Yesterday TV Guide: Listings, Schedule & What’s On Yesterday Tonight

Published: 29 August 2026

Yesterday is UKTV’s history and heritage channel, mixing archive documentaries, military history and natural history with a growing slate of classic motoring shows. BBC Studios has owned it outright through UKTV since 2019, and it’s free with no subscription required. Sunday’s daytime runs through two Abandoned Engineering episodes, a Great Continental Railway Journeys pair and two editions of Great Canal Journeys before Canal Boat Diaries settles in for three from midday, following narrowboat Robbie’s journey. Russia with Simon Reeve takes 3pm, then the whole of Porridge’s opening series runs in order from 4:05pm to 7:20pm — six episodes, three of them landing in primetime. From 8pm it’s Bangers & Cash back to back, though drawn from two different series rather than one continuous run, before Canal Boat Diaries returns at 10pm and Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In closes the night at 11pm. Full breakdown below.

Yesterday Schedule: Sunday 30 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete Yesterday schedule for Sunday 30 August 2026, on Freeview 27.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on Yesterday today

Sunday’s schedule opens just after midnight with two Bangers & Cash episodes from series 7 back to back, followed by Abandoned Engineering at 2am and just over three hours of teleshopping filling the small hours from 3am.

Two more editions of Abandoned Engineering run from 6:10am, then Great Continental Railway Journeys holds the mid-morning with a pair of episodes from 8am, followed by two instalments of Great Canal Journeys from 10am.

Canal Boat Diaries takes over at midday for three consecutive episodes, continuing narrowboat Robbie’s journey, before Russia with Simon Reeve airs at 3pm. From 4:05pm the whole of Porridge’s opening series runs in order — six episodes across three and a half hours, ending at 7:20pm and carrying three of them into primetime. Bangers & Cash then holds both the 8pm and 9pm hours, though the two episodes are drawn from different series rather than one continuous run, before Canal Boat Diaries returns at 10pm and Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In, a feature-length documentary on his 26 years and 38 trophies at Manchester United, closes out the evening at 11pm.

Yesterday tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the Yesterday primetime line-up for tonight, Sunday 30 August 2026.

Porridge — Yesterday, 6:05pm

Yesterday runs the whole of Porridge’s first series in order today, six episodes back to back from 4:05pm to 7:20pm. The final three fall in primetime, at 6:05pm, 6:45pm and 7:20pm, taking Fletcher and Godber through their early days at Slade Prison before the evening’s motoring double bill.

Bangers & Cash — Yesterday, 8pm

Bangers & Cash opens the 8pm hour with series 14’s sixth outing, headlined by a Mark 1 Astra GTE alongside a Trojan dating to 1964 and a Lambretta scooter two years its junior, all heading to auction in Thornton-le-Dale.

Bangers & Cash — Yesterday, 9pm

A second Bangers & Cash follows at 9pm, but it’s drawn from series 7 rather than a continuation of the 8pm edition — the standout lot this time is a 1957 Austin Healey going under the hammer.

Canal Boat Diaries — Yesterday, 10pm

Canal Boat Diaries returns at 10pm as narrowboat Robbie ties up at Abingdon to deal with an emergency repair to a leak that’s sprung up mid-journey.

Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In — Yesterday, 11pm

The night closes with Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In at 11pm, a two-and-a-half-hour feature documentary covering his 26 years and 38 trophies at Manchester United. It’s flagged New in the schedule data, but that marks its first outing on Yesterday rather than a new production.

What kind of shows are on Yesterday

Classic motoring and Bangers & Cash

Motoring is the growth area, and it is essentially one family: the Mathewsons of Thornton-le-Dale. Bangers & Cash produced Restoring Classics, and the channel has built a wider strand around them with Flipping Bangers and Find It, Fix It, Flog It.

Military and social history

Archive war documentaries are what the channel was founded on. The World at War still anchors a run of conflict and social history titles pulled from decades of British broadcast archive.

Natural history and engineering

The rest is natural history and engineering: A Perfect Planet, plus Abandoned Engineering and Secrets of the London Underground, which are really infrastructure documentaries wearing a history badge.

How to watch Yesterday

Channel numbers

Here’s where to find Yesterday across the main UK television platforms:

Yesterday is free on all of the above platforms, with no subscription required. Sky, Virgin Media and Freesat channel numbers can vary slightly by region and box, so your on-screen guide is the definitive source if these don’t match.

Streaming online

Yesterday streams live and free on u.co.uk and via the U app on smart TVs, iOS, Android and most streaming boxes. U is UKTV’s streaming service, formerly known as UKTV Play, and it’s free to sign up for. Most Yesterday shows are also available to catch up on demand once they’ve broadcast, though older archive series can come and go from the library.

Yesterday +1 and sister channels

Yesterday +1 runs the main schedule exactly an hour behind, on Freeview channel 26. Miss the start of a Bangers & Cash episode on the main channel and +1 lets you pick it up from close to the beginning an hour later instead.

Yesterday sits within the wider UKTV stable alongside Dave, Drama, Really and Alibi. If you enjoy Yesterday’s history and documentary output, Dave carries more panel shows and sitcoms, while Really leans towards true crime and paranormal programming.

Frequently asked questions

What channel is Yesterday on?

Freeview 27, Sky 155, Virgin Media 129 and Freesat 155. Yesterday +1 is on Freeview 26. All are free to watch.

What’s on Yesterday tonight?

The whole of Porridge’s first series runs from 4:05pm, with three of its six episodes landing in primetime at 6:05pm, 6:45pm and 7:20pm. Bangers & Cash takes both the 8pm and 9pm hours from two different series, Canal Boat Diaries follows at 10pm, and Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In closes the evening at 11pm.

Is Yesterday free to watch?

Yes, on every major UK platform, with advertising breaks but no subscription fee.

Can I watch Yesterday online for free?

Yes, live and on demand via u.co.uk and the U app, UKTV’s free streaming service.

Verdict

Pound for pound, Yesterday remains one of the better-value channels on Freeview. The archive documentaries that built its reputation are still on air, and Bangers & Cash has grown into the channel’s biggest draw since it began in 2019.

Tonight leans on two strands rather than a scattergun of them: the whole of Porridge’s opening series runs through the afternoon and into primetime, then Bangers & Cash takes both the 8pm and 9pm hours with two unrelated episodes — a Mark 1 Astra GTE and company at 8pm, a 1957 Austin Healey at 9pm. Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In gives the night a proper closer at 11pm, a two-and-a-half-hour look back at his Manchester United years.

Related: Freeview Channel Guide | Dave TV Guide | Films on TV This Week