Full ITV3 listings for Tuesday 27 October 2026, with times in London local time.

ITV3 opens a new run of Vera at eight, and the night only has one real event

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

ITV3 gives tonight’s headline slot to the start of Vera’s thirteenth series. Fast Love is episode one, it runs for two hours from 8pm, and nothing else on the channel comes close. It is the only series opener of the day and the main reason to be here.

Most of what surrounds it is the familiar ITV3 diet: crime, soaps and costume drama on a loop. That is no complaint, but it does mean the channel’s real choice tonight is Vera or something on another channel.

Vera at eight

A two-hour slot is generous, and the channel is giving it room. Against it, BBC One has DIY SOS, BBC Two has Highland Cops, Channel 5 has Motorway Cops, and 5usa has NCIS. For anyone who wants a long, single crime drama rather than a half-hour of something else, ITV3 is the only real answer in that hour. Vera has aired on the channel on seven of the days in the window, so a missed showing will turn up again. If you want to see the new series from the start, though, tonight is the night to be in.

Downton Abbey at ten

At 10pm comes episode 3 of Downton Abbey’s fifth series. The costume drama ran for six series and 52 episodes on ITV from 2010 to 2015, with Michelle Dockery, Hugh Bonneville and Laura Carmichael among the cast. As a follow-on from a crime drama it works as a change of pace, and it airs at the same time as BBC News at Ten and Gogglebox, which makes it an easy choice for anyone who has had enough of both.

Lewis, late

Lewis: Beyond Good and Evil starts at 11pm and runs for 110 minutes. It is a late-night crime drama that follows two hours of Vera and one of Downton, so only the committed will reach the end. It sits alongside Inspector Morse and Midsomer Murders, which are daily fixtures on the channel.

Daytime and early evening

The rest is wall-to-wall repeats: Heartbeat takes four slots, the last two at 5:50pm and 6:55pm, and Classic Coronation Street and Classic Emmerdale fill the mornings and afternoon. They are reliable and unremarkable. Nobody would make a special journey for them.

The verdict: Vera at eight is the evening. Stay for Downton if you want something gentler, and skip the daytime.


Also on TV tonight at 9pm

  • BBC One: Blue Lights
  • BBC Two: Surgeons: At the Edge of Life
  • ITV1: New: Unbelievable Moments:…
  • Channel 4: The Great British Bake Off (from 8pm)
  • Channel 5: Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild
  • BBC Four: The Normans
  • ITV2: Big Brother
  • ITV4: Junk and Disorderly
  • E4: Gogglebox
  • More4: Matt Baker: Our Barn in the Dales

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


Frequently asked questions

What’s on ITV3 tonight?

On Tuesday 27 October 2026, ITV3 shows Vera at 8pm and Downton Abbey at 10pm.

Is there a film on ITV3 tonight?

No. ITV3 has no films in its evening schedule on Tuesday 27 October 2026.

What’s on ITV3 late tonight?

After 11pm, ITV3 has Lewis at 11pm.

What time does ITV3’s evening start?

The evening schedule starts with Heartbeat at 6.55pm.

Detectives, period drama and old soaps, almost nothing else

ITV3 is the ITV family’s archive drama channel, and it is about as single-minded as a general channel gets. Drama and crime drama between them filled 83% of its airtime across the five weeks we tracked; in the evening, crime drama alone took almost half of the 7pm to 11pm slot. It showed no films, and 99% of its airtime went to titles that came back on three or more days. If a programme is on ITV3, it has almost certainly been on before and will be on again.

The channel launched in 2004. Its schedule is built from long-running British series, often shown in double or treble helpings: Classic Coronation Street and Heartbeat each logged 100 airings in 34 days.

What an ITV3 day looks like

Early morning, 6am to 9am. Wild at Heart opens the day at about 6am. Then come the classic soaps: Classic Emmerdale from around 7.05am and Classic Coronation Street from 8.05am, each running several episodes back to back on weekdays. Agatha Christie’s Poirot appears at about 8.15am on some mornings.

