Friday 13th has a bit of a reputation, but if you're wondering what's on TV tonight, the answer is anything but unlucky. This is one of those Fridays where the tv listings work out in your favour across the board -- a major new chat show launches late on BBC One, Death in Paradise is building to its finale, Astrid wraps up its series on More4, and BBC Four throws a full Irish music party ahead of St Patrick's Day. Check the full schedule below or head to our tonight's TV highlights page, and don't forget the Freeview TV guide has plenty of options across every tier.
What's On TV Tonight: Quick Picks
- The Claudia Winkleman Show -- BBC One, 10.40pm -- New series; Jeff Goldblum, Jennifer Saunders, Vanessa Williams and Tom Allen open the batting
- Death in Paradise -- BBC One, 9pm -- Penultimate episode, Ep7/8: an agony aunt is poisoned
- Astrid: Murder in Paris -- More4, 9pm -- SERIES FINALE: the film-set shooting case reaches its disturbing conclusion
- Big Cats 24/7 -- BBC Two, 9pm -- Ep3/6: lioness mothers, endangered cubs, cheetahs in peril
- St Patrick's Day at the BBC -- BBC Four, from 9.05pm -- U2, The Pogues, The Cranberries, Van Morrison
- Ted -- Sky One, 9pm -- Season two, episodes 3 and 4 (both new)
TV Guide: Early Evening (2pm – 9pm)
Father Brown – BBC One, 2pm
The good Father is on detective duty again, this time trying to establish the innocence of a man facing a murder conviction. Mark Williams continues to make this look effortless -- it's one of those shows that shouldn't work as well as it does, but here we are, fifteen series in and still purring along. Available on BBC iPlayer.
Horse Racing -- Cheltenham Festival Gold Cup – ITV1, from 12.45pm
The Gold Cup is the big one -- the race that defines the Cheltenham Festival and, to a significant degree, the entire National Hunt season. This year Galopin Des Champs is attempting something genuinely historic: a third win in four runnings. He's already a legend of the modern jump racing era and if he pulls it off today the replays will be shown for years. Even if you only have a passing interest in horses, this is worth setting aside time for this afternoon. ITV1's coverage begins at 12.45pm with Ed Chamberlin presenting all six races on Gold Cup day, culminating in the feature race.
MasterChef: The Professionals – BBC One, 7.30pm
A second batch of professional chefs gets the pop-up street food treatment, working out of a London food hall with tacos, octopus and custard tarts on the brief. The pop-up challenge is reliably revealing -- professional kitchens give chefs a safety net they simply don't have here, and the results are often messier and more entertaining than the studio rounds. Episode 15 of 21.
Would I Lie to You? The Unseen Bits – BBC One, 8.30pm
The outtakes edition is a tradition that works better than it has any right to. Rob Brydon, Lee Mack and David Mitchell revisit material left on the cutting-room floor from the current series, and tonight apparently includes a Bob Mortimer claim described as the most bizarre he has ever made, plus Gyles Brandreth belting out an Italian pop song. That is a sentence that requires no further embellishment.
Gardeners' World – BBC Two, 8pm
Monty Don is back at Longmeadow after what has, by all accounts, been a relentlessly wet and cold winter -- and the garden has suffered for it. Tonight is about embracing spring properly: cutting back grasses, potting dahlias, and finding out what survived. Adam Frost has moved house, so there's a new garden to obsess over, and Arit Anderson heads to Kew Gardens. Reliable, warm, exactly what Friday evening was invented for.
TV Tonight: Prime Time (9pm onwards)
Death in Paradise – BBC One, 9pm
Episode seven of eight, and we're into the home straight. This week the team investigate the poisoning of a local newspaper's agony aunt -- a character type that tends to generate a satisfying number of suspects in any community. But the more interesting thread is Mervin's emotional life. His PTSD following his abduction earlier in the series has given this run a different quality to previous seasons, and the way it's shaping his relationships, including with his brother, has been handled carefully and well. One more episode after this.
Big Cats 24/7 – BBC Two, 9pm ⭐
Episode three, and things are getting worse before they get better in the Okavango Delta. With intruder males on pride territory, the lioness mothers are scrambling to reunite with the rest of the group and protect their cubs -- a situation Gordon Buchanan has been filming at night, in conditions that make it extraordinary that any usable footage exists at all. Leopard Lediba is taking increasingly desperate risks for food. The cheetah cubs, meanwhile, face something dangerous during what should have been routine sprint training. Three episodes in and this is comfortably the best wildlife series on television right now.
Astrid: Murder in Paris – More4, 9pm (SERIES FINALE)
The final episode of the current series, and it's a clever one. We know early on that someone tampered with the gun that fatally shot an actor on a film set -- which means the usual whodunnit tension is replaced by something different: how does Raphaelle prove what she already knows? Then a second body arrives and complicates everything. The climax is reportedly disturbing, so consider that fair warning. The full series is also available on Channel 4 streaming if you want to catch up on what you've missed.
