Wednesday 18th March 2026 is a finales night with a good launch attached. On BBC Two at 9pm, Hostage closes its three-part account of Islamic State captive John Cantlie -- one of the most uncomfortable and morally complex pieces of documentary television the channel has run this year. An hour later, the darkly funny We Might Regret This ends its second series with Freya's disastrous live-streamed hen party and what the Radio Times promises is a cathartic, rather beautiful conclusion. Over on Channel 5 at the same time, Ellis wraps its second series as DCI Sharon D. Clarke pursues whoever is panicking at Quinn Artisan Stone. Channel 4 launches A Woman of Substance at 9pm, the Barbara Taylor Bradford adaptation that is in this for the long game. And on BBC Four at 8pm, The Birds is the best nature documentary of the week and possibly the month. Check the tonight page to see what's on right now.
What's On TV Tonight: Quick Picks
- The Birds ⭐ -- BBC Four, 8:00pm -- Veteran wildlife film-maker Martin Dohrn heads to the Norfolk coast to contemplate a career's worth of extraordinary footage; a solitary peregrine confronts 100,000 birds at 100mph; John Aizlewood calls it "a cosmic spectacle" and tells you to prepare to be floored
- Ambulance -- BBC One, 9:00pm -- Jean (85) and Alan (87), married 62 years, separated by a fall in a Scarborough caravan; Jean has cancer and months to live; Alan admits he's not coping; the closing music is Caravan of Love by the Housemartins
- Hostage -- BBC Two, 9:00pm -- Last in series; the John Cantlie story ends with the question that has hung over three episodes: traitor or survivor?
- We Might Regret This -- BBC Two, 10:00pm -- Last in series; Freya's hen party implodes live online; she loses the sponsorship deals and gains something better; a womb-inspired bridal gown is involved
- Ellis -- Channel 5, 9:00pm -- Series 2 finale; a second brazen attack; someone at Quinn Artisan Stone is panicking; DCI Chalmers would rather ask Ellis out on a date
- A Woman of Substance -- Channel 4, 9:00pm -- New series; kitchen maid Emma (Jessica Reynolds) in a Yorkshire mansion; ambitions beginning to surface; a discovery that floors young Edwin
- The Marlow Murder Club -- U&Drama, 8:00pm and 9:00pm -- New series; the mayor of Marlow keels over after one sip from his mug; Peter Davison guests; Samantha Bond, Jo Martin and Cara Horgan eye every subsequent cup of tea with deep suspicion
TV Guide: Early Evening (6pm – 8pm)
The One Show -- BBC One, 7:00pm
The Wednesday edition of the BBC's early evening magazine. Available on BBC iPlayer.
Great British Menu -- BBC Two, 7:00pm
The competition continues. Available on BBC iPlayer.
Celebrity Lingo -- ITV1, 7:30pm (NEW)
New series, and Adil Ray is hosting. Tonight's contestants: Emmerdale actors Lisa Riley (Mandy Dingle) and Mark Charnock (Marlon Dingle) on one side, Reverend Richard Coles on the other. Whether a vicar who co-fronted the Communards has a natural advantage at word puzzles is an open question. Available on ITVX.
EastEnders -- BBC One, 7:30pm
Denise accidentally causes upset, which suggests good intentions meeting the usual Walford consequences. Suki and Vinny come to blows -- a clash that has been building -- and Billy grows concerned. Available on BBC iPlayer.
MOTD Live: Women's Super League -- BBC Three, 7:05pm
West Ham v Manchester United in the Women's Super League, live from 7:05pm. Available on BBC iPlayer.
TV Tonight: Prime Time (8pm onwards)
The Repair Shop -- BBC One, 8:00pm
Tonight's items include a Guyanese bangle, an electric guitar with a history the owner would rather not dwell on, and a leather tallit bag. The Repair Shop at its best when the objects carry weight beyond their material value. Available on BBC iPlayer.
Britain's Biggest Warship -- BBC Two, 8:00pm
The third and final episode, and the training sequences have been the series' most visually arresting material. Tonight: British top gun pilots on secret F-35 fighter jets in the United States. The aircraft themselves are extraordinary machines; the pilots are, as these documentaries always confirm, not exactly people who struggle with self-confidence. Available on BBC iPlayer.
