PICKS OF THE WEEK: 05-11 JANUARY 2026, WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK

Our picks of what to watch during the week ahead.

JUNIOR BAKE OFF

Monday-Friday, Channel 4

Thousands applied, but only 20 made it through to the famous Bake Off tent for the most exciting junior baking competition yet.  Harry Hill hosts while Ravneet Gill and Liam Charles unite as judges with the tough job of finding Britain’s best junior baker.

 CORRIEDALE

Monday, ITV1

For the first time in British soap history, the episode will see characters from both soaps come together in a celebration of the soap genre. To herald the beginning of the new scheduling pattern, both soaps will mark the occasion in spectacular style as the combined production teams embark on an ambitious stunt that will have everlasting consequences for everyone involved.

 LYNLEY

Monday, BBC One

Tommy Lynley is a brilliant police detective but an outsider in the force – simply by virtue of his aristocratic upbringing. He is paired with Barbara Havers, a sergeant with a maverick attitude and a working-class background. With seemingly nothing in common and against all odds, the mismatched duo of Lynley and Havers become a formidable team, bonded by their desire to see justice done.

 WATERLOO ROAD

Tuesday, BBC One

When the school experiences a teacher shortage in the next series, Miss Haydock is called in as a supply teacher. Although teaching may still not be her strong suit, Steph knows exactly how to handle the chaos. 

 CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET

Wednesday, BBC One

Dawn French plays widow Debbie Fendon - granny, lawn bowler, tinpot dictator - who will stop at nothing to make sure her family’s protected. Unfortunately, most of the time the person they really need protecting from is her. When her hermit-like husband William (Mark Heap - Friday Night Dinner, Green Wing) unexpectedly dies, she makes an outlandish decision that will put the family under more pressure than ever before.

Because Debbie isn’t actually a widow and William didn’t really die – he was just mistakenly declared dead and the two retirees found themselves staring down the barrel of an opportunity too good to pass up. Just a few months hiding out in the loft waiting for the life insurance to pay out and then they can live out their golden years in peace.

 GRANTCHESTER

Wednesday, ITV1

Following the departure of Reverend Will Davenport (Tom Brittney) in the ninth series, DI Geordie Keating (Robson Green) and Alphy Kottaram (Rishi Nair) cement their friendship and working relationship as they embark on more adventures and mysteries to solve across eight brand-new episodes.

 PATIENCE

Wednesday, Channel 4

Patience (Ella Maisy Purvis) will continue her work in the police criminal records department of City of York Police after establishing herself as an invaluable member of the team, bringing her unique insight into a series of perplexing cases.

 BLACK OPS

Thursday, BBC One

Series two kicks off with Dom and Kay now working for MI5. They may be in the world of espionage, but their jobs are decidedly unglamorous – not everyone can be James Bond, someone has to do the admin. All that changes when Dom meets a charismatic spy called Steve, offering the promise of more exciting, classified work. Dom and Kay soon find themselves embroiled in an escapade that tests their wits, their friendship, and their love of carnival to the limits. 

 A THOUSAND BLOWS

Friday, Disney+

Inspired by the true-life stories of a group of characters battling for survival in the brutal East End of London in the 1880s. One year later. Hezekiah Moscow (Kirby) is a shadow of the man he once was whilst Sugar Goodson (Graham) is estranged from his family and drinking himself to death.

 ANT & DEC'S LIMITLESS WIN

Sunday, ITV1

With the stakes higher than ever, a new line-up of contestants take on the Limitless Ladder and push their knowledge and nerve to the absolute limit as they attempt to win a life-changing fortune. Across six primetime shows, this groundbreaking format continues to make TV history with its unique, never-ending money ladder offering the world’s only unlimited jackpot.