Table of contents for 24-Jan-26 in TV Times

CLIVE MYRIE’S AFRICAN ADVENTURE NEW MONDAY-FRIDAY, 6.30PM, BBC2 TRAVELOGUE (BOX SET, BBC iPLAYER) After being based in South African city Johannesburg as a foreign correspondent for the BBC over 20 years ago, Clive Myrie is now returning to Africa for his latest BBC2 travelogue. ‘It’s such an exciting, culturally rich and diverse continent; I’ve always wanted to come back to explore it more deeply,’ shares the BBC News at Ten anchor and Mastermind host, 61, whose previous TV excursions have taken him to Italy in 2023 and the Caribbean in 2024. ‘So in this series, I’m travelling from the tip to the toe of this amazing part of the world.’ Here, in an exclusive interview, Clive talks TV Times through his 10-part tour… African Adventure sees you in Morocco, South…

DRAGONS’ DEN NEW THURSDAY, 8PM, BBC1 ENTERTAINMENT Deborah Meaden is happy to be notching up a magical milestone when Dragons’ Den roars back on to BBC1 for a 23rd outing this week: two decades as a fire-breathing investor. ‘Honestly, I started off thinking, “I’ll do this for a couple of years,” and here I am 20 years later!’ smiles the popular business mogul, 66, as she joins TV Times for an exclusive chat ahead of being back in the hot seat alongside returning colleagues Peter Jones, Touker Suleyman and Steven Bartlett, plus a rota of guest Dragons, to hear a fresh collection of pitches from aspiring entrepreneurs. Here, Deborah reveals what’s on the agenda… How does the new run measure up to previous series? It’s probably the strongest year, which…

MISSION TO SPACE WITH FRANCIS BOURGEOIS NEW SUNDAY, 6.50PM, C4 FACTUAL (BOX SET, CHANNEL 4 STREAMING) His enthusiastic posts about trainspotting have made Francis Bourgeois a social-media sensation. But as well as his lifelong love for rail, the 25-year-old Londoner, whose real name is Luke Nicolson, has always been fascinated by space exploration. And now, in new C4 series Mission to Space, narrated by Sir Stephen Fry, he is on a quest to realise his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut. ‘When I was a little boy, I regularly visited the Science Museum, where things like the Apollo 10 command module were a feast for a young mind!’ explains Francis, as he meets TV Times to talk about the two-part documentary. ‘So that was kind of point zero for my…

After the Flood DRAMA 9PM, ITV1 DC Jo Marshall (Sophie Rundle) and her new partner DS Sam Bradley (Jill Halfpenny) are keen to take a closer look at the brusque and rather shady Alan Benson (Alun Armstrong) tonight. The bodies of Xav Palmer and Todd Drake were discovered on his land in last week’s opening double bill, and it turns out the pair had broken into a local chemical plant owned by the millionaire businessman shortly before they died – which starts to make their deaths look very suspicious. Yet while Jo digs into Benson’s affairs, her detective’s intuition also senses something could be amiss with her new colleague. Is Sam too good to be true? Continues tomorrow. SMA Guy Martin: Proper Jobs NEW FACTUAL 8PM, U&DAVE (BOX SET, U)…

Wonder Man NEW DRAMA DISNEY+ Superhero spectacle meets Hollywood satire in Marvel’s eight-part meta-comedy series, which follows struggling actor Simon Williams (Aquaman’s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and his delightfully eccentric mentor Trevor Slattery (Sir Ben Kingsley reprising his Iron Man 3 role). When he’s fired from a cameo, Simon runs into washed-up Liverpudlian star Trevor and discovers there’s a movie remake of Wonder Man in the works. But as the pair coach each other for auditions, Simon is hiding an electrifying secret from his new friend, the industry and the world… Ed Harris stars as Simon’s agent, and Arian Moayed is back as Agent Cleary. RM • See feature, page 22 GREAT SAVINGS SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 6 ISSUES FOR £1 www.magazinesdirect.com/xtv/DJ94V Grantchester DRAMA 9PM, ITV1 There’s unrest in the quaint village…

