What's on TV tonight? Thursday 7th May 2026 is one of those evenings when the schedule splits the room and makes no apologies for it. A 90-minute world premiere on U&Gold. Three European semi-finals kicking off simultaneously. A series finale, a quarter-final, and one of the most significant British films of 2023 arriving on free-to-air for the first time. The Freeview TV guide runs from early evening straight through to midnight with very little slack.
Browse what's on right now for live updates, check tonight's highlights, or head to the full channels list including pages for BBC One, ITV1, Channel 4, TNT Sports 1, and U&Gold. If you are watching football tonight, have a second screen ready.
What's On TV Tonight: Quick Picks
- Open All Hours: Inside Out ⭐ -- U&Gold, 8pm -- WORLD PREMIERE; 90 minutes; Sir David Jason as Granville one last time; Roy Clarke (95) writes the closing scene; 50 years since the 1973 pilot
- Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest ⭐ -- TNT Sports 1, coverage 7pm, k/o 8pm -- UEL semi-final 2nd leg; Forest lead 1-0 (Chris Wood penalty); all-English European semi; UEL final 20 May Istanbul
- Crystal Palace vs Shakhtar Donetsk ⭐ -- TNT Sports 2, coverage 7pm, k/o 8pm -- UECL semi-final 2nd leg; Palace lead 3-1; Selhurst Park; UECL final 27 May Leipzig
- Number One Fan -- Channel 5, 9pm -- SERIES FINALE (Ep 4 of 4); Sally Lindsay; Jill Halfpenny; the bank holiday week run ends tonight
- Taskmaster -- Channel 4, 9pm -- S21 Ep 5; crystal ball predictions; Armando Iannucci; Amy Gledhill; first Taskmaster series with two Oscar-nominated contestants
- MasterChef -- BBC One, 9pm -- Heat 4 quarter-final; Jimi Famurewa nuts challenge; lamb testicles; "I didn't have that on my bingo card today"
- Race Across the World -- BBC One, 8pm -- S6 Ep 6; Zaamin National Park to Almaty, 1,500km; Molly and Andrew; Kush and Jo
- Paul Merton: Driving Amazing Trains -- Channel 4, 8pm -- Ep 5 Wales; Talyllyn Railway; Thomas the Tank Engine's birthplace; Portmeirion
See what's on right now for live updates.
TV Guide: Early Evening (7pm -- 8pm)
EastEnders -- BBC One, 7:30pm
The Thursday episode of EastEnders with the ongoing May 2026 storylines, including the Nigel death arc that has been a significant thread through the month. On BBC One at 7:30pm; available on BBC iPlayer.
Cashing In on the Elderly: Who to Trust? Tonight -- ITV1, 7:30pm
Ruth Dodsworth presents ITV's Tonight documentary strand, investigating the financial abuse of elderly and vulnerable people -- who is doing it, how it works, and what families and victims can actually do to protect themselves. On ITV1 at 7:30pm; available on ITVX. (STV carries this at 10:45pm due to regional opt-out.)
UK Crime Files: The Head On The Beach -- True Crime Channel, from 7pm
A British murder case involving a woman whose dismembered body was thrown into the sea, with her head recovered on a beach at Arbroath in Angus, Scotland. One of the perpetrators was a former Red Army soldier who had previously served a prison term in Germany. Part of the True Crime Channel's nightly UK Crime Files block.
TV Tonight: Prime Time (8pm)
Open All Hours: Inside Out ⭐ -- U&Gold, 8pm (WORLD PREMIERE)
Fifty years. That is what tonight is about. The Open All Hours pilot aired on BBC Two on 26 December 1973. David Jason played Granville then -- a young delivery boy, Arkwright's put-upon nephew, a character who had no business being as funny as he was. Five series of the original, a reboot (Still Open All Hours) that ran to 2019, and now this: a 90-minute retrospective in which Sir David Jason puts on Granville's apron one final time for a new closing scene written by Roy Clarke.
Roy Clarke is 95. He wrote every episode of the original series. His quote from the Radio Times sums it up with the economy of someone who has been writing this well for half a century: "We all worked together for the joke." That is as good a description of what made Open All Hours work as anything a critic has managed.
