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

Published: 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, Monday 21 September 2026, Antiques Roadshow opens primetime at 6pm, then Planet Earth takes 7pm and Bill Bailey’s Jungle Hero airs at 8pm. Canal Boat Diaries follows at 9pm, before two Bangers & Cash episodes close out the night from 10pm. Full breakdown below.

Yesterday Schedule: Monday 21 September 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete Yesterday schedule for Monday 21 September 2026, on Freeview 27.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on Yesterday today

Overnight opens with two Flipping Bangers episodes from midnight, then The Architecture the Railways Built at 2am, before Teleshopping fills the schedule from 3am until ten past six.

Secrets of the London Underground runs two episodes from ten past six, then Bangers & Cash takes over the late morning with two episodes from 8am. Adolf Hitler’s War and D-Day To Berlin carry the late morning, before Antiques Roadshow, a further Bangers & Cash double bill and a repeat of Adolf Hitler’s War fill the afternoon ahead of this evening’s schedule.

Yesterday tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the Yesterday primetime line-up for tonight, Monday 21 September 2026.

Antiques Roadshow — Yesterday, 6pm

Series 38’s eighteenth episode opens the evening, the valuation format doing what it’s done since 1979: strangers, family heirlooms and the hope of a good number at the end.

Planet Earth — Yesterday, 7pm

Series 1’s fifth episode continues the nature documentary strand Yesterday leans on to break up its history and motoring output.

Bill Bailey’s Jungle Hero — Yesterday, 8pm

The first episode of Bill Bailey’s nature documentary series, following him into the field rather than behind a panel-show desk.

Canal Boat Diaries — Yesterday, 9pm

Series 5’s fifth episode, gentle waterways-and-history programming that’s become one of Yesterday’s steadier factual bookings.

Bangers & Cash — Yesterday, 10pm–11pm (two episodes)

Two episodes from series 10 close the night, the Mathewson family’s Thornton-le-Dale auction house doing what it does best: barn finds, restorations and the odd surprise sale price.

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?

Antiques Roadshow opens the evening at 6pm, then Planet Earth takes 7pm and Bill Bailey’s Jungle Hero airs at 8pm. Canal Boat Diaries follows at 9pm, before two Bangers & Cash 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 is a fairly even spread across the channel’s usual strands: Antiques Roadshow, a nature documentary and a Bill Bailey one-off ahead of Canal Boat Diaries, before Bangers & Cash takes the last hour of the night. 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