UNDER SALT MARSH NEW FRIDAY, 9PM & 10.05PM, SKY ATLANTIC DRAMA A missing child, a shocking murder and a dangerous storm cause turmoil for a close-knit community in Sky Atlantic’s murky new drama Under Salt Marsh. Set in the fictional Wales coastal town of Morfa Halen, meaning ‘salt marsh’ in Welsh, the six-parter centres around former police detective Jackie Ellis (Yellowstone star Kelly Reilly). Jackie is haunted by the mysterious disappearance of her nine-year-old niece, Nessa Taman, three years ago, and the following investigation that cost her both her family and her career. Now working as a schoolteacher, Jackie finds ghosts from the past resurfacing after she discovers the body of one of her pupils, timid Cefin Hill, also nine, and she becomes convinced that his murder is linked to…

There were many magical moments during Corriedale, but one thing we were totally unprepared for was clapping eyes on the man in black, Graham Foster, who had supposedly carked it in the Dales six years ago, courtesy of Pierce Harris. This week, after much ducking and diving, Graham – who looks remarkably well for someone who was beaten up, run over, pushed over a cliff edge, bludgeoned to death with a torch and then cremated – is back for a dramatic reunion with Kim and Joe. But before Graham gets reacquainted with his ex-wife and the man for whom he was a father figure, first he bobs over to the vet surgery for a chat with ex-lover Rhona, whom he had been planning to start a new life with in…

ON NOW Ballerina PRIME VIDEO PREMIERE ACTION Four years on from her scene-stealing turn in No Time to Die, Ana de Armas is back in action in this serviceable spin off from the John Wick franchise. As you would expect from the series, Ballerina provides plenty of expertly choreographed mayhem, even if it can’t recapture the original’s bizarrely left-field wit. Whereas Keanu Reeves’ assassin initially went on the rampage because his puppy had been killed, de Armas is out to avenge the death of her father at the hands of Gabriel Byrne’s cult-like leader. Some familiar characters reappear and play a part in her journey, but de Armas is the one who has to carry the action, and she does so with dazzling panache. Dir: Len Wiseman 2025, 15, 125min…

FILM One Life PREMIERE DRAMA 9PM, BBC2 Showing ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day tomorrow, this is the true story of Sir Nicholas ‘Nicky’ Winton, whose rescue of more than 600 children from late-1930s Czechoslovakia may have remained largely unknown if not for an appearance on the BBC’s That’s Life! consumer show in 1988. Johnny Flynn plays the determined young stockbroker who organises trains out of Europe and foster families for youngsters fleeing Nazi persecution, while Sir Anthony Hopkins plays him as a modest older man, who is looking for a home for his archive. It’s a straightforward telling of an extraordinary biography, which pulls at the heartstrings and honours the idea of what it means to be human. NT A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms DRAMA 9PM, SKY ATLANTIC No…

Lorraine Kelly’s Norwegian Odyssey LAST ONE TRAVELOGUE 8PM, C4 The final leg of Lorraine Kelly’s adventure is above the Arctic Circle, as she travels from the Lofoten Islands to Norway’s most northerly point, Nordkapp, and she has a full schedule. She starts by cod fishing the traditional way using hand-cranked rods, learns wool spinning using yarn from Nordic sheep (listening to Black Sabbath helps keep the rhythm) and tries out dog-sledding, or mushing – on wheels as there is no snow. But she really wants to fulfil her lifelong dream of seeing the Northern Lights so heads out to sea and waits patiently… Lorraine is a wonderful guide, both excited and humbled, and we’d love to follow her to other destinations. NT Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild FACTUAL…

ONLINE To enter for FREE, visit comps.whatsontv.co.uk/puzzles You will need to register PHONE 0900 100 0501* 65p per min (plus network charge) TEXT TVTCROSSA with your answer, name, door number and postcode to 64343** £1 per text (plus network charge) ANSWERS CROSSWORD SOLUTION N0 52/1 The answer was BEN ELTON ACROSS: 7 Dancer 8 Boxing 9 Myra 10 Eve 11 Ryan 12 Holly 14 Essex 16 Light 18 Staff 22 Card 24 Hal 25 Lead 27 Carols 28 Dinner DOWN: 1 Mary 2 Schaal 3 Ariel 4 Abbey 5 Extras 6 Anna 13 Oti 15 Elf 17 Hudson 19 Talent 20 Ghost 21 Slade 23 Alas 26 Aled SUDOKU TV LINKS They all starred in BBC1 drama King & Conqueror: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Juliet Stevenson, Clémence Poésy, James Norton We are…

