Beebs Channel Guide

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 16 May 2026 with full listings and upcoming programmes.

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
Yesterday Today Sun 10 May Mon 11 May Tue 12 May Wed 13 May Thu 14 May Fri 15 May Sat 16 May

BBC Four Schedule — Sat 16 May

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

Wild — 19:00

Otters, Puffins and Seals
Wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan explores his native Mull and some of the nearby islands, filming otters, deer, puffins, seals and a minke whale.
Runtime: 15 min
7:15 PM

The Good Old Days — 19:15

Leonard Sachs presents the old-time music hall programme, from the City Varieties Theatre, Leeds. Guests include Ken Dodd, Barry Kent, Lyn Kennington, John Bouchier and Saxburger.
Runtime: 45 min
8:00 PM

Hetty Wainthropp Investigates — 20:00

Pursuit by Proxy
When Hetty represents her neighbour at a creditor’s meeting, she is hired to find a man who may have stolen from the neighbour.
Runtime: 50 min
8:50 PM

Michael Palin: The Art of Travel — 20:50

GWR
Travelogue. Michael Palin discovers that the Great Western Railway had the most sophisticated public relations machine of all the UK's railway companies between the two world wars.
Runtime: 10 min
9:00 PM

The Teachers' Lounge — 21:00

When one of her students is suspected of theft, a teacher tries to get to the bottom of it. Caught between her ideals and the school system, the consequences of her actions threaten to break her.
Runtime: 1 hr 35 min
10:35 PM

Keeping Up Appearances — 22:35

Onslow's Birthday
Hyacinth is not looking forward to Onslow's birthday party, but news that a limousine awaits her and Richard to take them to the proceedings changes her mind.
Runtime: 30 min
11:05 PM

Sorry! — 23:05

Great Expectations
Mother is out to get Aunt Esme's money for Timothy, and Timothy has encounters with a garage owner and his dogs.
Runtime: 30 min
11:35 PM

Ian Hislop Goes off the Rails — 23:35

Ian Hislop takes a look at the notorious Beeching Report of 1963, which led to the closure of a third of the nation's railway lines and forced thousands of people onto the road.
Runtime: 1 hr i Available on iPlayer
12:35 AM

The Good Old Days — 00:35

Leonard Sachs presents the old-time music hall programme, from the City Varieties Theatre, Leeds. Guests include Ken Dodd, Barry Kent, Lyn Kennington, John Bouchier and Saxburger.
Runtime: 45 min
1:20 AM

Hetty Wainthropp Investigates — 01:20

Pursuit by Proxy
When Hetty represents her neighbour at a creditor’s meeting, she is hired to find a man who may have stolen from the neighbour.
Runtime: 50 min
2:10 AM

Personal Cinema: Maggie Smith — 02:10

In a programme first broadcast in 1970, Maggie Smith talks to Michael Aspel about her career and chooses scenes from some of her favourite films.
Runtime: 30 min
2:40 AM

Ian Hislop Goes off the Rails — 02:40

Ian Hislop takes a look at the notorious Beeching Report of 1963, which led to the closure of a third of the nation's railway lines and forced thousands of people onto the road.
Runtime: 1 hr i Available on iPlayer
3:40 AM

This is BBC Four — 03:40

This is BBC Four
Programmes start at 7.00pm.
Runtime: 1 hr 50 min
5:30 AM

This is BBC Four — 05:30

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

Frequently Asked Questions

What is on BBC Four tonight?

Tonight (Saturday 16 May) on BBC Four, you can watch This is BBC Four, Wild, 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 18:58 with This is BBC Four.

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