The new scene -- Granville closing the shop for the night, "a touching glimpse into how his life has moved on since we last saw him" -- has no right to be this anticipated. And yet here we are. The 90-minute format surrounds it with behind-the-scenes footage, archive material, and contributions from those involved across the show's long life. Jason is the only actor to have appeared in every episode of both the original and the reboot.
The programme's 50-year span covers nearly the entire history of modern British sitcom, and Clarke writing its farewell scene at 95 is not a detail you can manufacture or improve on. On U&Gold at 8pm; available on U streaming.
Race Across the World -- BBC One, 8pm
Series 6, episode 6 of 9. The five teams -- Jo and Kush (childhood best friends), Katie and Harrison (siblings), Molly and Andrew (father and daughter), Puja and Roshni (cousins), Mark and Margo (in-laws) -- have now left Zaamin National Park in the Turkestan Mountains of Uzbekistan, checkpoint 5, and are racing 1,500km to Almaty.
Almaty is Kazakhstan's largest city, a former Soviet capital that still carries the architecture and scale of that era. Getting there from the Uzbek mountains means choosing between two routes: north through Kazakhstan's cities, or through Kyrgyzstan's alpine valleys and mountain roads. The Kyrgyz option is scenically spectacular and logistically precarious; the Kazakh option is faster and, in Race Across the World terms, considerably less interesting. Molly and her father Andrew take the city route. Kush turns to Jo for support during this leg -- which usually means something is harder than expected.
Episode 6 is the point in the series when Race Across the World tends to be at its best: the novelty has worn off, the distances are now genuinely punishing, and the conversations at remote bus stations carry real weight. One of the most reliable things on BBC One this year. On BBC One at 8pm; available on BBC iPlayer.
Paul Merton: Driving Amazing Trains -- Channel 4, 8pm
Episode 5 of 6, and the series has been quietly saving its best for Wales. The Talyllyn Railway -- a narrow-gauge line in Gwynedd -- is the world's first preserved heritage railway, rescued from closure in 1950 by a volunteer group who had never heard of railway preservation because no one had done it before. That fact alone would be enough for one programme. But the Talyllyn has an extra claim on popular culture: the Rev Wilbert Awdry, who created Thomas the Tank Engine, visited the line repeatedly in the early 1950s and drew directly on it for the books. The engines. The characters. The general philosophy that a small, slightly unreliable railway in a beautiful landscape is exactly what a railway should be.
Paul Merton's enthusiasm for trains comes from his father, a London Underground driver. That inherited pleasure is visible in every episode of this series, and the Wales episode is where it matters most: a man who genuinely loves trains boarding the world's first preserved one, in country that built them out of necessity and kept them out of love.
The Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway takes him to Portmeirion -- the strange Italianate village in Gwynedd designed by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis, built from 1925 onwards, and made famous worldwide as the location of the 1967 ITV cult series The Prisoner. The giant white balloons get a mention. The episode connects heritage railways, industrial Welsh history, children's literature, and cult television in a single journey that is harder to resist than it sounds. On Channel 4 at 8pm; available on Channel 4 streaming.
Emmerdale -- ITV1, 8pm (1 hour)
The extended Thursday episode. Dr Todd (Caroline Harker) has been running one of Emmerdale's most effective contemporary villain stories: using institutional process -- HR complaints, professional assessments, formal dossiers -- as instruments of torment rather than physical threat. Tonight she produces a formal dossier portraying Jacob Sugden (Joe-Warren Plant) as obsessively fixated and professionally unfit, the kind of document that can end a career regardless of its accuracy. Jacob's own HR complaint against Todd goes nowhere. His medical aspirations are now under serious threat.
Caroline Harker's performance has been widely noted as one of the year's better soap villain turns -- the banality of bureaucratic cruelty hitting harder than outright menace tends to. Sarah's encouragement for Jacob is the human counterweight the story needs. On ITV1 at 8pm; available on ITVX.
Bangers and Cash: Restoring Classics -- U&Yesterday, 8pm (NEW SERIES)
Derek Mathewson and his team at Mathewsons classic car auction house open a new series tonight. Two vehicles frame the episode: a 1996 Fiat 126 (the tiny two-cylinder Polish-built city car with a cult following its engineering absolutely does not justify) and a 2004 Bentley. The gap between those two vehicles in terms of cost, size, and ambition is essentially the whole point of the episode. On U&Yesterday at 8pm; available on U streaming.
