Real-life testimonies about the miracle of blood will have you weeping. Plus: Strictly’s not over just yet! Here’s what to watch this evening
Real-life testimonies about the miracle of blood will have you weeping. Plus: Strictly’s not over just yet! Here’s what to watch this evening
9.20pm, BBC One
The actor embarks on a journey through British myths and rituals. Plus: Nashville gets festive in Country Music Christmas. Here’s what to watch this evening
The actor embarks on a journey through British myths and rituals. Plus: Nashville gets festive in Country Music Christmas. Here’s what to watch this evening
10pm, BBC ThreeA festive special with a decidedly pagan twist as This Country star Charlie Cooper embarks on another gentle but earnest investigation of the ancient myths and rituals that underpin Britain’s calendar. Charlie is a little disillusioned with modern attitudes to Christmas, so he explores everything from a barrel-burning festival in Devon to a morris dancing event in Surrey. What he finds is that, just under the surface, our collective attachment to these celebrations remains surprisingly strong. Phil Harrison
Steven Frayne stuns with new tricks. Plus: Alison Hammond dons the tinsel to meet some gorgeous pooches. Here’s what to watch this evening
Steven Frayne stuns with new tricks. Plus: Alison Hammond dons the tinsel to meet some gorgeous pooches. Here’s what to watch this evening
9pm, Sky Max
The magician known to his mum as Steven Frayne but to the world as Dynamo returns. It’s hard to know where he can go after last year’s terrifying stunt in which he was apparently buried alive. It seems the answer is back to his roots: he will be out and about, travelling the country and stunning passersby in the street with his undeniably startling sleight of hand. But he hasn’t lost his taste for the grand spectacle – expect a death‑defying finale. Phil Harrison
The beloved TV baker enlists celebrity friends – Oti Mabuse, Nick Grimshaw and Amanda Holden – to create warming seaside snacks. Plus, the gorgeous finale of My Brilliant Friend. Here’s what to watch this evening
The beloved TV baker enlists celebrity friends – Oti Mabuse, Nick Grimshaw and Amanda Holden – to create warming seaside snacks. Plus, the gorgeous finale of My Brilliant Friend. Here’s what to watch this evening
8pm, BBC One
She turns 90 next year, but the star baker Mary Berry is still at it with the help (or hindrance) of some celebrity friends. Oti Mabuse, Nick Grimshaw (pictured) and Amanda Holden join in as she makes almond snowballs for the cold-water swimmers and stocking-filler boozy apricots and ginger flapjacks for the annual Christmas carols celebration in aid of the search-and-rescue charity the RNLI. Expect to lust after turkey pasties and clementine creme brulee, too. Hollie Richardson
A two-part film takes us through the biggest event of the summer. Plus: who will win Sports Personality of the Year? Here’s what to watch this evening the highs and lows of the most thrilling event of the year
A two-part film takes us through the biggest event of the summer. Plus: who will win Sports Personality of the Year? Here’s what to watch this evening
10pm, BBC Four
The athlete swaps the city for quieter climes. Plus: will Eddie Redmayne’s assassin come a cropper as The Day of the Jackal ends? Here’s what to watch this evening
The athlete swaps the city for quieter climes. Plus: will Eddie Redmayne’s assassin come a cropper as The Day of the Jackal ends? Here’s what to watch this evening
8pm, BBC OneWith the help of his daughter Briannah and property expert Alistair Appleton, it’s time for athlete Linford Christie to make a dash for the countryside. Linford has been a city boy all his life so can rural tranquility compete with the buzz of the town? During the course of this special, the Christies take a tour of the Chilterns and enjoy outdoor dining at the more bucolic end of the Thames.