Daytime, 9am to 6pm. Inspector Morse is the one programme on ITV3 that aired on every day we measured, usually from about 9.15am. Heartbeat takes the middle of the day from around 12.35pm, often three or four episodes in a row, and The Royal follows at about 1.35pm. The Darling Buds of May, the David Jason comedy drama from 1991, fills some mornings in double helpings.

Evening, 6pm to 10.30pm. The early evening carries newer crime series on some days, such as Blue Murder Motel, a New Zealand series from 2026, and A Taste For Murder, around 6pm or 7pm. The 8pm slot is the main event, rotating between Midsomer Murders, on 22 days, Vera, on 14, and Doc Martin. Downton Abbey closes primetime at 10pm, on 25 of the 34 days.

Late night. More detectives: Scott & Bailey around 11.10pm, Wycliffe and DCI Banks from about 11.50pm, and The Blame just before 1am on some nights. After that, George and Mildred at about 2am, then Unwind with ITV and Teleshopping fill the small hours.

At weekends the drama share drops from 54% to 26%, and comedy and mysteries take more of the day.

Popular shows on ITV3

Inspector Morse is the detective series that began in 1987, starring John Thaw and Kevin Whately. It ran to 12 series and 33 episodes, and on ITV3 it is the daily morning fixture, aired on all 34 days we tracked.

Midsomer Murders is a detective drama that first aired in 1997 and has passed 26 series and 140 episodes. Its cast has included Neil Dudgeon, Fiona Dolman and John Hopkins. On ITV3 it is the most frequent 8pm title.

Downton Abbey is the historical drama that ran from 2010 to 2015, with Michelle Dockery, Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern among its cast. Six series and 52 episodes, and ITV3 shows it at 10pm most nights, a slot it held on 25 of the 34 days.

Agatha Christie’s Poirot is the detective series that ran from 1989 to 2013, starring David Suchet, with Hugh Fraser and Philip Jackson. It made 13 series and 70 episodes. ITV3 puts it in the morning.

Doc Martin is the medical comedy drama that began in 2004, starring Martin Clunes and Caroline Catz. It has ten series and 79 episodes, and ITV3 shows it in double bills at 8pm on some evenings.

Wild at Heart is the drama that began in 2006 with Stephen Tompkinson and Dawn Steele. It ran to seven series and 65 episodes, and opens the ITV3 day at 6am.

How to watch ITV3

ITV3 is Freeview channel 10. On Freely it is channel 7, not 10. It is on Sky 119, Sky Glass 123, Virgin Media 117 and Freesat 115. ITV3+1, an hour later, is on Freeview 58 and Sky 219.

It streams live and on catch-up on ITVX, which is free with an account. A TV Licence is needed to watch it live, as with every channel.

ITV3 and its sister channels

ITV3 is one of the ITV channels, with ITV1, ITV2, ITV4 and ITV Quiz.

ITV1 is where many of these series first aired, and where the current Emmerdale and Coronation Street run in the evening; ITV3’s Classic versions are much older episodes. ITV2 is reality, game shows and American animation, and has nothing in common with ITV3. ITV4 is sport, action and films, with some older crime drama by day. ITV Quiz is not covered on this site.

Outside ITV, Drama is the closest match, with Father Brown, New Tricks and The Brokenwood Mysteries in the evening. That’s TV runs older British comedy and drama on a similarly fixed timetable.

Who it’s for

ITV3 is for viewers who want a detective, a period drama or a classic soap at almost any hour, and who are happy to see the same series many times. It is comfort viewing on a fixed timetable: Morse in the morning, Heartbeat at lunch, Midsomer or Vera at 8pm, Downton at 10pm. Anyone looking for something new, a film or anything other than drama will find very little here.

What channel is ITV3 on Freeview?

ITV3 is Freeview channel 10. On Freely it is channel 7.

Can I watch ITV3 online?

Yes. ITV3 streams live and on catch-up on ITVX, which is free with an account.

What time is Downton Abbey on ITV3?

Downton Abbey aired at 10pm on 25 of the 34 days we measured.

Does ITV3 show films?

No. We recorded no films on ITV3 across five weeks.