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 the travel strand opens the evening. Corsica: Jewel of the Med takes over from Capri at 6pm before Around the World in First Class wraps up its short run at 7pm. From there it’s three new episodes back to back: The Yorkshire Vet at 8pm, Benidorm Is Murder at 9pm and Killer at the Crime Scene at 10pm. Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law closes out primetime at 11:05pm. Full times are in the table below.

Channel 5 Schedule: Thursday 20 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete Channel 5 schedule for Thursday 20 August 2026, on Freeview 5.

Overnight

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on Channel 5 today — the daytime schedule

Thursday runs the channel’s standard weekday timetable. Overnight repeats give way to Milkshake! from 5:35am, carrying the channel through to just after 9am with Paddington, Peppa Pig, a new episode of Rubble & Crew 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. Sins in the Family takes the 2:20pm hour with its usual mix of true-crime cases, Castle repeats at 4pm and a short Love Nature film leads into 5 News with Dan Walker at 5pm. Corsica: 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, Thursday 20 August 2026.

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

The Mediterranean travelogue moves on from Capri to Corsica for episode ten, taking in Bastia’s biscuit shops and the restored Napoleon statue in Ajaccio. Same format, different coastline, and it’s an easy watch to have on before the news headlines.

Around the World in First Class — Channel 5, 7pm

Josie Gibson’s luxury travel series wraps up its run at 7pm with a trip to Hong Kong, a butler-serviced stay at the Rosewood and a spin round the harbour by private yacht. It’s the fourth and final instalment of this outing, so anyone who has followed the series gets a proper send-off.

The Yorkshire Vet — Channel 5, 8pm

Series 23 returns for a second episode built around two very different emergencies: Matt Smith is called out to a cow struggling after a difficult birth, while Rohin Aojula has to work out exactly what a cat named Luna has swallowed. It’s the channel’s most dependable hour, and tonight’s cases lean towards the dramatic end of the usual mix.

Benidorm Is Murder — Channel 5, 9pm

The murder-mystery spin-off carries on with its fourth of six episodes. A euromillions winner turns up dead alongside a set of bingo-hall clues, and Dennis and Rosa end up chasing a money trail that drags old grudges back into the open. The format keeps borrowing the sitcom’s setting while playing the plot straight, which is still the show’s odd appeal.

Killer at the Crime Scene — Channel 5, 10pm

A new case for the forensics strand: Kent detectives are called in after Karla Godoy goes missing on a trip to Peru, and what starts as a routine inquiry turns into a manhunt spanning two countries once a confession surfaces.

Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law — Channel 5, 11:05pm

The enforcement cameras head to Nottingham, where ticket inspectors deal with a group of vaping teenagers riding on the outside of trams, before switching to London for the case of a woman who has racked up more than £2,000 in unpaid fares.

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?

Thursday 20 August 2026 opens primetime with Corsica: Jewel of the Med at 6pm, followed by the final Around the World in First Class at 7pm. A new episode of The Yorkshire Vet airs at 8pm, then a new Benidorm Is Murder at 9pm and a new Killer at the Crime Scene at 10pm. Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law rounds off the night at 11:05pm. 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

Thursday is a stronger night than most for variety, moving from travel to vet drama to a fictional murder mystery to real-life crime inside three hours. Corsica: Jewel of the Med and Around the World in First Class keep the early evening easy going, then The Yorkshire Vet, Benidorm Is Murder and Killer at the Crime Scene all land as fresh episodes back to back from 8pm. Three new instalments in a row is a decent haul for one evening, and none of them repeat the tone of the one before it. Anyone who wants a single genre all night will need to look elsewhere; anyone happy to switch things up gets a well-paced run.

Watch

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