Seven Days

mike mulvihill’s guide to the week’s TV

SATURDAY THE MALLORCA FILES

5.30pm, BBC1 HHH First shown on daytime BBC1, this sunny crime series stars Elen Rhys and Julian Looman as mismatched detectives Miranda Blake and Max Winter. When they’re not bickering or flirting, the pair also find the time to solve crimes on the idyllic Spanish island.

THE GREATEST DANCER

7pm, BBC1 HHHH

The contest returns, and joining the series one dance captains Cheryl, Matthew Morrison and Oti Mabuse (whose recent Strictly win was long overdue) is new face Todrick Hall. Contestants will want to impress these four, but first, they have to win over the audience.

THE MASKED SINGER

7pm, itv HHHH At last, this surreal contest makes it to the UK. It’s based on a Korean show, has versions around the world – in fact, soul legend Gladys Knight came third in the US last year – and it sees heavily disguised celebrities belting out hits while trying not to be identified. Part singoff, part guessing game, it’s baffling, but fun.

FIRST & LAST

8.15pm, BBC1 HHH

Jason Manford hosts a new comedy game show in which 11 contestants compete across a range of downright daft, playalong-at-home games, all of which have one golden rule: players must avoid coming first or last in any game, or else they will be eliminated. The winner bags £10,000.

THE VOICE UK

8.30pm, itv HHHH Following The Masked Singer is this rather more serious contest, with wannabe vocal superstars performing to the backs of the coaches’ chairs – until one or all turn round to show they’re interested. Olly Murs, Tom Jones and will.i.am are back, with US singer Meghan Trainor replacing Jennifer Hudson.

HOW THE VICTORIANS BUILT BRITAIN

9pm, CH5 HHHH

Michael Buerk is back for a second series and, in this opener, his focus is on the railways – he begins, of course, with Stephenson’s Rocket.

WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? CELEBRITY SPECIAL

10.05pm, itv HHH Following on from the Christmas special comes this all-star edition of the quiz, with Frank Skinner, Naga Munchetty and Martine Mccutcheon taking their places in the hot seat to try to answer 15 questions correctly and win for charity. Jeremy Clarkson hosts.

SUNDAY DANCING ON ICE

6pm, itv HHHH Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby are back at the rink to introduce a new series of the celebrity ice dancing competition. Tonight, the first six couples perform their opening routines, and we’ll get to hear the views of new judge John Barrowman.

COUNTRYFILE

6.25pm, BBC1 HHHH

In this compilation programme championing the nation’s cottage industries, Ellie Harrison is in Herefordshire to meet a woman who sells hand-crafted products that all revolve around fire, and also looks back at some of the craftspeople featured in previous series.

CALL THE MIDWIFE

8pm, BBC1 HHHH Back for a new, ninth series come the nuns and nurses of Nonnatus House. It’s January 1965, and, with the nation stunned by the death of Winston Churchill, Dr Turner and Nurse Crane must deal with an alarming outbreak of diphtheria, while Fred finds an abandoned baby in a dustbin.

GEORGE CLARKE’S OLD HOUSE, NEW HOME

8pm, CH4 HHH

For the start of a new series, George takes on his oldest house yet when he heads to the Cotswolds to meet Tim and Emily at their 16th-century, Grade Ii-listed cottage.

THE TRIAL OF CHRISTINE KEELER

9pm, BBC1 HHHH

In episode three of this stylish retelling of the Profumo scandal, Christine attracts the attention of the press, while her government minister lover, John Profumo, publicly denies ever having an affair with her.

SAS: WHO DARES WINS

9pm, CH4 HHHH

Twenty-five men and women – including an EX-SAS mole – face an intense start to the latest SAS selection course, led by chief instructor Ant Middleton and his team of cold-eyed assistants. Their base for the next six weeks is a remote Scottish island, reached after a quick swim in the freezing ocean.

MONDAY FATHER BROWN

2.15pm, BBC1 HHH It’s back to the Cotswold village of Kembleford for a new series of celestial crime. Mark Williams, as crime-busting cleric Father Brown, will be on the case every weekday for the next two weeks.

THE FARMERS’ COUNTRY SHOWDOWN

3.45pm, BBC1 HHH

This heart-warming daytime series returns to celebrate inspirational farming families across the country and the rural events where they showcase their hard work.

GREAT BRITISH RAILWAY JOURNEYS

6.30pm, BBC2 HHH

Michael Portillo begins a new series of railway trips through 1930s Britain, armed with an interwar edition of his trusty Bradshaw’s Guide. He begins his 15-part journey in Newcastle, with the story of the Jarrow march.

24 HOURS IN POLICE CUSTODY: MURDER IN THE WOODS

9pm, CH4 HHHH Two gripping episodes of the true-crime series take viewers behind the scenes of a

police investigation into the premeditated and brutal murder of a young man in Cambridgeshire. Concludes on Tuesday.

