Millions of telly lovers warned they could LOSE TV signal this week because of the heatwave

MILLIONS could miss their favourite shows this week as TVs risk losing signal amid the UK’s heatwave, the BBC and Freeview have warned.

Viewers may be met with pixelated, glitchy or completely blank screens instead of their usual telly.

A woman crossing Westminster Bridge, in London earlier this weekBen Cawthra/LNP

Don’t worry, it’s not ghosts.

The high pressure air seen during a heatwave can scramble TV signals.

Eastern England is most likely to be affected as the temperature reaches highs of 32 degrees, but reception woes could crop up in any part of the UK.

“Freeview viewers across parts of the country could see some disruption to their TV reception between Monday 4th to Friday 8th September,” the broadcaster said in a statement.

“This is due to high pressure which could disrupt the TV signals which Freeview uses.”

This issue is much more common now as the number of frequencies available for terrestrial TV has reduced to make way for new 4G and 5G mobile services.

Streaming and satellite TV fans won’t be affected, as they use different frequencies.

So, if you have an internet-connected Freeview Play TV, you will still be able to watch live and on-demand content on BBC iPlayer, ITVX, All4 or My5.

Likewise, Sky and Freesat viewers will be left unscathed.

Freeview has urged viewers not to retune their TV during this time, as reception will return to normal when the hot weather levels out again.

Atmospheric conditions can also result in radio interference, which may limit FM/DAB radio listening, too.

And radio signals can also affect mobile signals which use some of the frequencies previously used for TV.

Therefore, some areas with a weak phone reception may see variations in their signal over the next week.

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