TV Guide UK Tonight: Wed 23 Sept 2026 – 20 Years of Not Going Out, Professor T & Grand Designs

Updated: 17 September 2026

Wednesday 23 September 2026. BBC One marks 20 years of Not Going Out with a documentary followed by a new episode, sandwiched between EastEnders and a late Sam Smith concert special. Channel 4 is on typically strong form with Grand Designs and a new Martin Compston travelogue, ITV1 has Professor T, and Channel 5 closes out the current run of Forever Home.

Quick Picks: Tonight’s Best

• 20 Years of Not Going Out BBC One, 9pm. A documentary celebrating the sitcom’s 20th birthday, straight into a new episode at 9.30pm.
• Professor T ITV1, 9pm. The DNA-results storyline reaches its next twist.
• Grand Designs Channel 4, 9pm. Kevin McCloud visits a vicarage turned into two “cloud houses”.
• Sam Smith: Live at the London Coliseum BBC One, 10.40pm. A full concert from the “To Be Free” residency.

Early Evening

EastEnders – BBC One, 7.30pm

Midweek Walford as usual, with the Ash Panesar storyline still the thread running through the Square after her return this week following three years away — the role recast, with Sakira Vel taking over from Gurlaine Kaur Garcha. The other strand worth tracking is Cindy, who has something on her rival Priya and looks ready to use it. Beyond that, expect the usual mix of doorstep rows and half-finished conversations at the standard 7.30pm slot.

7 Up: The Story – ITV1, 7.30pm

A companion piece to this week’s 70 Up, digging into how a one-off documentary made for Granada’s World in Action back in 1964 turned into the longest-running project of its kind on British television. Michael Apted had no grand plan when he first filmed those seven-year-olds; the decision to go back only came afterwards, and the programme asks whether any broadcaster today would sign up to something that only pays off across six decades.

Would I Lie to You? – Dave, 7.40pm

A double bill of the panel show that’s outlasted most of its imitators by sticking to one simple trick: is the story true, or a very good lie? Comfortable rerun territory for Dave, and none the worse for it.

The Repair Shop: Beyond the Barn – BBC One, 8pm

This week’s items lean heavily on family history. A scrapbook made while its owner worked on the late Queen’s coronation gown gets rebound, and a broken ruby ring turns out to have been hidden in a house in Yugoslavia through the Second World War before it was somehow recovered afterwards. The formula rarely changes, but the stories behind the objects keep it from feeling routine.

Emmerdale – ITV1, 8pm

Caleb has spent weeks absorbing what Joe Tate has done to him. Tonight he stops absorbing it and starts planning, and the episode leaves little doubt he means it. Nicola, meanwhile, owns up to something in public — the kind of admission that is much harder to walk back once there are witnesses — while Kim pays a visit to Joe’s baby in hospital.

Location, Location, Location – Channel 4, 8pm

Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer are now well past their fortieth run of house-hunting, this time in east London, and the format still works because the tension is never really about the properties — it’s about watching two people slowly realise they can’t afford what they actually want.

Call the Bailiffs: Time to Pay Up – Channel 5, 8pm

Fly-on-the-wall stuff following bailiffs chasing unpaid debts, mixing genuine tension with the odd bit of dark comedy whenever a debtor tries to talk their way out of it.

Coronation Street – ITV1, 8.30pm

Christina starts the new job George talked her into on Tuesday, and day one is a jolt rather than a triumph. Lucy apologises to Sally for the outburst that had her so rattled earlier in the week, and Carl’s latest fling goes down badly with Debbie. Four threads in half an hour, and none of them finished with.

Prime Time

20 Years of Not Going Out – BBC One, 9pm ⭐

Twenty years is a genuine landmark for any British sitcom, and this hour makes the case for why Not Going Out earned its longevity rather than just surviving on inertia. Lee Mack is refreshingly honest about how close the show came to disappearing altogether — cancelled after its third series, until viewers campaigned hard enough to bring it back — and the archive digs up an old bit of Lee doing his Proclaimers impression alongside footage of his late father, wrestler-turned-actor Bobby Ball. What comes through more than anything is how unusual it is for a multi-camera studio sitcom to still be commissioned in 2026, let alone thriving. Straight after, the sitcom returns for a fifteenth series, opening with Lee and wife Lucy upstairs surrounded by twentieth-birthday balloons for her goddaughter’s party happening below, and Lee predictably unable to stop himself getting involved in someone else’s celebration. Twenty years in, the format hasn’t needed reinventing.

