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

CBBC is the BBC’s channel for children roughly aged 6 to 12, on air every day from 7am until close around 7pm on Freeview 201. No adverts, on any platform, because the TV Licence pays for it. Today is Wednesday 5 August 2026, and with the summer holidays still on, the schedule runs at its full length rather than working around school hours.

CBBC Schedule: Wednesday 5 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete CBBC schedule for Wednesday 5 August 2026, on Freeview 201.

What’s on CBBC today

The morning opens with Shaun the Sheep at 7am, then Danger Mouse and Super Happy Magic Forest carry the schedule to Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese just before Newsround at 7:45am. Grizzy and the Lemmings gets a double outing either side of 8am, SpongeBob SquarePants follows at 8:10am, and Duck and Frog airs twice before Little Lunch takes the 8:40am slot.

Three new episodes run back to back from 8:55am: The Amazing World of Gumball, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir and Mystery Lane. Teen Titans Go! then has a double bill from 9:55am, and SpongeBob SquarePants, Total Dramarama and What’s New Scooby-Doo? carry the schedule past 10:45am. Grizzy and the Lemmings: World Tour, Duck and Frog, Danger Mouse and Super Happy Magic Forest fill the run to midday.

Horrible Science opens the afternoon at 12:05pm, and Gladiators: Epic Pranks and Bro’s in Control lead into The Primrose Railway Children at 1pm. The Dumping Ground takes the 1:30pm slot, then Horrible Science returns at 2pm ahead of Pokémon Horizons: The Series at 2:25pm and a short run of Duck and Frog and Shaun the Sheep before 3pm.

Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed! airs twice from 3pm, and Danger Mouse and a further two episodes of Super Happy Magic Forest carry the schedule to 4pm. Submarine Jim has a new episode at 4:30pm, Odd Squad follows at 4:45pm, and Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope brings a new episode from 4:55pm. Winx Club – The Magic Is Back and a second helping of Bro’s in Control close out the afternoon before the evening schedule begins at 6pm.

CBBC today — the shows worth planning around

CBBC doesn’t really do primetime, so here are the parts of Wednesday 5 August 2026’s schedule that stand out from the rest of the day’s short-form fill.

Three new episodes in a row — CBBC, from 8:55am

The busiest run of fresh material lands mid-morning. The Amazing World of Gumball has a new episode at 8:55am, with the class trying to work out who shoved Principal Brown into Gumball’s locker. Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir follows at 9:05am, and Mystery Lane rounds off the run at 9:30am.

The Primrose Railway Children — CBBC, 1pm

The early afternoon drama slot is The Primrose Railway Children at 1pm, opening on Perry and Becks Robinson settling into a steam train community after being uprooted from city life, while their sister Phoebe tries to find out what happened to their missing father.

Submarine Jim and Pokémon Horizons — CBBC, 4:30pm and 4:55pm

Late afternoon brings two more new episodes. Submarine Jim, at 4:30pm, has Jim trying to survive a stint working at a gas station. Pokémon Horizons: Rising Hope follows at 4:55pm, with Liko and friends racing to contain the escalating Laquium Core.

Still So Awkward and Malory Towers close the day — CBBC, 6pm and 6:30pm

The two returning series that see CBBC out for the night run back to back. Still So Awkward, at 6pm, has Josh stunning Lily by admitting they fancy each other, while Frankie is left dumping six dates at once and Samson and Jeff get themselves banned from the ball. Malory Towers takes over at 6:30pm, with Jo causing a row by telling Celeste’s mother that Celeste doesn’t want to come home. A short preview clip for the new series of The Dumping Ground runs at 6:55pm, and CBBC closes for the night at 6:58pm, handing its frequency to BBC Three until 7am.

What kind of shows are on CBBC

Drama

Crookhaven is the newest of CBBC’s dramas and the most ambitious: a boarding school that trains pickpockets to use the skill for good, back for a second run with a book range to go with it. Jamie Johnson FC, the football drama, is four series deep. Those two and Malory Towers give older viewers the thing most of the schedule can’t, which is characters and storylines that carry from one week to the next.

Comedy and animation

Most of the daytime is short-form comedy and animation. Danger Mouse and Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed! keep the old British characters ticking over, SpongeBob SquarePants and Teen Titans Go! cover the American imports, and newer originals like Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese and Duck and Frog fill the ten- and fifteen-minute gaps between them. The one worth actually sitting down for is Odd Squad, a live-action comedy about child agents who solve their cases with maths.

Factual and entertainment

Horrible Science, Operation Ouch!, Gladiators: Epic Pranks and Deadly Dinosaurs with Steve Backshall keep CBBC’s factual slots closer to sketch comedy or a game show than a documentary.

News and long-running strands

Newsround goes out every morning, weekends included, and it is still proper news explained without talking down. Blue Peter is the channel’s other fixture: into its seventh decade, having changed presenters dozens of times and almost nothing else.

How to watch CBBC

Channel numbers

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

CBBC is free on all of the above platforms, with no subscription required.

Streaming online

CBBC streams live and free on BBC iPlayer at bbc.co.uk/iplayer, and via the iPlayer app on smart TVs, phones, tablets, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and most streaming sticks. You’ll need a free BBC account, which costs nothing to set up. Most CBBC programmes also stay available on demand for at least 30 days after broadcast, so a missed episode of Crookhaven or Blue Peter is rarely gone for good. A valid TV Licence is required to watch live or to stream a programme on the day it airs.

CBBC and CBeebies

CBeebies is the sister channel for the under-6s, on Freeview channel 202 from around 6am to 7pm. Shorter programmes, slower pace, nothing that has to be followed week to week. The switch across usually happens when talking animals stop cutting it and teen drama is still a way off, which is more or less the gap CBBC was built to sit in. See our CBeebies TV guide for that channel’s full schedule.

Frequently asked questions

What’s on CBBC today?

CBBC’s Wednesday 5 August 2026 schedule runs full-length through the school summer holidays. Newsround has its usual 7:45am slot, the middle of the day runs through Horrible Science, Gladiators: Epic Pranks and The Dumping Ground, and the evening closes out with Still So Awkward at 6pm and Malory Towers at 6:30pm before CBBC hands over to BBC Three at 6:58pm. Full times are in the schedule table above.

What time does CBBC start and finish each day?

CBBC broadcasts from 7am to 7pm every day, then hands its frequency to BBC Three until 7am the next morning.

Is CBBC free to watch, and does it carry adverts?

Yes, CBBC has no adverts on any platform. It’s funded by the TV Licence rather than advertising, though a valid TV Licence is required to watch it live or on the day of broadcast via iPlayer.

Can I watch CBBC on BBC iPlayer?

Yes. CBBC streams live on BBC iPlayer and most programmes stay available on demand for at least 30 days afterwards. You’ll need a free BBC account and a valid TV Licence to watch live or same-day content.

What’s the difference between CBBC and CBeebies?

CBBC is for roughly 6-to-12-year-olds and includes longer dramas, competitive formats and Newsround. CBeebies is aimed at under-6s, with shorter, gentler programmes and a calmer pace.

Verdict

The pitch for a parent is simple enough. Twelve hours a day you don’t have to vet first, and no autoplay quietly nudging a seven-year-old towards something you’d rather they hadn’t found.

Wednesday follows the same shape as any other day here. Hours of short-form animation, a returning drama saved for last, then the frequency handed to BBC Three for the night.

Related: What’s On TV Tonight | CBeebies TV Guide | BBC iPlayer Guide