Gogglebox – Channel 4, 9pm
Series 27, episode 6. The usual arrangement: families on sofas, television on televisions, opinions delivered at volume. This week's edition will presumably include reactions to the Paralympics, which has been on all week -- Gogglebox's response to live sporting events is always worth watching.
Ted – Sky One, 9pm
Season two continues with a double bill, episodes three and four. In the first, John, Ted and Blaire find themselves having to complete a drug dealer's Dungeons and Dragons campaign in order to score weed during a drought -- which is an extremely 1990s problem to have. The second episode deals with the aftermath of Blaire's break-up via an extended romcom marathon that irritates everyone in the house differently. Available on NOW.
Building the Impossible with Rob Bell – Channel 5, 8pm
Rob Bell heads to Panama to look at the canal, which remains one of the genuinely staggering things human beings have managed to build. The engineering challenge of connecting two oceans through a mountain range -- and what that required in terms of ingenuity, labour and sheer stubborn determination -- is a story that still impresses even when you know how it ends.
TV Guide UK: Late Night
The Claudia Winkleman Show – BBC One, 10.40pm
This is the new arrival everyone has been talking about. After stepping away from Strictly and handing over the keys to the Traitors castle, Claudia Winkleman now has a Friday night chat show on BBC One -- the slot Graham Norton has owned for years. Whether she can make it her own is the question, and based on the opening guest list she's made a very confident start. Jeff Goldblum, Vanessa Williams, Jennifer Saunders and Tom Allen in the first episode is not a soft landing -- it's a statement of intent. Claudia has said publicly she expects to be terrible at it. She almost certainly won't be.
The Last Leg – Channel 4, 10pm
The live Friday night debrief returns with Richard Ayoade and American comedian Michelle Wolf joining the regular panel. There's a week's worth of sport, politics and Paralympics action to work through, and Ayoade specifically tends to bring out a weirder, more unpredictable side of the show. Worth staying up for.
St Patrick's Day at the BBC – BBC Four, from 9.05pm
With St Patrick's Day falling on Tuesday 17th, BBC Four gets the celebrations in early with a wonderful-looking archive evening. The headline collection features performances from U2, The Pogues, The Cranberries, Van Morrison and more, followed at 10.05pm by Other Voices 2026 from Dingle's St James's Church -- Dermot Kennedy leading a strong bill that includes Miles Kane and Dry Cleaning. Van Morrison himself gets a full Radio 2 concert at 11.50pm. If you love Irish music, do not fall asleep early tonight.
The Affair – ITV1, 9pm
ITV1 airs the first episode of the US drama series tonight, with seasons 1-3 already available in full on ITVX. It's a slow-burn story about what happens when a Long Island summer break leads a married father of four into an affair with a waitress, told from multiple perspectives in ways that gradually complicate everything you thought you knew. Worth picking up on streaming if tonight's episode catches you.
Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy – ITV1, 10.55pm
The true-crime drama continues as an increasingly inebriated Gacy begins confessing to his lawyer, with flashbacks to the actual killings. The full series is available on ITVX. Not light viewing, but for anyone interested in the psychology of how a serial killer justifies what he's done to himself and others, this is compelling and deeply uncomfortable in equal measure.
Sport
The Cheltenham Festival Gold Cup coverage runs on ITV1 from 12.45pm with Ed Chamberlin presenting all six races on the final day of the 2026 Cheltenham Festival. Galopin Des Champs going for a third win in four years was the headline story of the National Hunt season.
Football: EFL Championship -- Wrexham v Swansea City is live on Sky Sports Football from 8pm. North Wales against south Wales at the Racecourse Ground; the Welsh derby always delivers.
Formula 1: Chinese Grand Prix -- Sprint Qualifying is live on Sky One from 8pm (Sky Sports F1 also has coverage). Grid positions for Saturday's Sprint Race are set tonight.
