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 Saturday 15 August 2026, and with the summer holidays still on, the schedule runs at its full length rather than working around school hours.

CBBC Schedule: Saturday 15 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete CBBC schedule for Saturday 15 August 2026, on Freeview 201.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

What’s on CBBC today

Newsround keeps its regular slot at 7:45am, sandwiched between Shaun the Sheep at 7am and a run of British animation: Danger Mouse, Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed! and back-to-back Duck and Frog at 8:15am and 8:25am. SpongeBob SquarePants, Grizzy and the Lemmings and Counterfeit Cat carry the rest of the morning into the hour-long Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase at 9:10am and the Kung Fu Panda spin-off Secrets of the Masters at 10:15am.

The afternoon leans on repeat strands. Odd Squad runs twice from 12:45pm, Danger Mouse gets three episodes from 1:55pm, Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese matches it with three more from 2:30pm, and Duck and Frog returns for a third block of three from 3:10pm before Super Happy Magic Forest closes the run with three episodes of its own from 3:30pm. Horrible Histories and Horrible Science take over from 4:20pm, and The Lady Grace Mysteries and Jamie Johnson FC carry the schedule into early evening ahead of Crookhaven at 6:10pm.

CBBC tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

CBBC doesn’t do a 9pm slot; its version of primetime is the late-afternoon and early-evening run before the channel closes down. Here’s the pick of it for Saturday 15 August 2026.

Crookhaven — CBBC, 6:10pm

The channel’s evening builds towards Crookhaven, into its penultimate episode. The Crooklings face the trials that decide who makes the cut, with the wider crooked underworld watching on, the undercover Nameless agent is pushed into a genuine risk, and Jia throws herself fully into tracking down Amira. It’s the closest thing CBBC has to a returning drama with real stakes, and this episode is built to leave the finale with plenty to resolve.

Horrible Histories — CBBC, 4:20pm

This edition rounds up history’s most alarming mothers, taking in Spartan warriors, a scheming Cleopatra and Queen Victoria along the way.

Horrible Science — CBBC, 4:50pm

Robots and AI are the theme, with Dr Finklestone’s creation Big Brain turning nasty and a musical detour into fossil hunter Mary Anning’s work.

The Lady Grace Mysteries — CBBC, 5:15pm

A visiting VIP throws Grace’s search for the traitor off course, and Ellie is left dealing with the fallout.

Jamie Johnson FC — CBBC, 5:45pm

Paula’s suspicions about Jordan deepen just as the team reaches a tense semi-final, leaving little room for him to keep his composure.

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 Saturday 15 August 2026 schedule runs at full length through the school summer holidays, opening with Shaun the Sheep at 7am and running through repeat strands of Danger Mouse, Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese and Duck and Frog across the afternoon. Crookhaven closes out the day at 6:10pm, and the evening 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.

It won’t compete with CBeebies for calm, or with streaming for anything aimed at teenagers, and it isn’t trying to. What it offers is Newsround done properly, and a schedule either side of it that doesn’t need a parent hovering.

Related: What’s On TV Tonight | CBeebies TV Guide | Films on TV This Week