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

Published: 2 September 2026

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.

Thursday 3 September is Taskmaster’s night. Series 22 opens at 9pm with an entirely new line-up — Chloe Petts, Isy Suttie, Matt Lucas, Nina Conti and Richard Ayoade — taking on whatever Alex Horne and Greg Davies have devised this time, and it’s the single biggest launch on the whole evening’s TV, not just on Channel 4. Ahead of it, A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? takes 6pm and Renovation Rescue takes 8pm, both mid-run despite the “new episode” flag, with Channel 4 News holding its usual 7pm slot. After Taskmaster, Celebrity Gogglebox airs at 10pm, and the night closes with a repeat of 24 Hours in Police Custody, part one of a two-part case, at 11pm.

Channel 4 Schedule: Thursday 3 September 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete Channel 4 schedule for Thursday 3 September 2026, on Freeview 4.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on Channel 4 today: the daytime schedule

Thursday daytime on Channel 4 runs its normal weekday grid. The overnight hours open with Emergency Helicopter Medics at midnight and Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA at 1am, before the drama Minari fills the small hours from 1:50am. Sunday Brunch and Jamie: Eat Yourself Healthy lead into Couples Come Dine with Me at 5am, just ahead of breakfast proper.

Breakfast runs three episodes each of The King of Queens and Everybody Loves Raymond, then four of Frasier, from 6:30am to 10:40am, with Countdown opening the day proper at 5:50am. Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back takes 11:10am, then Find It, Fix It, Flog It and The Great House Giveaway carry the early afternoon. A second Countdown airs at 2:10pm, followed by A Place in the Sun at 3pm, The Great B&B Challenge at 4pm and Chateau DIY at 5pm, running up to the evening’s opener.

Channel 4 tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

A quiet build to a big launch: three ordinary hours of the usual weeknight mix, then Taskmaster returns with a brand new line-up at 9pm — the standout new thing on the entire grid tonight, not just on Channel 4.

A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? — Channel 4, 6pm

The revisit strand checks back in on past cast members building lives abroad. Tonight’s update covers Nicky, still working out how to keep her equestrian business going in Italy, and Abi and Darren, whose silent disco venture in Spain gets its own look-in. Series 8, episode 4 — mid-run, not new, despite the flag.

Channel 4 News — Channel 4, 7pm

The 7pm news holds its usual weeknight slot.

Renovation Rescue — Channel 4, 8pm

A Nottinghamshire couple’s £250,000 rebuild continues at 8pm. Series 2, episode 6.

Taskmaster — Channel 4, 9pm

Series 22 opens with a genuinely new line-up: Chloe Petts, Isy Suttie, Matt Lucas, Nina Conti and Richard Ayoade take on whatever pool noodles, garden furniture or logistical nightmares Alex Horne has dreamed up this year, with Greg Davies presiding over the scoring as usual. Twenty-two series in, the format still finds fresh ways to make competent adults panic over simple instructions. Three channels launch new series at 9pm tonight, but this is the one worth building the evening around.

Celebrity Gogglebox — Channel 4, 10pm

The sofa regulars sound off on the week’s telly, from The Piano to Bridgerton, in series 6 episode 2.

24 Hours in Police Custody: The Ambush — Channel 4, 11pm

A repeat closes the night: part one of a two-part case built around a hit-and-run that leaves a teenager critically injured. Part two isn’t in tonight’s listing.

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 Monday to Wednesday at 7pm 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, typically around 6:30-6:35pm and roughly twenty-five minutes long.

What time is Gogglebox on Channel 4?

Gogglebox’s home slot is Fridays at 9pm on Channel 4, with episodes available on the Channel 4 streaming service shortly after broadcast. The Celebrity Gogglebox spin-off turns up in other slots through the week, including some Monday nights, with a different line-up of famous faces reacting to the same shows.

What’s on Channel 4 tonight?

Tonight, Thursday 3 September 2026, Channel 4’s evening is built around Taskmaster’s series 22 launch at 9pm, with a new line-up of Chloe Petts, Isy Suttie, Matt Lucas, Nina Conti and Richard Ayoade. Earlier on, A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? airs at 6pm, Channel 4 News holds its usual 7pm slot, and Renovation Rescue takes 8pm. Celebrity Gogglebox follows Taskmaster at 10pm, and a repeat of 24 Hours in Police Custody closes the night at 11pm.

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

Thursday 3 September belongs to Taskmaster. Series 22 opens at 9pm with an entirely new set of contestants — Chloe Petts, Isy Suttie, Matt Lucas, Nina Conti and Richard Ayoade — and it’s the standout launch on the whole night’s TV, not just on Channel 4.

Everything else fits around it. A New Life in the Sun and Renovation Rescue are both mid-run rather than new, Channel 4 News holds its usual 7pm place, and the evening winds down with Celebrity Gogglebox and a repeat of 24 Hours in Police Custody. One clear reason to tune in tonight, and it lands at 9pm.

Watch

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