Grand Designs – Channel 4, 9pm

Kevin McCloud visits a couple converting a London vicarage into a pair of self-contained “cloud houses” — the kind of ambitious, slightly mad conversion that’s kept this format running for over two decades. Expect the usual mix of budget panic and a carefully raised eyebrow.

Who Do You Think You Are? – BBC Two, 9pm

Celebrity genealogy digs into another well-known name’s family tree, unearthing the usual mix of ordinary hardship and unexpected drama, on at 9pm before a Gone Fishing repeat closes out BBC Two’s evening at 10pm.

Professor T – ITV1, 9pm

The DNA comparison Professor T secretly ran comes back to complicate things rather than resolve them, and the Earl of Davenstock, the case’s sole witness, promptly vanishes just as things close in. Ben Miller keeps Jasper’s discomfort with human mess believable even as the case around him gets tidier. Someone’s under arrest for murder by the end of the hour, but a discovery in a junk shop suggests the Barrie family still has more to give up. Continues tomorrow at the same time.

Forever Home – Channel 5, 9pm

Tonight’s episode caps the current run of this Graham Norton adaptation, tying together the various families’ stories without over-explaining any of it. It’s on at 9pm, with the full run available afterwards on My5.

The Human Body: Secrets of Your Life Revealed – BBC Four, 9pm

A science documentary exploring how the body quietly rewires and repairs itself throughout life. It’s the sort of solid factual hour BBC Four slots in most weeknights, up against the bigger dramas elsewhere at 9pm.

Scotland’s Golden Coast – More4, 9pm

New series making the case for Scotland’s east coast as the country’s most underrated stretch of coastline, opening near Lunan Bay’s lighthouses before heading south to Tentsmuir Forest in Fife, whisky included. It’s on More4 at 9pm, ahead of a 24 Hours in A&E double bill from 10pm.

Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA – E4, 9pm

Gordon Ramsay back in familiar territory, tearing into a failing American restaurant’s menu and management before trying to drag it back from the brink. Same recipe it’s followed since the show started, right down to the shouting.

Not Going Out – BBC One, 9.30pm

The 15th series proper begins straight after the documentary, Lee once again risking his marriage and his dignity by inserting himself into a party that has nothing to do with him — this time triggered by an old Frankie Goes to Hollywood record, signed by the band, and a houseful of people half his age. Sally Bretton plays his wife Lucy, back for a fifteenth run.

Late Night

Martin Compston: Living Las Vegas – Channel 4, 10pm

The Line of Duty star swaps Scotland for the city he’s called a second home since marrying a local a decade ago, cruising the Strip in a ’65 Mustang, losing a small fortune at a blackjack table with house money, and touring a penthouse suite that rents for $25,000 a night. On at 10pm, running an hour and five minutes.

Middlemarch – BBC Four, 10pm

Andrew Davies’ 1994 adaptation of George Eliot’s novel continues with a second episode following straight after at 11pm, a proper double bill for anyone settling in for the night. Still one of the better literary adaptations the BBC’s made, even three decades on.

Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing – BBC Two, 10pm

Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse back by the water again, less concerned with actually catching anything than with talking about mortality, friendship and whatever’s on their minds that day. Still the gentlest hour on television.

Downton Abbey – ITV3, 10pm

A repeat outing for the country-house drama that turned period soap into a genuine export, for anyone happy to settle in for something familiar.

Sam Smith: Live at the London Coliseum – BBC One, 10.40pm

A full concert from Sam Smith’s “To Be Free” residency at the historic opera house, following last month’s fifth album Hazel Eyes, a record built around their engagement to fashion designer Christian Cowan. Expect new material alongside the pop-soul hits that have carried Smith to multiple Grammys and tens of millions of album sales, plus the costume changes that have become as much a part of these shows as the songs themselves.

Peston – ITV1, 10.45pm

Robert Peston’s political interview show closes out ITV1’s evening, catching the news lines the ten o’clock bulletin didn’t have room for.

Sport

It’s a quiet one for live sport tonight. The standout is the CRO Race’s second stage on TNT Sports 1 from 1pm, a 114.5km coastal ride through Croatia from Biograd na Moru to Novalja. TNT Sports 1 stays busy into the evening with Major League Baseball, Detroit Tigers against Washington Nationals from 6pm, before Yankees v Rays follows at midnight for anyone still up. Tennis fans get the least sociable slot of the night, with WTA and ATP coverage from the Singapore and Korea Opens and the Chengdu and Hangzhou Opens starting at 4am on Sky Sports Tennis. Nothing here is must-see unless you’re already following one of these events; it’s a genuinely thin midweek sporting card.

