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 Saturday 21 February 2026 with full listings and upcoming programmes.

Heads up: you're viewing listings from Saturday 21 February 2026. Jump to today's schedule.
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Dates
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BBC Four Schedule — Sat 21 Feb

12:15 AM

Top of the Pops — 00:15

Jayne Middlemiss presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 16 April 1999 and featuring Phats & Small, TLC, The Cranberries, New Radicals and Martine McCutcheon.
Runtime: 30 min
12:45 AM

Top of the Pops — 00:45

Gail Porter presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 23 April 1999 and featuring Whitney Houston, Phats & Small, Electronic, Honeyz, Suede, TLC and Martine McCutcheon.
Runtime: 30 min
1:15 AM

Top of the Pops — 01:15

Peter Powell presents the pop chart programme, featuring Shakin' Stevens, Blondie, The Beat, The Buggles, The Tourists, Fern Kinney, The Ramones, Iron Maiden and Kenny Rogers.
Runtime: 35 min
1:50 AM

Top of the Pops — 01:50

Janice Long and Mike Read present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 20 February 1986. Featuring Paul Hardcastle, Diana Ross, Depeche Mode and Public Image Limited.
Runtime: 30 min
2:20 AM

Gladys Knight at the BBC — 02:20

A look through the BBC archives for moment after moment from the 'empress of soul’, Gladys Knight, including songs like Baby Don't Change Your Mind and The Way We Were.
Runtime: 1 hr 5 min
3:25 AM

In Concert — 03:25

The first of two concerts recorded at The New London Theatre. Included in this programme are some of the group's early hits.
Runtime: 30 min
3:55 AM

This is BBC Four — 03:55

This is BBC Four
Programmes start at 7.00pm.
Runtime: 1 hr 35 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

Meet the Ancestors — 19:00

Living with the Ancestors
Julian Richards travels to the home of a couple who discovered that their bungalow was built over a 5th-century graveyard.
Runtime: 30 min
7:30 PM

The Good Old Days — 19:30

Leonard Sachs presents the old-time music hall show from the City Varieties Theatre. With Hylda Baker, Val Doonican, Richard Hearne and Robin Hunter.
Runtime: 45 min
8:15 PM

Hetty Wainthropp Investigates — 20:15

Lost Chords
There is fierce competition at the Blainthorp Music Festival, but the finalists start losing their voices. Hetty is called in to find out who is responsible.
Runtime: 50 min
9:05 PM

The Turkish Detective — 21:05

Episode 1
British detective Mehmet Suleyman arrives in Istanbul to join the homicide unit led by eccentric inspector Çetin Ikmen just as the team investigate the murder of a student.
Runtime: 55 min i Available on iPlayer
10:00 PM

The Turkish Detective — 22:00

Episode 2
While the team close in on a suspect in Gözde’s murder, Suleyman pursues his private investigation on the side and discovers a mysterious name.
Runtime: 55 min i Available on iPlayer
10:55 PM

Wogan — 22:55

Jenny Agutter, Laurie Lee, John Garnett
Terry Wogan's guests are Jenny Agutter, Laurie Lee, who recites a piece from As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning, and John Garnett. Barbara Dickson sings The Right Moment.
Runtime: 35 min
11:30 PM

Comic Roots — 23:30

Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Williams explores his roots in and around London's St Pancras, where he grew up.
Runtime: 35 min
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Frequently Asked Questions

What is on BBC Four tonight?

Tonight (Saturday 21 February) on BBC Four, you can watch This is BBC Four, Meet the Ancestors, The Good Old Days, and Hetty Wainthropp Investigates. 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 00:05 with Comic Roots.

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