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

Channel 5 (Ch5) is the UK’s third commercial terrestrial broadcaster, free to air and funded by advertising, and it streams live and on demand through My5. Below: tonight’s full schedule, the shows the channel is built on, its channel numbers on every platform, and how to watch online.

Saturday 24 October 2026 is a night of comedy retrospectives. 5 News Weekend is at 7pm, then a 90-minute look back at The Vicar of Dibley, a new Alan Carr: My Best Bits & More at 8:35pm and a compilation of awkward chat-show moments at 10:05pm. Joan Rivers: Comedy Legend closes the night at 11:55pm. Full times are in the table below.

Channel 5 Schedule: Saturday 24 October 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete Channel 5 schedule for Saturday 24 October 2026, on Freeview 5.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

Also on TV tonight at 9pm

• BBC One: Wisdom of the Crowd (from 8.35pm)
• ITV1: The Voice UK (from 8.35pm)
• BBC Two: Amy Winehouse at the BBC (from 8.35pm)
• Channel 4: The Equalizer 2
• Film4: Shaun of the Dead
• E4: Celebrity Gogglebox
• ITV2: FYI Daily
• ITV3: Midsomer Murders (from 8pm)
• ITV4: Darts: European Championship (from 6pm)
• More4: 24 Hours in A&E

Every channel tonight, side by side · Films on TV tonight · Tomorrow’s TV

What’s on Channel 5 today, the daytime schedule

Overnight is Traffic Cops: Elite Squad One at 12:05am, Must Have Ideas at 1am and Cornwall: A Year by the Sea at 3am, before Milkshake! takes over at 5:35am and runs through the children’s morning. Secrets of the Royal Traditions fills 10am and 11am, The Royals Uncensored is on at noon, and the afternoon is Christmas television already: A Country Christmas Harmony from 1pm, The Christmas Retreat from 2:50pm, then the film What Women Want from 4:40pm into the early evening.

Here’s the Channel 5 primetime line-up for tonight, Saturday 24 October 2026.

5 News Weekend — Channel 5, 7pm

A five-minute bulletin to open the evening.

The Vicar of Dibley: Funniest Moments & More — Channel 5, 7:05pm

A 90-minute celebration of Richard Curtis’s village sitcom, pulling together favourite scenes with comments from people who made it and people who grew up watching it. Expect Geraldine’s arrival in the parish and the Comic Relief specials to get their due.

Alan Carr: My Best Bits & More — Channel 5, 8:35pm

Alan Carr tells his own career story here, from his Northampton upbringing to the comedy circuit, with friends such as Jonathan Ross and Rob Beckett dropping in. It is billed as a new showing, though it is a retrospective of existing material, not a fresh series.

The Most Embarrassing TV Chat Show Moments — Channel 5, 10:05pm

Nearly two hours of sofa disasters and interviews that went sideways, old and new.

Joan Rivers: Comedy Legend — Channel 5, 11:55pm

Barry Cryer looks back over Joan Rivers’ career in a 55-minute portrait (series 1, episode 3).

Popular shows on Channel 5

Drama

The Fortune is the channel’s newest drama, a four-part psychological thriller with Eleanor Tomlinson. The Madame Blanc Mysteries is the long-runner to track if cosy crime is more your thing: Sally Lindsay plays an antiques dealer turned amateur sleuth, with the whole thing set in the south of France.

Factual and documentary

The Yorkshire Vet has run for well over fifteen series since 2015. It follows the team at Skeldale Veterinary Centre in Thirsk, and Peter Wright has been the anchor throughout, though by now the supporting cast of vets is familiar enough that it watches more like an ensemble drama than a documentary.

Police Interceptors has aired without a break since 2008, riding along with specialist road traffic units, cameras in the cars and helicopters overhead. Motorway Cops and the other road-policing titles follow the same format.

