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

Published: 26 August 2026

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, Thursday 27 August, 5 News with Dan Walker hands over to Motorhoming with Merton & Webster at 6pm, then an hour of stage six highlights from the Vuelta a España at 7pm, covering a leg that finishes on a dirt climb to El Bartolo in Castellón. The Yorkshire Vet follows at 8pm, then Benidorm Is Murder at 9pm and Killer at the Crime Scene at 10pm, both new instalments of their runs. the true-crime strand Fatal First Dates closes the night from 11:05pm. Full times are in the table below.

Channel 5 Schedule: Thursday 27 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete Channel 5 schedule for Thursday 27 August 2026, on Freeview 5.

Overnight

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on Channel 5 today — the daytime schedule

Milkshake! opens Thursday’s schedule at 5:35am and runs three and a half hours through breakfast, working through PAW Patrol, Mixmups, Peppa Pig, Tweedy & Fluff and the rest of the strand, closing out with a first outing for The Real Pup Squad at 9:05am.

Jeremy Vine takes over at 9:15am for two hours and a quarter, the channel’s longest-running weekday strand, before Storm & Alexis picks up the mid-morning slot at 11:30am. 5 News at Lunchtime breaks in at 12:45pm ahead of Matt Allwright, who spends ninety minutes from 12:50pm on consumer complaints and money-saving advice.

The afternoon turns to true crime: To Kill a Stepfather, a 2023 documentary strand built around danger close to home, fills 2:20pm, and Castle repeats at 4pm, before the short strand Love Nature closes out the schedule at 4:55pm, ahead of 5 News with Dan Walker at 5pm.

Channel 5 tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the Channel 5 primetime line-up for tonight, Thursday 27 August 2026.

Motorhoming with Merton & Webster — Channel 5, 6pm

Motorhoming with Merton & Webster spends this episode in Devon (series 2, episode 4), working down the coast toward Dartmoor for a Sherlock Holmes-themed walking tour with a local guide.

Cycling: Vuelta a Espana 2026 — Channel 5, 7pm

Tonight’s stage six highlights cover a leg of the Vuelta through the Spanish province of Castellón, finishing on an unusual dirt-road climb to El Bartolo. Rebecca Charlton presents the condensed hour of recorded highlights.

The Yorkshire Vet — Channel 5, 8pm

Julian Norton takes on a delicate operation on a child’s pet hamster, while Matt Smith heads out to check a pair of badger cubs for tuberculosis (series 23, episode 3).

Benidorm Is Murder — Channel 5, 9pm

The penultimate episode of the run opens with a well-off victim who dies during a beach outing, leaving Dennis convinced the killing took real planning and precise timing to pull off (series 1, episode 5 of 6).

Killer at the Crime Scene — Channel 5, 10pm

Neuroscientist Autumn Klein’s sudden collapse in Pittsburgh looks tragic until unusual blood results point investigators toward something far more deliberate (series 4, episode 9).

Fatal First Dates — Channel 5, 11:05pm

The true-crime strand closes the night with another case of an online romance ending in tragedy, working back through the messages and meet-up that preceded a killing.

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 27 August 2026 opens primetime at 6pm with Motorhoming with Merton & Webster, followed by Vuelta a España stage six highlights at 7pm. The Yorkshire Vet takes the 8pm slot, then Benidorm Is Murder, the penultimate episode of its run, at 9pm. Killer at the Crime Scene follows at 10pm and the true-crime strand Fatal First Dates closes primetime from 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

Four programmes carry a New: flag in a row from 7pm tonight, though only two are genuinely fresh instalments: The Yorkshire Vet and Killer at the Crime Scene are new episodes of returning runs, the Vuelta highlights are simply this stage’s first UK airing rather than a series launch, and Benidorm Is Murder is the penultimate episode rather than an opener, with the finale still to come. There’s no film in the evening tonight. Motorhoming with Merton & Webster is the gentle opener at 6pm, the cycling hour at 7pm needs no prior knowledge of the stage to follow, and The Yorkshire Vet remains the channel’s most dependable hour. Benidorm Is Murder at 9pm is worth clearing space for, given how close the story now is to its ending. Killer at the Crime Scene and Fatal First Dates close the night in Channel 5’s usual factual-crime register.

Watch

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