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

Dave is UKTV’s comedy and entertainment channel, and almost everything it broadcasts belongs to somebody else. The exception is Red Dwarf, which Dave revived in 2009 with the original cast and has been trading on ever since. UKTV became a wholly owned subsidiary of BBC Studios in 2021 and renamed the channel U&Dave in July 2024, when it pushed the whole portfolio under a single “U” brand. Nobody calls it that. Tonight, Saturday 29 August 2026, Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake opens the evening at 6pm with its second episode, before Gavin and Stacey runs four episodes back to back from 7pm, series 2’s fourth to seventh instalments in order, ending on Nessa going into labour. I’m Alan Partridge takes over at 9:40pm for three more, the start of its own second series, and Not Going Out closes the night at 11:40pm. Channel numbers are further down the page.

Dave Schedule: Saturday 29 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete Dave schedule for Saturday 29 August 2026, on Freeview 19.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on Dave today

Saturday’s overnight run opens with Mock the Week at midnight, then two more Would I Lie To You? repeats at 12:40am and 1:20am before QI XL fills the 2am hour. Richard Osman’s House of Games and a Parks and Recreation episode carry things to 4am, when teleshopping takes over until Eddie Eats America returns at 7:15am.

A Top Gear special set in Patagonia runs through mid-morning, then the regular series returns at 10:15am ahead of a second special, this one in India, running to 1:20pm. Three episodes of Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing follow through the early afternoon, Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse working through series 3, before Would I Lie To You? settles in for four episodes from 3:20pm to 6pm, drawn from series 9. Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake then opens the evening at 6pm with a new episode and hands straight over to tonight’s primetime line-up.

Dave tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the Dave primetime line-up for tonight, Saturday 29 August 2026.

Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake — Dave, 6pm

Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake opens the evening with its second episode, following a litter of pups found abandoned in a crisp box. The flag on this one is “new”, not “series launch” — the show started the previous week, so it’s a continuation rather than a first look.

Gavin and Stacey — Dave, 7pm–9pm

Four episodes of Gavin and Stacey run back to back from 7pm, series 2’s fourth to seventh instalments shown in broadcast order. It’s the strongest reason to have Dave on early tonight: the run builds through the middle of the series and closes on Nessa going into labour, one of its bigger cliffhangers, so it rewards watching from 7pm rather than dropping in at 9pm for the last one.

I’m Alan Partridge — Dave, 9:40pm–11:40pm

Steve Coogan’s sitcom takes the back half of the evening, three episodes from the start of its second series shown in order from 9:40pm. Alan’s fortunes have gone further downhill since series one, which is largely the joke, and the run holds up better than most late-90s British comedy revivals Dave leans on.

Not Going Out — Dave, 11:40pm

Not Going Out closes the night with a single half-hour from series 9, Lee Mack’s sitcom having quietly outlasted most of what’s aired around it tonight.

What kind of shows are on Dave

Panel shows and comedy institutions

This is the channel’s whole personality. Would I Lie to You?, QI, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Mock the Week when it’s in rotation: two decades of British panel comedy, nearly all of it bought in from the BBC and Channel 4 rather than commissioned here. What Dave adds is the scheduling. Episodes come in blocks you can drop into at any point and leave whenever you like, which is a different way of watching television and, on a weeknight, not the worst one.

Sitcoms: archive and revivals

Red Dwarf is the one thing Dave can properly call its own. The channel brought it back in 2009, a decade after the BBC finished with it, and got Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules and Robert Llewellyn all to return. Not Going Out is the other long runner, still in production after more than fifteen years.

Factual entertainment and documentaries

A thinner strand of observational and scripted-reality shows fills the gaps: Highland Cops, Meet the Richardsons and similar, mostly parked in daytime. It’s ballast between the comedy blocks.

How to watch Dave

Channel numbers

Here’s where to find Dave across the main UK television platforms:

Dave is free on all of the above platforms, with no subscription required. Channel numbers can vary slightly by region and set-top box, so your on-screen guide is the definitive source if these don’t match.

Streaming online

Dave streams live and on demand for free on U, UKTV’s streaming service, at u.co.uk and through the U app on smart TVs, iOS, Android and Amazon Fire TV. U was called UKTV Play until the 2024 rebrand. You need a free account, and there are ad breaks, the same ones you’d sit through on a TV set.

Dave ja vu and sister channels

Dave ja vu is the timeshift channel, running the main schedule an hour behind under a pun that has somehow survived since the 2000s. It’s on Freeview 74, and coverage is patchier than the main signal because it shares broadcast capacity with local TV services in parts of the country. Where reception is thin, the U app is the better fallback for anything you’ve missed.

The rest of the family: U&Drama, U&Yesterday and U&W free to air, with U&Gold, U&Alibi and U&Eden behind pay-TV. All of them sit in the same app.

Frequently asked questions

What channel is Dave on Freeview?

Dave is on Freeview channel 19, and Dave ja vu on 74.

What’s on Dave tonight?

Tonight, Saturday 29 August 2026, Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake opens the evening at 6pm with a new episode. Gavin and Stacey follows with four episodes from 7pm, series 2’s fourth to seventh instalments in order, ending on Nessa going into labour. I’m Alan Partridge takes over at 9:40pm for three more, the opening episodes of its own second series, and Not Going Out closes the night at 11:40pm.

Who hosts QI and Would I Lie to You??

QI is hosted by Sandi Toksvig, with Alan Davies the permanent panellist since 2003. Would I Lie to You? is hosted by Rob Brydon, with David Mitchell and Lee Mack as team captains since the show began in 2007.

Can I watch Dave online for free?

Yes, free on U at u.co.uk or in the U app. You’ll need an account, and it’s ad-supported.

Verdict

Saturday’s daytime is straightforward Dave: overnight panel-show reruns, two Top Gear specials either side of the regular series, then three Gone Fishing episodes and an afternoon’s worth of Would I Lie To You? before the evening proper begins.

Primetime is the better half of the day. Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake opens with a genuinely new episode rather than a repeat, then Gavin and Stacey runs four episodes in order through to Nessa’s cliffhanger and I’m Alan Partridge follows with the opening three episodes of its own second series. Not Going Out closes things out at 11:40pm. It’s two solid sitcom blocks either side of one new documentary series, a better night than Dave’s schedule often manages.

Related: Freeview Channel Guide | Drama TV Guide | Films on TV This Week