TV guide: 27 of the best shows to watch this week, beginning tonight

An Audience with Adele
Sunday, ITV, 7.30pm
There's no doubt that Adele is one of the most successful British artists of all time: she's sold a staggering 11.5 million albums in the UK alone, and her most recent single, Easy on Me, has also been breaking records. In case you needed further proof that she's an all-round national treasure, ITV is giving her the Audience With treatment to coincide with the release of her hugely anticipated album, 30. The performance mainly takes the form of a concert at the London Palladium. Adele will belt out classic hits and new tracks in front of an audience that includes friends, family, fans, her own personal heroes and heroines, fellow musicians, artists, actors, sportsmen, sportswomen and more.

Doctor Who: Flux
Sunday, BBC One, 6.20pm

Although they might not have a Daleks-rivalling catchphrase, the Weeping Angels are arguably the most iconic Doctor Who villains since the show returned to in 2005. So, many fans will be glad to see they are at the heart of this episode, even if that’s bad news for the Doctor and her companions. The episode takes us back to 1967 Devon, where a little girl has gone missing, Prof Eustacius Jericho is conducting psychic experiments – and there’s one headstone too many in the local graveyard. It’s up to the Doctor to find out why Medderton is known as “the cursed village”, and what the Weeping Angels want.

I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!
Sunday-Friday, TG4/ITV, 9pm
Many of the pandemic restrictions have lifted since the last series of I'm a Celeb, but it seems a return to Australia still wasn't feasible for the long-running reality show. Luckily, Gwrych Castle in Abergele, north Wales is opening its historic doors once again to a new batch of celebrities. As ever, rumours are rife about who is likely to be taking part; we do know is that Ant and Dec are back on presenting duties, ready to give the class of 2021 a series of trials and challenges as they compete to succeed Giovanna Fletcher as Queen or King of the Castle. In this first episode, the stars are introduced to their new home. But who will settle in and who will already be considering getting out of there?

King Richard: The surreal story of the Williams sisters’ rise to greatness

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Olivia Colman: ‘Only stick with honest friends’

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Claire Byrne challenges Ireland’s climate strategy: ‘People are being asked to pony up a lot’

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Chieftains: Water from the Well
Sunday, TG4, 10.05pm
Journey with the Chieftains to the special places and people of the home counties that form the band's musical soul. Derek Bell, Kevin Conneff, Martin Fay, Sean Keane, Matt Molloy and Paddy Moloney tell the tales of their earliest memories of Irish music. Their thoughtful and often amusing stories capture the emotion behind the scenes of every performance. (Paddy Moloney passed away recently. Go ndéana Dia trócaire air.)

B Catling: Where Does It All Come From? – Arena
Sunday, BBC Four, 10.15pm
Brian Catling was born in 1948 and raised in the slums of postwar London. An internationally lauded sculptor, he created the memorial monument to the victims of beheading, on the Site of Execution at the Tower of London. He also holds the post of emeritus professor of fine art at the Ruskin School in Oxford. This film uses archive material and exclusive interviews, along with recreations of past events, to provide an insight into the late-flourishing career of the maverick sculptor, poet, novelist, film-maker and performance artist.

Bush Kids
Monday-Thursday, RTÉ2, 3.50pm

In Bush Kids, bushcraft and survival expert Tom Bán brings four lucky families out of the comfort of their own homes and away from phone screens to take them on an adventure into the wild. Each family is given a different type of habitat to explore as Tom teaches them a range of survival skills, from lighting fires, catching and cooking food, building shelter and learning to battle the elements. From rivers to mountains and meadows to the coast, Bush Kids showcases the natural beauty of Ireland and the skills required to survive within its sometimes harsh yet unique environment.

Guy's Garage
Monday, Channel 4, 9pm
Guy Martin is back on the road, taking part in an idiosyncratic racing tour of Europe. His intention is to take some of our continental neighbours' most iconic cars and turn them into unlikely racing machines. From Citroen 2CV endurance events to Volvo rallying, Trabant road races to Piaggio Ape rallycross, Martin aims to beat them all at their own games. In his garage near Grimsby, aided and abetted by his old mate Cammy, Guy is going to create four very different Frankenstein racers. He begins tonight by revamping a Volvo, which he intends to take to Sweden to compete in the national motorsport Folk Racing. With Cammy's help, he strips down a 240 Volvo estate, often dubbed the safest car in the world. It should be a pretty straightforward project for the lads – but the next few months are dogged with errors, explosions and disasters.

