
What is The Third Day: Autumn?
What is The Third Day: Autumn?
Find out more about this special live television event on Sky Arts, plus take a look at other shows that aired memorable live episodes
By Virgin TV Edit
You can’t accuse Sky Original drama The Third Day of lacking ambition. After all, who else would team up with experimental theatre company Punchdrunk to broadcast an episode of their series as live in one continuous take over a single day?
New on Sky Arts/HD (CH 123/156), the first episodes of The Third Day (Summer) have already aired, and Autumn will be followed by more engrossing pyschological thrills with Winter. This special 12-hour episode of the drama (which features Jude Law and Katherine Waterston) acts as a standalone chapter in the story of a mysterious island where nothing is quite what it seems. Intrigued? We thought you might be.

Months of Zoom calls had finally sent Jude Law over the edge.
And don’t forget, should you miss this live television event as it happens, or you want to see the first episodes before you tune in, you can get up to speed on Catch Up > Channels > Sky Arts.
The Third Day is not the first TV show to mix things up with an unpredictable live episode. From a royally good Coronation Street celebration to frantic festive fun on The Only Way Is Essex, here are five of the most memorable...
Coronation Street (2000)

Charles was keen for the photo session to end quickly so he could tuck into a pint of bitter and a packet of pork scratchings
Corrie’s first live episode since 1961 saw the famous cobbles visited by none other than Prince Charles, who popped by Weatherfield to open a new planning office in the town hall. Though scenes with the Prince were pre-recorded, the 40th-anniversary episode proved a right royal hit with viewers, drawing in an audience of 17 million people. Whether Charles treated the locals to a round in the Rovers Return is unknown.
See what made our list of the top 10 Coronation Street moments of all time
EastEnders (2010)
The iconic soap opera had previously filmed a live episode to mark its 25th birthday in 2010, but it was in 2015 that the show gave us a moment that has since gone down in telly history. We are of course talking about when Jo Joyner (playing Tanya Branning) referred to the character of Ian Beale by his real name (actor Adam Woodyatt) when she asked Jane Beale (Laurie Brett) “How’s Adam?”. How the two actresses kept a straight face, we’ll never know.
The Only Way Is Essex (2012)

Arg: all mouth and no trousers
They tried to make it work. Oh, how they tried. Doing a live Christmas episode of reality series TOWIE was always going to be a challenge, but not even an appearance from Pat Sharp in the audience could save this much-maligned festive special. Mumbled lines, cues being shouted from behind the cameras by the crew and a big dollop of general bafflement from everyone involved made it famous for the wrong reasons.
Read why TOWIE legend Gemma Collins is TV’s brightest star
Emmerdale (2012)
If you’re going to do a live episode, you might as well go big. That’s exactly what Emmerdale did in 2012 for its 40th anniversary, with deaths, births and weddings all part of the action. Using a total of 27 cameras to capture the drama, four new-born babies and seven wedding dresses were all on hand to make sure everything went as smoothly as possible.
Inside No. 9 (2018)

Even Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton had to admit their idea of a good night out was unusual.
This disorientating 2018 Halloween special, titled Dead Line, had no shortage of shocks. In that classic Inside No. 9 way, it tricked you into thinking it was one thing before tightening its icy grip around your neck. Sure, this live-telly-gone-wrong format had been done before with the groundbreaking Ghostwatch, but that doesn’t mean this nasty little episode is lacking in fresh terror.
Discover what made the cut in our round-up of the best ever Inside No. 9 episodes
When is The Third Day: Autumn on TV?
You can watch The Third Day: Autumn from 9.30am on Saturday 3 October on Sky Arts/HD (CH 123/156).
Also available for 30 days in Catch Up > Channels > Sky Arts.
TV channels: Channels, content and features available depend on your chosen package. Channel line-ups and content are subject to change at any time and to regional variations.
HD: HD TV set, V HD Box, TiVo box or Virgin TV V6 connected with HDMI cables required for HD channels. Number of inclusive HD channels depends on package.
Catch Up TV: Catch Up TV content available for up to 7 days or up to 30 days after broadcast, depending on content.