BBC Four TV Guide & Listings (United States Timezone)

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 in the United States timezone with full listings and upcoming programmes.

Times shown in the United States timezone.

Tonight's highlights

7:00 PM University Challenge Another first-round match in the quiz competition for students. The London School of Economics faces off against University College, Oxford for a place in round two. Jeremy Paxman asks the questions.

7:30 PM Only Connect Quiz show presented by Victoria Coren in which patience and lateral thinking are as vital as knowledge, and connections need to be made between apparently unconnected things.

      
        8:00 PM
        
          Inside Porton Down: Britain's Secret Weapons Research Facility
        
      Michael Mosley investigates Porton Down, Britain's most secretive and controversial military research base. He comes face to face with chemical and biological weapons old and new.

9:00 PM The Ruth Ellis Files: A Very British Crime Story Series re-examining the Ruth Ellis case. Gillian Pachter takes a forensic look at the police investigation and discovers worrying assumptions and problematic omissions.

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 Thu 07 May Fri 08 May Sat 09 May Sun 10 May Mon 11 May

BBC Four Schedule — Today

Programming hasn’t started yet.

The first program is at 12:15 AM (12:15 AM UK Time )

12:15 AM

Scotland's Finest: The Story of the Highland Games — 00:15

Bill Patterson narrates the rich and vivid story of the Highland Games, which have become a symbol of community and identity in Scotland and across the world.

Runtime: 1 hr

1:15 AM

Genius of the Ancient World — 01:15

Confucius

Bettany Hughes travels to China on the trail of Confucius, a great sage of Chinese history whose ideas have fundamentally shaped the country of his birth for around 2,500 years.

Runtime: 1 hr i Available on iPlayer

2:15 AM

Lost Cities of the Ancients — 02:15

Documentary series which unearths lost civilisations and cities. This edition visits northern Peru to find the ruins of 250 mysterious pyramids.

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

University Challenge — 19:00

Episode 3

Another first-round match in the quiz competition for students. The London School of Economics faces off against University College, Oxford for a place in round two. Jeremy Paxman asks the questions.

Runtime: 30 min

7:30 PM

Only Connect — 19:30

Episode 4

Quiz show presented by Victoria Coren in which patience and lateral thinking are as vital as knowledge, and connections need to be made between apparently unconnected things.

Runtime: 30 min

8:00 PM

Inside Porton Down: Britain's Secret Weapons Research Facility — 20:00

Michael Mosley investigates Porton Down, Britain's most secretive and controversial military research base. He comes face to face with chemical and biological weapons old and new.

Runtime: 1 hr

9:00 PM

The Ruth Ellis Files: A Very British Crime Story — 21:00

The Ruth Ellis Files

Series re-examining the Ruth Ellis case. Gillian Pachter takes a forensic look at the police investigation and discovers worrying assumptions and problematic omissions.

Runtime: 1 hr i Available on iPlayer

10:00 PM

Remembers... — 22:00

Stephen Poliakoff Remembers... Caught on a Train

Screenwriter Stephen Poliakoff shares his memories of the 1980 television drama Caught on a Train, his Bafta award-winning collaboration with celebrated producer Kenith Trodd.

Runtime: 15 min

10:15 PM

Playhouse — 22:15

Caught on a Train

A young Englishman, travelling on the Ostend to Vienna express, shares a train compartment with an American girl and an elderly Viennese lady.

Runtime: 1 hr 20 min

11:35 PM

How to Get Ahead — 23:35

At Renaissance Court

Stephen Smith explores Renaissance Florence under the reign of Grand Duke Cosimo Medici, where some of the greatest painters, sculptors and craftsmen in world history served.

Runtime: 1 hr

Next Day →

Coming up tomorrow

Tomorrow on BBC Four — 7 May 2026

12:35 AM

Inside Porton Down: Britain's Secret Weapons Research Facility

Michael Mosley investigates Porton Down, Britain's most secretive and controversial military research base. He comes face to face with chemical and biological weapons old and new.
1:35 AM

Scotland's Finest: The Story of the Highland Games

Bill Patterson narrates the rich and vivid story of the Highland Games, which have become a symbol of community and identity in Scotland and across the world.
2:35 AM

The Ruth Ellis Files: A Very British Crime Story

Series re-examining the Ruth Ellis case. Gillian Pachter takes a forensic look at the police investigation and discovers worrying assumptions and problematic omissions.
3:35 AM

This is BBC Four

Programmes start at 7.00pm.
5:30 AM

This is BBC Four

Daily from 7.00pm.
6:58 PM

This is BBC Four

Programmes start at 7.00pm.

See full BBC Four schedule for tomorrow →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is on BBC Four tonight?

Tonight (Wednesday 06 May) on BBC Four, you can watch This is BBC Four, University Challenge, Only Connect, and Inside Porton Down: Britain's Secret Weapons Research Facility. 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 (19:35 your time) with How to Get Ahead.

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