The Birds -- BBC Four, 8:00pm ⭐
Martin Dohrn has been making wildlife films for decades, and The Birds is his valediction -- a personal essay from the Norfolk coast, in which he reflects on a career that has taken him around the globe filming birds of paradise squabbling, moving en masse and hunting. "At my age I don't get asked to do much," he says, "but I've still got a lot more to offer." He is not wrong. The film lets Dohrn's footage speak for itself, and the footage is astonishing: birds of paradise, a solitary peregrine falcon flying at 100mph to confront a flock of 100,000. Dohrn describes the latter as "a cosmic spectacle." John Aizlewood's Radio Times review opens with the words "Prepare to be floored" and is not using the phrase lightly. This is the best nature documentary on television this week, and it is on at 8 o'clock on a Wednesday so there is no excuse. Available on BBC iPlayer.
Alice Roberts: Our Hospital Through Time -- Channel 5, 8:00pm
Episode 5 of Alice Roberts' Channel 5 series exploring the history of St Bartholomew's Hospital -- Bart's -- in London. Roberts covers ground that ranges from Elizabeth Johnson, Bart's first dedicated washerwoman (responsible for every sheet and gown in the hospital), to the discovery of early anaesthetics that "quite often knocked you out for good," to heart valves, to grave-robbing, to the man who invented the digestive biscuit. That man was surgeon John Abernethy, and domestic historian Ruth Goodman is on hand throughout to provide practical demonstrations of how things were done before modern medicine made them unnecessary or illegal. David Butcher's Radio Times review finds it good fun, which is about right. Available on My5.
The Marlow Murder Club: The Queen of Poisons -- U&Drama, 8:00pm and 9:00pm (NEW SERIES)
Parts 1 and 2 of the new series, back-to-back. In Marlow -- and Midsomer, and all such pleasant English towns where violence lurks behind net curtains -- a hot drink is never just a hot drink. Those steaming cups placed on the arms of sofas have a way of civilising suspicion, of disguising a grilling as gentility. But when the mayor of the town (Peter Davison, on screen all-too-briefly according to David Brown's Radio Times review) keels over after a single sip from his mug at the opening of tonight's first episode, Judith (Samantha Bond), Suzie (Jo Martin) and Becks (Cara Horgan) find themselves looking considerably more warily at any bone china coming their way for the rest of the series. The poisoner is apparently still at large. Tea, in Marlow, is no longer a safe bet. Catch up via U.
Emmerdale -- ITV1, 8:00pm
Paddy and Dylan's nightmare continues to deepen. Laurel is asked a favour -- the kind of vague description that could mean anything, but in Emmerdale usually means it will cost someone something. Kim grows suspicious of Joe, which is probably wise. Available on ITVX.
Coronation Street -- ITV1, 8:30pm
Sam is supported by his family in what sounds like a difficult episode for him. Megan faces the music -- whatever she's been avoiding has caught up. Adam and Alya strike a deal with Rich, which will presumably have consequences. Available on ITVX.
Ambulance -- BBC One, 9:00pm
Series 2, episode 2. The show's format is simple and the emotional arithmetic is relentless. Tonight's central case: Jean, 85, and Alan, 87, married for 62 years. She's fallen over in their Scarborough caravan and he can't help her up. She has cancer and only a few months to live. A paramedic asks Alan how he's coping. "I'm not," he says, with what David Butcher's Radio Times review describes as "a sad shake of the head" -- but he clearly does his best for Jean. The closing music is Caravan of Love by the Housemartins. Butcher notes it "feels strangely apt for the ambulance too." It will. The kicker on every Ambulance episode is the caption at the end telling viewers how patients fared after their hospital trip -- but preview versions don't include it, so we will find out when everyone else does. Available on BBC iPlayer.
Hostage -- BBC Two, 9:00pm (LAST IN SERIES)
Episode 3 of 3. The series about British photojournalist John Cantlie and his time as an Islamic State hostage has been one of the more thoughtful and uncomfortable pieces of documentary television this year. With recent developments in the Middle East, it carries added weight in this final episode. What the series brings back, in specific and difficult detail, is what the IS caliphate actually was: the beheading videos, the hostages, the horror that Western news coverage eventually moved on from. Cantlie's case is the strange centre of it -- a man who disappeared into captivity and then reappeared in IS propaganda films, speaking calmly to a camera as a kind of Western mouthpiece for his captors. Was he doing what he had to do to stay alive? Had he been turned? David Butcher's Radio Times review is unambiguous about the quality of the programme and careful about how much it reveals of the conclusion. Worth watching from episode one if you haven't; the full series is on iPlayer. Available on BBC iPlayer.
