TV Guide UK Tonight: Thurs 17 Sept 2026 – Ludwig, All Creatures Great and Small & Taskmaster

Updated: 17 September 2026

Thursday 17 September 2026. Ludwig turns a poisoned sushi-bar diner into its trickiest case yet on BBC One at 9pm, while All Creatures Great and Small trots back onto Channel 5 in the same slot with a flashy new vet ruffling feathers in Darrowby. Coronation Street welcomes home Tyrone’s biological father, and Taskmaster sends Matt Lucas’s own mother onto the studio floor. EastEnders airs as usual at 7.30pm.

Quick Picks: Tonight’s Best

• Ludwig BBC One, 9pm. A poisoned diner, a conveyor-belt sushi bar, and Karl Pilkington back as John’s old partner.
• All Creatures Great and Small Channel 5, 9pm. A flashy new vet rolls into Darrowby in a red sports car.
• Coronation Street ITV1, 8.30pm. Tyrone’s biological father Ross turns up and gets a suspiciously warm welcome.
• Taskmaster Channel 4, 9pm. Matt Lucas brings his mum in, and an onion photo task leaves Greg Davies stumped.
• EastEnders is on tonight — BBC One, 7.30pm, as usual.

Early Evening

EastEnders – BBC One, 7.30pm

Kat’s about to stumble onto something she wasn’t looking for, and it lands right as Oscar’s caught weighing up what his head’s telling him against what his heart wants. Elsewhere the Brannings and the Panesars end up under the same roof for Penny and Vinny — two families who don’t exactly relax in each other’s company. Walford’s rarely short of fallout, and tonight’s discovery has the shape of something that’ll ripple through the Square for weeks.

Dragons’ Den – BBC One, 8pm

Hand-made spelt pasta, properly sourced and packaged, wins Deborah Meaden over without much of a fight. A mobile pub business, delivered to your door like a bouncy castle with or without the booze, gets a much rougher ride, as she picks the figures apart line by line. A plant-care gadget and a dehydrated soup pitch round out the hour.

The Big Deal with Steph McGovern – BBC Two, 8pm

It’s the grand final, and the last dealers standing are fighting over £50,000 of British art rather than the usual bric-a-brac. BBC Two has been quietly solid with this format all series, and tonight’s the one worth actually tuning in for.

Emmerdale – ITV1, 8pm

Charles tries to comfort a grieving Nicola, while Billy squares up to Joe over what’s actually going to happen at the funeral. ITV1‘s usual pre-Corrie slot.

Coronation Street – ITV1, 8.30pm

Tyrone’s biological father Ross rocks up on the cobbles and gets welcomed into the fold faster than anyone expected, given how long it took his mother Cassie to earn the same trust. An offhand, insensitive comment from Ross might be the first crack in that goodwill, with Tyrone starting to wonder if he’s seeing the real man underneath. Meanwhile Jodie keeps needling away at Shona, trying to convince her she’s putting baby Harper at risk.

The Chelsea Detective – U&Drama, 8pm

Second outing of the week for Max on Drama, and he’s managing fine without his bike, even squeezing in a walk with potential love interest Roz. The case is tightening around Clare’s household too, with her dead butler, who wasn’t quite the man he claimed to be, looking less like a victim and more like someone who found out too much.

Prime Time

Ludwig – BBC One, 9pm ⭐

A diner is poisoned mid-meal at a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant, and it gives John one of his stranger puzzles yet. Everyone at the table was choosing dishes at random off a moving belt, so working out who the poison was actually meant for means untangling exactly who picked what, and when. His data-analyst colleagues, whose entire job is predicting outcomes, are just as stumped as he is. Karl Pilkington returns as James’s former police partner, a reappearance that yanks the wider conspiracy in a new direction after Stephen Merchant’s turn as a guest suspect the previous week. David Mitchell keeps finding new ways to play John as brilliant but permanently one step behind his own certainty, and that’s still the engine that makes this show worth the hour.

The Paper – Sky One, 9pm

Two episodes back to back tonight, and both are built around the documentary crew’s own ethics slipping badly. This week they secretly film two Truth-Teller staff mid-clinch and hack a food delivery robot just to get a better camera angle, the sort of stunt that makes you wonder who’s actually meant to be the story here. Ned isn’t above it either: in the second episode he creates his own bit of fake news while trying to impress someone. Rather undercuts any high horse he might have been riding.

