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

Published: 17 September 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.

Friday 18 September 2026 opens with Amazing Railway Adventures with Nick Knowles at 6pm, where Nick Knowles takes in Morocco this week, then Angela Rippon’s River Cruises follows at 7pm with a trip along the Danube. A new Our Great Yorkshire Life airs at 8pm, All Creatures Great & Small: Behind the Magic follows at 9pm, and a new Piers Morgan: Uncensored closes the night from 10pm. Full times are in the table below.

Channel 5 Schedule: Friday 18 September 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete Channel 5 schedule for Friday 18 September 2026, on Freeview 5.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on Channel 5 today — the daytime schedule

Friday’s overnight run opens with a new Fatal First Dates just after midnight, then a short Entertainment News on 5 bulletin and Cruise TV with LoveitBookit carry the small hours. An episode of Amazing Railway Adventures with Nick Knowles and a Castle repeat follow from 2:15am, then two The Highland Vet editions, both carrying the Visually Signed access service, run through to 5:25am, when Milkshake! takes over.

Breakfast stays with children’s programming — Milo, then a second Milkshake! block featuring Peppa Pig and Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom, running through to 9:15am.

Jeremy Vine takes the late-morning slot, and Storm & Alexis fills the run-up to lunchtime. 5 News at Lunchtime opens the afternoon, followed by Matt Allwright and the drama My Mother Stole My Life. A repeat of Castle and a short Love Nature segment close out the afternoon ahead of the 5pm news and tonight’s line-up.

Channel 5 tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

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

Amazing Railway Adventures with Nick Knowles — Channel 5, 6pm

Nick Knowles is in Morocco for this instalment (series 2, episode 4), the latest stop on a run that has taken him across Europe and beyond by rail. It’s gentle, undemanding early-evening viewing rather than appointment television.

Angela Rippon’s River Cruises — Channel 5, 7pm

Angela Rippon opens her river-cruising series with a trip along the Danube (series 1, episode 1). It sits in the same slow-travel bracket as the Nick Knowles series before it, all scenery and mild history rather than incident.

Our Great Yorkshire Life — Channel 5, 8pm

A new edition of Our Great Yorkshire Life (series 4, episode 2) keeps the channel’s countryside strand going, checking in on farming and rural life across the county. It’s the kind of programme Channel 5 can be relied on to make well without ever making a fuss about it.

All Creatures Great & Small: Behind the Magic — Channel 5, 9pm

A behind-the-scenes companion to the drama, looking at how the Yorkshire Dales locations, the animals and the production come together. Worth a look for fans of the main series, less essential for anyone who isn’t already invested.

Piers Morgan: Uncensored — Channel 5, 10pm

A new edition (series 2, episode 33) closes the night with Piers Morgan’s regular mix of interviews and opinion. Reliably divisive, which is rather the point of the format.

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?

Friday 18 September 2026 opens with Amazing Railway Adventures with Nick Knowles at 6pm, followed by Angela Rippon’s River Cruises at 7pm. A new Our Great Yorkshire Life airs at 8pm, All Creatures Great & Small: Behind the Magic follows at 9pm, and a new Piers Morgan: Uncensored closes the night from 10pm. 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

Friday’s line-up is unusually light on true crime for this channel, and it’s a calmer evening for it. The pairing of Nick Knowles’ rail travelogue and Angela Rippon’s river cruise across 6pm and 7pm sets a slow-travel tone that carries into Our Great Yorkshire Life at 8pm. All Creatures Great & Small: Behind the Magic at 9pm is a decent companion piece for fans of the drama rather than a draw on its own. Piers Morgan: Uncensored closes the night at 10pm, doing what it always does: opinion delivered loudly, whether or not you agree with any of it.

Watch

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