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 23 January 2026 with full listings and upcoming programmes.
Heads up: you're viewing listings from Friday 23 January 2026. Jump to today's schedule.
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
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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
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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
BBC Four Schedule — Fri 23 Jan
Programming hasn’t started yet.
The first program is at ( UK Time )
The Elephant Man — 00:20
Moving drama film. In 1884, an ambitious young surgeon is intrigued by a disfigured sideshow freak billed as the Elephant Man and takes him under his wing.
Runtime:
2 hr
The Stuarts in Exile — 02:20
Dr Clare Jackson reveals why so many law-abiding Scots and English were prepared to support the catholic Stuarts.
Runtime:
1 hr
This is BBC Four — 03:20
This is BBC Four
Programmes start at 7.00pm.
Runtime:
2 hr 10 min
This is BBC Four — 05:30
This is BBC Four
Daily from 7.00pm.
Runtime:
13 hr 28 min
This is BBC Four — 18:58
This is BBC Four
Programmes start at 7.00pm.
Runtime:
2 min
Top of the Pops — 19:00
Kate Thornton presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 19 February 1999 and featuring Blondie, Next of Kin, Unkle ft Ian Brown, The Moffats, Blur and Lenny Kravitz.
Runtime:
30 min
Top of the Pops — 19:30
Jayne Middlemiss presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 26 February 1999 and featuring The Corrs, NSYNC, Lauryn Hill, Lucid, Lenny Kravitz and Britney Spears.
Runtime:
30 min
Top of the Pops — 20:00
Peter Powell introduces the pop programme, with performances from The Look, Spandau Ballet, XTC, Adam and the Ants, Bad Manners and Blondie.
Runtime:
30 min
Top of the Pops — 20:30
Mark Franklin and Steve Anderson present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 23 January 1992 and featuring 2 Unlimited, Shakespears Sister, Curtis Stigers and Genesis.
Runtime:
30 min
Top of the Pops — 21:00
Noel Edmonds presents the pop chart programme, featuring Abba, Hot Chocolate, Brotherhood of Man, Sheer Elegance, Paul Nicholas, Linda Lewis, The Four Seasons and 10CC.
Runtime:
40 min
Top of the Pops — 21:40
David Hamilton presents the pop chart programme, featuring Jimmy James and the Vagabonds, Harpo, Sheer Elegance, The Rubettes, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Abba and Brotherhood of Man.
Runtime:
40 min
Carole King and James Taylor: Just Call Out My Name — 22:20
Long ago and far away
A look at the songwriting partnership of legendary artists Carole King and James Taylor, with performances of some of their classic songs.
In Concert — 23:55
Carole King
Footage of the singer-songwriter performing songs including I Feel the Earth Move, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow and Up on the Roof for a BBC live studio performance in 1971.
Runtime:
30 min
Frequently Asked Questions
What is on BBC Four tonight?
Tonight (Friday 23 January) on BBC Four, you can watch This is BBC Four, and Top of the Pops. 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 00:25 with In Concert.
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.