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

Updated: 20 September 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. Tonight, Sunday 20 September 2026, four Canal Boat Diaries episodes open the evening from 6pm, then Bangers & Cash runs two episodes from 8pm before two more Canal Boat Diaries episodes close out the night from 10pm. Full breakdown below.

Yesterday Schedule: Sunday 20 September 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete Yesterday schedule for Sunday 20 September 2026, on Freeview 27.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on Yesterday today

Overnight opens with Bangers & Cash at midnight, then a second Bangers & Cash episode at 1am and The Architecture the Railways Built at 2am, before Teleshopping fills the schedule from 3am until ten past six.

The Architecture the Railways Built returns for one more episode at 6:10am, then Secrets of the London Underground opens the proper broadcast day at 7:10am. Two Great Continental Railway Journeys episodes and two Great Canal Journeys episodes carry the late morning, three Canal Boat Diaries episodes take midday into early afternoon, and Turkey with Simon Reeve and This World: Colombia with Simon Reeve lead into two more Canal Boat Diaries episodes opening this evening’s run from 5pm.

Yesterday tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the Yesterday primetime line-up for tonight, Sunday 20 September 2026.

Canal Boat Diaries — Yesterday, 6pm-7:30pm

Four Canal Boat Diaries episodes run back to back to open the evening. Presenter Robbie Cumming covers four separate stretches of the network across the four half-hours: a Pennine crossing from Marple to Huddersfield, the Rochdale Canal into Manchester, the icy final leg of a longer North-and-Midlands route, and an earlier journey that starts the whole series off, from Shardlow to Etruria Junction.

Bangers & Cash — Yesterday, 8pm-9pm

Two Bangers & Cash episodes follow. The first, notably the show’s 100th episode overall, follows Derek up to Northumberland to collect an unusual NSU Ro 80 dating from 1975, while the second sees Dave head to the south coast for a freshly restored Ford Escort.

Canal Boat Diaries — Yesterday, 10pm-11pm

Two further, differently-routed Canal Boat Diaries episodes close the night: one tracking a passage from Yardley Wood to the Netherton Tunnel, the other from the Hawne Basin towards Stourbridge.

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?

Four Canal Boat Diaries episodes open the evening from 6pm, then Bangers & Cash runs two episodes from 8pm. Two more Canal Boat Diaries episodes close out the night from 10pm.

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 harder on Canal Boat Diaries than most, with six episodes spread across the evening either side of a Bangers & Cash double bill from 8pm. It’s the channel’s core appeal condensed into one evening rather than a standout night in its own right.

Related: Freeview Channel Guide | Dave TV Guide | Tonight’s Films on Freeview