2021's TV begins with a bang: a thrilling international drama and the return of the Doctor, as well as a festive Taskmaster special and Torvill and Dean skating on thin ice.
Doctor Who: Revolution of the Daleks
BBC One, 6:45pm
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a Doctor Who special.
Jodie Whittaker makes her return as the thirteenth Doctor, who is locked away in a high-security alien prison after the dramatic finale of series 12, with Yaz (Mandipp Gill), Ryan (Tosin Cole) and Graham (Bradley Walsh) forced to continue their lives without her.
Terror sets in when the trio uncover a plot that will see the return of the Doctor’s most bitter rivals, the Daleks. They won’t be alone though, as Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) returns to offer a helping hand.
Dancing on Thin Ice with Torvill and Dean
ITV, 9pm
After 45 years on ice together, the former Olympic, European and World champion ice skaters, Torvill and Dean are heading to Alaska for a one-off documentary special.
For the first time in their distinguished career, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are heading to the great outdoors for a skate on a wild Alaskan lake. When they arrive, however, it’s the hottest year on record and the ice is thinner than ever.
Narrated by Stephen Fry, the special will show a first-hand insight into the effects of climate change.
Taskmaster’s New Year Treat
Channel 4, 9pm
What better way to start the new year than laughing along as five famous faces make fools of themselves on national television.
Taskmaster Greg Davies and his assistant Alex Horne will be putting five celebrities through their paces with a series of silly and hilarious challenges, testing them on their wisdom, wit and wiles.
Taking part will be Channel 4 News anchor Krishnan Guru-Murphy, the Derry Girl herself Nicola Coughlan, TV presenter Rylan Clark-Neal, Strictly judge Shirley Ballas and Four Weddings and a Funeral star John Hannah.
The Serpent
BBC One, 9pm
This 70s-set international thriller follows the true-crime story of the murderer Charles Sobhraj, who became Interpol’s most wanted man as the chief suspect in a string of murders along the ‘Hippie Trail’ of Nepal, Thailand and India.
Tahar Rahim (A Prophet) plays Charles Sobhraj, with Jenna Coleman (Victoria) starring alongside as Sobhraj’s partner Marie-Andrée Leclerc, who helps the criminal evade capture.
When a junior Dutch diplomat, Herman Knippenburg (Billy Howle) falls into Sobhraj’s criminal web, his efforts to bring the murderer to justice set off an astonishing sequence of events.
