What not to miss in the week ahead
DRAMA
Call The Midwife
The new season of the popular medical drama picks up where the Christmas Special left off, deep in the middle of winter 1963, with power cuts and more blizzards set to test the mettle of the nuns and nurses of Nonnatus House.
The departure of Barbara and Tom to Birmingham prompts Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) to recruit a new midwife, Lucille Anderson (Leonie Elliott). Owing to the snow, Lucille is two days late and her start is bumpy when she falls ill.
Meanwhile, Nurse Crane (Linda Bassett) and Dr Turner (Stephen Mcgann) are caring for an elderly Jewish woman suffering from bowel cancer, who, along with her husband, is facing eviction from their home of several decades as the council begins its slum clearance programme. Can Nurse Crane convince Sergeant Woolf (Trevor Cooper) to delay the demolition until after Ruth passes away?
Tomorrow, BBC1, 8pm
HEALTH
Tom Kerridge: Lose Weight For Good
Top up your resolve to stick with a new diet by catching up with the efforts of Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge, who is mentoring a group of people to lose weight and get fitter. Kerridge is a walking advert for his methods as he has lost around 11st over three years. In this episode, he invents lower calorie versions of fast foods, including a burger, a chicken curry and even a doner kebab to help his group of young men stay on track.
Things are starting to slip for one of them, Pittri, who despite being the manager of a local gym isn’t taking up regular exercise and is having ‘cheat days’ where calorie counting goes out the window in favour of a few drinks and a burger.
Wednesday, BBC2, 8pm
DEBATE
Question Time
For Burns Night, David Dimbleby is setting up in Dumfries – where the poet spent the last years of his life – to test the temperature of public opinion on the hot political topics of the day.
Thursday, BBC1, 10:45pm
DRAMA
Death In Paradise
Ardal O’hanlon is settling in nicely as widowed former Met detective Jack Mooney in the winter warming whodunnit after taking over from Kris Marshall. A rotating cast of guest stars – happy no doubt for a two-week gig in Guadalupe, which doubles for the fictional Caribbean island of Saint Marie – keeps things fresh.
This week, DI Mooney and the team find themselves embroiled in the mysterious world of faith healing, when loyal follower Fabienne (Clare Perkins) dies on stage in the hands of renowned healer Steadman King, played by Steve Toussaint.
Thursday, BBC1, 9pm
SATIRE
The Last Leg
Join Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker for some Friday night fun as they return for a new series of sharp observation and pointed gags.
Friday, Channel 4, 10pm
SPORT
Ski Sunday
As the Winter Olympics beckon, the downhill racers will be hoping to emerge from the infamous Hahnenkamm downhill in one piece. The fearsome run is in Kitzbühel, Austria, and is one of the blue riband races of the Alpine skiing world. Presented by Graham Bell.
Tomorrow, BBC2, 5:15pm
NATURE
Hugh’s Wild West
Hugh Fearnley-whittingstall’s show exploring the natural world of the West Country was filmed over the course of a year. In this episode, he’s exploring the woods of Dartmoor in search of a hibernating dormouse. ■
Today, BBC2, 6pm