This fascinating documentary digs deep for genetic secrets. Plus: Shetland reaches its sombre conclusion. Here’s what to watch this evening
This fascinating documentary digs deep for genetic secrets. Plus: Shetland reaches its sombre conclusion. Here’s what to watch this evening
9pm, BBC Four“We will never get dinosaur DNA,” says one scientist in this fascinating documentary. But even allowing for this disappointingly defeatist attitude, the process surrounding DNA is becoming increasingly mind-boggling, to the point where it now seems that the genetic secrets of our deep past could help humanity navigate the future. The story is engagingly told, mainly thanks to the charismatic biologist Eske Willerslev for whom this field has become a labour of love. Phil Harrison
Will we discover what the mysterious hum is in The Listeners? Plus: James Acaster’s very funny standup show. Here’s what to watch this evening
Will we discover what the mysterious hum is in The Listeners? Plus: James Acaster’s very funny standup show. Here’s what to watch this evening
9pm, BBC One This series about a mysterious hum only audible to a select few has been a creepy treat. At the heart of it is a mesmerising performance from Rebecca Hall as Claire, a woman whose torment has gradually turned into a form of need as the hum takes over her world – and offers her a new form of belonging to replace everything she has lost. As the group of initiates is threatened by the outside world, can Claire control her impulses? Phil Harrison
It’s the glorious final season of emotional comedy Somebody Somewhere . Plus: Charles Dance is Michelangelo in Renaissance – The Blood and the Beauty. Here’s what to watch this evening
It’s the glorious final season of emotional comedy Somebody Somewhere. Plus: Charles Dance is Michelangelo in Renaissance – The Blood and the Beauty. Here’s what to watch this evening
10pm, Sky Comedy
Of all the underwatched series of recent years, this tale of a woman finding her feet after leaving the big city to return to her smalltown Kansas childhood home is top of the list. It’s a poignant, belly-laugh-packed emotional journey that’s crude, sweet, heartbreaking and has such an artsy vibe it wouldn’t feel out of place at Sundance. Its glorious final season begins with a double bill in which Sam (Bridget Everett) looks into dog adoption while her erstwhile roommate Joel moves in with his boyfriend, Brad. Brace for an hour of glorious TV that runs the gamut from weepy to joyful – and features the filthiest rendition of She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain you’re ever likely to hear. Alexi Duggins
A suite in the ultra-exclusive Gstaad Palace costs up to £18,00 a night! Plus: Dua Lipa at the Royal Albert Hall. Here’s what to watch this evening
A suite in the ultra-exclusive Gstaad Palace costs up to £18,00 a night! Plus: Dua Lipa at the Royal Albert Hall. Here’s what to watch this evening
9pm, Channel 4
The great chatterbox meets the queen of Christmas. Plus: Holly Willoughby revives an 80s gameshow. Here’s what to watch this evening
The great chatterbox meets the queen of Christmas. Plus: Holly Willoughby revives an 80s gameshow. Here’s what to watch this evening
10.15pm, BBC Two
Channel 4’s knotty New Zealand drama winds up this week with an incredible double bill. Plus: Reuben Owen gets his Yorkshire Christmas special in early. Here’s what to watch tonight
Channel 4’s knotty New Zealand drama winds up this week with an incredible double bill. Plus: Reuben Owen gets his Yorkshire Christmas special in early. Here’s what to watch tonight
10pm, Channel 4Robyn Malcolm puts in the performance of the year in this emotionally knotty New Zealand drama, in which no-nonsense teacher Penny Wilding deals with the return of her husband, Phil (Peter Mullan), who, she says, she caught sexually assaulting a minor at a party five years earlier. In an incredible double-bill finale this week (the story concludes on Thursday), Penny is questioning everything she has believed until now, and has isolated herself from friends and family. Did she get it all wrong? Can there be a satisfying conclusion? Perhaps not, but at least by the end – at another party – we find out what really happened that night. Hollie Richardson
Former members speak out about the sect that claimed more than 70 lives. Plus: Bill Bailey’s master craftsmen. Here’s watch to watch this evening
Former members speak out about the sect that claimed more than 70 lives. Plus: Bill Bailey’s master craftsmen. Here’s watch to watch this evening
10pm, BBC FourThis documentary is like watching a horror movie brought to life. It speaks to people who investigated the Order of the Solar Temple – an apocalyptic cult in which, during the 1990s, 74 of its members died – starting with macabre footage of what they found when they investigated seemingly unrelated fatal house fires in Canada and Switzerland. Former members also give their disturbing accounts. Hollie Richardson
Three rival artists bring 15th-century Italy to life in the first of a classy three-parter. Plus: true crime in a sleepy market town. Here’s what to watch this evening
