From January 2026, TLC will become a free-to-air (FTA) entertainment channel in the UK and will bring viewers a bumper line-up of scripted content including multi award-winning The Big Bang Theory and spin-offs Young Sheldon and Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage, plus Mike & Molly.
This new content represents WBD’s biggest order of scripted entertainment across their FTA linear portfolio in the UK and will be combined with a host of new unscripted series, signalling WBD’s ongoing commitment and investment in its linear portfolio in market.
New unscripted series coming to TLC in 2026 will include a new-look Mock the Week, the UK’s much-loved topical, satirical celebrity panel show, produced by Angst, and Zero Stars, produced by CPL and based on an original Danish format from Liquidminds and distributed by Primitives, which sees comedians and BFFs Roisin Conaty and Sara Pascoe journey across the globe, experiencing places with only the funniest and worst reviews in search of a truly unique travel experience.
Fans of TLC will still have access to their favourites including Dr Pimple Popper and My 600Lb Life, the channel will also be home to the hugely popular 90 Day Fiancé franchise, including the UK spin-off.
In addition to a new-look TLC, from January 2026 WBD’s FTA channel Really will see an injection of HGTV shows, including Celebrity IOU with the Property Brothers, Home Town and My Lottery Dream Home. This makes it even simpler for viewers to enjoy the best of lifestyle, property, home and garden content in one place, with the HGTV channel sunsetting in the UK & Ireland. HGTV content will also continue to be available via discovery+.
With the planned changes from January 2026, WBD’s UK FTA portfolio will consist of six channels with Quest, Quest Red, Food Network and DMAX, alongside TLC and Really – bringing viewers their favourite genres and shows across antiques and restoration, true crime, food, reality, comedy, home, motoring and much more. This FTA line-up is combined with a host of Pay-TV channels in the UK - including the Discovery Channel, Cartoon Network and TNT Sports - totalling more than 20 linear channels and giving WBD the position of #5 Commercial Broadcaster in the UK.
As well as the new content confirmed across TLC and Really, viewers can also look forward to a brand-new series coming to Quest in mid-2026 with Francis Bourgeois & Chris Harris: We Saved a Train (w/t). The 8x60 series from Naked West, a Fremantle label, follows friends and engineering obsessives Francis Bourgeois and Chris Harris as they take on the challenge of restoring a dilapidated diesel locomotive and bringing it back to life. Francis, a mechanical engineer and passionate train enthusiast, and Chris, famed for his love of speed, precision, and no-nonsense engineering, make the perfect duo. Together, they combine expertise, humour, and genuine passion as they navigate the highs and lows of turning a rusting relic into a fully working locomotive.
Also coming to Quest in 2026 is the recently announced Ricochet-produced Guz Khan’s Custom Cars (w/t) which sees the comedian testing a new role as a car modder, and a bumper new order of the Auction House franchise, with Angus Ashworth returning for a seventh series of Yorkshire Auction House (18x60), a sixth series of Celebrity Yorkshire Auction House (6x60) and third season of the Derbyshire Auction House (12x60) with Irita Marriott - all produced by STVStudios Factual. Henry Cole and Fuzz Townshend will also be back at the wheel for an eighth series of Quest’s Shed & Buried (20x30), a fourth series of Shed & Buried: Classic Cars (10x60) and a new format Shed & Buried: Classic Bikes (6x60), all produced by HCA Entertainment.
Food fans can also look forward to a brand-new series from Adam Richman next year. Following the success of Adam Richman Eats Britain and Adam Richman Eats Football, the globally renowned super-foodie is back, this time journeying to the Mediterranean in Adam Richman Eats Italy, a 10x30 series produced by Raise The Roof Productions for Food Network.
Graham Lafferty, SVP Content Strategy & Networks, WBD UK & Ireland, said: “We are thrilled to announce a new-look line-up of content for TLC in the UK and Ireland for January 2026 - and that we are able to bring the channel to more viewers with a move to free-to-air in the UK. Through TLC, we are excited to commission and curate a broad entertainment channel that spans both scripted and unscripted content, including award-winning shows like The Big Bang Theory, through to a new-look British comedy staple like Mock the Week.
“We are also delighted to commission a host of new and returning linear series for 2026 with Francis Bourgeois and Chris Harris: We Saved a Train (w/t), a bumper Auction House and Shed and Buried re-order for Quest, and a new Food Network series in Adam Richman Eats Italy. These series, combined with recently announced commissions including Guz Khan’s Custom Cars and Zero Stars, demonstrate our ongoing commitment to linear television and working with both new and long-standing valued UK production partners to commission local stories and local talent for local audiences.”
WBD’s current UK and Ireland linear television channel offering will continue to be in place for remainder of 2025.
