Previously airing twice-weekly, on Monday and Friday evenings at 8.00pm (ITV Wales, STV and UTV would often air the programme at different times or different days, to make way for regional programming), the show runs the gamut from human interest-led current affairs to investigative journalism.

Tonight has conducted interviews with a plethora of political and public figures, including U.S. President George W. Bush, Prime Minister Tony Blair and former U.S First Lady Hillary Clinton.

Rather than offering a simple publicity platform, a celebrity will often feature after a period of intense media scrutiny, such was the case when the model Naomi Campbell appeared after there were claims she had a substance abuse problem.

The programme's format differs significantly to the BBC's newsmagazine Panorama as it often remains focused on human interest-led agenda, rather than political or world affairs.

Following the September 11 attacks in New York City in 2001, the show shifted its focus to more "heavyweight" topics such as the impending war and featured numerous reports from Afghanistan and Washington respectively, with Trevor McDonald interviewing U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in December of the same year.

In an emotionally charged and highly controversial episode, airing on 30 October 2001, Martin Bashir interviewed the television star Michael Barrymore for the first time about the events that led to a man dying in the swimming pool at his home.

He left in late 2007, with the return of News at Ten on Monday, 14 January 2008, which McDonald co-presented, along with Julie Etchingham, until November 2008.

In October 2009, it was announced that Etchingham would present the relaunched programme from early 2010 – with the show airing once a week on Thursdays at 7:30pm, or later in some regions.