This week’s TV includes the highly anticipated scandalous crime caper Pam & Tommy, starring Lily James and Sebastian Stan as Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, and BBC Three's return to linear TV launches with a new series of Drag Race.
Janet Jackson
Monday
Sky Documentaries, 9pm
Sky’s highly anticipated documentary will see the legendary pop icon Janet Jackson tell her life story in her own words, 40 years after the release of her first album.
Recorded over the course of five years, Jackson looks back on a life that has seen extraordinary success but also incredible tragedy under the glare of public scrutiny. The singer will share how she fought her way to the top of the music industry, covering difficult topics such as drug addiction, family relationships, sexuality, and race relations.
RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK vs The World
Tuesday
BBC Three, 9pm
As BBC Three returns to the airwaves, a brand-new series of the Drag Race universe hits our screens. Ru Paul’s Drag Race: UK vs The World will see nine global Drag Race legends battle it out for the title of Queen of the World.
Representing the UK will be series one icons Baga Chipz, Cheryl Hole and Blu Hydrangea. In the opening episode, Spice Girl Mel C joins RuPaul and the judges Michelle Visage and Graham Norton as the queens stage their very own royal command performance.
Pam & Tommy
Wednesday
Disney+
Lily James (Yesterday) and Sebastian Stan (The Falcon & the Winter Solder) star as Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee in Pam & Tommy, based on the unbelievable true story of the couple’s stolen sex tape.
Set in the Wild West early days of the Internet, the series follows the tape’s transformation from an underground bootleg-VHS curiosity into a full-blown global sensation when it hit the Web in 1997. Tracing the intersection of privacy, technology and celebrity, Pam & Tommy is a love story, crime caper and cautionary tale rolled into one.
The Winter Olympics
From Friday
BBC
The 24th Winter Olympics head to Beijing this Friday, with live coverage of the opening ceremony airing on BBC One at 11:30am. The BBC will offer 300 hours of snow sports coverage, with Clare Balding hosting the highlights show Today at the Games (BBC Two, 7pm).
Look out for Kirsty Muir, who at 17 is the youngest member of Team GB in Beijing, as she competes in the freestyle skiing competition on 13-14 February. The GB bobsleigh team are also ones to watch (14-15 February; 19-20 February), as are Zoe Atkin in the freestyle skiing – halfpipe (17-18 February) and Matt Weston in the skeleton event (10-11 February).