The Stolen Girl -- ITV1, 9:00pm (NEW)
Based on Alex Dahl's novel, and airing in a week where BBC One has Holliday Grainger fighting deep fake technology in The Capture -- which makes tonight's ITV1 appearance of Holliday Grainger using that exact technology (digitally altering photographs on her laptop to build a false history for a child called Lucia) a slightly vertiginous piece of scheduling coincidence. In the penultimate episode, the identity of the man in prison -- the one with the newspaper cuttings about Lucia's disappearance -- is finally revealed. Selma (Ambika Mod) returns to the commune: not to retrieve her shoes (though Frances Taylor's Radio Times review notes that detail drily), but to hunt for answers. A clue on a hotel spa robe is involved. Full series on ITVX.
A Woman of Substance -- Channel 4, 9:00pm (NEW)
The first episode of Channel 4's adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford's novel, which has been in print for 47 years and sold 35 million copies. Kitchen maid Emma (Jessica Reynolds) is working at the Fairley family's Yorkshire mansion, sustained by young Edwin's (Ewan Horrocks) declarations of love and promises of marriage. Tonight we get the first real glimmer of her ambition: she suggests a more efficient division of labour among the downstairs staff and makes stylish uniforms for them. Then comes a discovery that, as Jane Rackham's Radio Times review puts it, "doesn't come as a surprise to us but totally floors Edwin." It is the start of Emma's long journey toward wealth -- if not happiness. Brenda Blethyn co-leads the production as the older Emma in later episodes, which should give you a sense of where the story is headed. Bradford's novel has always been more interested in the cost of ambition than in the rewards, which makes this a more complicated drama than its period-piece surface suggests. Full series on Channel 4 streaming.
Ellis -- Channel 5, 9:00pm (SERIES FINALE)
Series 2, episode 4. The finale arrives with someone at Quinn Artisan Stone clearly panicking -- this second attack has been too brazen to disguise as anything other than murder, unlike what happened to Abi Marshall. DCI Ellis (Sharon D. Clarke) has the business dealings in her sights. Someone with an established grievance against Quinn's operation is DCI Chalmers, though David Brown's Radio Times review notes drily that he seems less focused on the case and more preoccupied with whether Ellis would like to go on a date with him. Sharon D. Clarke has been the reason to watch this series throughout two runs, and she remains that here. Available on My5.
Beyond the Brush -- Sky Arts, 8:00pm and 8:30pm (NEW SERIES)
Two episodes back-to-back from a new Sky Arts series that is, as Jack Seale's Radio Times review puts it, the antidote to art documentaries that are about everything but the art. Historian Sian Walters and writer James Payne sit for separate interviews and simply tell the stories behind two paintings: The Scream by Edvard Munch (episode 1) and Van Gogh's Starry Night (episode 2). On Munch: the family history blighted by death and mental illness that gave the painting its turbulent emotional core; the local climate that influenced the colour palette; his habit of rehearsing the same image across multiple canvases before the final version. "By the end, you'll know all you need to know about The Scream and not a drop more," Seale writes. That discipline is rarer in arts television than it should be. Catch up via Now.
The White Lotus -- Sky Atlantic, 9:00pm
Series 1, episode 3 -- Mysterious Monkeys. Available on Sky Go or Now.
TV Guide UK: Late Night
We Might Regret This -- BBC Two, 10:00pm (LAST IN SERIES)
Episode 4 of 4, and the series finale of this "entertainingly dark comedy" -- Michael Hogan's Radio Times description, and it is accurate on both counts. Tetraplegic bride-to-be Freya (Kyla Harris) has been having doubts about marrying Abe (Darren Boyd) throughout this second run, and tonight those doubts crystallise at a disastrous live-streamed hen party. What she realises, in the middle of it, is just how incompatible she and Abe actually are. An impassioned speech follows -- one that costs her their wedding sponsorship deals and triggers an online backlash, which in the show's logic is somehow both catastrophic and clarifying. There is still time for a "bizarre 'womb-inspired' bridal gown" (Hogan's words, and they are doing a lot of work there) and what he calls "a cathartic, rather beautiful ending." This has been a better series than many expected. Full series on BBC iPlayer. Airs at 11:30pm in Northern Ireland.
Daniela Nardini Remembers... This Life -- BBC Four, 10:00pm
The actor reflects on This Life, the beloved 1990s BBC Two drama, for its 30th anniversary. Two episodes of the series follow from 10:15pm. A good reason to stay up, or to find both on iPlayer tomorrow if you've forgotten how good This Life actually was.
The Push: Murder on the Cliff Part 1 -- Channel 4, 10:00pm
The first part of a two-part true crime documentary about the death of Fawziyah Javed at Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh. Available on Channel 4 streaming.
Newsnight -- BBC Two, 10:30pm
The day's news and analysis. Available on BBC iPlayer.
Peston -- ITV1, 10:45pm (NEW)
Robert Peston with political interviews and analysis. Available on ITVX.
