TV Guide UK Tonight: Tues 5 May 2026 – Secret Service Finale, MasterChef & Half Man

Published: 30 April 2026

Tuesday 5 May 2026. Tom Bradby’s spy thriller Secret Service reaches its finale on ITV1 at 9pm. MasterChef runs alongside on BBC One. Coronation Street deepens its murder mystery at 8:30pm and Jamie Oliver fires up a new Channel 4 BBQ series at 8pm. Late: Half Man episode 2, where Richard Gadd and Jamie Bell push the series into much darker territory.

Quick Picks: Tonight’s Best

• Secret Service ⭐ — ITV1, 9pm — Series finale. The traitor unmasked
• Half Man — BBC One, 10:40pm — Ep 2. Goes much further than last week
• MasterChef — BBC One, 9pm — Poland, Mexico, Brazil signature dishes
• Coronation Street — ITV1, 8:30pm — Body on the cobbles, Platts under suspicion
• Jamie’s Ultimate BBQ — Channel 4, 8pm — NEW. Sirloin three ways, lamb lollipops
• Reuben Owen: Life in the Dales — Channel 5, 8pm — Series 3

Early Evening

The Martin Lewis Money Show Live – ITV1, 7pm

Martin Lewis and Jeanette Kwakye take on pensions tonight, private and state. If your workplace pension hasn’t been looked at since you started the job, this is the one to have on. Catch up via ITVX.

EastEnders – BBC One, 7:30pm

Election day in Walford. Ian Beale and Elaine Peacock have been tearing strips off each other for weeks and tonight residents vote. Ian makes a rash call after Oscar humiliates him; Nicola comes clean to George; Linda puts her family first. BBC iPlayer.

Prime Time

Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr – BBC One, 8pm

A first for the series: designers work in pairs. The brief is four spaces at The Passage, a London charity for the unhoused — they need to be welcoming, calming and practical all at once. Guest judge Sophie Robinson arrives with strong views on colour, none of them muted. Alan Carr was hoping the patron visit would be Prince William; he gets Dara Ó Briain instead, arguably more entertaining. Two designers go home. BBC iPlayer.

Jamie’s Ultimate BBQ – Channel 4, 8pm (NEW SERIES)

Three episodes, opening just as the British weather might cooperate. Tonight: sirloin steak three ways, Italian-inspired lamb chop lollipops, a chicken Caesar salad reworked over fire (Buddy, his 15-year-old, apparently signed off on it), and a method for cooking a whole fish without losing it through the grill. Oliver is at his most useful being specific about method. C4 streaming.

Reuben Owen: Life in the Dales – Channel 5, 8pm (SERIES 3)

The third series, and the quieter answer to the rest of the Yorkshire Dales TV universe. Reuben and girlfriend Jess rope in Sonny and Capper to put up a sheep pen while the gatepost proves characteristically awkward. Brothers Miles and Sidney attempt to clip three sheep in under half an hour for the blue seal. Dad Clive is closing in on 70 and his sons are planning something. 5 streaming.

Coronation Street – ITV1, 8:30pm

A body has turned up on the cobbles. Police question residents, one story starts to fall apart, and a public arrest follows. Forensics drop the bigger bombshell: DC Kit Green confirms blood traces inside David and Shona Platt’s home. The mystery has barely started. ITVX.

9pm: The Main Event

Secret Service ⭐ – ITV1, 9pm (SERIES FINALE)

Episode 5, the last one. Kate (Gemma Arterton) launches the operation she’s been building towards all run. Some supporting characters were written disposable from the start, given just enough identity to register as human; those deaths arrive tonight and sharpen the stakes around Kate considerably. The traitor (whose identity sharper viewers may have called by episode 3) is unmasked. Arterton has held the tension between competence and exposure brilliantly throughout. Full series on ITVX.

MasterChef – BBC One, 9pm

Signature dish round, with cultural roots from Poland, Mexico and Brazil on the bench. Those who don’t impress face an egg yolk and ricotta raviolo cook-off — manageable until it isn’t. Two former MasterChef winners and a finalist then judge two-course meals. Quarter-final qualification on the line for Thursday. BBC iPlayer.

