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

Channel 5 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.

Wednesday’s primetime sticks with the channel’s blue-light staples. A new episode of Car Pound Cops opens the evening at 7pm, Casualty 24/7: Every Second Counts returns with a new instalment at 8pm, and 999: Critical Condition follows at 9pm with three fresh emergencies. Ambulance: Code Red and Cause of Death close out the night from 10pm.

Channel 5 Schedule: Wednesday 5 August 2026 (Full Listings)

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

What’s on Channel 5 today — the daytime schedule

Milkshake! opens the morning from 5:45am with Thomas & Friends, Peppa Pig, Paddington and the rest of the pre-school line-up, running through to Jeremy Vine at 9:15am. Storm & Alexis takes over at 11:30am, then 5 News at Lunchtime at 12:45pm hands over to Matt Allwright, who runs until 2:15pm.

The afternoon is given to a film and a returning drama. A Town Called Murder, a 2023 thriller built around a road trip that turns into a disappearance when a boyfriend vanishes after the couple’s car breaks down in the desert, fills the 2:15pm slot, then Castle airs at 4pm and Love Nature at 4:55pm ahead of 5 News with Dan Walker at 5pm. Majorca: A Year in the Sun opens the evening at 6pm before tonight’s primetime gets going at 7pm.

Channel 5 tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the Channel 5 primetime line-up for tonight, Wednesday 5 August 2026.

Majorca: A Year in the Sun — Channel 5, 6pm

Chef Marc Fosh is back for episode three of five, championing the island’s local produce while volunteers work to protect posidonia, the seagrass propping up Majorca’s marine life as visitor numbers keep climbing.

Car Pound Cops — Channel 5, 7pm

A new episode opens the primetime run, series two, episode six. Cameras follow police units, council enforcement teams and pound operators as vehicles are seized for offences ranging from unpaid fines to driving without insurance.

Casualty 24/7: Every Second Counts — Channel 5, 8pm

Sheffield’s specialist facial team is called in over a three-year-old’s cut lip, while elsewhere a consultant has to decide quickly whether a patient named Les is having a stroke. Series 11, episode 10, and genuinely new tonight.

999: Critical Condition — Channel 5, 9pm

A nurse faces potential paralysis after a car crash, a 23-year-old struggles to breathe, and a man is booked in for life-threatening surgery to remove a tumour from his head. Series six, episode four, new tonight.

Ambulance: Code Red — Channel 5, 10pm

Crews are called to a man collapsed in a hotel room, a head-on crash between two motorcyclists and an 11-year-old hurt after coming off his scooter. Series three, episode seven.

Cause of Death — Channel 5, 11:05pm

Lancashire Police reopen an investigation after a man’s body is found in a field, part of one ear missing and the body laid out on top of his own boots. Series three, episode eight.

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 33, Sky 150.

5Select is the odd one out, a grab-bag of factual, documentary and lifestyle that doesn’t fit the main channel’s primetime. Freeview 50, Sky 153.

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 built its identity on British factual and countryside television: The Yorkshire Vet and its Dales farming series, true-crime documentaries and practical daytime entertainment such as Jeremy Vine. Alongside that sits a growing slate of original British drama, and every morning the schedule opens with children’s programming under the Milkshake! banner. Most of it is available to stream free on My5.

What’s on Channel 5 tonight?

Wednesday 5 August 2026: a new episode of Car Pound Cops airs at 7pm, Casualty 24/7: Every Second Counts returns with a new episode at 8pm, and 999: Critical Condition follows at 9pm with new cases. Ambulance: Code Red and Cause of Death close the night from 10pm.

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

Wednesday’s primetime leans hard into the channel’s blue-light strand rather than its usual mix of vets and true crime. Casualty 24/7: Every Second Counts and 999: Critical Condition are both new instalments, back to back at 8pm and 9pm, and the latter is the sharper hour: three separate emergencies stacked into sixty minutes leaves little room to breathe. Car Pound Cops opens the evening with a lighter new episode at 7pm. Ambulance: Code Red and Cause of Death close the night, both established runs rather than fresh episodes.

Watch

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