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.

Tonight’s an animal-and-hospitality evening rather than a royal one. Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly takes the 8pm hour, then Inside Four Seasons: Park Lane returns with a new episode at 9pm, opening its second series across two Four Seasons properties. When Caravan Holidays Go Horribly Wrong and Britain’s Worst Weather Disasters round out the night. Full times are in the table below.

Channel 5 Schedule: Sunday 16 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete Channel 5 schedule for Sunday 16 August 2026, on Freeview 5.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on Channel 5 today — the daytime schedule

Sunday mornings belong to the children’s audience rather than the weekday presenter line-up. Milkshake! runs from before 6am, working through Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go!, Fireman Sam, The Adventures of Paddington and Tim Rex in Space, with runs of Peppa Pig, Pip and Posy and PAW Patrol filling out the strand into mid-morning. Animal Care Club and The Smurfs both bring new episodes either side of 8:15am, then The Creature Cases and Spongebob SquarePants take the schedule up to Entertainment News on 5, which signs off the children’s run just after 9am.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie fills the 9:15am hour outright, then the schedule turns to Channel 5’s daytime factual staples. Happy Campers: The Caravan Park runs as a double bill from 11am, Cruising with Susan Calman takes the early afternoon in the same format, and Croc Watch with Steve Backshall closes out the factual block from 3pm. Sicily with Michael Portillo takes the 5pm hour ahead of the 6:25pm news.

Channel 5 tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the Channel 5 primetime line-up for tonight, Sunday 16 August 2026.

5 News Weekend — Channel 5, 6:25pm

The weekend bulletin opens the evening at 6:25pm, five minutes ahead of the entertainment block that follows.

Birds of a Feather: 30 Years of Laughs — Channel 5, 6:30pm

A look back at the Chigwell sitcom’s three decades on air, with Lesley Joseph and Linda Robson revisiting favourite moments alongside behind-the-scenes material most viewers won’t have seen before.

Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly — Channel 5, 8pm

Graeme Hall is back at 8pm with another household pushed to breaking point by an unruly dog. The series has spent parts of this year off air, so tonight’s outing is more of a comeback than routine scheduling.

Inside Four Seasons: Park Lane — Channel 5, 9pm

Tonight’s the one worth planning around. A new episode opens the second series of the Mayfair hotel documentary, and this run widens its scope beyond Park Lane to take in the group’s Hampshire property too. Expect the same brand of five-star crisis management that built the first series’ following: a wedding that needs rescuing from the weather, a scramble for sold-out theatre tickets, and the kind of last-minute guest request only a Four Seasons concierge would treat as ordinary.

When Caravan Holidays Go Horribly Wrong — Channel 5, 10pm

Narrated misadventures from Britain’s caravan circuit fill the 10pm slot, the third of five instalments built from holidaymakers’ own footage and testimony.

Britain’s Worst Weather Disasters — Channel 5, 11:30pm

The night closes with a look back at some of the country’s most destructive storms and floods, before the schedule turns over to shopping and repeats.

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’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?

Sunday 16 August 2026 opens with 5 News Weekend at 6:25pm, followed by Birds of a Feather: 30 Years of Laughs at 6:30pm. Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly takes the 8pm hour, then Inside Four Seasons: Park Lane returns with a new episode at 9pm as its second series gets under way. When Caravan Holidays Go Horribly Wrong follows at 10pm and Britain’s Worst Weather Disasters closes the night at 11:30pm. 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

Sunday leans into Channel 5’s factual-entertainment identity rather than any single theme. Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly and Inside Four Seasons: Park Lane both deal in access, one to unruly households and one to a five-star hotel, before the schedule turns to two clip-driven documentaries built from viewers’ own footage and archive storm records. The 9pm slot is the one worth planning around: it’s the second series opener for a show that built a loyal following on its first run, and tonight’s episode also brings in the Hampshire property alongside the original Park Lane setting. It’s a schedule for viewers who like their reality television with a bit of jeopardy, rather than anyone after a big drama night.

Watch

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