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

Published: 30 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, Monday 31 August, Channel 5 hands most of its evening to live sport. The Snooker British Open’s afternoon session has already run from 12:30pm, and the first evening session takes over again at 6:45pm until 8pm, when 5Action carries the same live session through to 11pm. Channel 5 itself switches to true crime after that, with Street Cops: Catching the Yobs at 8pm and Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law at 9pm. Full times are in the table below.

Channel 5 Schedule: Monday 31 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete Channel 5 schedule for Monday 31 August 2026, on Freeview 5.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on Channel 5 today — the daytime schedule

Monday’s daytime on Channel 5 follows the channel’s standard weekday shape. Milkshake! covers the early morning, broken briefly by Amazing Railway Adventures with Nick Knowles at 4:35am and Valiente: A Tracker Story at 7:45am, before the children’s strand resumes at 8:35am.

Entertainment News on 5 has a short bulletin at 9am ahead of Jeremy Vine, which holds the mid-morning slot for two hours fifteen minutes from 9:15am. Storm & Alexis takes 11:30am.

From 12:30pm, the schedule clears for live sport: the Snooker British Open‘s afternoon session runs the rest of the day, right through to 5:30pm.

Channel 5 tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the Channel 5 primetime line-up for tonight, Monday 31 August 2026.

5 News at 18:25 — Channel 5, 6:25pm

A short evening bulletin at 6:25pm, ahead of the return to live snooker.

Britain’s Greatest Bridges — Channel 5, 6:30pm

Tonight’s Britain’s Greatest Bridges only gets fifteen minutes, a look at the Britannia Bridge before the schedule clears for snooker again at 6:45pm.

Live: Snooker British Open — Channel 5, 6:45pm

Channel 5’s evening centres on live sport. The Snooker British Open‘s first evening session runs from 6:45pm to 8pm, live from the Centaur in Cheltenham, continuing on from the afternoon session that began at 12:30pm. Judd Trump, John Higgins, Mark Selby and Neil Robertson are all in first-round action. At 8pm, Channel 5 hands over to sister channel 5Action, which carries the same live session through to 11pm.

Street Cops: Catching the Yobs — Channel 5, 8pm

With the snooker moved to 5Action, Channel 5 turns to true crime. Street Cops: Catching the Yobs takes the 8pm hour, a mid-series outing rather than a new run (series 2, episode 6).

Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law — Channel 5, 9pm

Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law follows at 9pm, partway through its third series (series 3, episode 5).

Police: Suspect No.1 — Channel 5, 10pm

Police: Suspect No.1 holds the 10pm slot (series 4, episode 4).

Traffic Cops — Channel 5, 11:05pm

The night closes with Traffic Cops at 11:05pm (series 12, episode 10).

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?

Monday 31 August 2026 is dominated by live snooker. The Snooker British Open’s afternoon session runs from 12:30pm to 5:30pm, and the first evening session returns from 6:45pm to 8pm, both live from the Centaur in Cheltenham, before 5Action carries the same session on to 11pm. Channel 5 itself moves on to Street Cops: Catching the Yobs at 8pm, Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law at 9pm, Police: Suspect No.1 at 10pm and Traffic Cops 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

Channel 5’s Monday is a sport night rather than a documentary one. Five hours of live snooker across the afternoon and early evening is a genuine commitment for anyone following the Snooker British Open, and the handover to 5Action at 8pm means the coverage doesn’t actually stop when Channel 5 moves on to its usual true-crime hour. Street Cops: Catching the Yobs and Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law are solid mid-series entries rather than must-see television, and Police: Suspect No.1 and Traffic Cops close the night in familiar territory for the channel’s regular audience.

Watch

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