Classic Movies: The Story of Great Expectations -- Sky Arts, 8pm
Ian Nathan presents the story of David Lean's 1946 adaptation of Great Expectations -- from script to screen to legacy. The film starred John Mills as Pip and a young Alec Guinness as Herbert Pocket, won two Academy Awards, and stands as one of Lean's finest achievements from the period before he moved into epic filmmaking (The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia). Part of Sky Arts' Classic Movies: The Story Of documentary series. On Sky Arts at 8pm; available on NOW streaming.
Thursday's Three-Match European Night ⭐
All three UEFA semi-final second legs kick off simultaneously at 8pm. All on TNT Sports, all on HBO Max, all with coverage from 7pm. This is how you end up watching three screens at once.
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest -- TNT Sports 1, k/o 8pm
The headline match of the three. Nottingham Forest lead this UEFA Europa League semi-final 1-0 from the first leg at the City Ground on 30 April -- Chris Wood converting a second-half penalty after a handball from Lucas Digne was confirmed by VAR. Forest, with the away tie, now come to Villa Park needing only to defend what they have.
An all-English European semi-final is a rarity. The last time two English clubs met at this stage of a European competition was Liverpool against Barcelona in the 2019 Champions League semi-finals. That Villa and Forest -- two Midlands clubs with rich European histories, both of them significantly rebuilding over the past several years -- should meet here is one of the more unexpected storylines of the English football season.
Villa need to score. A single goal levels the aggregate and forces extra time; there is no away-goals rule in the current competition format, so Villa need to win the tie outright over the 90 minutes plus whatever follows. Villa Park under European floodlights is as atmospheric a ground as English football has. The winner faces whoever emerges from the Bilbao vs Lazio semi-final in the UEL Final on Wednesday 20 May 2026 in Istanbul. Coverage from 7pm on TNT Sports 1; kick-off 8pm.
Crystal Palace vs Shakhtar Donetsk -- TNT Sports 2, k/o 8pm
Crystal Palace have essentially already won this tie. Their 3-1 victory in Krakow in the first leg -- Ismaila Sarr after one minute, Daichi Kamada finishing off a second-half move, Jørgen Strand Larsen's header with six minutes to go -- leaves Shakhtar needing three goals at Selhurst Park without Palace scoring. Oliver Glasner's side will not be complacent, but they are the strong favourites.
The emotional dimension of this match is worth noting: Shakhtar Donetsk have played all their "home" European matches in Krakow, Poland, since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Their entire European run this season has taken place in a country that is not their own, before crowds that have been vocal in their support of a club playing under circumstances no football club should face. Whoever goes through, Shakhtar's Conference League semi-final appearance is a remarkable sporting and human story.
For Palace, a European final would be the club's greatest achievement in its history. The Conference League Final is on Wednesday 27 May 2026 at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig. Coverage from 7pm on TNT Sports 2; kick-off 8pm.
Rayo Vallecano vs Strasbourg -- TNT Sports 3, k/o 8pm
The third UECL semi-final second leg. Coverage from 7pm on TNT Sports 3 and HBO Max; kick-off 8pm. The first-leg result between these two sides was not available at time of publication -- verify before the match.
TV Tonight: 9pm
MasterChef -- BBC One, 9pm
The Heat 4 quarter-final. Jimi Famurewa -- food critic at the Evening Standard, Fay Maschler's successor in one of the most scrutinised jobs in food writing -- sets the challenge: create a dish that celebrates nuts. This is a brief that sounds manageable until someone interprets "nuts" as lamb testicles, which is the direction at least one contestant goes this evening. Famurewa's response ("I didn't have that on my bingo card today!") is the line the episode will be remembered for.
The main invention test is a hybrid meal/brunch dish -- a category that is slightly easier to describe than to execute. The contestants are reportedly not thrilled about it, which is the correct response to an invention test: vague enthusiasm from everyone produces boring television. Grace Dent and Anna Haugh judge. The question of who makes it to Knockout Week is, apparently, a genuine one tonight, which is what a quarter-final should produce. On BBC One at 9pm; available on BBC iPlayer.
Taskmaster -- Channel 4, 9pm
Series 21, episode 5 of 10. The task this week asks contestants to stare into a crystal ball, predict something unlikely, and then attempt to make it happen. The scope of the predictions ranges from strange animal behaviour to attempting to establish an entirely new TV franchise. Alex Horne's brief assessment of the ambition on display is that "none have ambition" -- which in Taskmaster terms is a judgement on the predictions rather than the humans making them, though in several cases they amount to the same thing.
