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

Published: 20 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.

Monday 21 September 2026 runs a factual triple bill through primetime: Police Interceptors at 8pm, Forever Home at 9pm and the new documentary Lucy Letby: Scapegoat? at 10pm, either side of Amazing Railway Adventures with Nick Knowles at 6pm and Traffic Cops at 7pm. There’s no live sport tonight. Full times are in the table below.

Channel 5 Schedule: Monday 21 September 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete Channel 5 schedule for Monday 21 September 2026, on Freeview 5.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on Channel 5 today — the daytime schedule

Overnight opens with two editions of Cops just after midnight, then an Entertainment News on 5 bulletin and an hour of Cruise TV with LoveitBookit shopping content see out the first hour. Two editions of Wonderful World of Chocolate and a repeat of Amazing Railway Adventures with Nick Knowles carry the small hours, before two back-to-back episodes of The Highland Vet run from 3:35am. Milkshake! takes over from 5:25am for a three-hour run of pre-school programming.

Milo opens the second half of Milkshake! at 8:30am, and Jeremy Vine‘s two-hour talk show follows at 9:15am. Storm & Alexis fills the back end of the morning from 11:30am, then 5 News at Lunchtime hands over to Matt Allwright‘s consumer show. The afternoon drama Murder in G Major runs from 2:20pm, followed by an episode of the US crime drama Castle and a short wildlife filler, Love Nature, 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, Monday 21 September 2026.

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

Nick Knowles boards another train for this globe-trotting travel strand. Tonight’s route takes him through the Alps and along the Adriatic coast via Slovenia and Croatia (series 2, episode 5). Scenery over drama, and none the worse for it.

Traffic Cops — Channel 5, 7pm

The long-running road-policing strand returns, with officers dealing with a run of driving offences over a bank holiday weekend (series 14, episode 8).

Police Interceptors — Channel 5, 8pm

Twenty-five series in, the format hasn’t changed: dashcams, helicopters and officers chasing down dangerous drivers. Tonight’s edition includes a hatchback driver who takes out a bollard and knocks out power to a boating lake.

Forever Home — Channel 5, 9pm

This observational property series continues with its fourth episode. Carol confronts Joan over abandoning her family, while Kaden’s money troubles deepen. The run is roughly at its midpoint, split across two blocks of three consecutive weeknights.

Lucy Letby: Scapegoat? — Channel 5, 10pm

A new documentary, made with The Sun, revisits the evidence behind Lucy Letby’s conviction and asks whether alternative explanations for the deaths and collapses on the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit got the scrutiny they deserved. It’s handled as an investigation into the case rather than a verdict on it.

Motorway Cops: Catching Britain’s Speeders — Channel 5, 11:35pm

A compilation edition closes the night, pulling together dashcam pursuits and dangerous-driving clips from across the strand.

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 21 September 2026 runs a factual triple bill through primetime: Police Interceptors at 8pm, Forever Home at 9pm and the new documentary Lucy Letby: Scapegoat? at 10pm, either side of Amazing Railway Adventures with Nick Knowles at 6pm and Traffic Cops at 7pm. There’s no live sport tonight. 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

Monday is a genuine factual triple bill rather than one headline show. Police Interceptors at 8pm is the format doing what it has always done — dashcams and daring drivers — before Forever Home’s fourth episode at 9pm continues its run of consecutive weeknight instalments. The one worth clearing time for is Lucy Letby: Scapegoat? at 10pm, a new documentary revisiting the case with the sort of care a live, sensitive story needs. Earlier, Amazing Railway Adventures with Nick Knowles at 6pm and Traffic Cops at 7pm are familiar, comfortable viewing ahead of the main event.

Watch

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