Wednesday's tv guide is unusually well stocked for a midweek night. Channel 4 is launching two new series back-to-back, ITV1 is wrapping up The Stolen Girl, and Ambulance is back on BBC One at 9pm. BBC Two also starts a new true crime documentary at quarter to ten, if you're still standing. The tv listings below cover the full night -- or check the now and next guide to see what's on right now. The freeview tv guide and catch-up links are further down.
What's On TV Tonight: Quick Picks
- Ambulance ★ -- BBC One, 9pm -- series 16 from Leeds; the formula is earned and it still works
- A Woman of Substance -- Channel 4, 9pm -- NEW; Brenda Blethyn, Jessica Reynolds; proper drama
- The Stolen Girl -- ITV1, 9pm -- SERIES FINALE; Denise Gough and Holliday Grainger finally face each other
- Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story -- BBC Two, 9:45pm -- NEW SERIES; a kidnapping case stranger than fiction
- The Marlow Murder Club -- U&Drama, 8pm & 9pm -- double bill; Becks becomes the suspect
TV Guide: Early Evening (7pm – 9pm)
Great British Menu -- BBC Two, 7pm
Andi Oliver oversees the North East and Yorkshire chefs as they tackle film-themed main courses and desserts. Three left, one going home tonight. The later heats tend to produce the sharper arguments, which is half the point. Available on BBC iPlayer.
The Repair Shop -- BBC One, 8pm
Tonight's items include a battered unicycle that belonged to someone who refused to let illness slow them down, a model of a virus that changed medical history, an iconic 80s gadget, and an Edwardian plate camera. The Repair Shop does this well: the objects are interesting, but it's always really about who brought them in. Available on BBC iPlayer.
Help! I Bought It at Auction with Sarah Beeny -- Channel 4, 8pm (NEW SERIES)
New series. Sarah Beeny follows auction buyers converting derelict properties into homes. Tonight, Alison and Michael take on a property full of pitfalls, while Jules and Al tackle a creaky Cornwall B&B. Available on Channel 4 streaming.
Digging for Britain -- BBC Two, 8pm
The series finale. A Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall, evidence of Pictish writing found in Scotland, and a Bronze Age coffin dug up under a golf course. Three thousand years old, just sitting there under the third fairway. Digging for Britain is good at making you care about fragments, which is harder than it sounds. Available on BBC iPlayer.
My Garden of a Thousand Bees -- BBC Four, 8pm
Originally aired on Sky Nature, now getting a BBC Four spring repeat -- and if you haven't seen it, this is worth an hour of your time. Film-maker Martin Dohrn spent a season in his Bristol garden documenting the solitary bees most of us walk past without noticing. Not honeybees -- the dozens of species that nest in holes, build elaborate wigwams from dried grass, or move into empty snail shells. He follows one leafcutter bee, named Nicky, across her whole life. The footage is remarkable and the bees, it turns out, have considerably more personality than you'd expect. Available on BBC iPlayer.
Emmerdale -- ITV1, 8pm
The village pauses for a two-hander tonight. Cain's cancer diagnosis has now been disclosed to Moira, and this episode focuses entirely on Cain and Charity -- two people with a history complex enough to fill a decade of storylines. Childhood romance, shared criminality, co-parenting: there's a lot of weight behind every exchange between them. A vulnerable Cain lashing out at someone who pushes his buttons precisely because she knows where they are. Available on ITVX.
TV Tonight: Prime Time (9pm onwards)
Ambulance -- BBC One, 9pm ★
This is the one tonight. Series 16, episode 3 of 6, Leeds, one hour.
Ambulance has been doing this for sixteen series now and somehow hasn't worn thin. Tonight the Central Leeds crew Nagina and Mo are called to a scene where police are already negotiating with a man threatening to harm himself. It's not car crashes and mass trauma -- it's two people trying to talk someone through the worst moment of their day. That's a harder thing to watch, and a harder thing to film well.
Sixteen series in, you go in thinking you know roughly what you'll get, and you still come out slightly shaken. That's not nothing. Available on BBC iPlayer.