The Princes and the Press
Monday, BBC2, 9pm
In this two-part documentary, BBC media editor Amol Rajan examines a dramatic period in royal history during which the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (William and Kate) and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Harry and Meghan) charted very different courses in their relationships with the media. With more than 80 hours of interviews, Rajan meets the journalists who began covering the story and then found themselves becoming part of it. The first edition covers the years following the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the positive media reaction to the emergence of a new generation of royals, leading up to and including Harry and Meghan's engagement and marriage.

Along for the Ride with David O'Doherty
Monday, Channel 4, 10pm

Comedian, author and cycling enthusiast David O’Doherty heads out on a series of carefree, two-wheeled adventures. On each trip he is joined by a different celebrity guest, beginning with actor, comedian and former Travel Man host Richard Ayoade. The duo embark on a two-day cycle adventure, with their ultimate destination the barren landscape of Dungeness on the Kent coast. O’Doherty hopes to show his city-dwelling friend the joys of letting your hair down in the countryside, while also avoiding the dangers it holds – such as poisonous berries and kissing gates. They also face the horrors of glamping and the wild winds of the flat Romney Marsh; will they make it to their lighthouse destination in time?

Scannal: The Birmingham Six
Tuesday, RTÉ One, 8.30pm
In the first of a new series of Scannal, the team look back at the extraordinary case that saw six Irishmen sentenced to life in prison for a brutal crime they knew nothing about. Thirty years after their release, the question remains: could a similar miscarriage of justice happen today? The new series will also look at the Priory Hall building standards scandal; the GAA scandal that saw Kildare refuse to leave their pitch to play in Croke Park; and the disturbing disappearance of Dublin man Trevor Deely.

The Great Escape: A Daring Plan
Tuesday-Thursday, Channel 5, 9pm

We all think we know the story of the Great Escape, when 76 Allied soldiers tunnelled out of a Nazi POW camp in March 1944, thanks to the enduring, highly fictionalised 1963 Hollywood movie. This three-part documentary promises to tell the true story. The first episode reveals how the inmates at Stalag Luft III in Poland set about constructing the tunnels in 1942, and introduces viewers to some of the key individuals involved in the audacious plan.

Who Do You Think You Are?
Tuesday, BBC One, 9pm

He may have been a familiar face to his YouTube subscribers, but for many, Joe Sugg was a complete unknown before he appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2018. It proved to be a good move for him – he won the hearts of the viewers during his run to the final, fell in love with his pro partner Dianne Buswell, and received a massive boost to his profile, so much so that he’s now the subject of the sixth episode of this series. Sugg is joined on the show by his sister, fellow social media star Zoe, aka Zoella. Together they discover their great-great-great grandfather was also a communication pioneer: he was involved in electrical telegraphs. The siblings then learn about ancestors who survived the Great Fire of London and fled religious persecution in France.

Zara McDermott: Uncovering Rape Culture
Wednesday, BBC One, 11.35pm
Following her documentary about revenge porn, the former Love Island resident is fronting a new investigative report. Having suffered sexual assault herself, McDermott wants to know why it happened, why her attacker felt he could do it, and where he learned such behaviour. During a discussion with her friends, she realises the problem may start at school. McDermott then meets young women and girls who discuss their ordeals, as well as the friends and family of a 12-year-old girl who took her own life after accusing a boy from her school of rape.

Small Axe: Mangrove
Wednesday, TG4, 10.30pm

If you haven’t yet caught Steve McQueen’s excellent BBC One anthology series based on the real-life experiences of London’s West Indian community, here’s a chance to catch these moving, vibrant standalone stories of courage and survival, which began last week on TG4. The five films tackle the institutionalised racism and abuse that dogged the so-called Windrush generation. Mangrove tells the story of a local cafe that became a target of harassment by the police; Red, White and Blue follows an idealistic young policeman who believes he can change the force’s institutionalised racism from within; and Alex Wheatle tells the story of the British novelist who was jailed following the Brixton uprising in 1981.

Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs
Wednesday, ITV, 8pm
Hardly an episode of this much-loved and heartwarming series goes by without the presenter falling madly in love with one of Battersea's canine residents. This time it's a four-month-old shitzu with a serious health condition that steals his heart. O'Grady always claims he doesn't have any more room at home for another dog, but can he really say no this time? He also helps a pair of chihuahuas deal with their shattered nerves, but meets his match in a boisterous pooch stronger than most humans.

