Channel 5 competitions: how to enter for free
Although the prizes aren’t as huge as those you’ll find given away in the ITV competitions, Channel 5 competitions feature some excellent holiday, short break, gadget and cash prizes.
The prize draws are advertised on a range of Channel 5 TV shows, and the text entries cost a pricey £2 each, plus the cost of a standard rate text (around 15p).
But did you know that, like ITV, you can send ‘free’ postal entries for most of the Channel 5 competitions?
Several SuperLucky readers have won prizes by sending off postcards! I’ll keep this post updated with details of current postcard entry Channel 5 competitions.
All entries – whether by text or post – have the same chance of winning as each one is assigned a unique ID number. The winning ID number is chosen at random from all entries using a winner selector tool, under independent supervision.
Note that a postal entry is still officially considered as a free entry, even though sending a second class postcard will cost you 66p for a stamp. That’s still much cheaper than £2.15 for a text entry though!
Who is eligible to enter Channel 5 competitions?
Channel 5 competitions are open to all residents of the United Kingdom, but not Channel Islands or Isle of Man residents. The Channel 5 general competition T&Cs state there is no minimum age for entry, but a winner aged under 18 must take an adult with them if they win a prize including travel.
How do I send a postal entry?
To find the address for your postal entry, check the Channel 5 competitions page, or simply check my list below, which features all current comps. Each prize has a different code, so entries can be sorted when they arrive.
For postal entries, you can use a picture postcard, a plain postcard or an envelope. It’s fine and eco-friendly to recycle used birthday and Christmas cards or product packaging for your competition postcards!
If it’s plain card, write the PO Box address on the front, then your name and phone number on the reverse.
If it’s a picture postcard then lay it out like below, with your details on the left (not my real number, of course!)
If you write details vertically, there’s no risk of the Royal Mail machines confusing the sender’s details with the destination address. I do this for all my postcard entries, even if I’m just adding a phone number!
If you don’t have a postcard, it’s ok to send an envelope – either seal it and write your details on the reverse, or write your details on a piece of paper and put it inside the envelope.
You must use a stamp on your entry! If you use a second class stamp, post early – it could take a long time for your entry to arrive.
You can enter each Channel 5 prize draw by post as many times as you like. Each entry must be sent on a separate stamped postcard (or envelope).
For more postcard tips, see my blog post How to send a postcard entry.
What prizes can I win in Channel 5 competitions?
The majority of the Channel 5 competitions offer holiday and short break prizes for two people, usually accompanied by some cash too. Here’s my pick of the current prizes and the closing date for postal entries (this is 3 working days later than the closing date for text entries) – full details and T&Cs for all these comps can be found on the Channel 5 website – where you can also find a list of recent winners!
Where can I see a list of winners?
Winners details are published at www.channel5.com/win/competition-winners
List of current Channel 5 competitions
NEW! Win a dog friendly stay in the Surrey Hills
- Send your postcard to DOG, PO Box 7557, Derby DE1 0NP
- Postal entries must arrive by 27 March 2023
- Find out more about the Dogs Behaving Badly prize draw
NEW! Win a break for two in Cornwall
- Send your postcard to CORNWALL, PO Box 7557, Derby DE1 0NP
- Postal entries must arrive by 1 March 2023
- Find out more about the Cornwall prize draw
NEW! Win a 7 night motorhome getaway & £1,000
- Send your postcard to GO, PO Box 7557, Derby DE1 0NP
- Postal entries must arrive by 17 March 2023
- Find out more about the Motorhoming prize draw
NEW! Win a stay at Hartwell House & £1,000
- Send your postcard to HOUSE, PO Box 7557, Derby DE1 0NP
- Postal entries must arrive by 3 March 2023
- Find out more about the Royal Palaces prize draw
Win a trip to Finnish Lapland
- Send your postcard to SNOW, PO Box 7557, Derby DE1 0NP
- Postal entries must arrive by 7 March 2023
- Find out more about the Drama prize draw
Win a 7 night holiday in California plus £3,000
- Send your postcard to STRONG, PO Box 7557, Derby DE1 0NP
- Postal entries must arrive by 27 January 2023
- Find out more about the Worlds Strongest Man prize draw
Win a great rail journeys adventure in Scandinavia plus £1,000
- Send your postcard to NORWAY, PO Box 7557, Derby DE1 0NP
- Postal entries must arrive by 23 June 2023
- Find out more about the Inside the Great Rail Journeys prize draw
Win a trip to Spain for 4
- Send your postcard to RESORT 1, PO Box 7557, Derby DE1 0NP
- Postal entries must arrive by 22 May 2023
- Find out more about the Bargain Loving Brits prize draw
Win a Yorkshire getaway plus £1,000
- Send your postcard to VET 2, PO Box 7557, Derby DE1 0NP
- Postal entries must arrive by 20 March 2023
- Find out more about the Yorkshire Vet prize draw
Win a 3-night Yorkshire break for 2 at The Devonshire Arms Hotel
- Send your postcard to LIFE, PO Box 7557, Derby DE1 0NP
- Postal entries must arrive by 20 March 2023
- Find out more about the Our Great Yorkshire Life prize draw
Don’t forget to check out my list of current ITV postal entry competitions too – good luck!
HI Di, I enter itv competitions by postcard, can my family enter the same competitions or does it have to be one entry per for household only?
You can send as many entries as you like for each prize draw, so it doesn’t really matter if it’s you sending extra entries or your family as each draw only has one winner!
My only concern is that scammers may get my name and phone number because the details are on the outside of the envelope / postcard.
The only people that see postcard details are Royal Mail staff, who must see thousands of names, addresses and phone numbers and I’m certain would have no interest in yours! The entries go directly to a PO Box, belonging to a Handling House, where the postcards will be sorted under independent supervision to ensure everything is done properly.
Unfortunately many scammers these days use systems to just try random consecutive mobile phone numbers, so unfortunately you’re likely to get these calls anyway. And of course, your name and postal address appears on all other mail going through the Royal Mail system!
I entered the latest Scenic railway journeys comp on 19th July, when will the results be published (and where?).
The winners details should be published at http://www.channel5.com/win/competition-winners after about a month!
Hi Di,
I received a call today to say i’d won £5000 in a channel 5 competition and that was from a postcard entry 🙂
Whoa, congratulations on your fantastic win!!
Fantastic win Kate – congrats!!
Thanks Di this is great! x
Thanks for all these comps Di.
This is to be my year of entering comps and perusing the 1921 census,
I got a slap on the wrist for doing 3 hours of gardening by one of the consultants so what will be will be.
Happy New Year!
Can I submit several postcard entries in one envelope to save on postage?
No, each entry must be sent on a separate stamped postcard (or envelope).
Can you enter multiple separate postcards for the same competition. I really can’t remember and would like to shift some stamps, or does it depend on the competition?
Thank you
Yes you can enter each draw multiple times as long as you use a separate stamped postcard.
Ah I wondered how a postcard entry might be chosen – so now I realised that sending pretty/brightly coloured postcards and writing in fabulous calligraphy isn’t going to help mine get picked – thanks for helping me understand Di
… 🙂 x
Unfortunately not in this case! For postcards that don’t go to a PO Box you can still try that method to make your entry stand out though (eg. local newspapers and magazine comps!)
Thanks Di, not entered postal comps for a while so this is quite handy info. Will be entering the channel 5 comps. I need a good source of post cards ha!