TV Guide UK Tonight: Thurs 20 Aug 2026 – Ludwig, Dragons’ Den & A House Through Time

Thursday 20 August 2026 puts David Mitchell back to work. Ludwig returns to BBC One at 9pm with three episodes already sitting on iPlayer, but only after Dragons’ Den has had its say at 8pm, where two guest Dragons fill in for Touker Suleyman. BBC Two sends David Olusoga back to Georgian Edinburgh, BBC Four hands its whole evening to The French Connection, and Channel 5 keeps Benidorm Is Murder ticking along. One thing missing tonight: EastEnders. More on that below.

Quick Picks: Tonight’s Best

• Ludwig ⭐ BBC One, 9pm. David Mitchell’s puzzle-solver returns to a theatre box murder.
• The French Connection BBC Four, 9pm. Gene Hackman’s Oscar-winning detective, uncut and unshowy.
• A House Through Time BBC Two, 9pm. David Olusoga’s Edinburgh finale digs up a shoemaker’s widow and a disorderly hotel.
• Dragons’ Den BBC One, 8pm. Two guest Dragons and a sweet shop pitch that gets Peter Jones reminiscing.
• EastEnders isn’t among tonight’s highlights. BBC One runs Dragons’ Den and Ludwig instead.

Early Evening

Dragons’ Den – BBC One, 8pm

Touker Suleyman sits this one out, with Susie Ma and Jenna Meek taking the empty chairs instead. Their arrival suits the first pitch, an eco-friendly hair range built from manufacturing leftovers, and the offers that follow leave the whole panel laughing. A retro sweet shop pitch gets Peter Jones talking about the confectionery career he never had, and a spice company and a backpacking venture round out the hour. BBC iPlayer.

The Yorkshire Vet – Channel 5, 8pm

Matt Smith pulls a night shift and meets a calving cow with, by his own account, the biggest prolapse he’s ever dealt with. Rambo the nervy Boston terrier and Luna the once-feisty cat have quieter problems, while Peter Wright spends a day off at a sheep show on Britain’s highest pub. My5.

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

Rival buying teams try to match unsold artwork to two homeowners with expensive taste, Steph McGovern keeping the deals on track. Same slot, Yesterday pairs Bangers and Cash’s classic-car hunt with Dream Car Fixers, and National Geographic launches Lion, a four-part account of a cub called Kio, scored by Hans Zimmer.

Prime Time

Ludwig – BBC One, 9pm ⭐

Cambridge’s murder count keeps climbing, which suits Lucy fine given how much of her living room John’s case files have colonised. He’s now on the books as a police consultant, though the badge doesn’t stretch to admitting he spent weeks pretending to be a detective, and a death at the Theatre Royal, where an elderly matriarch is killed in a private box seated between her own daughters, gives him somewhere to put that energy. Doon MacKichan and Rebecca Front play the daughters. BBC iPlayer.

The French Connection – BBC Four, 9pm

BBC Four hands its evening to William Friedkin’s 1971 crime thriller, and it’s aged remarkably little. Gene Hackman’s bent, relentless Popeye Doyle chases Fernando Rey’s drug shipment through New York streets that Friedkin filmed largely without permits, an approach he later admitted was reckless and got away with more by luck than skill. Rated 18. A profile piece, The Poughkeepsie Shuffle, follows at 10:40pm.

A House Through Time – BBC Two, 9pm

David Olusoga’s dig through two Calton Hill households turns up a bespoke shoemaker, a bagpipe maker and a photographer who won praise for what started as a hobby. The best material belongs to the women history usually skips past: the shoemaker’s widow chased his debts through the courts herself, while a less scrupulous neighbour kept the household solvent by running an unlicensed hotel with a very particular clientele. BBC iPlayer.

Benidorm Is Murder – Channel 5, 9pm

A bingo hall regular dies clutching a £1 million ticket she never spent, having saved the win for her two daughters instead. Dennis and Rosa’s job is working out whether the numbers she dabbed before she died were random luck or a message aimed at whoever found her. My5.

