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.

Friday’s primetime is a run of travel documentaries rather than drama or true crime. Menorca: A Year in the Sun and Tom Read Wilson’s Grand Tour open the evening at 6pm and 7pm, Corsica: Jewel of the Med takes the 8pm hour, and Alexander Armstrong in South Korea fills 9pm before Piers Morgan Uncensored: Crisis at the Border closes things out from 10:30pm.

Channel 5 Schedule: Saturday 8 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete Channel 5 schedule for Saturday 8 August 2026, on Freeview 5.

What’s on Channel 5 today — the daytime schedule

Milkshake! opens the morning from 5:45am with Paddington, Peppa Pig, PAW Patrol 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 2:20pm.

The afternoon is given to a single film-length slot. The Book Club Murders (2024) is built around a book club whose members start dying one by one, and Natalie has to track down who’s responsible before her own daughter becomes a target. Castle follows at 4pm and Love Nature at 4:55pm ahead of 5 News with Dan Walker at 5pm. Menorca: 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, Saturday 8 August 2026.

Sussex: Jewel of the South Coast — Channel 5, 7pm

A new episode, the third. A Bronze Age settlement turns up near Hastings, a Lewes pub yields a revolutionary history, and a paragliding instructor supplies the aerial view.

The Middletons: The Making of a Modern Queen — Channel 5, 8pm

Ninety minutes on the Middleton family’s route from modest beginnings to real influence over the monarchy, and how that shaped the current Princess of Wales.

Kate: Our New Diana? — Channel 5, 9:30pm

A comparison of the two Princesses of Wales, their public styles and Diana’s continuing legacy. Very much of a piece with the programme before it.

Diana & the Curse of the Spencers — Channel 5, 10:30pm

The third royal hour in a row, this one on Diana’s own family: her parents’ volatile marriage and the childhood behind it. Channel 5 has effectively themed the whole evening.

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?

Saturday 8 August 2026: one travel hour at 7pm, then three straight hours of royal documentary from 8pm — the Middletons, Kate and Diana compared, and Diana’s own family history.

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

Friday’s primetime is quieter than the usual weeknight, with no drama and no true-crime hour anywhere in the schedule. Corsica: Jewel of the Med takes 8pm and wraps up its run on Bastia’s biscuit stalls and the restored Napoleon statue in Ajaccio, then Alexander Armstrong in South Korea fills 9pm, moving between K-pop and older ceremony around death and rebirth. Piers Morgan Uncensored: Crisis at the Border closes the night from 10:30pm, back to studio debate after two hours of travel footage.

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