Full BBC Four listings for Wednesday 28 October 2026, with times in London local time.

BBC Four’s night belongs to The Singing Detective, and it is on twice

See also: What's on tonight across all channels | Wednesday's TV guide

The best reason to be on BBC Four on Wednesday is The Singing Detective at 10pm. Dennis Potter’s 1986 serial, six episodes first made for BBC One, with Jim Carter, Patrick Malahide, Bill Paterson, Alison Steadman and Janet Suzman in the cast, gets a 60-minute slot at ten and then an 80-minute one at 11. The channel is not hedging. It has scheduled the programme back to back, and nothing else in the evening has that kind of commitment behind it.

At 10pm the competition is BBC One’s news bulletin and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on 5USA. If you have never watched the serial, this is a clear run at it; if you have, it is a programme that rewards a second look. Full marks, and the evening’s pick.

Before it comes The Planets at 9pm. This is the 1999 documentary series, which began on BBC Two and ran for eight episodes. It faces 24 Hours in A&E on 4seven, Who Do You Think You Are? on BBC One and Spotlight on BBC Two, none of which is remotely the same kind of programme. It has turned up on the channel several times in recent days, which is no bad thing for a series with a long shelf life.

Primetime opens with a run of shorter pieces. Secrets of Skin goes out at 7pm and Gareth Edwards’s Great Welsh Adventure follows at 7.30, both half-hour slots. Both are also on in the early hours, so BBC Four is showing each of them twice in the day. At 7pm the rivals are The One Show and NCIS, at 7.30 EastEnders; BBC Four is the quiet alternative for anyone who has had enough of both. At 8pm How the Romans Conquered the Alps runs 50 minutes, and then a ten-minute Building Sights at 8.50 fills the gap before The Planets starts. That is neat scheduling: nothing is wasted between the hours.

Overnight the channel settles into its back catalogue. Ancient Worlds goes out at 1.40am and The Normans at 2.40am, an hour each, and This is BBC Four fills most of what is left until the evening.

If you only watch one thing on BBC Four tonight, it is the Potter. If you want a full evening, start at seven with Secrets of Skin and keep going. The schedule runs in an unbroken line from 7pm to midnight, with the serial landing at the end.


Also on TV tonight at 9pm

  • BBC One: Who Do You Think You Are?
  • BBC Two: Spotlight
  • ITV1: Carabao Cup: Liverpool v Chelsea (from 7.30pm)
  • Channel 4: Grand Designs
  • Channel 5: Cause of Death
  • ITV2: Big Brother
  • ITV3: Midsomer Murders (from 8pm)
  • ITV4: Sharpe (from 7.20pm)
  • E4: Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA
  • More4: Our Tiny Islands

Every channel tonight, side by side · Films on TV tonight · Tomorrow’s TV


Frequently asked questions

What’s on BBC Four tonight?

On Wednesday 28 October 2026, BBC Four shows Secrets of Skin at 7pm, Gareth Edwards’s Great Welsh Adventure at 7.30pm, How the Romans Conquered the Alps at 8pm, Building Sights at 8.50pm, The Planets at 9pm and The Singing Detective at 10pm.

Is there a film on BBC Four tonight?

No. BBC Four has no films in its evening schedule on Wednesday 28 October 2026.

What’s on BBC Four late tonight?

After 11pm, BBC Four has The Singing Detective at 11pm.

What time does BBC Four’s evening start?

The evening schedule starts with This is BBC Four at 6.58pm.