Beebs Channel Guide

What's on BBC Four Tonight

BBC Four dives into culture, history, arts and world cinema with thoughtful documentaries, acclaimed drama and curated film seasons. See what's on BBC Four today with full listings and upcoming programmes.

Tonight's highlights

7:00 PM Secrets of Bones Ben Garrod delves into the surprising ways in which bone has evolved to help vertebrates sense the world around them, from wolves and sheep to the great grey owl.
7:30 PM Timothy Spall: Back at Sea Timothy and his wife Shane encounter several Scottish ports and islands in the misty drizzle, and venture up the Caledonian Canal.
8:00 PM The Lost City of Sanxingdui Film exploring one of the most important archaeological discoveries of our time - an ancient city in Sichuan, China, lost to time until the chance unearthing of a jade object in 1927.
9:00 PM The Planets The rocky planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars were born at the same time from the same material, yet they have lived radically different lives. What immense forces are at play?
Channels
BBC One (BBC1) BBC Two (BBC2) ITV1 ITV1 Anglia ITV1 Anglia West ITV1 Border ITV1 Central East ITV1 Central West ITV1 Granada ITV1 Meridian East ITV1 Meridian North ITV1 Meridian South ITV1 North ITV1 Tyne Tees ITV1 Wales ITV1 West Country ITV1 West ITV1 Yorkshire East ITV1 Yorkshire West STV Central STV North UTV Channel 4 Channel 5 BBC Three (BBC3) Film4 BBC Four CBeebies BBC News BBC ALBA ITV2 ITV3 ITV4 E4 More4 GREAT! movies Sky Arts RTÉ One Al Jazeera English BBC Parliament BBC Scotland Blaze Bloomberg TV Europe CBBC Challenge Challenge (IE) Channel 4+1 Court TV Dave ja vu DMAX DMAX+1 Drama+1 E4 Extra E4+1 Eden Eden+1 Euronews English Film4+1 Food Network Food Network+1 GREAT! action GREAT! action+1 GREAT! mystery GREAT! mystery+1 GREAT! romance GREAT! tv GREAT! tv+1 ITV Quiz ITV1+1 ITV1+1 Granada ITV1+1 Meridian ITV1+1 Midlands ITV2+1 ITV3+1 ITV4+1 LBC News Legend Legend Xtra Legend Xtra+1 London Live More4+1 Movies24 Movies24+ Newsmax TV PBS America Quest Red+1 Quest+1 Really Really+1 Rewind TV RTÉ Kids Jr RTÉ News RTÉ One+1 RTÉ Two RTÉ Two+1 S4C Sky Arts (IE) Sky Mix (IE) Sky News STV Central+1 STV North+1 Talking Pictures TV TG4 TLC TLC+1 True Crime True Crime Xtra True Crime+1 Virgin Media Four Virgin Media One Virgin Media One+1 Virgin Media Three Virgin Media Two W+1 Yesterday+1
Dates
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BBC Four Schedule — Today

12:15 AM

The Sky at Night — 00:15

Maggie Aderin explores how dyslexia has affected her life and career by meeting other dyslexic astronomers and discovering their research – from icy moons to clumpy galaxies.
Runtime: 30 min
12:45 AM

Secrets of Bones — 00:45

Ben Garrod finds out how the skeleton has allowed vertebrates to take to the air, why the pigeon is an exceptional flier and how the albatross makes huge migrations.
Runtime: 30 min
1:15 AM

City Lights — 01:15

A nostalgic look back at City Lights, the iconic sitcom that captured the spirit of 1980s Scotland. Featuring the writer, cast and the famous faces it inspired.
Runtime: 1 hr
2:15 AM

New Zealand: Earth's Mythical Islands — 02:15

Isolated since the time of the dinosaurs, New Zealand's wildlife has been left to its own devices. Its forests are stalked by predators from the Jurassic era.
Runtime: 1 hr
3:15 AM

This is BBC Four — 03:15

This is BBC Four
Programmes start at 7.00pm.
Runtime: 2 hr 15 min
5:30 AM

This is BBC Four — 05:30

This is BBC Four
Daily from 7.00pm.
Runtime: 13 hr 28 min
6:58 PM

This is BBC Four — 18:58

This is BBC Four
Programmes start at 7.00pm.
Runtime: 2 min
7:00 PM

Secrets of Bones — 19:00

Sensing the World
Ben Garrod delves into the surprising ways in which bone has evolved to help vertebrates sense the world around them, from wolves and sheep to the great grey owl.
Runtime: 30 min
7:30 PM

Timothy Spall: Back at Sea — 19:30

Scotch Mist
Timothy and his wife Shane encounter several Scottish ports and islands in the misty drizzle, and venture up the Caledonian Canal.
Runtime: 30 min
8:00 PM

The Lost City of Sanxingdui — 20:00

Film exploring one of the most important archaeological discoveries of our time - an ancient city in Sichuan, China, lost to time until the chance unearthing of a jade object in 1927.
Runtime: 1 hr
9:00 PM

The Planets — 21:00

A Moment in the Sun - The Terrestrial Planets
The rocky planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars were born at the same time from the same material, yet they have lived radically different lives. What immense forces are at play?
Runtime: 1 hr i Available on iPlayer
10:00 PM

Remembers... — 22:00

Janet Suzman Remembers... The Singing Detective
Dame Janet Suzman shares her memories of making The Singing Detective, the groundbreaking Dennis Potter drama which is widely regarded as a landmark television moment.
Runtime: 15 min
10:15 PM

The Singing Detective — 22:15

Skin
Dennis Potter's classic drama serial with music. Pulp thriller writer Philip Marlow is in hospital with psoriasis, tormented by his past and threatened by his future.
Runtime: 1 hr 10 min
11:25 PM

The Singing Detective — 23:25

Heat
Dennis Potter's drama about a patient struggling to keep his sanity, with the help of his alter ego, the singing private eye. Marlow faces a talking cure with a psychologist.
Runtime: 1 hr 10 min
Next Day →

Coming up tomorrow

Tomorrow on BBC Four — 15 October 2026

See full BBC Four schedule for tomorrow →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is on BBC Four tonight?

Tonight (Wednesday 14 October) on BBC Four, you can watch This is BBC Four, Secrets of Bones, Timothy Spall: Back at Sea, and The Lost City of Sanxingdui. Check the full schedule for more details.

How can I watch BBC Four live?

You can watch BBC Four live on the official bbc.co.uk website or app. Use the 'Watch Live' button to go directly to the player.

When does programming end on BBC Four today?

Today's programming on BBC Four ends at 00:35 with The Singing Detective.

Is this TV schedule shown in UK time or my local time?

All times shown on this page are automatically converted to your local device timezone for easy viewing, though the original UK broadcast time is also displayed.

Watch BBC Four Live