Channel 4 TV Guide: Listings, Schedule & What’s On Channel 4 Tonight

Channel 4 is the UK’s publicly owned but ad-funded broadcaster, free to watch and responsible for a fair chunk of the odder British television of the past forty years. You’ll find it at 4 on Freeview, and at 104 on Freeview HD, Sky, Virgin Media and Freesat. It streams live and on demand for free at channel4.com and through the Channel 4 app. Channel 4 News runs weeknights at 7pm; Gogglebox is the Friday 9pm fixture.

Channel 4 Schedule: Thursday 13 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete Channel 4 schedule for Thursday 13 August 2026, on Freeview 4.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on Channel 4 today: the daytime schedule

Two episodes of Celebrity Hunted open the graveyard slot from 12:10am, then Ramsay’s Hotel Hell visits a troubled resort hotel in Florida at 2am. Dover 24/7: Britain’s Busiest Port follows at 2:50am, Fur Babies at 3:45am, and Kirstie’s House of Craft and Couples Come Dine with Me carry the schedule through to Countdown at 5:50am.

Three episodes each of The King of Queens and Everybody Loves Raymond carry the schedule to 9am, then Frasier runs across four episodes from 9:10am, before Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA and the lunchtime news summary. Find It, Fix It, Flog It and The Great House Giveaway fill the early afternoon, Countdown returns at 2:10pm, and A Place in the Sun, Saving Country Houses with Penelope Keith and Chateau DIY run through to 6pm, ahead of American Pickers and the 7pm news.

Channel 4 tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the Channel 4 primetime line-up for tonight, Thursday 13 August 2026.

American Pickers — Channel 4, 6pm

Mike and Frank work their way across a forty-acre salvage yard that has stayed in the same family for four generations. The find of the trip is a farmer’s mini-bike with no equivalent anywhere else.

Channel 4 News — Channel 4, 7pm

The hour-long bulletin, weather included.

Renovation Rescue — Channel 4, 8pm

A new Renovation Rescue at 8pm follows a widow trying to get an unfinished building project moving again, with Vogue Williams and Luke Mabbott stepping in to help.

Spy Next Door: The Anna Chapman Story — Channel 4, 9pm

Spy Next Door: The Anna Chapman Story takes the 9pm slot in a new episode, tracing how the Russian agent talked her way into British and American circles before the FBI closed in on her network.

The Schoolgirl Terrorist? — Channel 4, 10pm

At 10pm, a new The Schoolgirl Terrorist? examines the prosecution of Rhianan Rudd, the youngest UK schoolgirl ever charged under terrorism law, and questions whether the case against her held up.

Social Media Monsters — Channel 4, 11:05pm

Crimes that began online. This edition follows Justine Wright, a businesswoman who dismissed a member of staff and then spent the next ten years being stalked, along with several other people caught up in the same campaign.

Popular shows on Channel 4

Comedy and entertainment

Gogglebox has been running since 2013, filming regular families and friends reacting to the week’s telly from their own sofas. When something big happens in the culture, their reactions often land harder than any think-piece. It won the BAFTA for Reality and Constructed Factual in 2014 and is still going more than a decade later.

Taskmaster moved to Channel 4 from Dave in 2020 and has run a new series most years since. Greg Davies’s mock authority and Alex Horne’s deadpan make for a double act that never feels forced. Series 21 began in April 2026 with Amy Gledhill, Armando Iannucci, Joanna Page, Joel Dommett and Kumail Nanjiani.

Factual and documentary

24 Hours in A&E films inside a working NHS hospital, originally St George’s in Tooting and later King’s College, with fixed cameras and no presenter. It trusts the patients and staff to carry it, which they do. Dispatches, running since 1987, does the investigative work few other British programmes go near; its 2023 Russell Brand investigation was made jointly with two national newspapers.

Baking, lifestyle and food

The Great British Bake Off can make an entire nation care about proving times and choux pastry. It moved from the BBC to Channel 4 in 2017 and still pulls some of the biggest entertainment audiences of the year each autumn. Bake Off: The Professionals swaps the amateurs for trained pastry chefs, and the sugar-work sculptures they produce are frankly ridiculous. Come Dine With Me just keeps going in the afternoons, held together entirely by Dave Lamb’s narration.

