5Action TV Guide: Listings, Schedule & What’s On 5Action Tonight

Published: 22 September 2026

5Action is Channel 5’s cop-show and action channel, and it has had more names than most channels manage in a decade: Spike at launch in 2015, 5Spike from 2017, merged with the UK’s Paramount Network in 2020, and 5Action since January 2022. Tonight, Wednesday 23 September 2026, there’s no live sport in the way: two Police Interceptors episodes open the evening back to back at 6pm and 7pm, Motorway Cops: Catching Britain’s Speeders takes 8pm, a separate Police Interceptors episode returns at 9pm, and Police: Night Shift 999 and The X-Files close out the night at 10pm and 11pm.

5Action Schedule: Wednesday 23 September 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete 5Action schedule for Wednesday 23 September 2026, on Freeview 33.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on 5Action today

Rescue 999: Seconds to Save a Life opens the overnight run at midnight, then Outback Truckers at 1am and two Trucking Hell episodes at 2am and 3am, followed by a short Entertainment News on 5 bulletin at 3:50am ahead of three hours of Teleshopping from 4am. Cruise TV with LoveitBookit fills both breakfast slots, 7am and 8am.

A single Trucking Hell episode airs at 9:05am, then Police Interceptors runs two episodes from 10:05am into the late morning. The Tin Star runs either side of a short Entertainment News on 5 bulletin at 1:10pm, and Dallas does the same around the 3:05pm bulletin. Traffic Cops and Motorway Cops: Catching Britain’s Speeders close out the afternoon at 4pm and 5pm.

5Action tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the 5Action primetime line-up for tonight, Wednesday 23 September 2026.

Police Interceptors — 5Action, 6pm–7pm

Two episodes run back to back to open the evening: series 1, episode 7, then series 2, episode 1.

Motorway Cops: Catching Britain’s Speeders — 5Action, 8pm

Series 7 reaches episode 2, back out with officers patrolling the motorway network.

Police Interceptors — 5Action, 9pm

A separate, later episode returns for series 22, episode 13, distinct from the earlier pair.

Police: Night Shift 999 — 5Action, 10pm

Series 4 continues with episode 5.

The X-Files — 5Action, 11pm

Series 7, episode 5 closes out the night.

What kind of shows are on 5Action

Cop shows and roads policing documentaries

This is the channel, really. Police Interceptors, Traffic Cops and Motorway Cops: Catching Britain’s Speeders between them account for most of the grid, and they are built to an identical template: dashcam and body-cam footage, a narrator over the top, and the officer explaining afterwards what made them look twice. John Thomson narrates one, Jamie Theakston another, Nicky Campbell the third, and that voice is often the quickest way to work out which show you have actually landed on.

Action films and westerns

Older genre cinema fills the afternoons, mostly westerns. Gunsmoke, The Walking Hills and Horizons West come round often, usually split either side of a news bulletin. A full western occasionally makes it into an evening slot, but not often.

Heavy recovery and trucking documentaries

Highway Thru Hell, Trucking Hell and Outback Truckers cover the same job on three continents: British roadsides, the Australian outback, the Canadian mountain passes. Highway Thru Hell is the best of them and 5Action seems to know it, since it tends to get a decent evening slot rather than being buried overnight.

How to watch 5Action

Channel numbers

Here’s where to find 5Action across the main UK television platforms:

5Action is free on all of the above platforms, with no subscription required. Virgin Media and Freesat numbers can vary slightly by region and box, so your on-screen guide is the definitive source if these don’t match.

Streaming online

5Action streams live and free through 5, Channel 5’s combined broadcast and streaming platform, at channel5.com and via the 5 app on smart TVs, iOS, Android and Amazon Fire TV. The service was known as My5 until Channel 5 merged its linear channels and catch-up library into the single “5” brand in March 2025. A free account is all you need, and recent episodes of shows like Police Interceptors and Highway Thru Hell are generally available to catch up on afterwards.

5Action sister channels

5Action sits under Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited, itself part of Paramount Skydance Corporation, alongside three siblings. 5USA runs American crime dramas and imported US series, so it is far more scripted than anything here. 5Star does reality and true crime, personality-led where 5Action is all dashcam and recovery trucks. Channel 5 is the flagship and takes the group’s biggest dramas, documentaries and 5 News; the other three pick up the specialisms it does not have room for.

Frequently asked questions

What channel is 5Action on?

Freeview 33, Sky 150 (Sky Q) or 165 (Sky Glass and Sky Stream), Virgin Media 150 in HD or 187 in SD, and Freesat 132.

What’s on 5Action tonight?

Police Interceptors opens with two episodes back to back at 6pm and 7pm, Motorway Cops: Catching Britain’s Speeders takes 8pm, then a separate Police Interceptors episode returns at 9pm. Police: Night Shift 999 and The X-Files close out the night at 10pm and 11pm. Full times are in the schedule table above.

Is 5Action free to watch?

Yes, completely free to air with no subscription, though it carries advertising and teleshopping strands throughout the schedule, particularly during the day.

Can I watch 5Action online for free?

Yes. It streams live at channel5.com and through the 5 app, the platform formerly known as My5. A free account is all that’s required.

Verdict

Tonight runs close to the usual cop-show template with no live sport in the way: Police Interceptors opens with a 6pm–7pm pair, Motorway Cops: Catching Britain’s Speeders takes 8pm, a separate Police Interceptors episode returns at 9pm, and Police: Night Shift 999 and The X-Files close out the night.

Daytime runs a mix of factual and westerns: Rescue 999, Outback Truckers and two Trucking Hell episodes overnight, Cruise TV with LoveitBookit through breakfast, then Trucking Hell and Police Interceptors carrying the late morning before The Tin Star and Dallas fill the afternoon around the news bulletins.

Related: Channel 5 TV Guide | Freeview Channel Guide | Tonight’s Films on Freeview