MOTD: UEFA Champions League Highlights -- BBC One, 10:40pm
Highlights of the round-of-16 second-leg matches from tonight. Available on BBC iPlayer.
Dragons' Den -- BBC Three, 9:30pm
Episode 7 of 14. Entrepreneurs attempt to persuade the Dragons. Available on BBC iPlayer.
The Apprentice -- BBC Three, 10:30pm
Episode 7 of 12. The task this week involves VR fitness games, which is the kind of brief that separates people who understand what they're pitching from people who are very confident while not understanding what they're pitching. Available on BBC iPlayer.
Sport
Champions League -- TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2 and TNT Sports 3, from 7:00pm. Round-of-16 second-leg matches. Coverage from 7pm, with matches kicking off at 8pm. The first legs have set the context; tonight resolves it.
Women's Super League -- Sky Sports Main Event, from 6:30pm (kick-off 7:00pm). Chelsea v Brighton and Hove Albion. Live coverage, with the BBC Three WSL match (West Ham v Manchester United) running simultaneously from 7:05pm.
Miami Open -- Sky Sports Main Event, from 3:00pm. Tennis from Florida as the hard-court season continues.
World Snooker Open -- TNT Sports 1, from 6:00am and 11:00am.
See our full sport on TV guide for kick-off times and channels across every fixture tonight.
Tonight's TV Listings: Full Schedule
Here are the complete TV listings for Wednesday 18th March 2026 across all major Freeview, Sky and streaming channels.
| Time | Channel | Programme |
|---|---|---|
| 7:00pm | BBC One | The One Show |
| 7:00pm | BBC Two | Great British Menu |
| 7:05pm | BBC Three | MOTD Live: Women's Super League (West Ham v Man United) |
| 7:30pm | BBC One | EastEnders (Denise causes upset; Suki and Vinny clash; Billy concerned) |
| 7:30pm | ITV1 | Celebrity Lingo (NEW -- Adil Ray; Lisa Riley and Mark Charnock v Richard Coles) |
| 7:30pm | TNT Sports 1 | Champions League coverage |
| 6:30pm | Sky Sports Main Event | Chelsea v Brighton WSL (k/o 7pm) |
| 8:00pm | BBC One | The Repair Shop (Guyanese bangle; electric guitar; leather tallit bag) |
| 8:00pm | BBC Two | Britain's Biggest Warship (Ep 3/3 -- F-35 pilots training in US) |
| 8:00pm | BBC Four | The Birds (Martin Dohrn -- Norfolk coast; peregrine vs 100,000 birds) |
| 8:00pm | ITV1 | Emmerdale (Paddy and Dylan's nightmare deepens; Laurel; Kim suspicious) |
| 8:00pm | Channel 5 | Alice Roberts: Our Hospital Through Time (Ep 5 -- Bart's history) |
| 8:00pm | U&Drama | The Marlow Murder Club: The Queen of Poisons Part 1 (NEW SERIES -- Peter Davison) |
| 8:00pm | Sky Arts | Beyond the Brush (NEW -- Ep 1: The Scream by Edvard Munch) |
| 8:30pm | ITV1 | Coronation Street (Sam; Megan; Adam and Alya deal with Rich) |
| 8:30pm | Sky Arts | Beyond the Brush (NEW -- Ep 2: Starry Night by Van Gogh) |
| 9:00pm | BBC One | Ambulance (S2 Ep 2 -- Jean and Alan; 62 years married; Caravan of Love) |
| 9:00pm | BBC Two | Hostage (LAST IN SERIES Ep 3/3 -- John Cantlie; IS captivity) |
| 9:00pm | ITV1 | The Stolen Girl (NEW -- Holliday Grainger; penultimate ep) |
| 9:00pm | Channel 4 | A Woman of Substance (NEW -- Jessica Reynolds; Yorkshire mansion; Emma's ambitions) |
| 9:00pm | Channel 5 | Ellis (SERIES FINALE S2 Ep 4 -- Sharon D. Clarke; Quinn Artisan Stone) |
| 9:00pm | U&Drama | The Marlow Murder Club: The Queen of Poisons Part 2 |
| 9:00pm | Sky Atlantic | The White Lotus (S1 Ep 3 -- Mysterious Monkeys) |
| 9:30pm | BBC Three | Dragons' Den (Ep 7/14) |
| 10:00pm | BBC Two | We Might Regret This (LAST IN SERIES Ep 4/4 -- Freya's hen party; cathartic ending) |
| 10:00pm | BBC Four | Daniela Nardini Remembers... This Life (30th anniversary) |
| 10:00pm | Channel 4 | The Push: Murder on the Cliff Part 1 (true crime -- Arthur's Seat) |
| 10:30pm | BBC Two | Newsnight |
| 10:30pm | BBC Three | The Apprentice (Ep 7/12 -- VR fitness games) |
| 10:40pm | BBC One | MOTD: UEFA Champions League Highlights |
| 10:45pm | ITV1 | Peston (NEW) |
Freeview TV Guide: What's On Streaming
Can't watch live? This Freeview TV guide covers streaming options too. Use our now and next guide to see what's on right now, or browse the full channels list for every available station.
