Full BBC One listings for Sunday 1 November 2026, with times in London local time.

Blue Planet III opens at 8pm and the rest of BBC One is built around it

See also: What's on tonight across all channels | Wednesday's TV guide

Sunday’s one unmissable hour is Blue Planet III, which begins tonight with Tropical Seas, episode one of the series. The channel has treated it that way: Blue Planet II: Oceans of Wonder is on at 3.15pm, an hour of the previous series laid down five hours early, and the new run then gets a clear 8pm start with no news bulletin or sport in its way. Nothing opposite it is aimed at the same viewer. Columbo, Midsomer Murders and a Bruce Almighty screening are the alternatives.

Stay put afterwards. This City Is Ours follows at 9pm with Episode 3, and the cast is a strong one: Sean Bean, James Nelson-Joyce, Hannah Onslow, Jack McMullen and Julie Graham. Going from the natural world to a crime drama is a change of gear that usually works. The series also turns up on BBC Two in the small hours, so a missed episode has a second chance.

Strictly, before the main event

Strictly Come Dancing: Week 6 Results opens primetime at 7.10pm for 50 minutes. It is a results show, so the answer to the evening is a name read out rather than a dance, and it has a long record behind it: 338 episodes to date, with Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli still among the names attached. BBC Two starts its two-hour BBC Young Musician 2026 final at 7pm, so a household that wants both will have to choose. I rate it a solid opener rather than a reason to switch on.

Football, twice

Match of the Day appears twice today: a 95-minute slot at 7.25am and the 40-minute main programme at 10.30pm. The late edition is the one most people will mean. It overlaps with BBC London at 10.25pm and with John Wick on ITV1, which began at 10.20pm, so the football fan with a free evening has a decision to make about the last hour.

The late film and the afternoon one

Merv closes the night at 11.10pm. It is a 2025 film with Zooey Deschanel and Charlie Cox, and Patricia Heaton and Chris Redd in the supporting names. It runs 100 minutes, which is a long way past a sensible bedtime, and I would not stay up for it after a full Sunday. Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, at 2pm for 75 minutes, is the better use of a film slot. Peter Sallis, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter and Peter Kay lead the cast list.

The rest is Sunday furniture: Countryfile, Songs of Praise, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, the news bulletins and Homes Under the Hammer. All of it sits in the table, and none of it changes the shape of the evening.


Also on TV tonight at 9pm

  • BBC Two: Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing
  • ITV1: Adultery
  • Channel 4: New: Bradley Walsh’s Million…
  • Channel 5: Live: NFL on 5
  • BBC Four: Shakespeare: Rise of a Genius
  • ITV2: Big Brother
  • ITV3: Midsomer Murders (from 8pm)
  • ITV4: Under Siege
  • E4: One Born Every Minute
  • More4: 999: On the Front Line

Every channel tonight, side by side · Films on TV tonight · Tomorrow’s TV


Frequently asked questions

What’s on BBC One tonight?

On Sunday 1 November 2026, BBC One shows Strictly Come Dancing at 7.10pm, Blue Planet III at 8pm, This City Is Ours at 9pm, BBC Weekend News at 10pm, BBC London at 10.25pm and Match of the Day at 10.30pm.

Is there a film on BBC One tonight?

Yes: Merv (2025) at 11.10pm.

What’s on BBC One late tonight?

After 11pm, BBC One has Merv at 11.10pm.

What time does BBC One’s evening start?

The evening schedule starts with The Reluctant Vampire at 6.40pm.