Dave

Published: 21 August 2026

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 22 August 2026, Dave’s only new commission of the evening opens primetime: Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake at 6pm. A Gavin and Stacey triple bill runs from 7pm, then I’m Alan Partridge takes over with three episodes of the 1997 sitcom from 9pm, and Not Going Out closes the night with a double at 11pm. Channel numbers are further down the page.

Dave Schedule: Saturday 22 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete Dave schedule for Saturday 22 August 2026, on Freeview 19.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on Dave today

Saturday’s Dave day opens with a topical Mock the Week special at midnight (series 16, episode 2), followed by two archive Would I Lie To You? editions back to back at 12:40am and 1:20am. QI XL takes the 2am slot, Richard Osman’s House of Games follows at 3am, and a single Parks and Recreation episode at 3:30am closes out the overnight run before teleshopping fills the small hours through to breakfast. Eddie Eats America opens the daytime proper at 7:20am, followed by Top Gear at 7:45am.

Then Dave settles into the one thing it does better than anywhere else: from 8:40am, Would I Lie To You? runs for fourteen consecutive episodes, working through the back half of series 8 and most of series 9 in roughly forty-minute blocks, and doesn’t let up until 5:20pm. That’s nine hours of Rob Brydon, David Mitchell and Lee Mack occupying the entire daytime schedule almost without a break. It’s not padding so much as the channel showing its hand: this is what Dave is for, and it would rather run one show fourteen times than fill the day with variety. The last of the fourteen hands over directly to tonight’s primetime at 6pm.

Dave tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the Dave primetime line-up for tonight, Saturday 22 August 2026.

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

The one genuinely new thing on Dave tonight. TOWIE’s Pete Wicks swaps reality-show sunbeds for a placement at Dogs Trust’s Basildon rehoming centre, and this opener introduces him to three dogs waiting on homes, Mel, Murphy and Twist among them. Given it’s the only fresh commission in an evening otherwise built from repeats, it earns the 6pm slot to itself.

Gavin and Stacey — Dave, 7pm

Series two opens with James Corden and Ruth Jones’s newlyweds back from honeymoon, though it’s Nessa’s confession that throws the reunion off balance. The first of three straight episodes tonight.

Gavin and Stacey — Dave, 7:40pm

Smithy disappears in the fallout from Nessa’s revelation, while Stacey starts making arrangements to move. Dave runs the trilogy back to back rather than spreading it across the week.

Gavin and Stacey — Dave, 8:20pm

The run closes with Smithy and Nessa’s first hospital scan, a scene that still gets quoted more than it probably should for a sitcom nearing its twentieth year.

I’m Alan Partridge — Dave, 9pm

Not to be confused with BBC One’s new How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge) airing at 9:30pm tonight — this is the original 1997 sitcom, and it’s Alan at his most desperate, drinking his way through a dull night at the Linton Travel Tavern.

I’m Alan Partridge — Dave, 9:40pm

Alan finds his most devoted fan, and the encounter does nothing good for his already fragile chances of a TV comeback.

I’m Alan Partridge — Dave, 10:20pm

The triple wraps with Alan reacting to a rival’s death in the sort of way that says everything about him. Three episodes, back to back, the way Dave has always preferred to run this show.

Not Going Out — Dave, 11pm

Lee Mack’s long-running sitcom takes the 11pm slot with an episode built around a birthday surprise that goes sideways, as most of them do here.

Not Going Out — Dave, 11:35pm

A second episode closes the schedule, a missing keyring escalating into the kind of low-stakes chaos the show has built fifteen years on.

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 22 August 2026: Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake opens the evening at 6pm with its series debut, the only new programme on Dave tonight. A Gavin and Stacey triple runs from 7pm, three episodes of the 1997 sitcom I’m Alan Partridge follow from 9pm, and Not Going Out closes the night with a double at 11pm and 11:35pm.

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 schedule is built from three strands run three episodes deep, and it works because Dave rarely tries to do more than one thing at a time. The daytime is even more extreme: fourteen straight episodes of Would I Lie To You? from 8:40am to 5:20pm, nine hours of one panel show carrying the whole day before primetime even starts.

Pete Wicks: For Dogs’ Sake at 6pm is the only new commission, and it’s worth tuning in for on its own terms rather than as a lead-in to the repeats. After that, the Gavin and Stacey triple and the I’m Alan Partridge triple are comfortable, well-worn choices, though it’s worth being clear that Dave’s Partridge is the 1997 original sitcom, not BBC One’s new series airing in the same 9:30pm hour. Not Going Out closes the night the way it usually does on Dave: reliably, without surprises.

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