The Stolen Girl -- ITV1, 9pm (SERIES FINALE)
The finale gets to the scene the whole series has been building to: Elisa (Denise Gough) and Nina (Holliday Grainger) finally in the same room. The series has been uneven getting here -- some episodes ran slow -- but Denise Gough and Holliday Grainger are worth the wait. Before that confrontation arrives, Lucia finds a box of photographs that reframes everything Nina has claimed, and a flashback puts the last piece of the central story in place. Available in full on ITVX.
A Woman of Substance -- Channel 4, 9pm (NEW)
New series adapting Barbara Taylor Bradford's novel. The show cuts between two timelines: the 1970s, where an older Emma Harte (Brenda Blethyn) runs a business empire and doesn't suffer fools, and the 1910s Leeds of her youth, where young Emma (Jessica Reynolds) is building a dress shop while the Fairley family's fortunes crumble nearby. Blethyn makes the older Emma immediately believable -- she delivers "you don't get to where I am without making sacrifices" like she means it personally. Reynolds more than holds her own in the period scenes. Worth sticking with. Available on Channel 4 streaming.
Warship: Life on the Frontline -- Channel 5, 9pm (NEW)
JJ Chalmers, former Royal Marines Commando, joined HMS Prince of Wales last October as it sailed through the Arabian Gulf near Iran, then through the Bab el-Mandeb strait between Yemen and Djibouti. He's told to leave at one point, which tells you something about how tense things were. The documentary gets you onto the flight deck while jets are launching, into the operations room while missiles are being armed -- and, on one occasion, malfunctioning. There's also the quieter side of 1,600 people living at sea for months, which the film doesn't skip over. Available on My5.
Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story -- BBC Two, 9:45pm (NEW SERIES)
In 1980, seven-year-old Steven Stayner was kidnapped. Seven years later, aged fourteen, he walked into a police station. The media covered his return as a happy ending. This documentary is interested in what that framing missed. The first episode is built around archival news footage and testimony from people who were there -- Steven's mother's line, that everyone forgets the real story, sets the tone early. The darker material is being held back for later episodes. Good opening, unsettling in the right way. Available in full on BBC iPlayer.
TV Guide UK: Late Night
Moors Murders -- Channel 4, 10pm
A late-night documentary on Ian Brady and Myra Hindley's crimes -- one of the most notorious criminal cases in British history. Runs past midnight, so plan accordingly if you're watching live. Available on Channel 4 streaming.
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody -- BBC One, 10:40pm
The 2022 biographical film with Naomi Ackie as Whitney Houston. It's a better film than the reviews suggested at the time -- Ackie makes you forget you're watching an impression, and the music sequences actually work. Worth staying up for if you haven't seen it.
The Apprentice -- BBC Three, 9pm
The candidates face whatever task Lord Sugar and his advisers have set this week. Available on BBC iPlayer.
Sport
Tennis: Miami Open -- Sky Sports Main Event / Sky Sports Tennis, from 4:30pm. Women's and men's quarter-finals in Florida. If you've been following the draw, both sides of the bracket have produced some decent results getting to this stage.
Men's Cycling: Tour de Catalunya Stage 3 -- TNT Sports 1, live from 2:45pm. The 159km stage from Mont-roig del Camp to Vila-seca.
For more live sport across all channels, see our full sport schedule.
Tonight's TV Listings: Full Schedule
Here are the complete TV listings for Wednesday 25th March 2026 across all major Freeview, Sky and streaming channels.
