The Tourist
9pm, BBC One
Jamie Dornan is back as amnesiac Elliot in this wildly fun thriller. Picking up 14 months after the first season, Elliot and Helen (Danielle Macdonald) are an item now and travelling the world. But their next stop lands them back in trouble: Ireland. When Elliot is kidnapped, it’s up to Helen and hapless garda Ruairi (Conor MacNeill) to find him. With a mighty beard, more 80s bangers and Dornan doing ballet, it continues to be a hoot. Hollie Richardson
The Great New Year Bake Off
7.40pm, Channel 4
A sweet treat for the first evening of 2024 as a few familiar faces from Bake Offs past return for a special edition. Maxy (2022), Jürgen and Maggie (both 2021) and Mark (2020) will be donning their aprons. We’ll also get to judge Jürgen’s trombone skills as he performs with the chamber ensemble Bone-Afide. Phil Harrison
Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster
8pm, BBC One
David Attenborough’s interest in nature was triggered by his childhood hobby of fossil collecting. Now, he is investigating an amazing discovery – a massive skull found in the cliffs of Dorset’s Jurassic coast. Here, he joins a team of palaeontologists who are trying to uncover the mysteries surrounding this fantastic beast. PH
Mr Bates Vs the Post Office
9pm, ITV1
The most enraging scandal in recent British legal history (the Post Office bullied employees to financial ruin, prison and even suicide because of a faulty computer system – and then tried to cover it up) gets the drama treatment. It’s enthralling, sad and eventually stirring, with Toby Jones superb as Alan Bates, who rallied an army of outraged post office operators. PH
The Big Snow of ’47
9pm, Channel 5
The snowiest winter ever recorded in the UK led to the country shutting down in 1947. What was it like living through such an extreme event, with temperatures hitting -21C? John Craven, Amanda Barrie and Neil Kinnock are among those casting their minds back. Graeme Virtue
Mrs Brown’s Boys New Year Special
10pm, BBC One
The new year sparks a desire for new beginnings: Agnes (Brendan O’Carroll) wants solar panels, and everyone’s losing weight at the pub’s Blubber Club. Meanwhile, a face from the past prompts an agonisingly basic, semi-serious subplot about the Finglas ladies’ romantic pasts. Jack Seale
Film choices
Family Business , 11.15am, BBC One
If you have young kids, especially ones who wolf down whole episodes of the Netflix cartoon series as if it’s going out of style, this is a no-brainer. Like the previous Boss Baby film, the plot doesn’t stand up to any scrutiny whatsoever, but it’s fun and it’s fast and it’s visually inventive, and Alec Baldwin gets to go full Jack Donaghy in the lead. Stuart Heritage
Paw Patrol: The Movie, 12.55pm, Channel 4
Those parents who have been forced to endure several years of the Paw Patrol animated series will find your expectations rightly in the gutter for this big-screen adaptation. But brace yourself to be pleasantly surprised; this is Paw Patrol at its most spectacular, dramatic and (thankfully) self-aware. High praise, I know – though there is already a sequel out. SH
Singin’ in the Rain, 2.10pm, Channel 5
Gene Kelly swinging on a lamppost. Cyd Charisse’s endless gravity-defying scarf. Donald O’Connor destroying his body in the name of entertainment. The way that Good Morning grows and grows into an all-out extravaganza. The perfect movie? Maybe. The only thing you should be doing at this point on New Year’s Day? Without a doubt. SH
The Witches, 5.55pm, BBC One
It takes guts to follow in Anjelica Huston’s footsteps, especially when her peerless performance as the Grand High Witch has been responsible for traumatising an entire generation of children. But that’s what Anne Hathaway chose to do with this 2020 Robert Zemeckis remake of the Roald Dahl novel. Not quite as chilling as the original, but maybe that’s no bad thing. SH
Arthur’s Whisky, 8pm, Sky Cinema Premiere
Patricia Hodge plays a widow who learns that her late husband invented a potion that makes the drinker appear much younger than they actually are. With the help of her friends, played by Diane Keaton and Lulu, she sets out to carve out a second chance in a world that has left her behind. This is a real film that actually exists. SH
Live sport
Horse racing 12.30pm, ITV1. Action from Cheltenham and Musselburgh.
Premier League football Liverpool v Newcastle, 7.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event. From Anfield.
