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, travel and true crime share the evening. Gibraltar: Jewel of the Med opens at 6pm before Police Interceptors takes the 7pm slot, then two new instalments follow back to back: Motorway Cops: Catching Britain’s Speeders at 8pm and The Georgians with Rob Rinder & Ruth Goodman at 9pm. James Bulger: The Trial closes out primetime at 10:30pm. Full times are in the table below.

Channel 5 Schedule: Tuesday 18 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete Channel 5 schedule for Tuesday 18 August 2026, on Freeview 5.

Overnight

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on Channel 5 today — the daytime schedule

Tuesday’s is a standard weekday timetable. Overnight repeats run through until Milkshake! takes over from 5:35am, carrying the channel through to just after 9am with Paddington, Peppa Pig and the rest of the strand’s usual mix. Jeremy Vine picks up the mid-morning slot at 9:15am and holds it for over two hours, followed by Storm & Alexis at 11:30am ahead of the lunchtime bulletin.

5 News at Lunchtime breaks up the schedule just before 1pm, then Matt Allwright runs the early afternoon. Living Next to Danger takes the 2:20pm hour, Castle repeats at 4pm and a short Love Nature film leads into 5 News with Dan Walker at 5pm. Gibraltar: Jewel of the Med closes out the daytime run at 6pm, just ahead of primetime.

Channel 5 tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the Channel 5 primetime line-up for tonight, Tuesday 18 August 2026.

Gibraltar: Jewel of the Med — Channel 5, 6pm

Gibraltar: Jewel of the Med opens the evening with series 1, episode 2, the travelogue strand’s look at life on the Rock and its pull for British holidaymakers and returning expats.

Police Interceptors — Channel 5, 7pm

Police Interceptors settles into its usual 7pm berth for series 22, episode 19. The format has barely changed since 2008: dashcams, helicopters and officers working the motorway network, and it still pulls a solid audience.

Motorway Cops: Catching Britain’s Speeders — Channel 5, 8pm

A new series 10 episode of Motorway Cops: Catching Britain’s Speeders lands at 8pm, continuing the channel’s run of road-policing documentaries built around speed enforcement rather than pursuit.

The Georgians with Rob Rinder & Ruth Goodman — Channel 5, 9pm

The evening’s main event is at 9pm. Rob Rinder and Ruth Goodman turn their history strand to the Georgian era for a new episode, weighing the fortunes of the wealthy against the poor across the same decades. Rinder supplies the legal framing, Goodman the social history, and the pairing works because neither talks over the other.

James Bulger: The Trial — Channel 5, 10:30pm

James Bulger: The Trial closes primetime at 10:30pm, returning to the 1993 case through the courtroom record and interviews with people who were there. It’s a sober watch, and Channel 5 gives it room rather than rushing it into a single hour.

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?

Tuesday 18 August 2026 opens primetime with Gibraltar: Jewel of the Med at 6pm, followed by Police Interceptors at 7pm. A new episode of Motorway Cops: Catching Britain’s Speeders airs at 8pm, and Rob Rinder and Ruth Goodman bring a new instalment of The Georgians at 9pm. James Bulger: The Trial rounds off the night at 10:30pm. 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

Tuesday mixes the channel’s usual policing fare with something heavier. Gibraltar: Jewel of the Med and Police Interceptors keep the early evening light, then Motorway Cops: Catching Britain’s Speeders and The Georgians with Rob Rinder & Ruth Goodman supply the two new episodes worth planning around at 8pm and 9pm. James Bulger: The Trial is the outlier: a serious documentary given a late slot rather than folded into the rest of the night’s factual run. Between the two new episodes and that closer, it’s a stronger primetime than Channel 5 manages most Tuesdays.

Watch

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