Queens of Rap
Thursday, Channel 4, 10pm
Last year Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B scored a huge hit with the track WAP, topping the US charts and breaking streaming records. It also spawned a #WAPdancechallenge that achieved more than 1.5 billion views on TikTok. But not everyone was a fan of the song or its accompanying video. In this documentary, award-winning podcast presenter and investigative journalist Poppy Begum takes WAP as the starting point for a look at the changing roles of women in hip-hop culture. As well as finding out how battle rapper Megan Thee Stallion and ex-stripper Cardi B became two of the most famous women on the plant by unapologetically rapping about female sexuality, Begum hears from writers, journalists, music industry players, and women rappers, including '80s hip-hop legend Roxanne Shante.

The Late Late Toy Show
Friday, RTÉ One, 9.35pm

It’s the time of the year we’re not looking forward to, when we have to tell you about the Late Late Toy Show. Oh, don’t get me wrong – we’re as excited about the upcoming Toy Show as any household in the country. It’s just that, as in every year, Ryan Tubridy and the Late Late crew are keeping so schtum about what they’ve got in store, we’ve nothing to reveal about this year’s extravaganza. I’ve tried sending an Elf spy into rehearsals to get me some info on what’s planned for this year, but he was caught and, well, I can’t tell you what they did to him, but I believe there was tickling involved (shudder). They also shot down my drone (damn those archery sets!), and now The Irish Times are docking the price of it from my Christmas paycheck. What I can reveal is that there’ll be music, fun, toys, laughter, Santa, toys, dancing, impossibly cute kids, more toys, tears, family reunions, celebrity guests, moments of magic, even more toys, prizes, colourful sets, Tubs in a Christmas jumper, Tubs getting put in his place by a precocious kid, and Tubs stepping outside his comfort zone to, I don’t know, channel Freddie Mercury or Fred Astaire. What more do you need to know?

Womanhood
Friday, BBC Two, 9pm
It's more than 50 years since the landmark Equal Pay Act and the Women's Liberation movement promised change. But is life really better for women today? The fact that the overall median gender pay gap still stands at around 17 per cent suggests not. Here, six well-known women from different age ranges and backgrounds come together in Leeds to investigate the role of women in society. Broadcaster Kirsty Wark is joined by Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas, blogger and influencer Chidera Eggerue, business woman Jacqueline Gold, 1980s popstar Sinitta Malone, and stand-up comedian Suzi Ruffell. They share their own personal experiences and meet people who challenge their views on consent, coercive control, cosmetic surgery, women's safety on the streets, the Trans discussion, sex work and childcare.

The Graham Norton Show
Friday, BBC One, 10.35pm
Will Smith, currently playing Venus and Serena Williams's father in King Richard, talks about his new autobiography, which chronicles his Philadelphia upbringing, his success in Hollywood, and his family life with wife and fellow actor, Jada Pinkett, and their children. Plus, House of Games host and writer Richard Osman discusses his latest novel, The Man Who Died Twice, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the smash-hit Hamilton, talks about directing new musical drama Tick, Tick...Boom!. Yola provides the music, performing Starlight from current album Stand for Myself.

Thames at Night with Tony Robinson
Friday, Channel 5, 8pm
Tony Robinson is back on Britain's busiest river, only this time he's exploring it by night. In the first edition, at the Thames Barrier he's given a unique invitation to its control room to see how it keeps London safe. He then heads to Canvey Island to discover one of the Thames's great secrets: a 70-acre fuel terminal that supplies airports and garages throughout the night. For his next nightshift, Robinson heads out to sea, joining a fisherman trawling for Dover sole. He's back on the industrial section of the Thames for his next night, on a ship transporting rapeseed to a factory on the riverbank that operates 24/7 making vegetable oil. Finally, he takes a personal pilgrimage to Tilbury Docks, where his grandfather used to work.

