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'Dancing On Ice' to 'The Dig': The 12 best things to watch on TV this weekend

Dancing On Ice, Friday Night Feast and The Dig should keep you going this weekend. (ITV/C4/Netflix)
Dancing On Ice, Friday Night Feast and The Dig should keep you going this weekend. (ITV/C4/Netflix)

At long last, the end of January is finally here – and there are some fantastic new shows to see you through the last weekend.

Whether you’re looking for something suitable to watch with the kids or a juicy new action-packed drama to dive into, we promise there’s something for you.

Here’s our guide to all the best shows and films arriving in the coming days...

Friday, 29 January

House Of Games (6pm, BBC Two)

Richard Osman's House of Games S4 (Remarkable TV/Matt Frost)
Richard Osman's House of Games S4 (Remarkable TV/Matt Frost)

Now in its fourth season, Richard Osman’s House Of Games is a firm family favourite for many.

Tonight’s episode will see either Charlie Brooks, Les Dennis, Darren Harriott or Melinda Messenger crowned this week’s champion. If you’ve never seen it before, then don’t worry – it’s never too late to get involved and the simple format will have you hooked in no time.

WandaVision (Disney+)

WandaVision (Credit: Disney/Marvel)
WandaVision (Credit: Disney/Marvel)

WandaVision continues to go from strength to strength and in the interest of keeping this spoiler-free, all we’ll say is that episode four – which arrived on Disney+ today – is yet another brilliant offering.

We will issue a word of warning though: Until now, it’s been easy to enjoy the show even if you have zero knowledge of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This episode shifts the goalposts slightly and swotting up on the MCU will come in very handy.

Jamie And Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast (8pm, Channel 4)

Jamie Oliver, Susan Sarandon and Jimmy Doherty cook together on Friday Night Feast for Channel 4 (Steve Ryan)
Jamie Oliver, Susan Sarandon and Jimmy Doherty cook together on Friday Night Feast for Channel 4 (Steve Ryan)

The Friday Night Feast season finale sees Jamie Oliver and Jimmy Doherty joined by Hollywood royalty as Susan Sarandon swaps the California sunshine for Southend.

The Thelma And Louise star cooks up a seriously delicious seafood gumbo while Oliver offers chicken skewers and Doherty goes for tacos. It’s guaranteed to have you salivating (even if you’ve already had dinner) so keep some snacks to hand.

Watch: Gemma Collins steals the show on Dancing On Ice

The Dig (Netflix)

Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes star in this new Netflix movie, based on John Preston’s 2007 novel of the same name, which reimagines the real-life discovery of medieval artefacts in Suffolk in the 1930s. Think Indiana Jones, but thoroughly British.

Fiennes stars as archaeologist Basil Brown while Promising Young Woman actress Mulligan is Edith Pretty, who owns the land where the discovery was made. The cast also includes Lily James and Johnny Flynn, who recently portrayed David Bowie in the critically-panned Stardust biopic.

It’s A Sin (9pm, Channel 4)

Partying, laughter, joy and heartbreak all feature in the latest episode (Channel 4)
It's A Sin S1 (Channel 4)

While the whole series is on All4, the second episode of It’s A Sin airs tonight and if you’ve managed to resist the temptation to binge the Russell T Davies drama then honestly, well done (you’ve done better than us).

Episode two opens on the Isle of Wight with Ritchie (Olly Alexander) visiting his family with Jill (Lydia West). A small time jump then takes us firmly into the mid-80s and the AIDs crisis begins to close in. If episode one didn’t leave you in tears, that’s about to change.

Saturday, 30 January

50M2 (Netflix)

Now for something completely different – a Turkish drama about a hitman.

Engin Öztürk (who is apparently Turkey’s answer to Tom Hardy) stars as Gölge, or ‘Shadow’ according to the subtitles, our hero with a mysterious past. Searching for answers about his own life, Shadow betrays an accomplice and moves to Istanbul where he assumes a new identity.

While 50M2 probably won’t make it onto any Top TV lists at the end of year, it’s an enjoyable and action-packed crime drama, perfect for binging on a weekend afternoon.

