BBC Four TV Guide
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 on Friday 16 January 2026 with full listings and upcoming programmes.
Heads up: you're viewing listings from Friday 16 January 2026. Jump to today's schedule.
Channels
BBC One (BBC1)
BBC Two (BBC2)
ITV1
Channel 4
Channel 5
ITV2
ITV3
ITV4
E4
Film4
More4
GREAT! movies
Sky Arts
RTÉ One
BBC Three (BBC3)
CBeebies
BBC News
BBC Four
BBC ALBA
BBC Parliament
BBC Scotland
CBBC
S4C
Dates
Fri 16 Jan
Yesterday
Today
Sun 08 Feb
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Tue 10 Feb
Wed 11 Feb
Thu 12 Feb
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Sun 15 Feb
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The first program is at ( UK Time )
The Cambridgeshire Crucifixion
Unravelling the mystery
A documentary telling the story of the extremely rare discovery of evidence of Roman crucifixion, unearthed in a routine archaeological dig in the Cambridgeshire Fens.
Pubs, Ponds and Power: The Story of the Village
Ben Robinson reveals the story of the village of Milton Abbas in Dorset, which perfectly captures the romantic notion of what the idyllic English village should look like.
Runtime:
30 min
Yorkshire Wolds Way
Paul Rose explores the 79 miles of the Yorkshire Wolds Way. He gets a unique view of this stretch of chalk downland and gets a special invitation to a military base.
Runtime:
30 min
The Stuarts in Exile
First of a two-part documentary in which Dr Clare Jackson tells the story of the exiled Stuarts and of the threat the Jacobites posed to the embryonic British state.
Runtime:
1 hr
This is BBC Four
This is BBC Four
Programmes start at 7.00pm.
Runtime:
2 hr 5 min
This is BBC Four
This is BBC Four
Daily from 7.00pm.
Runtime:
13 hr 28 min
This is BBC Four
This is BBC Four
Programmes start at 7.00pm.
Runtime:
2 min
Top of the Pops
Jamie Theakston presents the pop chart programme, featuring Garbage, Inner City, The Divine Comedy, Leilani, Dru Hill, The Offspring and Armand Van Helden ft Duane Harden.
Runtime:
30 min
Top of the Pops
Jamie Theakston presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 12 February 1999 and featuring M People, A+, Mansun, Mirrorball, Soulsearcher, Tayana Ali and Blondie.
Runtime:
30 min
Snooker: The Masters
Day 6, Part 3
Coverage from the sixth day of the 2026 Masters snooker tournament.
Runtime:
2 hr
Top of the Pops
Mike Read and Dixie Peach present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 16 January 1986 and featuring Fine Young Cannibals, Dire Straits, a-ha, Mr Mister and Pet Shop Boys.
Runtime:
30 min
Top of the Pops
Nicky Campbell presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 10 January 1997 and featuring Kenickie, Kavana, Runrig, Terrorvision, Blur and Spice Girls.
Runtime:
30 min
Bowie at the BBC
Clips from the BBC archive giving an overview of David Bowie's career from 1964 to 2016, blending interviews and performances from music programmes, documentaries and chat shows.
Runtime:
1 hr
Frequently Asked Questions
What is on BBC Four tonight?
Tonight (Friday 16 January) on BBC Four, you can watch This is BBC Four, Top of the Pops, and Snooker: The Masters. 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 00:00 with Bowie at the BBC.
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.