TUESDAY FOOD UNWRAPPED: NEW YEAR HEALTH SECRETS

8pm, CH4 HHH

Andi Oliver joins the team as the show sees in a new decade with information and advice on staying well. While Jimmy Doherty is in Thailand to find out if ginger really can keep colds at bay, Andi investigates reports that chocolate can actually be good for our teeth.

SILENT WITNESS

9pm, BBC1 HHHH

As this sturdy crime drama returns for an incredible 23rd series, Nikki (Emilia Fox) and her Lyell Centre colleagues investigate the fatal crash of a private jet carrying an American diplomat. Could it have been a terrorist attack? Concludes on Wednesday.

THE NATIONAL TELEVISION AWARDS CELEBRATE 25 YEARS

9pm, itv HHHH

With the ceremony itself just weeks away, this hour-long special takes a look back at some of the highlights of this star-studded gala.

BEN FOGLE: NEW LIVES IN THE WILD

9pm, CH5 HHH

For the first of a new, four-part series, Ben heads to Iceland to meet a former carpenter who swapped the temptations of city life for a much simpler existence on a remote island.

WEDNESDAY

TRUST ME, I’M A DOCTOR

8PM, BBC2 HHHH

In the first of a new series, Michael Mosley and the team investigate how much exercise you need to do to be healthy, how to cure a phobia in two hours, and whether hot drinks or cold are better to cool you down.

BRADLEY WALSH & SON: BREAKING DAD

8PM, ITV HHH

Back for a second series of their fun American travelogue, Bradley Walsh and his son, Barney, hit the road in their brand-new motorhome – and immediately take a wrong turn. They’re soon on the right track, though, and set out to explore the Florida Keys.

MURDER TRIAL: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MARGARET FLEMING

9PM, BBC2 HHHH

This ground-breaking two-part documentary follows the 2019 murder trial of Scottish carers Edward Cairney and Avril Jones, who were accused of killing the vulnerable Margaret Fleming, disposing of her body and claiming benefits in her name for 16 years.

MEAT THE FAMILY

9PM, CH4 HHHH The first of two programmes aimed at making us really think about what we eat. First, four families must care for farm animals at their homes, then decide if they want to eat them. And at 10pm, George Monbiot looks at how our eating habits damage the environment in Apocalypse Cow: How Meat Killed The Planet.

THURSDAY BEST HOME COOK

8PM, BBC1 HHHH The nine remaining home cooks whip up their ultimate meringue desserts and their tastiest vegetable dishes for judges Mary Berry, Angela Hartnett and Chris Bavin in round two of the home cooking competition.

GINO’S ITALIAN EXPRESS

8.30PM, ITV HHH

The penultimate leg of Gino D’acampo’s tour begins in the Italian capital of fashion, Milan, before he catches a train to the town of Treviglio, the home of Bianchi bikes – the world’s first mass-manufactured bicycles.

DEATH IN PARADISE

9PM, BBC1 HHHH

Ardal O’hanlon begins his final tour of duty on the idyllic isle of Saint Marie before handing over to Ralf Little later in the series. In the first case, New Year’s Eve celebrations are cut short when a masked man stabs a woman to death in her own home.

WELCOME TO HMP BELMARSH WITH ROSS KEMP

9PM, ITV HHHH In his hard-hitting two-part documentary, Ross Kemp goes behind the bars of the southeast London prison, which holds some of the country’s most dangerous inmates, from serial killers to terrorists.

FRIDAY MONTY DON’S AMERICAN GARDENS

8PM, BBC2 HHHHH

After previous trips to Italy and Japan, green-fingered Monty is now travelling across the United States to find out if there is such a thing as a typical American garden.

FRIDAY NIGHT FEAST WITH JAMIE AND JIMMY

8PM, CH4 HHH

Ant and Dec are used to a Saturday Night Takeaway, so how will they fare with a Friday Night Feast when they pay a visit to Jamie and Jimmy’s Southend Pier cafe?

GRANTCHESTER

9PM, ITV HHHH See TV feature, page 14.

DEADWATER FELL

9PM, CH4 HHHH David Tennant, Cush Jumbo and Matthew Mcnulty lead the cast of this emotionally wrought drama, which follows the aftermath of a fire that tragically killed a young family.

KING GARY

9.30PM, BBC1 HHH

Tom Davis returns as nice but dim builder Gary King for a new series of the family sitcom, with Simon Day as his overbearing father and Romesh Ranganathan as his rival neighbour.

BILLY CONNOLLY: LIFE, DEATH AND LAUGHTER

9.30PM, BBC2 HHHH

At Glasgow’s famous King’s Theatre, the BBC arts editor, Will Gompertz, sits down for a no-holds-barred chat with the Big Yin.