BBC iPlayer: Ambulance, Hostage, We Might Regret This, The Repair Shop, The Birds, Britain's Biggest Warship, Daniela Nardini Remembers... This Life, EastEnders, Great British Menu, The One Show, MOTD Live WSL, Dragons' Den, The Apprentice, Champions League Highlights
ITVX: The Stolen Girl, Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Celebrity Lingo, Peston
Channel 4 streaming: A Woman of Substance (new series), The Push: Murder on the Cliff Part 1
My5: Alice Roberts: Our Hospital Through Time, Ellis (series finale)
U: The Marlow Murder Club: The Queen of Poisons (new series)
Sky Go / NOW: Beyond the Brush (Sky Arts), The White Lotus (Sky Atlantic)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is EastEnders on TV tonight, Wednesday 18th March 2026?
Yes, EastEnders is on BBC One tonight at 7:30pm. Denise accidentally causes upset, Suki and Vinny come to blows, and Billy grows concerned. The episode is available on BBC iPlayer after broadcast.
What time is Hostage on BBC Two tonight?
Hostage concludes with its third and final episode on BBC Two at 9:00pm. The series about Islamic State captive John Cantlie ends with the question that has been building since episode one: was he a propagandist who had been turned, or was he doing whatever it took to stay alive? The full series is available on BBC iPlayer.
What time is We Might Regret This on BBC Two tonight?
The fourth and final episode of We Might Regret This -- series 2 -- airs on BBC Two at 10:00pm tonight (11:30pm in Northern Ireland). Freya (Kyla Harris) reaches breaking point at a disastrous live-streamed hen party, loses the wedding sponsorship deals, and arrives at what the Radio Times calls "a cathartic, rather beautiful ending." The full series is on BBC iPlayer.
What time is Ellis on Channel 5 tonight?
The series 2 finale of Ellis airs on Channel 5 at 9:00pm tonight. Episode 4 sees DCI Ellis (Sharon D. Clarke) closing in on whoever is behind the second attack linked to Quinn Artisan Stone, while DCI Chalmers divides his attention between the case and asking Ellis out on a date. Available on My5.
What time is A Woman of Substance on Channel 4 tonight?
A Woman of Substance begins on Channel 4 at 9:00pm tonight. Based on Barbara Taylor Bradford's novel, it stars Jessica Reynolds as Emma -- a kitchen maid in a Yorkshire mansion whose ambitions begin to show in this first episode, sparked by a discovery that floors young Edwin (Ewan Horrocks). The full series is available on Channel 4 streaming.
What's the best thing to watch on TV tonight?
The Birds on BBC Four at 8:00pm is the one to set a reminder for -- veteran wildlife film-maker Martin Dohrn on the Norfolk coast, with a career's worth of extraordinary footage and a peregrine falcon that takes on 100,000 birds alone. John Aizlewood's Radio Times review opens with "Prepare to be floored," and that is the appropriate response. At 9:00pm, Ambulance on BBC One is the most emotionally affecting thing on television: Jean and Alan, 62 years married, in a Scarborough caravan, and the Housemartins playing at the end. Hostage on BBC Two at the same hour is the most significant.
TV Guide UK: Final Verdict
Wednesday 18th March 2026 has more finales than it strictly needs, but all three are worth the time they've asked of you. Hostage on BBC Two has been rigorous and difficult and ends in a way that won't leave you feeling comfortable about what you've watched -- which is exactly right. We Might Regret This has been warmer and funnier than its subject matter suggested, and the finale earns its ending. Ellis has been reliably solid throughout its second series, and Sharon D. Clarke has been the consistent reason to keep watching.
The thing that will linger, though, is Jean and Alan in that Scarborough caravan on Ambulance, and Caravan of Love on the soundtrack as the ambulance pulls away. That is the kind of moment that only happens in this format -- unscripted, unearned by any writer, just life being itself on television. The Birds on BBC Four is extraordinary in a more controlled way. Between the two, Wednesday has more than it needs to justify the evening.
Browse the full channels list or check what's on now to follow the evening as it unfolds.