Early on 31 March 1997 Channel 5, which had begun broadcasting at 6pm the previous evening, began a full run of "Prisoner" while later episodes were still appearing in many ITV regions. Except for an airing of the fire episode (326), as part of a 1995 Channel 4 soap weekend, it was the series' first UK network broadcast and gave some areas their first full run of the series. Although the schedule varied during the Channel 5 run, episodes were typically shown about five times a week in the 4:40am slot. It briefly moved to a late-night slot, usually around 11:30pm, before returning to the 4:40am slot. The Channel 5 run ended on 11 February 2001, with a double bill of the penultimate and final episodes. Channel 5 have no plans to re-run the series, despite viewer requests. For most of the Channel 5 run the programme was sponsored by Pot Noodle, with humorous "Prisoner"-esque sequences (set in a prison cell and playing on the series' wobbly scenery and props) played before and after the episodes and in the leads into and out of commercial breaks.