What's on TV tonight? Friday's packed and your TV guide has plenty to chew through. Death in Paradise goes theatrical with a poisoning at a Shakespeare performance, BBC Two launches a raw new wildlife series narrated by Attenborough, and Sky Atlantic delivers a storm-battered finale. Browse the full TV listings and Freeview TV guide below for the complete evening rundown.
What's On TV Tonight: Quick Picks
- Death in Paradise -- BBC One, 9pm -- A poisoning during The Tempest and a personal revelation for Mervin
- Big Cats 24/7 -- BBC Two, 9pm -- Attenborough narrates raw footage of lions and leopards in Botswana
- Would I Lie to You? -- BBC One, 8.30pm -- Holly Willoughby, David Morrissey, Montell Douglas, John Kearns
- Gogglebox -- Channel 4, 9pm -- The armchair critics pass judgement on the week
- Under Salt Marsh -- Sky Atlantic, 9pm -- Series finale with Kelly Reilly and Rafe Spall
- Hippo Watch with Steve Backshall -- Channel 5, 8pm -- Face-to-face with Africa's deadliest animal
TV Guide: Early Evening (6pm -- 8pm)
MasterChef The Professionals -- BBC One, 7.30pm
The quarter-finalists face an invention test that sounds genuinely horrible: make something brilliant using only chicken off-cuts. No breasts, no thighs, just the bits most of us would throw away. Marcus Wareing and Monica Galetti will be watching with their usual combination of encouragement and silent devastation. At this stage of the competition the standard is absurdly high, and the margins between triumph and tears are measured in sauce consistency.
Father Brown -- BBC One, 2pm
The afternoon comfort slot delivers another cosy Cotswold murder. A drinks evening at the superintendent's house goes south when a senior copper is killed, and Violet Goodfellow (Naomi Radcliffe) somehow wangles her way into the crime scene. The real entertainment here is the police wives' social politics -- all passive-aggressive pleasantries and cardigans. Mrs Sullivan (Claudie Blakley) keeps insisting the evening must go perfectly, which in TV terms is basically inviting disaster through the front door.
It'll Be Alright on the Night -- ITV1, 7.30pm
Tom Allen returns with another batch of on-air disasters, featuring bloopers from Ant and Dec, Anton Du Beke, Kate Garraway, Bradley Walsh and more. It's the television equivalent of a warm bath -- no brain required, just sit back and laugh at professionals having their worst day at work.
TV Tonight: Prime Time (8pm onwards)
Death in Paradise -- BBC One, 9pm ⭐
This is the one tonight. A poisoning during a performance of The Tempest -- yes, actual Shakespeare on a Caribbean island, which is exactly the kind of gloriously incongruous setup this show does so well. The murder itself is properly puzzling, but the real heart of this episode is what it reveals about DI Mervin Wilson (Don Gilet). We learn that as a kid, he used to hang around West End stage doors hoping to meet the actors, which is a genuinely touching detail that gives Gilet something to work with beyond the usual "look baffled, then have a eureka moment" routine. His sidekick Sebastian (Shaquille Ali-Yebuah) asking whether he ever met Vin Diesel is the kind of daft punchline that makes this show impossible to dislike.
Big Cats 24/7 -- BBC Two, 9pm
Gordon Buchanan's camera team returns to the Okavango Delta for a new series narrated by Sir David Attenborough, and this is about as far from glossy nature filmmaking as you can get. Think less cinematic spectacle, more gritty day-to-day survival. The local lion pride has grown to become one of the biggest on the planet, which sounds impressive until you see the alpha male hoovering up an entire kill while the lionesses and cubs who actually caught it look on in barely concealed fury. There's a new female leopard called Lediba with cubs to protect, and the cheetah Pobe is back. The camera work is raw and immediate -- no orchestral swells here, just the messy, unforgiving business of staying alive on the savannah.
Would I Lie to You? -- BBC One, 8.30pm
A new episode with a properly odd panel. David Morrissey and Holly Willoughby are joined by Montell Douglas -- aka Gladiator Fire, a woman who has competed at both the Summer and Winter Olympics -- and comedian John Kearns, who is roughly as far from an elite athlete as it is possible to be. The fun of WILTY is always in the contrast, and the gulf between Douglas's physical brilliance and Kearns's awkward energy should produce something genuinely unpredictable. Rob Brydon, Lee Mack and David Mitchell do their usual thing. It never gets old.