ON DEMAND

Selling Sunset
From Wednesday, Netflix
Prepare your resting bitch face – the fourth season of Selling Sunset is here, and the levels of cattiness are about to hit the roof as the desperate realtors go to battle once more to sell the most incredible houses in the most desirable postcode in the western world. It's like Dermot Bannon meets Keeping Up with the Kardashians with a large dollop of Succession's cruelty thrown in. In this new season, two new cast members are introduced in to an already volatile mix: Vanessa Villela and Emma Hernan. Vanessa quickly crosses swords with Mary Fitzgerald, and Emma clashes with Christine Quinn, the show's resident Barbie Doll from Hell. To really stir things up, Emma is rumoured to be getting engaged to Christine's ex. This is Netflix's most successful reality show, and you have to keep reminding yourself that these are real people, not actors in a particularly biting satire. With all the bitching, backbiting and betrayal going on, it's a wonder anyone even manages to sell a house.

True Story
From Wednesday, Netflix

Here’s Kevin Hart in an uncharacteristic straight role, in this drama series from the same crew who brought us Narcos. Hart is best known as probably the world’s biggest stand-up comedian, and he’s also known for his comic movie roles in the Ride Along and Jumanji franchises, but in this limited series, he’s not playing it for laughs. Hart stars as a successful comedian known as Kid – an exaggerated version of Hart himself – who is on a stand-up tour of the US, and stops off in his home town of Philadelphia (which just happens to be Hart’s home town), where he goes on a bender with his troubled older brother Carlton (Wesley Snipes). Let’s just say things quickly go pear-shaped, something bad happens, and we’re left pondering the question, if you had everything, would you kill to keep it?

Hanna
From Wednesday, Amazon Prime
Esmé Creed-Miles returns as the teenage killing machine in the thriller based on the 2011 film starring Saoirse Ronan. This third series, and sees Hanna embarking on a new mission to take down the sinister Ultrax organisation that created her. She must keep her fellow assassins in the dark about her plans, and she must also face a fearsome new foe in the form of Gordon Evans, played with consummate malice by Ray Liotta. But as she comes closer to completing her mission, she soon realises that Ultrax are far more powerful than she ever realised. The producers are throwing multiple kitchen sinks at this, the final season, so get ready for thrills and spills.

Robin Robin
From Wednesday, Netflix
Watching Wallace and Gromit's animated adventures is now an annual festive treat, but Aardman, the studio behind the Oscar-winning shorts, is hoping to create a new Christmas tradition via this delightful and charming tale, which is the brainchild of directors Dan Ojari and Mikey Please. The plot follows the adventures of Robin, who was raised by a family of mice after her egg rolled out of the nest and into a rubbish dump, as she tries to prove she really is a mouse by pulling off an audacious heist.

Bruised
From Wednesday, Netflix

Halle Berry steps into the shoes of Nick Cassavetes and Blake Lively, the original director and star of this gritty drama, which also marks Berry’s debut behind the camera. In case you didn’t know, she’s also a huge mixed martial arts fan, so it’s something of a passion project. Berry plays Jackie Justice, a fighter who leaves the sport in disgrace. Down on her luck, she’s coaxed into a brutal underground fight by her manager and boyfriend, and grabs the attention of a fight league promoter who promises Jackie a life back in the octagon. But the road to redemption becomes unexpectedly personal when the son she gave up as an infant shows up on her doorstep.

The Beatles: Get Back
From Thursday, Disney+

You won’t believe this, but The Beatles, looking for a project to follow Help!, were considering the idea of making a film version of The Lord of the Rings. Then JRR Tolkien threw that idea into the Mount Doom of movie pitches – thus saving Middle-earth from the sight of John, Paul, George and Ringo as jolly Hobbits. Now the Fab Four are matched up with LotR director Peter Jackson for this three-part documentary, following them as they teeter on the brink of breaking up and plan their first live gig in years – on the rooftop of Apple Records. Jackson has taken almost 60 hours of unseen footage from the band’s final days and worked his magic to create an entertaining glimpse into the group as they work on their last album, and it’s a revelation. Far from the sullen, fractured foursome we expect, the documentary shows their lighter side, as they laugh, joke and demonstrate the incredible talent that made them such an unstoppable musical force. Between this and Paul McCartney’s new book, The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, it’s looking like a very Beatlesque Christmas.

Super Crooks
From Thursday, Netflix

This 13-part animated series is based on the graphic novel by comic book legend Mark Millar and artist Leinil Yu. At its centre is a crew of small-time crooks with super powers who, sadly, have never had luck on their side. Now they’re all set to roll the dice on one last heist. Their target: a ruthless super-powered crime boss. What could possibly go wrong? Kenjiro Tsuda heads the cast.

Contributing: PA