Beck
9pm, BBC Four
Another gritty two-part case from what the BBC calls “Sweden’s most popular crime series”, based on the Martin Beck detective novels. This one starts with three armed young men pretending to be dropping off deliveries in order to break into a couple’s house – but was there more to this fatal robbery than meets the eye? Beck (Peter Haber), Alex (Jennie Silfverhjelm) and the team investigate. Hollie Richardson
Our Farm Next Door: Amanda, Clive and Kids
6.30pm, Channel 4
It’s Christmas in Yorkshire! Or at least it is in this part of the Owen family’s barn renovation journey. Before gifting the goats with new coats and Boxing Day paddleboarding on the local tarn, there’s work to be done – including taking the scaffolding down and fitting doors. HR
The Manhattan Project in Colour
8pm, Channel 4
This brisk film’s USP is colourising 80-year-old photos and footage from the Manhattan Project. Does it amount to much more than a gimmick? Not really. But it is an excellent showcase for the work of Ed Westcott, the photographer who recorded daily life at Los Alamos while the atomic bomb was being developed. Graeme Virtue
The Count of Monte Cristo
9pm, U&Drama
The wig department went over budget for the second episode of this grand adaptation of the classic novel. Imprisoned Edmond Dantès (Sam Claflin, with a mane to rival Mufasa’s) meets inmate Abbé Faria (an equally bedraggled Jeremy Irons) – and the two hatch a plan to dig their way out. But five years later, Faria dies … HR
Annika
9.10pm, BBC One
The excellent Nicola Walker elevates this serviceable but somewhat generic drama about a cop of Norwegian origin working for the Scottish Police Force’s maritime homicide unit. It’s a peculiar case for the team this time as they’re sent to Edinburgh after a recently released prisoner is pulled out of the river. But why is he in a dog cage? Phil Harrison
Suspicion
11.50pm, ITV1
Who kidnapped Leo Newman? As the finale of this unremarkable thriller arrives, expect a few answers and a few surprises too. After a brief scuffle, Tara and friends evade the law and attempt to escape. But where does that leave Leo? Is he in mortal danger? Or, against all odds, is he exactly where he wants to be? PH
Film choice
Becoming Led Zeppelin, Sky Documentaries, on demand
The archetypal origin story for a band is a bunch of schoolmates who pick up instruments and stumble on a hit sound. But, as Bernard MacMahon’s terrific, archive-stuffed documentary reveals, Led Zeppelin had a more roundabout gestation. Guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones were in-demand session players in 60s London, while singer Robert Plant and drummer John Bonham were jobbing musicians in Birmingham. It wasn’t until Page joined the Yardbirds that he realised his dream of a no-singles group with a heavy, improvisational edge. Featuring interviews with the surviving members, rare audio of Bonham and big chunks of gig footage, it’s a fascinating slice of rock history. Simon Wardell
The Pickup, out now, Prime Video
Russell (Eddie Murphy) is an armoured truck guard edging towards retirement who is paired with irritating newbie Travis (Pete Davidson) on a long day of deliveries. However, their van is targeted by criminals led by Keke Palmer’s Zoe, forcing a change of plans for all involved. Oddly, Tim Story’s chase caper turned heist thriller makes Murphy the straight man to Davidson’s goofball, at the expense of the star’s comic abilities. But the confident, charismatic Palmer takes up some of the slack, and the highway action sequences are smartly done. SW
Back to the Future Part III, 3.35pm, BBC One
Shot back to back with Part II, the final part of the sci-fi trilogy is a much better film, largely due to the fun everyone seems to be having with the western setting. Dusting off the DeLorean, Marty McFly (Michael J Fox) flies back to 1885 to save Christopher Lloyd’s stranded Doc Brown from being shot dead by Buford Tannen, Biff’s ancestor. Playful tweaks to the genre and a romance for Doc with Mary Steenburgen’s teacher are the new elements in an otherwise familiar plot of cobbled-together gadgetry, space-time dilemmas and jolly slapstick comedy. SW
Margrete: Queen of the North, 1.05am, BBC Two
Charlotte Sieling’s 2021 historical drama takes a footnote from the life of a 14th-century Danish royal and gives it a dusting of Game of Thrones-style clan politics, generational scheming and nation building. The estimable Trine Dyrholm is magnetic as Margrete, who – despite being a woman in a man’s world – has unified Norway, Sweden and Denmark and presides over a time of peace. Then a man appears claiming to be her long-dead son, which puts her adopted heir Erik (Morten Hee Andersen) in a funk and threatens to destabilise her hard-won pact. SW
Live sport
Championship Football: Southampton v Wrexham, 11am, Sky Sports Main Event Followed by Sheffield Utd v Bristol City at 5.15pm. Leicester v Sheffield Wednesday is on Sunday at 3.30pm.
Athletics: T100 Triathlon World Tour, 11.45am, TNT Sports 2 The first day of the fourth round at the Royal Victoria Docks, London.
Racing: Ascot, 1pm, ITV1 Includes the Shergar Cup, where 12 of the top riders from around the world compete in a team event.
The Hundred Cricket: Oval Invincibles Men v Manchester Originals Men, 2.45pm, Sky Sports Main Event Welsh Fire men v London Spirit men is on BBC Two at 5.45pm.
