, 9pm. Both conclude tomorrow.
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ITV1, 10.15pm. Series two, two episodes.

Early Evening

Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Drama, 5.35pm

David Nicholls’ four-part Hardy adaptation starts on Drama, with Gemma Arterton as Tess and Eddie Redmayne as Angel Clare. Part two follows at 6.50pm. Part one is the stage where hardship pushes Tess towards the rich branch of the family, and anyone who knows the book can see the trouble coming. Hardy adaptations split people between those who love the misery and those who can’t face it. Nicholls keeps this one moving, and nothing good happens to Tess for about four hours, but it’s beautifully shot and Sunday teatime suits it.

Countryfile – BBC One, 5.40pm

Matt Baker and Emily McGowan are in the Cotswolds for the Supreme, the big sheepdog event of the year. Strip away the farming chat and it’s a quiet field, one dog and a lot of nerves. I find it oddly gripping every year, mostly because the dogs are better behaved than most people at a pub quiz, and the handlers’ faces tell you exactly how it’s going before the score does.

Blue Murder Motel – ITV3, 6pm

Two married detectives retire from the force and sink their savings into a 13-room motel in New Zealand, which as retirement plans go is optimistic about who will turn up. ITV3 has episode one at 6pm and episode three at 7pm, then Midsomer Murders.

The Reluctant Vampire – BBC One, 6.40pm ⭐

This is the one to watch, if only because new early-evening sitcoms for a mixed audience barely exist any more. It’s adapted from Eric Morecambe’s 1982 children’s book by Neil and Rob Gibbons, and stars Lenny Rush as Val, a teenage vampire with no taste for blood. Tom Davis and Sian Clifford are in the cast.

Episode one is about a family secret coming out, which is about as much as I want to say. Rush is the reason to tune in. He has a gift for looking permanently let down by the people around him, and that suits a boy whose parents treat blood as a lifestyle choice. Whether it holds a household for six weeks is another matter. The whole series is on iPlayer from tonight, so you can find out quickly.

Eva Longoria: Searching for France – BBC Two, 6.50pm

Eva Longoria eats her way round Provence and Marseille in the latest of eight episodes. Marseille’s mix of African and Italian influences on the cooking is the more interesting story, and it’s good that the series bothers with it rather than sticking to lavender fields. It’s a food travelogue with a lovely view, though I’d happily trade one more chef-on-a-terrace scene for ten minutes with the people who actually grow the vegetables.

The Devil Wears Prada – Film4, 6.50pm

Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci, in a 2006 film that is still the best argument for working somewhere that has a dress code. Streep’s quietly terrifying editor is why it lasts, and Blunt steals most of her scenes as the senior assistant. The pacing is brisk and it’s under two hours. Film4 follows it with Plane at 9pm.

Prime Time

The Box – ITV1, 7pm

I’ll be upfront that The Box is new to me, so I can’t vouch for its charms, but the facts are clear enough. It’s titled Sweet Revenge?, with four celebrities left in the semi-final, and a duel in the mix. A place in the final is at stake, and somebody has apparently made a vengeful decision, so expect a grudge or two.

Strictly Come Dancing: The Results – BBC One, 7.10pm

The first results show of the series, with 15 couples left to hear who survives. Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood lead the professionals in a group routine, and Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe are on co-hosting duty. The long wait between the scores and the verdict has always been the format’s weak spot, but the dance-off is where the show properly wakes up, because that’s where somebody has to dance for their place with no safety net. It runs 50 minutes, and Antiques Roadshow takes over at 8pm.

BBC Young Musician 2026 – BBC Four, 7.30pm

The first of two live audition programmes, presented by Petroc Trelawny. Peter Moore, Ben Gernon and Joanna MacGregor are the judges, and each of the five instrument families sends one player through to the quarter-finals. Moore is a trombonist, Gernon conducts and MacGregor is a pianist, so the brass and keyboard categories at least have a friend on the panel. I like this competition because the audition rounds throw up players who deserve more attention than they usually get. BBC Four has A Stitch in Time at 7pm for company.

Match of the Day Wales: Wales v Denmark – BBC Two, 7.30pm

Nations League, live from Cardiff, kick-off 7.45pm. The two sides met in Copenhagen last week, so Wales have a score to settle or protect. BBC Two clears the evening for it until 10pm, and S4C has it too.

Celebrity Pottery Throw Down – Channel 4, 7.45pm

Episode four of five. The celebrities make garden gnomes and face a handle-making test, which is the bit of pottery that humbles people most reliably. The garden-gnome brief is exactly as silly as it sounds. Keith Brymer Jones and Rich Miller judge, and two potters leave. Channel 4 has Apocalypse at 9pm, and Gogglebox at 10pm will be reviewing it from the sofas.