The Masked Singer (7pm, ITV)

This image and the information contained herein is strictly embargoed until 00.01 Friday 15th January 2021  From Bandicoot TV  The Masked Singer: SR2: Ep4 on ITV  Pictured: Viking.  This photograph is (C) Bandicoot TV and can only be reproduced for editorial purposes directly in connection with the programme or event mentioned above, or ITV plc. Once made available by ITV plc Picture Desk, this photograph can be reproduced once only up until the transmission [TX] date and no reproduction fee will be charged. Any subsequent usage may incur a fee. This photograph must not be manipulated [excluding basic cropping] in a manner which alters the visual appearance of the person photographed deemed detrimental or inappropriate by ITV plc Picture Desk.  This photograph must not be syndicated to any other company, publication or website, or permanently archived, without the express written permission of ITV Picture Desk. Full Terms and conditions are available on the website www.itv.com/presscentre/itvpictures/terms  For further information please contact: james.hilder@itv.com / 0207 157 3052
Who is under the Viking costume? We still have no idea... (ITV)

ITV’s talent show meets guessing game continues.

You know the drill by now; singers perform increasingly odd songs, while wearing gigantic and distracting costumes, judges offer erratic guesses and then one character is revealed. Who’s behind each mask? That is very much still up for debate. While we think some of the identities are pretty clear, others still have fans totally stumped. Alan Carr joins the judging panel this week.

Booksmart (Netflix)

Olivia Wilde’s hilarious directorial debut arrived on Netflix earlier this week. The coming-of-age story follows high schoolers Molly Davidson (Lady Bird’s Beanie Feldstein) and Amy Antsler (played by Kaitlin Dever, Unbelievable) who vow to break the rules and party through the final days of the term.

Initially released in 2019, Booksmart was lauded by critics and nominated for BAFTAs and a Golden Globe – though cruelly overlooked by the Academy Awards.

Twist (Sky Cinema/Now TV)

Twist is… bad. Very bad. The reviews for Sky’s reimagining of Oliver Twist began dropping earlier this week and it’s one stars all-round. Is it so terrible it’s good though? That’s up to you to decide.

Rafferty Law stars as the lead character, who has inexplicably been transformed into a parkour lover, while Rita Ora has raided her wig collection again to play a gender-swapped Artful Dodger. The genuinely impressive cast also includes Lena Headley, Michael Caine and Noel Clarke.

Sunday, 31 January

Dancing On Ice (6pm, ITV)

Editorial use only  Mandatory Credit: Photo by Matt Frost/ITV/Shutterstock (11722193dy)  Graham Bell - Skating to 'Pop Looks Bach'  'Dancing On Ice' TV show, Series 13, Episode 2, Hertfordshire, UK - 24 Jan 2021
Graham Bell remains in the competition (Matt Frost/ITV/Shutterstock)

We’re just three weeks into this year’s Dancing On Ice so we should be just one celebrity down after Myleene Klass exited the contest last weekend.

However, an extra two stars will be missing from the ice on Sunday as Denise Van Outen has been forced to pull out due to injury while Billie Faiers is skipping a week after a family bereavement.

Van Outen has been replaced by reserve team member Amy Tinkler, a gymnast, which bumps the numbers up a little but fingers crossed, the series goes smoothly from here or we could see the cast list dwindle far quicker than it’s supposed to.

The Great (9pm, Channel 4)

Elle Fanning as Catherine the Great and Phoebe Fox (C4)
Elle Fanning as Catherine the Great and Phoebe Fox (C4)

There’s no shortage of Sunday night drama choices but Channel 4’s genre-bending comedy, which tells a loosely-true story about Catherine The Great (played by Elle Fanning) is something a little different.

Nicholas Hoult stars as Catherine’s husband Peter III of Russia and the series sort of reunites him with screenwriter Tony McNamara, who also co-penned the Oscar-winning movie The Favourite.

If you fancy something far more serious, The Serpent continues over on BBC One.

Rhod Gilbert: Standing Up To Infertility (10pm, BBC Two)

Comedian Rhod Gilbert gets serious in this new documentary which viewers in Wales can watch a couple of days early as it airs on BBC Wales tonight (Friday) at 11.35pm.

The film sees Gilbert and his wife Sian, who suffers from endometriosis open up about their struggle to conceive. While Sian has known about her health issues for some time. Gilbert is shocked to learn he has a low sperm count and with the cameras following him, sets out to learn more about male infertility.

Watch: Oh no! Myleene Klass FALLS during Dancing on Ice training