How to watch Channel 4 live and on demand

Channel numbers

Here’s where to find Channel 4 depending on your platform:

All of these are free-to-air, no subscription needed. Channel 4 takes no money from the TV Licence; it runs on advertising and commercial partnerships, which is why you get ad breaks on both the linear channel and the stream.

Channel 4 streaming service

Channel 4 streams live and on demand for free at channel4.com and through the Channel 4 app, which runs on smart TVs, iOS, Android, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and most major streaming sticks. You need a free account to watch; registration takes a couple of minutes. Alongside the live feed there’s the full on-demand library, box sets, and some series that never appear on linear TV. Most programmes stay up for at least 30 days after broadcast. The service used to be called All 4 before Channel 4 folded it under its own name in 2023.

The Channel 4 family of channels

Channel 4 runs a group of free-to-air digital channels alongside the main service.

E4 is the entertainment and comedy channel aimed at younger viewers. It’s the linear home of Hollyoaks, which airs weeknights on E4, with the omnibus appearing on Channel 4 overnight on Tuesdays. E4 also carries American imports including The Big Bang Theory and Friends. It’s on Freeview 28, Sky 140 and Virgin Media 144.

More4 is where the factual and lifestyle back catalogue goes to live a second life: property, true crime, acquired documentary series, and a great many daytime repeats. More4 is on Freeview 18, Sky 144 and Virgin Media 148.

Film4 is the free movie channel, and a genuinely good one: mainstream Hollywood in the evenings, world and independent cinema later on, no subscription anywhere in it. Film4 is on Freeview 15, Sky 313 and Virgin Media 428.

4seven replays the past week of Channel 4 and its sister channels at different times of day, for anyone who’d rather not use the app. It’s on Freeview 47 and Sky 149.

Frequently asked questions

What channel number is Channel 4 on Freeview?

Channel 4 is on channel 4 on Freeview. If you have a Freeview HD receiver or a TV with a built-in Freeview HD tuner, Channel 4 HD is on channel 104. Both carry the same programmes.

What channel is Channel 4 on Sky?

Channel 4 is on channel 104 on Sky, which covers Sky Q, Sky Stream and Sky Glass. Channel 4 HD is the default feed at 104.

What channel is Channel 4 on Virgin Media?

Channel 4 is on channel 104 on Virgin Media.

What channel is Channel 4 on Freesat?

Channel 4 is on channel 104 on Freesat. If you’re in Wales you may find S4C at 104 on some tuners; check your regional listing accordingly.

What time is Channel 4 News on?

Channel 4 News is on Monday to Friday at 7pm, running until 7:55pm. It’s produced by ITN and streams free on channel4.com and the Channel 4 app alongside the linear broadcast. Weekend bulletins are shorter and earlier: 6pm on Saturday and Sunday, running around thirty minutes.

What time is Gogglebox on Channel 4?

Gogglebox airs on Fridays at 9pm on Channel 4. Episodes are one hour long and are available on the Channel 4 streaming service shortly after broadcast.

What’s on Channel 4 tonight?

Tonight, Thursday 13 August 2026: American Pickers opens the evening at 6pm, Channel 4 News follows at 7pm, and a new Renovation Rescue airs at 8pm. A new Spy Next Door: The Anna Chapman Story follows at 9pm, The Schoolgirl Terrorist? (also new) is at 10pm, and Social Media Monsters closes primetime at 11:05pm.

Can I watch Channel 4 online for free?

Yes. Channel 4 streams live and on demand for free at channel4.com and through the Channel 4 app. A free account is required to watch. The service is available on smart TVs, phones, tablets, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and most streaming sticks. Channel 4 is ad-supported, so adverts are included in the stream.

Does Channel 4 have a streaming service?

Yes. It’s the same free service covered above at channel4.com and via the Channel 4 app, previously known as All 4 before Channel 4 dropped the separate branding in 2023.

Verdict

Four new programmes back to back is a strong Thursday by any channel’s standards, and Channel 4 has stacked them well. Renovation Rescue is the gentle one; Spy Next Door has the sharper hook.

The back half is heavier going. The Schoolgirl Terrorist? revisits a case that split opinion on whether Rhianan Rudd was a genuine extremist or a groomed teenager failed by the system, and it does not pretend to settle it.

Watch

Related: What’s On TV Tonight | Channel 4 Schedule | BBC One TV Guide | Films on TV This Week