THIS WEEK’S TOP TV PICKS
Last Woman On Earth With Sara Pascoe Sunday,BBC2,9pm
As a result of Covid, few of us have been able to get abroad since March, so those with wanderlust must make do with travelogues. gues Sara Pascoe’s may sound more like a dystopian fantasy than a global trip, but perhaps it needs a serious title because, for once, the comedian isn’t playing for laughs. She’s on a mission to meet people whose jobs are dying out. Future episodes take her to Finland and Georgia, but the opener sees Pascoe (above) in Cuba, where citizens have had to move with the times since the nation embraced tourism and commercialism.
That means that positions such as La Lectora – a reader who entertains cigar-makers while they work – are dwindling fast.
COMEDY
Billy Connolly: It’s Been A Pleasure… Monday,ITV,9.30pm
You’ll laugh, , you’ll cry: it’s a decidedly bittersweet landmark moment as Sir Billy Connolly (right) bids a farewell to live ive performances after a halfcentury of the brilliant lengthy sets that have made him a superstar of comedy. Lenny Henry, Dustin Hoffman,
Sheridan Smith, Whoopi Goldberg, Paul McCartney, Elton John and Russell Brand are a few of the A-list names paying tribute to the ‘Big Yin’ and expanding on their love for his work. There are choice clips galore of his greatest sketches, while, in between, Connolly talks about his own memories and explains how Parkinson’s disease has led him to step back at the age of 78.
DOCUMENTARY Celebrity: A 21st Century Story
Tuesday-Friday,BBC2,9pm
Like it or not, t, we now live in an era where celebrity is more in-yourface than ever and – in part thanks to a slew of reality ty TV shows – anyone can now be famous for five minutes. But how did we get to this strange point in our culture? An entertaining, if occasionally unsettling, four-part series (over four consecutive nights) digs through the bizarre history of the past two decades, starting with the glitzy wedding of David and Victoria Beckham and the debut series of Big Brother. Among those opening up about their experience of the fame game are Katie Price (above) – aka Jordan – and singer Gareth Gates, the first runner-up on Pop Idol and a chart-topping star.
SCI-FI Doctor Who NewYear’sDay, BBC1,6.45pm
Though the Doctor (Jodie ie Whittaker) was trapped in a highsecurity alien prison the last that we saw of her, there are comings and goings aplenty in a feature-length special of the Time Lord saga. Among the returning familiar faces exciting fans into a frenzy of anticipation are John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, plus our favourite foes from across the entire known universe, the Daleks (above). Yet this is also the last time we’ll see two of the assistants to the Doctor in her latest incarnation, Graham (Bradley Walsh) and Ryan
(Tosin Cole). Let’s hope they can make a gentle exit without getting ex-term-in-ated!
DRAMA The Serpent NewYear’sDay, BBC1,9pm
You may not have heard of Charles Sobhraj, but the chances are you won’t forget his story after this eightpart drama. It details how the conman and murderer was brought to justice after going on a killing spree across Thailand, Nepal and India in the mid-1970s with his lover, Canadian MarieAndrée Leclerc. Sobhraj was a French national who used his good looks to his advantage and was on Interpol’s Most Wanted list, until a bizarre turn of events involving a junior Dutch diplomat sealed his fate. Tahar Rahim plays him, while Jenna Coleman (star of Victoria, above) is Leclerc, and Billy Howle is the man trying to track down Sobhraj before he strikes again.