Tonight by Channel

A channel-by-channel breakdown of Wednesday 23 September 2026, so you can jump straight to the one you actually watch.

BBC One

• 7.30pm — EastEnders
• 8pm — The Repair Shop: Beyond the Barn
• 9pm — 20 Years of Not Going Out
• 9.30pm — Not Going Out
• 10.40pm — Sam Smith: Live at the London Coliseum

BBC Two

• 9pm — Who Do You Think You Are?
• 10pm — Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing

ITV1

• 7.30pm — 7 Up: The Story
• 8pm — Emmerdale
• 8.30pm — Coronation Street
• 9pm — Professor T
• 10.45pm — Peston

Channel 4

• 8pm — Location, Location, Location
• 9pm — Grand Designs
• 10pm — Martin Compston: Living Las Vegas

Channel 5

• 8pm — Call the Bailiffs: Time to Pay Up
• 9pm — Forever Home

TNT Sports 1

• 1pm — Cycling: The CRO Race
• 6pm — Baseball: Detroit Tigers v Washington Nationals
• 12am — Baseball: New York Yankees v Tampa Bay Rays

BBC Four

• 9pm — The Human Body: Secrets of Your Life Revealed
• 10pm — Middlemarch

The Viewing Schedule

What’s On Streaming

• BBC iPlayer: Not Going Out, The Repair Shop: Beyond the Barn, Who Do You Think You Are?, The Human Body: Secrets of Your Life Revealed, Middlemarch, Sam Smith: Live at the London Coliseum
• ITVX: Professor T, 7 Up: The Story, Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Peston
• Channel 4 streaming: Grand Designs, Location, Location, Location, Martin Compston: Living Las Vegas
• My5: Forever Home, Call the Bailiffs: Time to Pay Up

Frequently Asked Questions

Is EastEnders on tonight (Wednesday 23 September 2026)?

Yes. EastEnders airs at 7.30pm on BBC One tonight, its usual midweek slot. The Ash Panesar storyline is still the thread running through the Square this week, following her return after three years away.

What time is 20 Years of Not Going Out on tonight?

The documentary marking Not Going Out’s 20th anniversary is on BBC One at 9pm, running straight into a new episode of the sitcom itself at 9.30pm.

What’s the best thing to watch on TV tonight (Wednesday 23 September 2026)?

Our pick is BBC One’s Not Going Out double bill from 9pm, a 20th birthday documentary followed immediately by a new episode. Professor T on ITV1 and Grand Designs on Channel 4, both at 9pm, are the strongest alternatives.

What live sport is on TV tonight (Wednesday 23 September 2026)?

It’s a thin night for live sport. TNT Sports 1 has the CRO Race’s second stage from 1pm and Major League Baseball from 6pm (Tigers v Nationals) and midnight (Yankees v Rays), while Sky Sports Tennis carries WTA and ATP coverage from 4am.

What’s on Channel 4 tonight?

Channel 4 has Location, Location, Location at 8pm, Grand Designs at 9pm, and the new travel series Martin Compston: Living Las Vegas at 10pm.

What channel is Professor T on?

Professor T is on ITV1 at 9pm tonight, with the DNA storyline from Jasper’s investigation reaching its next turn. A new episode follows tomorrow at the same time.

Is Forever Home the last episode tonight?

Tonight’s episode does bring the current run of Forever Home to a close on Channel 5 at 9pm. The full series remains available afterwards on 5 streaming.

What time is Sam Smith’s concert on TV tonight?

Sam Smith: Live at the London Coliseum is on BBC One at 10.40pm (11.10pm in Wales, 12.10am in Scotland), a full concert from their “To Be Free” residency.

What’s on More4 tonight?

More4 launches new series Scotland’s Golden Coast at 9pm, exploring the country’s east coast starting near Lunan Bay’s lighthouses, followed by a 24 Hours in A&E double bill from 10pm.

Final Verdict

Not Going Out‘s anniversary hour is the story of the night — a rare case of BBC One actually marking a milestone properly rather than running a clip show. Professor T and Grand Designs both hold up their end at 9pm, and Sam Smith‘s late concert is worth staying up for if you like the songs. Forever Home wraps up quietly on Channel 5, and Scotland’s Golden Coast is a decent new addition to More4’s evening. A solid midweek schedule rather than a spectacular one.

Related: What’s On TV Tonight Wednesday | What’s On TV Tonight Tuesday | What’s On TV Tonight Thursday