The specific detail of Kumail Nanjiani "making Hollywood stars strap themselves upside down in humiliation rituals" has made it into the Radio Times preview, which implies it is either a task or a prediction outcome, and that either way it is worth the air time.
Series 21 is the first Taskmaster to feature two Oscar-nominated contestants simultaneously: Armando Iannucci (nominated for the screenplay of In the Loop) and Kumail Nanjiani (nominated for writing The Big Sick alongside Emily V. Gordon). The series has not made much of this distinction, which is probably the right call. Alex Horne's authority does not care about Oscar nominations. On Channel 4 at 9pm; available on Channel 4 streaming.
Number One Fan -- Channel 5, 9pm (SERIES FINALE)
Episode 4 of 4, and the end of the bank holiday week's stripped run. Sally Lindsay's Donna -- a fan who began the series as enthusiastic and supportive and has been steadily crossing lines ever since -- and Jill Halfpenny's Lucy Logan (a well-known television presenter whose professional world has been destabilised by Donna's insertion into it) reach the conclusion of a four-night build that has been tightening the screws episode by episode. The finale has to pay off that escalation, which means something has to give tonight.
Lindsay and Halfpenny are both former Coronation Street actors, a fact the show's marketing leaned into heavily. Their chemistry across the four episodes has been the series' central strength. If you have been watching from Monday, tonight is the night. If you haven't, episodes 1-3 are on My5 before the finale arrives. On Channel 5 at 9pm; available on My5.
Coronation Street -- ITV1, 9pm (1 hour)
The extended Thursday episode, and the murder aftermath has now reached the confrontation stage. Eva slips a tracking device into Megan Walsh's bag during a stand-off. Eva, Leanne, and Toyah then bundle Megan into the salon flat to demand she comes clean about sleeping with 16-year-old Will. Megan refuses and goads the three of them into an argument that turns physical; she ends the scene nursing a bloodied nose.
Megan then overhears a conversation between Maggie and Melanie in the ginnel and records something that gives her leverage over Maggie. When Maggie confronts her, their feud escalates -- with "one of them could fall to their death" as the cliffhanger. Classic soap construction: two characters who both have something to hide, one confrontation, and a height. On ITV1 at 9pm; available on ITVX.
Bergerac -- U&Drama, 9pm
Series 2, episode 4 of 6. After last week's public meltdown, Jim Bergerac (Damien Molony) works through his contrition list: apologise to Kim (he embarrassed her in front of people), apologise to Charlie (questionable parenting in public), apologise to Nigel (he elbowed him in the nose, which is a specific kind of apology). He also explains his association with Nicola -- passing off their interaction the night of the murder as lasting approximately two minutes.
The CCTV footage disagrees. It was 45 minutes. The gap between "two minutes" and "45 minutes" is the kind of discrepancy that changes the weight of an entire investigation, and Bergerac knows it. The series-long murder case -- a groom found dead in his hotel room during a wedding reception, with the full family under investigation -- has its most significant forensic development yet. On U&Drama at 9pm; available on U streaming.
Prisoner -- Sky Atlantic, 9pm
Episode 2 on Sky Atlantic's linear schedule. Izuka Hoyle plays Amber Todd, a rookie prison transport officer who handcuffed herself to Tahar Rahim's Tibor Stone -- a dangerous inmate en route to testify against a crime syndicate -- when the convoy was ambushed. The sole survivors, shackled together, are now being hunted by the organisation Tibor was about to help bring down. Amber has a court deadline counting down. The syndicate has people everywhere.
The Radio Times' observation about episode 2 is dry but accurate: the mob keeps letting the heroes escape, because killing them would end the series. That acknowledgement of the thriller's mechanical constraints is not a criticism so much as a description of the genre's contract with its audience. If you are watching on Sky Atlantic linear, this is episode 2; if you have NOW, all six episodes have been available since 9 April. On Sky Atlantic at 9pm.
How to Have Sex -- Film4, 9pm
Molly Manning Walker's debut feature won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes 2023 and announced Mia McKenna-Bruce as one of the most significant young British actors working. McKenna-Bruce plays Tee, a teenager on a holiday in Crete with friends -- the rites-of-passage trip that is supposed to be the best week of the year. The film handles the sexual coercion and assault that follows with a directness that is unflinching but never exploitative: it stays close to Tee's experience and does not make the horror scenic.