After a decade of small roles in a string of TV shows, including a stint in sitcom Roseanne, and a number of failed pilots, George Clooney finally hit the big time in groundbreaking US medical drama ER in 1994, with his role as womanising paediatrician Dr Doug Ross making him a star and screen heart-throb overnight. ‘I’ve been banging around since the early 1980s, being bad in a lot of bad television,’ he told us. ‘I don’t think of ER as a stepping stone; it’s what you fight to get into, not what you fight to get away from.’ George left ER in 1999, but made two further guest appearances before the show ended in 2009. Now 64, he has gone on to have a stellar career as both a…

Beloved vicar Billy is laid to rest following his tragic death in the Corriedale car crash, and as Theo’s guilt ramps up, he apologises for his killer actions while he’s left alone with Billy’s body. But his quiet moment of catharsis comes to a shuddering halt when he realises someone has likely overheard every word. Is this the beginning of the end for the evil scaffolder? In case you need a recap, Theo was initially intent on saving Billy when he entered the burning minibus in which his neighbour was trapped. However, aware that Billy had uncovered his abuse of partner Todd, he changed his mind and strapped him into his seat so that his problems would literally go up in smoke. ‘Theo is deeply tortured,’ reveals James Cartwright, who…

Waiting for the Out DRAMA 9.25PM, BBC1 This skilful and emotional fourth episode by Levi David Addai, who wrote the BAFTA-winning Damilola, Our Loved Boy, addresses ideas of a broken prison system, racial discrimination and family ties, all while creating extreme tension from teacher Dan’s offers to lend a helping hand. Things are going well for Dan (Josh Finan) – he is building up positive relationships with a new girlfriend and the men in his prison philosophy class. But his continuing compulsive behaviour and obsession with his ex-con dad (Gerard Kearns) turn dangerous, and this week’s thought experiment asking whether you can ever get away from yourself proves to be spot on. NT Women’s Super League LIVE FOOTBALL 12.15PM, BBC1 Two superstars of the women’s game face off as Chelsea…

Waterloo Road LAST ONE DRAMA 9PM & 10.40PM (TIMES VARY), BBC1 Since arriving at Waterloo Road, Darius Donovan (Jon Richardson) has literally got away with murder, theft and drug-taking, but, as the end of term approaches, it seems his luck is about to run out! As Darius gets closer to landing the top job, his pregnant girlfriend Nisha Chandra (Saira Jackson) wonders what he’s done to get there… It’s quite remarkable that nobody’s worked out what dastardly Darius has been up to – but that’s all credit to Richardson, who’s left his comedy roots firmly behind in order to play the master manipulator. We hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen of him as a serious actor. VW SOAP Emmerdale SOAP 8PM, ITV1 Shall we make a New Year’s resolution…

Under Salt Marsh NEW DRAMA FROM 9PM, SKY ATLANTIC If you’re a fan of shows like True Detective, you won’t want to miss this crime drama set in a brooding town on the Welsh coast. It tells the story of former detective Jackie Ellis (Kelly Reilly), who left the force after bungling the investigation into her niece’s disappearance, but is dragged into a new murder case alongside her old partner DS Eric Bull (Rafe Spall). There’s no shortage of cliches, but the cinematic scope, the layers of atmosphere and some wonderful performances heighten it far beyond the usual police procedural. SMA See feature, page 10 Amanda & Alan’s Greek Job FACTUAL FROM 7.30PM (NOT N IRELAND), BBC1 In a double dose of Amanda Holden and Alan Carr’s Corfu-set renovation series,…

24-30 JANUARY 2026 with Sally Trotman (sallytrotman.com) PHONE NOW FOR WEEKLY, MONTHLY, COMPATIBILITY AND TAROT READINGS ARIES (21 March-19 April) On 28 January, the Moon makes its monthly return to your sign, giving you the chance to start something new. Call… 09058 170 399* TAURUS (20 April-20 May) You usually favour logic over intuition, but right now you need to trust your inner voice and act accordingly. Call… 09058 170 400* GEMINI (21 May-20 June) Feeling a bit out of balance? Make time to rest so that you are able to accept the new opportunities coming to you. Call… 09058 170 401* CANCER (21 June-22 July) If things have got a bit overwhelming, stepping back will help. Take time out to relax and just breathe. Call… 09058 170 402* LEO…