Antiques Roadshow – BBC One, 8pm

Caerphilly Castle in south Wales, with Fiona Bruce and the experts, in series 49 of a show that really shouldn’t still have anything left to find. Finds include a Led Zeppelin record, an Einstein letter in his own hand, Swansea porcelain and an Egyptian scarab necklace, and Ben Rogers Jones sets Fiona a valuation challenge involving carved love spoons.

Wagging Rights – Dave, 8pm

Rhod Gilbert, Sara Pascoe, Harriet Kemsley, Kae Kurd and Vicky Pattison take their dogs onto the dancefloor for the freestyle round, with dog-show judges marking them. It’s a daft idea carried out with a straight face, and one pair’s run may be over by the end of it. Dave follows with Have I Got a Bit More News for You at 9pm, with Jason Manford in the chair.

Midsomer Murders – ITV3, 8pm

Dead in the Water: regatta day ends with a corpse in the water, and Barnaby and Scott spend the evening among the rowing set. It’s series eight, and there’s a second episode at 10pm: Dark Autumn, a feature-length story of a murdered postman and a hamlet with a lot of adultery to explain. That’s a normal Sunday in Midsomer.

The Split Up – BBC One, 9pm

Episode five of six, and Aria is now keeping hold of a secret of Dhruv’s on top of one of her own. The fifth week of a thriller is when you find out whether the writers have kept enough in hand, and I think they have. The BBC flags some strong language, so it isn’t one for the early-evening sofa, and the final episode is tomorrow night.

The Blame – ITV1, 9pm

Episode five. Police bring in a suspect, and Emma (Michelle Keegan) finds help in an unexpected place as she closes in on whoever killed Sophie. It concludes tomorrow. It’s slightly unfair that this and The Split Up are on at the same time, but both are on catch-up.

Apocalypse: Could You Survive? – Channel 4, 9pm

Episode four, and the Westsiders are plotting payback against the East after what everybody is calling goat-gate. I can’t tell you whether a peace deal is possible. I can tell you that I am invested in a goat.

Elsewhere at 9pm, E4 shows Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, ITV4 has Rocky III, Channel 5 goes live with NFL on 5, and ITV2 has the Big Brother eviction. 5USA has a Columbo at 8pm and Yesterday three Bangers & Cash episodes from 8pm. Quest has a Repair Shop run from 8pm, Really has Long Lost Family at 9pm, Legend has the 2005 remake of Assault on Precinct 13 at 9pm, and More4 opens a new series of 999: On the Front Line at 9pm. Sky Arts has The Who: Amazing Journey at 9.30pm. BBC Four has Mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry at 9pm.

Late Night

The Order – BBC Two, 10pm

A 1980s true-crime thriller, with Jude Law as an FBI agent chasing a white supremacist terror cell and Nicholas Hoult as its leader. Justin Kurzel directs and Law’s investigator is working the Pacific Northwest, with some very strong language and violence along the way. It’s a tense 2024 film, and not an easy follow-on from a football night.

My Night with Reg – BBC Four, 10.15pm

Kevin Elyot’s play, which was first staged at the Royal Court in 1994 and adapted for the BBC in 1996, with John Sessions, Anthony Calf and Joe Duttine in the cast. Six friends talk about love and loss over three nights at a London flat. David Bamber, who won an Olivier for playing Guy on stage, looks back on it at 10pm.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – ITV1, 10.15pm

Series two opens with the first of two episodes, 10.15pm and 11.15pm. Anson Mount’s Captain Pike, Ethan Peck’s Spock and Rebecca Romijn’s Number One are back on the Enterprise. It’s a very comfortable show: a self-contained adventure each week, no seven-season homework and a captain who is nice to everyone. It has already been on Paramount+, so this is the free-to-air showing.

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody – BBC One, 10.30pm

Naomi Ackie plays Whitney in the 2022 film, which spans the rise and the fall. Stanley Tucci plays the record executive Clive Davis, and the film mostly lets Whitney’s own recordings do the singing. Good songs, familiar shape.

Three Women – Channel 4, 11pm

Shailene Woodley is a writer who persuades three women to tell her about their desires, in an adaptation of Lisa Taddeo’s bestseller. Betty Gilpin, DeWanda Wise and Gabrielle Creevy play the women. It’s episode one of ten, and C4 is showing the opening run late on.

Sport

Wales against Denmark is the main match, live on BBC Two and S4C from 7.30pm with kick-off at 7.45pm in Cardiff. Channel 5 has live NFL from 9pm, where Bo Nix’s Denver Broncos play Brock Purdy’s San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with Dermot O’Leary fronting and Osi Umenyiora and Sam Quek alongside him.