McKenna-Bruce's background is worth noting for context. She joined Tracy Beaker Returns as a series regular aged 10, then moved to The Dumping Ground -- the career trajectory of a lot of CBBC actors who never make it to adult drama. She made it here, in a film that required her to carry everything. She won the BAFTA Rising Star award in February 2024 for this performance. Her next major role is Maureen Starkey in Sam Mendes's planned quartet of Beatles biopics.
The Film4 broadcast brings How to Have Sex to its widest UK audience since the theatrical run. Four stars from the Radio Times. On Film4 at 9pm; available on Channel 4 streaming.
TV Guide UK: Late Night
The Miniature Wife -- Sky Atlantic, 10pm
Elizabeth Banks as Lindy -- miniaturised at six inches tall following a technological accident -- and Matthew Macfadyen as Les, her husband, whose marriage to a woman the size of a remote control has not improved his character. Tonight's episode features Lindy scaling furniture to retrieve her phone charger, because she needs her device to appear on The Today Show to promote her short story. A plagiarism subplot runs alongside the domestic comedy. All 10 episodes of the series have been available on NOW since 9 April if you want to binge ahead of or past the linear broadcast. On Sky Atlantic at 10pm.
Netflix: What Drops Today
The Chestnut Man: Hide and Seek (Season 2) -- Netflix
All six episodes of the second season of the Danish crime thriller drop on Netflix UK today. Based on Søren Sveistrup's novels (Sveistrup is the creator of The Killing, which is recommendation enough), the series brings back detectives Mark Hess and Naia Thulin, this time pursuing a perpetrator orchestrating a game with very specific rules. Five years since Season 1 debuted; long enough for audiences to have forgotten some of the forensic detail, which is worth bearing in mind before starting episode 1.
Legends (Season 1) -- Netflix
Steve Coogan, a script by Neil Forsyth (The Gold, Guilt) and a setting in the early 1990s when HMRC Customs & Excise was losing the war against drug smuggling. A top-secret undercover operation to infiltrate criminal networks. The Forsyth pedigree (The Gold in particular, which remains one of the best British crime dramas of the past five years) makes Legends one of the more anticipated UK streaming originals of May. All episodes drop today.
USA 94: Brazil's Return to Glory -- Netflix
A documentary about the 1994 World Cup-winning Brazil team, featuring never-before-seen footage recorded by the players themselves -- goalkeeper Gilmar Rinaldi and right back Jorginho brought video cameras to the tournament and caught events no television crew filmed. Archive sports documentaries live or die on their access material, and players with their own cameras at a World Cup final is as good as archive access gets.
Tonight's TV Listings: Full Schedule
Full tv listings for Thursday 7th May 2026 across all major Freeview, Sky, and streaming channels.
| Time | Channel | Programme |
|---|---|---|
| ~3pm | Sky Sports Cricket | Live IPL 2026 Match 50 |
| 6:30pm | BBC Two | Great Korean Railway Journeys (S1 Ep 4/5 -- Portillo, South Korea) |
| 7pm | TNT Sports 1 | UEL: Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest -- coverage begins |
| 7pm | TNT Sports 2 | UECL: Crystal Palace vs Shakhtar Donetsk -- coverage begins |
| 7pm | TNT Sports 3 | UECL: Rayo Vallecano vs Strasbourg -- coverage begins |
| 7pm | True Crime Channel | UK Crime Files: The Head On The Beach |
| 7:30pm | BBC One | EastEnders (Thursday episode) |
| 7:30pm | ITV1 | "Cashing In on the Elderly: Who to Trust? Tonight" (Ruth Dodsworth) |
| 8pm | BBC One | Race Across the World (S6 Ep 6 -- Zaamin NP to Almaty, 1,500km) |
| 8pm | ITV1 | Emmerdale -- 1 HOUR (Dr Todd dossier; Jacob HR complaint fails) |
| 8pm | Channel 4 | "Paul Merton: Driving Amazing Trains" (Ep 5 -- Wales; Talyllyn; Portmeirion) |