Three rival artists bring 15th-century Italy to life in the first of a classy three-parter. Plus: true crime in a sleepy market town. Here’s what to watch this evening
9pm, BBC TwoCharles Dance plays Michelangelo in this classy documentary drama series about the great rival artists of the Renaissance movement in Italy. Over three episodes, it uses Michelangelo’s own writings to tell his story, alongside the lives of Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael. Hollie Richardson
Cromwell is haunted by betrayal in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light. Plus, Shaun Ryder joins Bill Bailey for a countryside walk. Here’s what to watch this evening
Cromwell is haunted by betrayal in Peter Kosminsky’s epic historical drama. Plus, Shaun Ryder joins Bill Bailey for a countryside walk. Here’s what to watch this evening
9pm, BBC One
Just in time for the World Championships, a new series takes us deep inside the world of darts. Plus, Lenny Henry goes head to head with Romesh Ranganathan. Here’s what to watch this evening
Just in time for the World Championships, a new series takes us deep inside the world of arrows. Plus, Lenny Henry goes head to head with Romesh Ranganathan. Here’s what to watch this evening
9pm, Sky Documentaries“The world is a shit place; you can have a night at the darts and forget everything,” says Barry Hearn, chair of the Professional Darts Corporation. “Welcome to our world.” This is the ultimate all-access documentary about the run-up to the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace (also known as “the official start of Christmas”.) It follows Michael van Gerwen, Luke Humphries and Luke “The Nuke” Littler. Hollie Richardson
George Coulam, ‘king’ of the Texas Renaissance festival, searches for his heir in this three-part documentary. Plus: an Italian drama about a 90s pop group. Here’s what to watch this evening
George Coulam, ‘king’ of the Texas Renaissance festival, searches for his heir in this three-part documentary. Plus: an Italian drama about a 90s pop group. Here’s what to watch this evening
9pm, Sky DocumentariesBuckle up for this one: a wild new documentary series from the US that has been described as “Succession meets Game of Thrones”, follows Texas Renaissance festival co-founder George Coulam, who, now in his 80s and ideally wanting to die “by being screwed to death”, is looking for his heir. Some colourful characters enter the ring, as we learn the backstory of this absurd world, in which he has become known as the “king”. Hollie Richardson
Phil Dunning’s Smoggie Queens is full of laughs and love. Plus: the Jackal continues to elude MI6. Here’s what to watch this evening
Phil Dunning’s Smoggie Queens is full of laughs and love. Plus: the Jackal continues to elude MI6. Here’s what to watch this evening
10.10pm, BBC Three“Cheers queers!” Phil Dunning’s comedy about an LGBTQ+ group of friends in Middlesbrough is side-splittingly funny. He plays Dickie, a fabulous if foul-mouthed drag queen whose friends are “drag” Mam (Mark Benton), “hun” Lucinda (Alexandra Mardell), lager-guzzling Sal (Patsy Lowe) and newbie Stewart (Elijah Young). In the first episode Dickie is dumped and amid the endless laughter there is also a lot of tenderness. Hollie Richardson
Three people give their views on the country’s supreme leader. Plus: murder isn’t the only problem for Shetland’s detectives. Here’s what to watch this evening
Three people give their views on the country’s supreme leader. Plus: murder isn’t the only problem for Shetland’s detectives. Here’s what to watch this evening
9pm, BBC Two“I can’t have any opinions on this; it would be dangerous for me.” “I spit on this old man.” “The reason for all our miseries.” These are the reactions of three people living in self-exile from Iran (they could face imprisonment if they return under the current regime) when shown a photo of the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. Together they explain the mass anti-government protests that have erupted across Iran since 2009. Hollie Richardson
The 80s legal drama is reborn with a new lead as Matty plots to convince hirers they need an older woman for the job. Plus: The Great British Bake-Off cooks up this year’s final. Here’s what to watch this evening
The 80s legal drama is reborn with a new lead as Matty plots to convince hirers they need an older woman for the job. Plus: The Great British Bake-Off cooks up this year’s final. Here’s what to watch this evening
9pm, Sky WitnessA sparky new legal comedy drama starring Oscar-winner Kathy Bates, who is great as whip-smart, empathetic lawyer Madeline “Matty” Matlock in this spin-off from the 80s classic. Matty left law 30 years ago, but now in her 70s, wants to practise again. When she believes she is passed over for a role because of her age, Matty uses her wits to sneak into the firm, telling the hirers why being an older woman is useful: “Nobody sees us coming.” But can she convince junior partner Olympia (Skye P Marshall)? Hollie Richardson