Hit Point – Dave, 9pm

Leo’s secret from the opener hasn’t gone anywhere: he’s investigating a crime he committed himself, and this week that means getting rid of a body with his crew before anyone asks questions on Dave. Carter’s blunt verdict that the victim was no saint doesn’t make the clean-up any tidier, and Bella’s growing closeness to Leo means the fallout will hit harder than a body bag. Full series on U.

Elsewhere, ITV1‘s The Chase around the World wraps its run in Athens against every Chaser in turn, and Sky Atlantic’s Possession reaches its series finale as Claudia weighs how far she’ll go for Cudjoe.

Late Night

The Poughkeepsie Shuffle – BBC Four, 10:40pm

A short companion piece tracing the real New York policing behind The French Connection’s script, and the toll Friedkin’s handheld, unauthorised shoot took on cast and crew. BBC iPlayer.

U&Alibi’s The Hunting Party keeps its 9pm slot busy too, Bex trying to get ahead of an escaped inmate nicknamed the Masseuse, whose idea of a treatment leaves clients worse than she found them.

Sport

Day two of the first Test between England and Pakistan continues from Headingley, live from 10:15am on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket, with highlights at 7pm on BBC Two. The Championship season kicks off as Sheffield Wednesday host Bradford City at Hillsborough from 7:30pm, kick-off 8pm, on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football. Earlier, the Tour of Britain’s women’s race tackles a hilly 110.5km stage from Clitheroe to Blackpool, live from 12:15pm on TNT Sports 1.

The Viewing Schedule

What’s On Streaming

• BBC iPlayer: Dragons’ Den, The Big Deal with Steph McGovern, Ludwig, A House Through Time, The Poughkeepsie Shuffle
• My5: The Yorkshire Vet, Benidorm Is Murder
• U: Hit Point, Bangers and Cash, Dream Car Fixers
• ITVX: The Chase around the World
• Now: Possession, The Hunting Party
• Disney+: Lion

Frequently Asked Questions

Is EastEnders on tonight (Thursday 20 August 2026)?

EastEnders isn’t among tonight’s featured listings. BBC One’s evening runs Dragons’ Den at 8pm followed by Ludwig at 9pm instead. If you want to check whether an episode is airing in a different slot, BBC iPlayer and the BBC One schedule page are the places to look.

What time is Ludwig on tonight, and is it a new series?

Ludwig returns to BBC One at 9pm, with the first three episodes of the new run already available on iPlayer. It’s David Mitchell’s John chasing a suspicious death at the Theatre Royal while still dodging questions about his cover story as a police consultant.

What’s the best thing to watch on TV tonight (Thursday 20 August 2026)?

Ludwig on BBC One at 9pm is the pick, with Cambridge’s crime rate somehow climbing again. BBC Four’s The French Connection and A House Through Time on BBC Two are strong alternatives earlier in the evening.

What live sport is on TV tonight: Thursday 20 August 2026?

Day two of the first Test between England and Pakistan continues from Headingley from 10:15am on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket, with highlights at 7pm on BBC Two. The Championship season gets going with Sheffield Wednesday hosting Bradford City from 7:30pm, and the Tour of Britain’s women’s race covers a hilly stage from Clitheroe to Blackpool from 12:15pm on TNT Sports 1.

What’s on BBC One tonight instead of EastEnders?

BBC One runs Dragons’ Den at 8pm, with two guest Dragons standing in for Touker Suleyman, followed by Ludwig at 9pm. Neither slot carries an EastEnders episode tonight.

Final Verdict

Ludwig ⭐ is the reason to be home by 9pm, John’s puzzle-brain let loose on a theatre box murder while Lucy fights to reclaim her sofa from his case files. The French Connection makes a strong case for the earlier slot too, still bracing more than fifty years on, and A House Through Time closes its Edinburgh run with two of its best subjects yet. Dragons’ Den is worth the detour before all that, guest Dragons and all, and cricket fans have a full day of Headingley to fall back on. The one gap tonight is EastEnders, absent from BBC One’s schedule this evening.

Related: What’s On TV Tonight Thursday | What’s On TV Tonight Wed 19 Aug 2026 | What’s On TV Tonight Friday