Taskmaster – Channel 4, 9pm

Matt Lucas brings his own mother, Diana, in for the prize task, and, no spoilers on whether she actually leaves with anything, she’s very much part of the action by the end. Contestants also have to get their heads around “gleeking” and play oversized noughts and crosses, with recordings of themselves as the opposition. It’s exactly as chaotic as it sounds. A before-and-after onion photo task leaves Greg Davies audibly baffled about what happened in between. Channel 4, hosted as ever by Alex Horne.

All Creatures Great and Small – Channel 5, 9pm

The show’s back for a new run, and it wastes no time shaking up Darrowby: Granville Bennett (Caolan McCarthy) roars into town in a red sports car and starts advertising his veterinary services in the local paper, roughly the 1930s equivalent of skywriting. Siegfried is scandalised; to him, a reputation is built quietly, not bought with an advert, and he starts drafting exactly what he plans to say when their paths cross. James shares the outrage at first, but a pub pint with Granville has him quietly clocking the upside of being that shamelessly successful.

Long Lost Family – ITV1, 9pm

Two searches tonight. Pat was fifteen when she was forced to give up her baby in 1963 and never had another child, something she’s carried as a private punishment for decades, until now. Jake, the result of an affair between a doctor and a nurse, has spent years chasing his father’s side of the family, and the search throws up a run of coincidences buried in the show’s own files that nobody saw coming.

Hit Point – U&Dave, 9pm

Series finale. Leo warns Bella off accusing a police officer without solid evidence, though the advice looks a lot more self-serving than protective once you notice who benefits from her staying quiet. A grey hoodie turns out to be the detail that finally cracks the case open, and every storyline this run has been building converges out at Dartford Marshes, including Dylan finding time, mid-crisis, to give Carter some very specific advice about his cap. Dave closes it out.

The Hunting Party – U&Alibi, 9pm

Bex’s unit exists to contain people who are genuinely dangerous. That’s always been the show’s dependable hook. Tonight that safety net looks a lot less secure: the organisation running the operation turns out to have its own history of cruelty toward the very people it’s supposed to be studying, and that reframes a fair chunk of what’s come before.

Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam – BBC Two, from 9pm

Three episodes, shown back to back across the evening, each one following a different woman deceived by the same kind of online con. The most striking of the three centres on a woman who discovers, partway through, that she was the face used, without her knowledge, to lure other victims into the same scam. It’s a hard watch in places, but it earns that.

Sandi Toksvig’s Great Riviera Rail Trip – More4, 9pm

More4 rounds off Sandi Toksvig’s tour of the French coast with the monarchs, artists and celebrities who made it famous, in the gently curious style that’s carried the whole series.

Late Night

Lawrence of Arabia – BBC Four, 8pm

David Lean’s 1962 epic gets a rare full outing here, following a British Army officer’s attempt to unite Arab forces against the Turks during the First World War. It’s a genuinely enormous film, both in running time and in how it looks, and it’s still one of the best arguments for keeping the television on past 8pm on a Thursday.

Question Time – BBC One, 10.40pm

Fiona Bruce hosts the panel from Salisbury tonight, with whatever’s dominated the week’s headlines almost certainly getting picked apart.

Red – ITV1, 10.45pm

Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman lead a cast of retired black-ops agents dragged back into the field when someone decides they’re all loose ends worth tying up. Light, silly, and a perfectly reasonable way to see out a Thursday.

David Lean: Talking Pictures – BBC Four, 11.30pm

A short profile of the director following straight on from Lawrence of Arabia, worth staying up for if you’ve just sat through the main feature.

Apocalypse – Channel 4, 10pm

Two groups are dropped into a mocked-up post-apocalyptic setting and left to survive off whatever they can scavenge, with the format doing most of the same work reality telly always does: watching who cracks first.

T20 Cricket: England v Sri Lanka Highlights – BBC Two, 11.05pm

The highlights package from Cardiff, for anyone who missed the live match earlier. See the Sport section below for the details of tonight’s game.

Sport

England face Sri Lanka in the second of their three-match T20 series tonight, live from Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, with a 6.30pm start under the lights. It’s expected to be carried live on Sky Sports Cricket/Sky Sports Main Event, so it’s worth double-checking your EPG closer to the time, as coverage sometimes shifts between the two. The first match went to Southampton earlier in the week, and this one sits right in the middle of a short, sharp series before the sides move on to Old Trafford for the decider. BBC Two picks up a highlights package at 11.05pm for anyone who’d rather catch the shape of the game without committing three hours to it. Darts fans get the first night of the World Series Finals from Amsterdam on ITV4 from 6pm, kicking off that tournament in earnest.