Hippo Watch with Steve Backshall -- Channel 5, 8pm
Steve Backshall heads to South Africa's Ndumo game reserve for a two-part documentary about hippopotamuses, and the statistics alone are sobering. Hippos kill around 500 people a year -- more than any other large African predator -- and they can hit 19mph on land, which is faster than most humans can sprint. Backshall gets uncomfortably close to an agitated pod and discovers that their terrifying aggression stems from being fiercely protective parents. It's a fascinating look at an animal most people write off as a big, lazy river-dweller.
How to Sleep Better -- Channel 4, 8pm
Denise Van Outen fronts this documentary about why the nation is chronically sleep-deprived. The average Brit gets just 6.7 hours a night, and 68 per cent of us regularly wake up feeling drained. The culprits range from diet and stress to smartphone use and hormonal changes, and Van Outen puts various anti-snoring gadgets through their paces. Practical stuff, and honestly relevant to anyone who has ever stared at their phone at midnight and wondered why they feel terrible the next morning.
TV Guide UK: Late Night
The Graham Norton Show -- BBC One, 10.40pm
This is a highlights compilation from the recent series rather than a new episode -- so you get the greatest hits reel featuring Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt, Matthew McConaughey, Taylor Swift and more. If you missed any of the series, this is a decent catch-up. Not quite the same buzz as a live show, but still good sofa viewing.
Scrapper -- BBC Two, 11pm (not Wales)
Charlotte Regan's 2023 debut is a genuinely joyful piece of British filmmaking. Lola Campbell plays Georgie, a resourceful 12-year-old living alone in east London after her mum's death, who gradually, warily bonds with her estranged dad (Harris Dickinson) when he turns up out of nowhere. Regan deliberately avoids the usual kitchen-sink bleakness -- she even had houses on the Chigwell locations painted in pastels to brighten the palette. The result is funny, warm and emotionally honest without being sentimental. Well worth staying up for.
Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy -- ITV1, 10.45pm
This episode focuses on Billy Carroll and Dale Landingin, two young men whose lives are depicted with real dignity and care rather than reducing them to case numbers. The series traces how societal indifference and systemic failures left vulnerable people exposed to a predator. Not easy viewing, but the slow-burn approach means the horror is all the more unsettling for being grounded in human stories.
Sport
Football: Premier League -- Wolverhampton Wanderers v Aston Villa, Sky Sports Main Event/Premier League from 7.30pm (kick-off 8pm). A tasty West Midlands derby under the Friday night lights.
EFL Championship -- Bristol City v Watford, live on Sky Max from 7.30pm.
Snooker: Welsh Open -- Live on TNT Sports 1 from 6.45pm. Also on BBC Two Wales/BBC Red Button from 7pm.
Golf: South African Open -- Day two from Stellenbosch on Sky Sports Main Event/Golf from 10.30am.
Tonight's TV Listings: Full Schedule
| Time | Channel | Programme |
|---|---|---|
| 12:15pm | BBC One | Bargain Hunt: Olivier Awards Special |
| 2:00pm | BBC One | Father Brown |
| 6:00pm | Channel 4 | A Place in the Sun (new) |
| 6:35pm | Film4 | Mrs Doubtfire (1993) |
| 7:00pm | BBC One | The One Show |
| 7:00pm | BBC Four | TOTP: 1999 |
| 7:00pm | Channel 5 | Celebrity Puzzling (new) |
| 7:30pm | BBC One | MasterChef The Professionals |
| 7:30pm | ITV1 | It'll Be Alright on the Night (new) |
| 7:30pm | Sky Max | Live EFL: Bristol City v Watford |
| 7:30pm | Sky Sports | Live PL: Wolves v Aston Villa (k/o 8pm) |
| 8:00pm | ITV1 | Emmerdale |
| 8:00pm | Channel 4 | How to Sleep Better (new) |
| 8:00pm | Channel 5 | Hippo Watch with Steve Backshall (new) |
| 8:00pm | BBC Two | Gardeners' World |
| 8:00pm | Sky Arts | Guy Garvey: From The Vaults |
| 8:30pm | ITV1 | Coronation Street |
| 8:30pm | BBC One | Would I Lie to You? (new) |
| 9:00pm | BBC One | Death in Paradise |
| 9:00pm | BBC Two | Big Cats 24/7 (new) |
| 9:00pm | Channel 4 | Gogglebox (new) |
| 9:00pm | ITV1 | Beat the Chasers |
| 9:00pm | More4 | Astrid: Murder in Paris (new) |
| 9:00pm | Sky Atlantic | Under Salt Marsh -- series finale (new) |
| 9:00pm | Film4 | The Creator (2023) |
| 9:00pm | Sky Arts | Boy George & Culture Club |
| 10:00pm | Channel 4 | The Last Leg (live) |
| 10:00pm | BBC Two | Live at the Apollo |
| 10:40pm | BBC One | The Graham Norton Show (highlights) |
| 10:45pm | ITV1 | Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy (new) |
| 11:00pm | BBC Two | Scrapper (2023, not Wales) |
| 11:30pm | BBC One | RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs the World |
Freeview TV Guide: What's On Streaming
Can't watch live? Use our now and next guide to see what's showing right now, or browse the full channels list for every available station.