Virgin Island – Channel 4, 9pm

The Mediterranean intimacy retreat reaches the nudity phase of its programme, which is exactly what it sounds like and apparently more complicated than the participants reckoned. C4 streaming.

Bear Grylls Is Running Wild – Sky One, 9pm

Bear Grylls takes Matthew McConaughey into the Norwegian glacial alpine wilderness. McConaughey is affable enough to make it work without being so competent the jeopardy disappears.

Late Night

This Is a Bomb: the Nevada Casino Heist – BBC Two, 9:45pm (NEW SERIES)

A 1980 true-crime yarn that plays like a heist film that forgot to bring a competent criminal. Two men wheel a metal box into a Lake Tahoe hotel and hand over a three-page note: 1,000lbs of TNT, multiple booby traps, $3m by helicopter inside 24 hours. Tone is closer to Coen Brothers than grim procedural, which is the right call. First of three. BBC iPlayer.

Berlusconi: Condemned to Win – BBC Four, 10pm (NEW SERIES)

Three parts. Episode 1 covers Berlusconi’s Milan property developer years through TV mogul, the AC Milan purchase in 1986, and the politicial career it powered. Contributors include Ruud Gullit. Keeps a distance from hagiography without being a hit piece. BBC iPlayer.

Half Man – BBC One, 10:40pm (Episode 2)

Last week’s opener established the shape of Niall (Jamie Bell) and Ruben’s (Richard Gadd) relationship without revealing what Ruben was capable of. Episode 2 removes that ambiguity. Just as Niall edges towards something resembling hope, Ruben commits the most disturbing act the series has shown yet. Graphic and consequential. Gadd’s argument is that on-screen violence should be hard to watch. Whether honesty holds up here is a fair question. Episode 3 on BBC iPlayer Friday. (11:10pm N Ireland.)

The Viewing Schedule

What’s On Streaming

BBC iPlayer: Half Man eps 1–2 (available now), MasterChef, Interior Design Masters, EastEnders, This Is a Bomb: the Nevada Casino Heist, Berlusconi: Condemned to Win
ITVX: Secret Service (full series), Coronation Street, The Martin Lewis Money Show
Channel 4 streaming: Jamie’s Ultimate BBQ, Virgin Island
5 streaming: Reuben Owen: Life in the Dales

Frequently Asked Questions

Is EastEnders on tonight (Tuesday 5 May 2026)?

Yes. BBC One at 7:30pm. Election day in Walford — Ian Beale and Elaine Peacock’s council battle reaches a head. Ian makes a rash decision after Oscar humiliates him; Nicola comes clean to George; Linda puts her family first. BBC iPlayer.

What time is Secret Service on ITV1 tonight?

Series finale on ITV1 at 9pm (Tuesday 5 May 2026). Episode 5. Kate (Gemma Arterton) launches her final operation to expose the traitor. Full series on ITVX.

What time is MasterChef on BBC One tonight?

BBC One at 9pm. Signature dishes from Poland, Mexico and Brazil. Ones who don’t impress face an egg yolk and ricotta raviolo cook-off before judging by two former winners and a finalist. Quarter-final spots on the line. BBC iPlayer.

What time is Half Man on BBC One tonight?

Episode 2 on BBC One at 10:40pm (11:10pm Northern Ireland). Richard Gadd and Jamie Bell’s limited series goes considerably darker this week. Episode 3 lands on BBC iPlayer Friday.

What’s on Coronation Street tonight (Tuesday 5 May 2026)?

ITV1 at 8:30pm. Body on the cobbles, public arrest, and DC Kit Green confirms blood traces in David and Shona Platt’s home. ITVX.

Final Verdict

Secret Service at 9pm on ITV1. Tom Bradby’s finale gives Gemma Arterton the material to land it properly. Don’t skip to the end without watching episodes 1–4 — they’re all on ITVX.

MasterChef at 9pm on BBC One runs alongside in good shape. The cultural-roots signature round is one of the better formats the new judging era has introduced.

Stay up for Half Man at 10:40pm if you can. Episode 2 is where Richard Gadd’s series fully arrives — genuinely difficult, and worth the difficulty. Episode 3 on iPlayer from Friday.

Related: What’s On TV Tonight Tuesday | What’s On TV Tonight Mon 4 May 2026 | What’s On TV Tonight Wed 6 May 2026