New Year’s Day TV listings: Unmissable shows and films from Doctor Who to Dracula

Whatever your resolutions promise, there’s a 99 percent chance that you’ll spend most of New Year’s Day curled up on the sofa, seeking out unfinished tins of Celebrations.

Thankfully, the TV schedulers have obliged with a strong line-up of TV shows and films that make for perfect comfort viewing as you ease yourself into a brand new year (or nurse a hangover).

As well as the long-awaited return of Doctor Who, New Year’s Day also promises the start of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss’ three-part adaptation of Dracula - and a hilarious Great British Bake Off special featuring the cast of Derry Girls.

Here’s what we’ll be watching to kickstart 2020 the right way…

Shaun the Sheep Movie - 9.30am, BBC One

Best for: Distracting little ones

Keep kids occupied while you nurse any lingering hangovers with this charming animated caper from the Wallace and Gromit extended universe. Bored with life on the farm, Shaun devises a clever scheme to make the farmer fall asleep on the job - which backfires when his caravan ends up rolling away, whisking him off to the big city. Shaun and his farmyard friends must then launch a rescue mission - while escaping the clutches of a nasty animal-control worker.

Pride and Prejudice - 12.35pm, Drama

Best for: The ultimate comfort viewing

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that every New Year’s Day, the Drama channel will play all six episodes of the BBC’s delightful Pride and Prejudice adaptation (or, as it’s better known, the One With Colin Firth in the Lake). If this series - which remains unsurpassed by more recent versions - doesn’t cure your hangover, there’s probably no hope.

The Sound of Music - 2.30pm, BBC One

Best for: Pretty much everything

It’s a given that you’ll spend most of today horizontal on the sofa, so why not dedicate three hours of your hibernation time to this undisputed classic (which, let’s face it, is too long for you to sensibly tackle on any other day of the year). Fresh from success as Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews gives a career best performance as Maria, a trainee nun who is sent off to act as a governess for the musically talented Von Trapp family.

Romeo and Juliet: Beyond Words - 5.30pm, BBC Two

Best for: Your first culture fix of 2020

The Royal Ballet decamped to Budapest to stage this stunning re-imagining of Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet, directed by BalletBoyz’s Michael Nunn and William Trevitt. Principal dancer Francesca Hayward (who makes her film debut this Christmas as Victoria in Cats) and William Bracewell take the parts of the star-crossed lovers.

Miranda: My Such Fun Celebration - 5.45pm, BBC One

Best for: Light-hearted late afternoon viewing

It’s been 10 years - yes, really - since Miranda Hart’s endearingly awkward heroine first made her way onto the small screen. To celebrate a decade of the sitcom, Hart has opted against doing a festive episode and instead gathered cast members including Sarah Hadland and Patricia Hodges for a star-studded anniversary special, which was filmed at the London Palladium. Expect tributes from Miranda fans including Andy Murray and Hugh Bonneville and entertainment from McFly, the Kingdom Choir and the cast of Mamma Mia!.

The Lion King - 6pm, Channel 4

Best for: A bona fide family favourite

Disney’s classic cartoon got the CGI reboot treatment earlier this year to mixed reviews, and it’s fair to say that the 1994 film remains the definitive version of Hamlet with lions. With beautiful animation, Elton John and Tim Rice’s brilliant songs and an impressive voice cast (Jeremy Irons will always be Scar to us), there’s something for everyone - but maybe make a strategic exit during that stampede scene if you’re feeling fragile.

Doctor Who - 6.55pm, BBC One

Best for: Sci-fi fans

Jodie Whittaker is back in the Tardis for a second series, which kicks off with Spyfall which, as you’d expect, takes inspiration from James Bond (the Doctor has even swapped her usual colourful knits for some sophisticated tailoring for the occasion). The intelligence services are facing an attack from alien forces that puts Earth in danger - so it’s time for the Doctor to give MI6 a helping hand. With a script by showrunner Chris Chibnall, the New Year’s episode features guest appearances from Lenny Henry and Stephen Fry (who plays spymaster C).

The Great Festive Bake Off - 7.40pm, Channel 4

Best for: One last Christmassy crowd pleaser

The cast of Derry Girls - Jamie-Lee O’Donnell (Michelle), Nicola Coughlan (Clare), Saoirse-Monica Jackson (Erin), Siobhan McSweeney (aka the formidable Sister Michael) and token wee English fella Dylan Llewellyn (James) - are heading into the Bake Off tent. Will they impress Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood? Ahead of the episode, Hollywood has described them as “very entertaining and noisy” but “not the best bakers” - the perfect recipe for great telly, then.

Dracula - 9pm, BBC One

Best for: A period drama with bite

There have been countless adaptations of Bram Stoker’s infamous vampire tale, but this version, with a script by Steven Moffatt and Mark Gatiss, promises to tease out some of the gothic novel’s darker subtexts. Danish actor Claes Bang has been cast as the bloodthirsty Count, while John Heffernan plays Jonathan Harker, the naive young solicitor who ends up trapped in Transylvania. They are joined by Morfydd Clark as his fiancee Mina and Dolly Wells and Joanna Scanlan as a pair of nuns.

Bancroft - 9pm, BBC One

Best for: Guilty-pleasure melodrama

Sarah Parish’s murderous detective Elizabeth Bancroft is back for a new series. This time around, she’s been bumped up to Detective Chief Superintendent - but success in her career has taken a toll on her family, and her old pact with crime boss Daanish Kamara still casts a shadow. A chilling double murder case threatens to send her work problems and personal troubles crashing into one another.