| 8pm | U&Gold | "Open All Hours: Inside Out" (90-min WORLD PREMIERE -- David Jason; Roy Clarke; 50th anniversary) ⭐ |
| 8pm | U&Yesterday | "Bangers and Cash: Restoring Classics" (NEW SERIES -- Fiat 126; Bentley; Derek Mathewson) |
| 8pm | Sky Arts | "Classic Movies: The Story of Great Expectations" (Ian Nathan; David Lean 1946; John Mills) |
| 8pm | TNT Sports 1 | UEL: Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest -- k/o 8pm ⭐ |
| 8pm | TNT Sports 2 | UECL: Crystal Palace vs Shakhtar Donetsk -- k/o 8pm ⭐ |
| 8pm | TNT Sports 3 | UECL: Rayo Vallecano vs Strasbourg -- k/o 8pm |
| 9pm | BBC One | MasterChef (Heat 4 quarter-final -- Jimi Famurewa; nuts; lamb testicles) |
| 9pm | ITV1 | Coronation Street -- 1 HOUR (Eva/Megan confrontation; Maggie/Megan balcony) |
| 9pm | Channel 4 | Taskmaster (S21 Ep 5 -- crystal ball predictions; Iannucci; Nanjiani) |
| 9pm | Channel 5 | Number One Fan (Ep 4 of 4 -- SERIES FINALE -- Sally Lindsay; Jill Halfpenny) |
| 9pm | U&Drama | Bergerac (S2 Ep 4 -- CCTV 45 mins not 2; Jim's contrition tour) |
| 9pm | Sky Atlantic | Prisoner (Ep 2 linear -- Izuka Hoyle; Tahar Rahim; full series on NOW) |
| 9pm | Film4 | How to Have Sex (2023 -- Mia McKenna-Bruce; Cannes Un Certain Regard) |
| 10pm | Sky Atlantic | The Miniature Wife (Elizabeth Banks; Matthew Macfadyen; Today Show charger) |
| All day | Netflix | The Chestnut Man S2 (6 eps); Legends S1 (Steve Coogan; Neil Forsyth); USA 94 Brazil documentary |
Freeview TV Guide: What's On Streaming
Can't watch live tonight? Here's where to find everything on catch-up:
BBC iPlayer: Race Across the World, EastEnders, MasterChef, Great Korean Railway Journeys
ITVX: Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Tonight (Cashing In on the Elderly)
Channel 4 streaming: Paul Merton: Driving Amazing Trains, Taskmaster, How to Have Sex (Film4)
My5: Number One Fan (all 4 episodes including tonight's finale)
U streaming: Open All Hours: Inside Out, Bangers and Cash: Restoring Classics, Bergerac
NOW TV / Sky: Prisoner (full series available; Sky Atlantic linear Ep 2 tonight), The Miniature Wife (full series available; Sky Atlantic 10pm tonight), Classic Movies Sky Arts, all three European semi-finals on TNT Sports (subscription required)
Netflix: The Chestnut Man: Hide and Seek Season 2, Legends Season 1, USA 94: Brazil's Return to Glory (all drop today -- subscription required)
Frequently Asked Questions
What's on TV tonight, Thursday 7th May 2026?
The standout Thursday 7 May highlights are: Open All Hours: Inside Out on U&Gold at 8pm (90-minute world premiere; Sir David Jason; Roy Clarke); Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest UEL semi-final second leg on TNT Sports 1 (k/o 8pm); Crystal Palace vs Shakhtar Donetsk UECL semi-final on TNT Sports 2 (k/o 8pm); Number One Fan series finale on Channel 5 at 9pm; Taskmaster Series 21 Ep 5 on Channel 4 at 9pm; MasterChef Heat 4 quarter-final on BBC One at 9pm; and How to Have Sex (2023) on Film4 at 9pm. Netflix also drops The Chestnut Man Season 2 and Legends Season 1 today.
What time is Open All Hours: Inside Out on tonight?
Open All Hours: Inside Out premieres on U&Gold at 8pm tonight, Thursday 7 May 2026. The 90-minute special features Sir David Jason returning as Granville for a final new scene written by Roy Clarke, who is now 95. The programme celebrates 50 years since the series pilot aired on 26 December 1973. Available on U streaming after broadcast.
What channel is Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest on tonight?
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest is live on TNT Sports 1 tonight. Coverage starts at 7pm; kick-off is 8pm at Villa Park. Forest lead the UEFA Europa League semi-final 1-0 from the first leg (Chris Wood penalty, 30 April at the City Ground). The UEL Final is on 20 May 2026 in Istanbul. The match is also on HBO Max UK. A TNT Sports or NOW subscription is required.