The countryside strand is the channel’s calling card. Reuben Owen: Life in the Dales and A Yorkshire Farm rotate through the schedule across the year rather than every night, so which one is on depends on the week. Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly with Graeme Hall rounds out the animal side.

Daytime favourites

Milkshake! has held its spot every morning for over twenty years, surviving more than one change of ownership in the process. Jeremy Vine inherited the mid-morning slot from The Wright Stuff and has not let go of it since.

How to watch Channel 5

Channel numbers

My5 — watch online for free

Channel 5 streams live and on demand through My5 at channel5.com and the My5 app, which runs on smart TVs, phones, tablets and the usual streaming boxes. There’s no subscription, though you’ll see adverts. A free account unlocks catch-up, where most shows stay up for 30 days and a few longer as boxsets. My5 also carries the wider Paramount stable, so Comedy Central, MTV, BET and CBS titles sit alongside the Channel 5 stream.

The Channel 5 family of channels

Four sister channels run alongside the main service, all free to air on Freeview and carried on Sky and Virgin:

5Star is the entertainment sibling, heavy on reality and acquired US shows. Freeview 32, Sky 128.

5USA runs American drama, crime and procedurals. Freeview 21, Sky 141.

5Action is the home for films, action drama and motorsport. Freeview 46 (it moved from 33 on 21 October 2026), Sky 150.

5Drama replaced 5Select on 21 October 2026 and took Freeview 33, the slot 5Action used to have.

All four live inside My5 too, so streamers get the whole family in one place.

Frequently asked questions

What channel number is Channel 5 on Freeview?

Channel 5 is on channel 5 on Freeview. If you have a Freeview HD receiver or an HD-capable television with a built-in Freeview HD tuner, Channel 5 HD is on channel 105. Both carry the same national broadcast.

What channel is Channel 5 on Sky?

Channel 5 is on channel 105 on Sky, which applies to Sky Q, Sky Stream and Sky Glass. As of March 2026, the SD version of Channel 5 on satellite has been removed. Channel 105 is the only place to find it on Sky, and it broadcasts in HD.

What channel is Channel 5 on Virgin Media?

Channel 5 is on channel 105 on Virgin Media. It is included as standard on all Virgin TV packages and carries advertising.

What channel is Channel 5 on Freesat?

Channel 5 is on channel 105 on Freesat. The SD version was removed in March 2026, so the channel is HD-only on satellite.

What kind of shows is Channel 5 known for?

Channel 5’s schedule is built on British factual and countryside television: The Yorkshire Vet and its Dales farming series, true-crime documentaries and daytime entertainment such as Jeremy Vine. Alongside that sits a growing slate of original British drama, and every morning opens with children’s programming under the Milkshake! banner.

What’s on Channel 5 tonight?

Saturday 24 October 2026 has 5 News Weekend at 7pm and a Vicar of Dibley compilation at 7:05pm. Alan Carr: My Best Bits & More is at 8:35pm, The Most Embarrassing TV Chat Show Moments at 10:05pm and Joan Rivers: Comedy Legend at 11:55pm. Full times are in the schedule table above.

Can I watch Channel 5 online for free?

Yes. Channel 5 streams live and free on My5 at channel5.com and via the My5 app. No subscription is needed, though the service carries advertising. A free account registration is required for catch-up and on-demand content.

Is Channel 5 free?

Yes. Channel 5 is a free-to-air commercial broadcaster. There is no subscription or pay-TV requirement to watch it on Freeview, Freesat, Sky or Virgin Media, and My5 online is also free. The channel is funded by advertising.

Verdict

Saturday is a comedy-clips night with no drama and no launches. The Vicar of Dibley compilation at 7:05pm is the easy comfort pick, Alan Carr: My Best Bits & More at 8:35pm is the one marked new, and the chat-show disasters at 10:05pm run long if you want something to dip in and out of. Channel 5 carries no soaps (see when the soaps and big shows are on).

Related: What’s On TV Tonight | Channel 5 Schedule | My5 Streaming Guide | What Films Are on Tonight