| Time | Channel | Programme |
|---|---|---|
| 7:00pm | BBC Two | Great British Menu (North East & Yorkshire -- mains and desserts) |
| 7:30pm | BBC One | EastEnders |
| 7:30pm | ITV1 | Celebrity Lingo (NEW) |
| 8:00pm | BBC One | The Repair Shop (virus model; buckled unicycle; 80s gadget; Edwardian plate camera) |
| 8:00pm | BBC Two | Digging for Britain (FINAL -- Hadrian's Wall; Pictish writing; Bronze Age coffin) |
| 8:00pm | BBC Four | My Garden of a Thousand Bees |
| 8:00pm | Channel 4 | Help! I Bought It at Auction with Sarah Beeny (NEW SERIES) |
| 8:00pm | Channel 5 | Alice Roberts: Our Hospital Through Time (FINAL EPISODE) |
| 8:00pm | ITV1 | Emmerdale (Cain and Charity two-hander) |
| 8:00pm | U&Drama | The Marlow Murder Club (double bill, Ep 1) |
| 8:00pm | Sky Arts | Beyond the Brush (Goya; Bosch -- double bill) |
| 8:30pm | ITV1 | Coronation Street |
| 9:00pm | BBC One | Ambulance (S16 -- Leeds) ★ |
| 9:00pm | BBC Three | The Apprentice |
| 9:00pm | Channel 4 | A Woman of Substance (NEW) |
| 9:00pm | Channel 5 | Warship: Life on the Frontline (NEW) |
| 9:00pm | ITV1 | The Stolen Girl (SERIES FINALE) |
| 9:00pm | ITV2 | Hell's Kitchen (NEW) |
| 9:00pm | Sky Atlantic | The White Lotus (double bill) |
| 9:00pm | U&Dave | Have I Got a Bit More News for You |
| 9:00pm | U&Drama | The Marlow Murder Club (double bill, Ep 2) |
| 9:45pm | BBC Two | Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story (NEW SERIES) |
| 10:00pm | Channel 4 | Moors Murders |
| 10:00pm | U&Dave | QI XL |
| 10:40pm | BBC One | Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (film, 2022) |
| 10:45pm | ITV1 | Peston (NEW) |
Freeview TV Guide: What's On Streaming
Can't watch live? This freeview tv guide has all the catch-up options sorted. Use our now and next guide to see what's currently airing, or browse the full channels list for every available station.
BBC iPlayer: Ambulance, The Repair Shop, Digging for Britain, My Garden of a Thousand Bees, The Apprentice, Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story, QI XL
ITVX: The Stolen Girl (full series), Emmerdale, Coronation Street, Celebrity Lingo, Peston
Channel 4 streaming: Help! I Bought It at Auction with Sarah Beeny, A Woman of Substance, Moors Murders
My5: Alice Roberts: Our Hospital Through Time, Warship: Life on the Frontline
Frequently Asked Questions
Is EastEnders on TV tonight, Wednesday 25th March 2026?
Yes -- EastEnders is on BBC One tonight at 7:30pm. You can also catch up on recent episodes via BBC iPlayer at any time.
What time is Ambulance on BBC One tonight?
Ambulance series 16 is on BBC One at 9pm tonight and runs until 10pm. Tonight's episode (3 of 6) follows the Central Leeds crew Nagina and Mo and is available on BBC iPlayer after broadcast.
What time is The Stolen Girl finale on ITV1?
The Stolen Girl series finale is on ITV1 at 9pm tonight. The full series is available on ITVX if you need to catch up before watching. Stars Denise Gough and Holliday Grainger.
What's on Channel 4 tonight?
Channel 4 has two new series launching tonight: Help! I Bought It at Auction with Sarah Beeny at 8pm, and A Woman of Substance starring Brenda Blethyn and Jessica Reynolds at 9pm. Moors Murders follows at 10pm. All will be available on Channel 4 streaming.
What is Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story?
Captive Audience: A Real American Horror Story is a new true crime documentary series starting on BBC Two at 9:45pm tonight. It tells the story of Steven Stayner, who was kidnapped as a seven-year-old in 1980 and turned up at a police station seven years later aged fourteen. The first episode focuses on the media circus around his return and on how his family's experience of the case differed from the version that got reported. Available in full on BBC iPlayer.
What's the best thing to watch on TV tonight?
Ambulance on BBC One at 9pm is the clear pick -- series 16 from Leeds, and it's in strong form. If you want drama, The Stolen Girl finale on ITV1 at the same time delivers a proper confrontation after a slow build, and A Woman of Substance on Channel 4 is a solid new series if neither of those appeals. For something different, Captive Audience on BBC Two at 9:45pm starts a new true crime series that's stranger and more unsettling than most.
TV Guide UK: Final Verdict
Wednesday's tv guide is busier than most. The 9pm slot is genuinely difficult -- Ambulance, The Stolen Girl finale and A Woman of Substance all have a claim on your time, and none of them are filler.
Ambulance is the pick. Sixteen series and it still works. Watch it live, then use iPlayer or ITVX to catch up on whatever you missed.
If you want something quieter, Digging for Britain on BBC Two and My Garden of a Thousand Bees on BBC Four are both on at 8pm and both worth your while. The bee documentary in particular is better than you'd expect from a Wednesday night nature repeat.
Browse the full channels list or check what's on now.