BBC iPlayer: Death in Paradise, Big Cats 24/7, Would I Lie to You?, MasterChef The Professionals, Live at the Apollo, The Graham Norton Show, Scrapper, Father Brown, RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs the World ITVX: Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Beat the Chasers, It'll Be Alright on the Night, Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy (full series) Channel 4 streaming: Gogglebox, How to Sleep Better, The Last Leg, Astrid: Murder in Paris (via More4) Channel 5 streaming: Hippo Watch with Steve Backshall NOW: Under Salt Marsh series finale (Sky Atlantic)
Frequently Asked Questions
What time is Death in Paradise on tonight?
Death in Paradise is on BBC One at 9pm tonight (Friday 27th February 2026). The team investigates a poisoning during a performance of The Tempest.
What's the best thing to watch on TV tonight?
Our top pick is Death in Paradise on BBC One at 9pm -- a theatrical poisoning mystery with a lovely personal subplot for DI Mervin Wilson. At 9pm on BBC Two, Big Cats 24/7 narrated by David Attenborough is also outstanding.
What time is Big Cats 24/7 on tonight?
Big Cats 24/7 is on BBC Two at 9pm tonight (Friday 27th February 2026). Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, the series follows big cats in Botswana's Okavango Delta.
What's on BBC One tonight?
BBC One tonight includes MasterChef The Professionals at 7.30pm, Would I Lie to You? at 8.30pm, Death in Paradise at 9pm, and The Graham Norton Show highlights at 10.40pm.
Is EastEnders on tonight?
No, EastEnders is not on tonight. EastEnders does not air on Fridays. It returns on Monday on BBC One. Tonight BBC One has Would I Lie to You? at 8.30pm and Death in Paradise at 9pm instead.
What time is Under Salt Marsh on tonight?
The Under Salt Marsh series finale is on Sky Atlantic at 9pm tonight (Friday 27th February 2026). It is also available to stream on NOW.
TV Guide UK: Final Verdict
Death in Paradise on BBC One at 9pm is our pick of the night -- a Shakespeare-flavoured poisoning mystery with genuine warmth and a touching backstory for Don Gilet's Mervin. At the same time, Big Cats 24/7 on BBC Two delivers raw, Attenborough-narrated wildlife drama that's about as far from cosy nature TV as you can get. Earlier, Would I Lie to You? at 8.30pm has a brilliantly mismatched panel, Hippo Watch with Steve Backshall on Channel 5 at 8pm is properly fascinating, and How to Sleep Better on Channel 4 at 8pm will make you think twice about scrolling your phone at bedtime. For drama fans, Under Salt Marsh wraps up on Sky Atlantic at 9pm with Kelly Reilly and Rafe Spall, and Astrid: Murder in Paris on More4 brings a serial killer hunt to Friday night. Late-night picks include the gorgeous Scrapper on BBC Two at 11pm and The Last Leg live on Channel 4 at 10pm. Football fans have Wolves v Aston Villa on Sky Sports from 7.30pm. A strong Friday across the board. For a quick look at what else is on TV tonight, check our tonight's highlights page.