Earlier, ITV1 had the Arc, run at ParisLongchamp, from 1pm, with the big race at 3.05pm, and Formula 1 was on Sky Sports from the morning.

What’s On Streaming

BBC iPlayer — The Reluctant Vampire (whole series), Strictly Come Dancing: The Results, Antiques Roadshow, The Split Up, BBC Young Musician 2026.

ITVX — The Blame, The Box, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Big Brother.

Channel 4 — Celebrity Pottery Throw Down, Apocalypse: Could You Survive?, Three Women.

Tonight by Channel

A channel-by-channel breakdown of Sunday 4 October 2026, so you can jump straight to the one you actually watch.

BBC One

• 5.40pm — Countryfile
• 6.40pm — The Reluctant Vampire
• 7.10pm — Strictly Come Dancing: The Results
• 8pm — Antiques Roadshow
• 9pm — The Split Up
• 10.30pm — Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody

BBC Two

• 6.50pm — Eva Longoria: Searching for France
• 7.30pm — Match of the Day Wales: Wales v Denmark
• 10pm — The Order

ITV1

• 1pm — ITV Racing Live: Prix De L’arc De Triomphe
• 7pm — The Box
• 8pm — Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
• 9pm — The Blame
• 10.15pm — Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Channel 4

• 7.45pm — Celebrity Pottery Throw Down
• 9pm — Apocalypse: Could You Survive?
• 10pm — Gogglebox
• 11pm — Three Women

Channel 5

• 9pm — Live: NFL on 5: Denver Broncos San Francisco 49ers

BBC Four

• 7.30pm — BBC Young Musician 2026
• 9pm — Mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry
• 10.15pm — My Night with Reg

Dave

• 8pm — Wagging Rights
• 9pm — Have I Got a Bit More News for You

Film4

• 6.50pm — The Devil Wears Prada
• 9pm — Plane

ITV3

• 6pm — Blue Murder Motel
• 8pm — Midsomer Murders

The Viewing Schedule

Frequently Asked Questions

Is EastEnders on tonight (Sunday 4 October 2026)?

No. EastEnders doesn’t air on Sundays. It runs Monday to Thursday at 7.30pm on BBC One, so the next episode is tomorrow, Monday 5 October. Tonight’s 7.10pm slot goes to Strictly Come Dancing: The Results.

What time is Strictly Come Dancing: The Results on tonight?

Strictly Come Dancing: The Results is on BBC One at 7.10pm tonight, straight after The Reluctant Vampire at 6.40pm. It is the first results show of the series, with 15 couples still in.

What time is The Reluctant Vampire on tonight?

The Reluctant Vampire is on BBC One at 6.40pm tonight (Sunday 4 October 2026). It is the first of six episodes, and the full series is on iPlayer.

What’s the best thing to watch on TV tonight (Sunday 4 October 2026)?

The Reluctant Vampire on BBC One at 6.40pm if you want something new. For drama, The Split Up on BBC One and The Blame on ITV1 are both at 9pm and both finish tomorrow, so pick one to watch live and catch up on the other.

What live sport is on TV tonight: Sunday 4 October 2026?

Wales against Denmark in the Nations League, on BBC Two and S4C from 7.30pm with kick-off at 7.45pm. Channel 5 has live NFL from 9pm, with the Denver Broncos at the San Francisco 49ers.

What time is Wales v Denmark on TV tonight?

Coverage starts at 7.30pm on BBC Two, with kick-off at 7.45pm in Cardiff. S4C is showing it as well.

What’s on ITV1 tonight?

The Box is on at 7pm, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? at 8pm, The Blame at 9pm and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds at 10.15pm. There is no Emmerdale or Coronation Street on Sundays.

What time is Big Brother on tonight?

Big Brother is on ITV2 at 9pm tonight, an eviction night with the public vote. Big Brother: The Group Chat follows at 10pm.

What film is on TV tonight?

Film4 has The Devil Wears Prada at 6.50pm and Plane at 9pm. E4 shows Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning at 9pm, ITV4 has Rocky III at 9pm, BBC Two has The Order at 10pm and BBC One has Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody at 10.30pm.

What time does Star Trek: Strange New Worlds start on ITV1?

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds starts at 10.15pm tonight with the first episode of series two. The second episode follows at 11.15pm.

Final Verdict

Start with The Reluctant Vampire and judge it yourself, then give Strictly a good hour and Wales a good evening. The Split Up and The Blame both finish tomorrow, so if you can’t watch both live, choose one and do the other later. Antiques Roadshow at 8pm is the quiet option, and Star Trek on ITV1 is the late one.

No EastEnders until tomorrow at 7.30pm.

Related: What’s On TV Tonight | Films on TV Tonight | Freeview Channel Guide