What channel is Crystal Palace vs Shakhtar Donetsk on tonight?
Crystal Palace vs Shakhtar Donetsk is live on TNT Sports 2 tonight. Coverage from 7pm; kick-off 8pm at Selhurst Park. Palace lead 3-1 from the first leg in Krakow. The UECL Final is Wednesday 27 May 2026 at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig. Also on HBO Max UK. A TNT Sports or NOW subscription is required.
What time is Number One Fan on Channel 5 tonight?
Number One Fan, episode 4 of 4, is on Channel 5 at 9pm tonight, Thursday 7 May 2026 -- the series finale. Sally Lindsay stars as Donna and Jill Halfpenny as Lucy Logan. The four-part psychological thriller concludes after its Monday-to-Thursday nightly run. Available on My5 after broadcast.
What time is Taskmaster on Channel 4 tonight?
Taskmaster Series 21, episode 5 is on Channel 4 at 9pm tonight. The five contestants are Amy Gledhill, Armando Iannucci, Joanna Page, Joel Dommett, and Kumail Nanjiani. The crystal ball prediction task is the main event. Available on Channel 4 streaming after broadcast.
What time is MasterChef on tonight?
MasterChef is on BBC One at 9pm tonight, Thursday 7 May 2026 -- the Heat 4 quarter-final. Food critic Jimi Famurewa sets a nuts-themed challenge that produces at least one interpretation involving lamb testicles. Grace Dent and Anna Haugh judge. Available on BBC iPlayer.
What's the best thing to watch on TV tonight, Thursday 7 May 2026?
Open All Hours: Inside Out on U&Gold at 8pm is the one to save -- 90 minutes, the last Granville scene Roy Clarke will write, a 50-year valediction for one of British television's most-loved sitcoms. For football, Villa vs Forest on TNT Sports 1 is the bigger of the two matches; Crystal Palace vs Shakhtar runs simultaneously on TNT Sports 2. At 9pm, Taskmaster and MasterChef cover the comedy and food ends of Channel 4 and BBC One; Number One Fan ends its run on Channel 5. For late-night film, How to Have Sex on Film4 at 9pm is outstanding. And if you are on Netflix, Legends with Steve Coogan drops tonight.
TV Guide UK: Final Verdict
There are three ways to spend Thursday 7 May 2026, and none of them overlap.
The football case is straightforward: two English clubs playing European semi-finals simultaneously is a genuinely rare occasion, and Villa vs Forest has the additional weight of a first-leg deficit that could go either way. If Villa need to score and Forest need to hold, Villa Park at 8pm on a European night is one of the most charged atmospheres in English football. Crystal Palace's 3-1 cushion makes their match less tense but no less significant -- a European final would be the biggest night in the club's history.
The Open All Hours argument is different. It is not about tension or stakes. It is about the accumulated feeling of a series that ran from the 1970s to the 2010s, wrote its characters with consistent warmth across that entire span, and is now offering a closing scene written by the man who created it at 95. David Jason's Granville was never the show's lead -- he was Arkwright's foil, the nephew who wanted more and was perpetually prevented from having it -- but he carried the reboot on his own for six more years and earned whatever this evening is. There is no competition between watching it and watching football. They are simply different evenings on different channels.
At 9pm, the instinct for non-football, non-U&Gold viewers is BBC One and Channel 4 in alternation: Race Across the World leads into MasterChef on BBC One; Paul Merton's trains lead into Taskmaster on Channel 4. Both are solid Thursday night runs. Number One Fan's finale on Channel 5 is for those who have followed the four-night run; arriving at episode 4 cold is not the right entry point.
How to Have Sex on Film4 at 9pm is the evening's overlooked pick. Mia McKenna-Bruce's performance is the kind that arrives once a cycle, and the Film4 broadcast is the film's proper mainstream moment. Watch it if you have not.
Richard Gadd's Half Man drops its third episode on BBC iPlayer tomorrow morning, and Unconditional arrives on Apple TV+ tomorrow as well. But that's Friday's problem. Tonight is already full.
Check what's on right now for live updates, browse the full channels list, or see tonight's highlights. The Freeview TV guide for Thursday 7th May runs from 7:30pm to midnight without a quiet moment.