Tonight's TV Listings: Full Schedule
| Time | Channel | Programme |
|---|---|---|
| 12:45pm | ITV1 | ITV Racing: Cheltenham Festival Live (inc. Gold Cup) |
| 2:00pm | BBC One | Father Brown (Ep8/10) |
| 7:00pm | BBC One | The One Show |
| 7:00pm | BBC Four | Top of the Pops: 1999 |
| 7:30pm | BBC One | MasterChef: The Professionals (Ep15/21) |
| 7:30pm | ITV1 | It'll Be Alright on the Night |
| 8:00pm | BBC Two | Gardeners' World |
| 8:00pm | Channel 4 | Inside the World's Most Luxurious Cruises |
| 8:00pm | Channel 5 | Building the Impossible with Rob Bell |
| 8:00pm | Sky One | Chinese F1 GP: Sprint Qualifying |
| 8:00pm | Sky Sports Football | Football: Championship Wrexham v Swansea |
| 8:30pm | BBC One | Would I Lie to You? The Unseen Bits (Ep11/12) |
| 9:00pm | BBC One | Death in Paradise (Ep7/8) |
| 9:00pm | BBC Two | Big Cats 24/7 (Ep3/6) |
| 9:00pm | Channel 4 | Gogglebox (S27 Ep6) |
| 9:00pm | More4 | Astrid: Murder in Paris (Series Finale) |
| 9:00pm | ITV1 | The Affair (Ep1) |
| 9:00pm | Channel 5 | Mysteries of the Pyramids with Dara O Briain |
| 9:00pm | Sky One | Ted (S2 Ep3, new) |
| 9:00pm | Sky Atlantic | DTF St. Louis (S1 Ep2, new) |
| 9:05pm | BBC Four | St Patrick's Day at the BBC |
| 9:45pm | Sky One | Ted (S2 Ep4, new) |
| 10:00pm | Channel 4 | The Last Leg (live) |
| 10:05pm | BBC Four | Other Voices 2026: Dingle, Ireland |
| 10:40pm | BBC One | The Claudia Winkleman Show (NEW SERIES) |
| 10:55pm | ITV1 | Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy |
| 11:00pm | BBC Two | Girl (2023) |
| 11:05pm | BBC Four | Enya at the BBC |
| 11:25pm | BBC One | RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs the World (Semi-final, Ep7/8) |
| 11:50pm | BBC Four | Van Morrison: Radio 2 in Concert |
Freeview TV Guide: What's On Streaming
Can't catch everything live? Head to our now and next guide to see what's airing right now, or browse the full channels list.
BBC iPlayer: Death in Paradise, MasterChef: The Professionals, Would I Lie to You? The Unseen Bits, The Claudia Winkleman Show, Gardeners' World, Big Cats 24/7, Father Brown, RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs the World, St Patrick's Day at the BBC, Other Voices 2026 ITVX: Cheltenham Gold Cup highlights, The Affair (seasons 1-3 now), Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy, It'll Be Alright on the Night Channel 4 streaming: Astrid: Murder in Paris (full series), Gogglebox, The Last Leg, Inside the World's Most Luxurious Cruises My5: Building the Impossible with Rob Bell, Mysteries of the Pyramids with Dara O Briain NOW: Ted series 2, DTF St. Louis
Frequently Asked Questions
What time is The Claudia Winkleman Show on BBC One?
The Claudia Winkleman Show launches its new series tonight on BBC One at 10.40pm. Opening guests are Jeff Goldblum, Vanessa Williams, Jennifer Saunders and Tom Allen.
What time is Death in Paradise on tonight?
Death in Paradise is on BBC One at 9pm tonight (Friday 13th March 2026). It's episode seven of eight -- the penultimate episode of series 14.
Is EastEnders on tonight?
No, EastEnders is not on tonight. EastEnders does not broadcast on Fridays. It returns on Monday on BBC One.
What time is the Astrid: Murder in Paris series finale on?
Astrid: Murder in Paris airs its series finale tonight on More4 at 9pm. The full series is also available on Channel 4 streaming.
What's the best thing to watch on TV tonight?
Big Cats 24/7 on BBC Two at 9pm is our pick of the night for pure quality. But The Claudia Winkleman Show at 10.40pm on BBC One is the must-see new arrival. If you're an Astrid fan, don't miss the series finale on More4 at 9pm either.
What's on BBC Four tonight?
BBC Four has an Irish music night from 9.05pm, celebrating St Patrick's Day (17 March). Archive performances from U2, The Pogues, The Cranberries and Van Morrison feature in the opening programme, followed by Other Voices 2026 from Dingle at 10.05pm and a Van Morrison concert at 11.50pm.
What time is Big Cats 24/7 on tonight?
Big Cats 24/7 is on BBC Two at 9pm tonight (Friday 13th March 2026). Episode three of six follows lioness mothers protecting their cubs from intruder males, with Gordon Buchanan filming in complete darkness.
TV Guide UK: Final Verdict
Tonight's tv guide has a clear headline act and a packed supporting bill. The Claudia Winkleman Show at 10.40pm on BBC One is the moment of the week -- a genuinely intriguing new proposition in the chat show landscape, and the opening guest list is excellent. Before that, Death in Paradise at 9pm is building towards its finale in good shape, and Big Cats 24/7 on BBC Two at 9pm remains the must-watch wildlife series of the year. Astrid: Murder in Paris wraps its series on More4 at 9pm for fans who've been following it. BBC Four's Irish music night is the best thing on late-night television if you have any love for that part of the world. And if you've still got energy well past midnight, Van Morrison in concert rounds off the BBC Four evening at 11.50pm. A strong Friday. Browse our full channels list or check what's on now to see everything airing across the Freeview TV guide tonight.