Tonight by Channel

A channel-by-channel breakdown of Thursday 17 September 2026, so you can jump straight to the one you actually watch.

BBC One

• 7.30pm — EastEnders
• 8pm — Dragons’ Den
• 9pm — Ludwig
• 10.40pm — Question Time

BBC Two

• 8pm — The Big Deal with Steph McGovern
• 9pm — Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam
• 9.45pm — Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam
• 11.05pm — T20 Cricket: England v Sri Lanka Highlights
• 11.35pm — Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam

ITV1

• 8pm — Emmerdale
• 8.30pm — Coronation Street
• 9pm — Long Lost Family
• 10.45pm — Red

Channel 4

• 9pm — Taskmaster
• 10pm — Apocalypse

Channel 5

• 9pm — All Creatures Great and Small

BBC Four

• 8pm — Lawrence of Arabia
• 11.30pm — David Lean: Talking Pictures

Sky One

• 9pm — The Paper
• 9.30pm — The Paper

The Viewing Schedule

What’s On Streaming

• BBC iPlayer: EastEnders, Dragons’ Den, Ludwig, The Big Deal with Steph McGovern, Hey Beautiful: Anatomy of a Romance Scam, Lawrence of Arabia
• NOW: The Paper
• ITVX: Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Long Lost Family, Red
• Channel 4 streaming: Taskmaster, Apocalypse, Sandi Toksvig’s Great Riviera Rail Trip
• Channel 5 streaming: All Creatures Great and Small
• U: Hit Point, The Hunting Party, The Chelsea Detective

Frequently Asked Questions

Is EastEnders on tonight (Thursday 17 September 2026)?

Yes. EastEnders airs on BBC One at 7.30pm as usual. Kat makes a discovery tonight, and Oscar is torn between his head and his heart.

What time is Ludwig on tonight?

Ludwig is on BBC One at 9pm. A diner is poisoned at a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant, and Karl Pilkington returns as James’s former police partner.

What’s the best thing to watch on TV tonight (Thursday 17 September 2026)?

Ludwig on BBC One at 9pm is the pick for a proper puzzle, with a poisoned sushi-bar diner and Karl Pilkington back in the cast. All Creatures Great and Small on Channel 5 in the same slot is the gentler alternative.

What live sport is on TV tonight (Thursday 17 September 2026)?

England play Sri Lanka in the second of three T20 internationals from Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, from 6.30pm, expected live on Sky Sports Cricket/Sky Sports Main Event. BBC Two shows highlights at 11.05pm. The World Series Finals darts opens in Amsterdam on ITV4 from 6pm.

What’s on ITV1 tonight?

ITV1 has Emmerdale at 8pm, Coronation Street at 8.30pm and Long Lost Family at 9pm, followed by the film Red at 10.45pm.

What happens in Coronation Street tonight?

Tyrone’s biological father Ross arrives on the cobbles and is welcomed in faster than expected, though an insensitive comment may expose his true colours. Jodie also keeps trying to destabilise Shona over baby Harper. Coronation Street is on ITV1 at 8.30pm.

Is All Creatures Great and Small back for a new series tonight?

Yes, All Creatures Great and Small returns to Channel 5 at 9pm for a new run. New vet Granville Bennett arrives in Darrowby in a red sports car and starts advertising his services, to Siegfried’s horror.

What channel is Taskmaster on?

Taskmaster is on Channel 4 at 9pm. Matt Lucas brings his mother Diana into the studio for the prize task, and the contestants tackle “gleeking” and a giant game of noughts and crosses.

What time does Lawrence of Arabia finish?

Lawrence of Arabia starts on BBC Four at 8pm and runs for around three and a half hours, finishing shortly before the David Lean profile that follows at 11.30pm.

Is Hit Point on tonight, and is it the last episode?

Yes, Hit Point airs on Dave at 9pm tonight, and it’s the series finale, with every storyline converging at Dartford Marshes.

Final Verdict

Ludwig is tonight’s proper appointment viewing, a sushi-bar poisoning clever enough to sit alongside its best episodes, and Karl Pilkington’s return is worth the hour alone. All Creatures Great and Small gives it a genuine run for its money in the same slot if you want something warmer. Coronation Street brings Ross into the fold for what looks like a slow-burn storyline worth following, and Taskmaster remains the funniest half-hour of the week almost by default. Hit Point signs off in style on Dave. EastEnders is on as usual at 7.30pm.

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