The Hand of God lands on Netflix, Michael Palin looks back on his trek to the Himalayas, there's A League of Their Own Christmas Party, and another chance to see Dear Gay . . .
Pick of the Day
The Hand of God, Netflix
Academy Award-winning writer and director Paolo Sorrentino (Il Divo, The Great Beauty, The Young Pope) rarely disappoints. This looks like another visual treat . . .
A personal coming-of-age tale, it won two awards at the Venice Film Festival, including the Grand Jury Prize.
It tells the story of a boy, Fabietto Schisa, set in the tumultuous Naples of the 1980s, a time when Argentinian footballer Diego Maradona arrived from Barcelona to help transform local club Napoli.
Fate plays its part as joy and tragedy both impact on Fabietto as his future is set in motion in this tale of fate and family, sports and cinema, love and loss.
Don’t Miss
Donal's Family Kitchen, 7.30pm, RTÉ One
Donal Skehan (above) demonstrates four quick-and-easy recipes for a busy week, featuring roast cherry tomato pici, smoked chicken tacos and a a no-knead garlic and basil focaccia.
He also makes dark chocolate, toasted hazelnut and sea salt cookies.
Dear Gay, 10.35pm, RTÉ One
Here’s another chance to see this documentary focusing on the tens of thousands of letters that were written to Gay Byrne over three decades - and how they changed lives - and Ireland.
Using original correspondence stored in the RTÉ documents archive and letters lovingly kept in homes across Ireland, the film tells the story of how the broadcaster became the confessor-in-chief of the Irish people.
It also shows how the ripples created by each letter grew into a tidal wave of change in the country.
New or Returning Shows
Michael Palin: Travels of a Lifetime, 8.00pm, BBC Two
The comedian and explorer Michael Palin (below) revisits his fifth travel series, an epic journey across the world's highest mountain range that was the fulfilment of a boyhood dream inspired by the 1953 ascent of Everest by Hillary and Tensing.
Beginning in the famous Khyber Pass, he travels through Pakistan and India, ascends into Nepal and Tibet to reach Everest base camp itself.
Kirstie and Phil's Love It or List It, 8.00pm, Channel 4
Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer (below) help a couple in Poole, Dorset, who cannot agree whether to sell their four-bedroom chalet bungalow or renovate instead.
Supply teacher Sue has waited 35 years for builder husband Roy to finish their renovation and would rather they move so they can enjoy their retirement.
But he loves the space their house offers and doesn't think it can be replicated elsewhere.
Christmas at Castle Howard, 9.00pm, Channel 4
The first of three programmes providing behind-the-scenes access as England's grandest stately homes celebrate the festive season.
First up is Castle Howard in North Yorkshire, where creative director Charlotte Lloyd-Webber and her team are decorating the interior on a Narnia theme, while owner Nicholas Howard is hands on with photographing the annual Christmas card.
However, when the tree arrives late and proves too big too fit, it requires emergency surgery with a chainsaw.
A League of Their Own Christmas Party, 9.00pm, Sky Max
Streaming on NOW
This year, Romesh has organised the boys’ festivities and as a special Christmas treat he is taking Freddie and Jamie to Center Parcs for a winter break like no other.
They will take on a variety of physical challenges, be joined by fantastic celebrity and sporting guests and Romesh is serving up a traditional Sri Lankan Christmas… in a woodland treehouse in Wiltshire.
Páirteach i nDúnmharú - An Auxiliary to Murder, 9.30pm, TG4
A chance encounter in a Welsh sea-side town sets in motion a bizarre sequence of events that ended in murder on the other side of the world.
The police treated it as a crime of passion - a lover spurned, a jealous rival, a remorseful killer.
But the trial of Hori Morse for the killing of Hilda Hunter revealed a story about the last decadent vestiges of a British Empire that was coming apart at the seams and a murderer forged in the Irish struggle for independence.
New to Stream
Selling Tampa, Netflix
Along the Florida coast, Allure Realty stands out among the crowd. Owned by military vet Sharelle Rosado, this all Black, all female real estate firm has its eyes set on dominating the Suncoast.
These ladies are equally as fun as they are fiercely ambitious, with all of them vying to be on top of the lavish world of luxury waterfront real estate.
Sharelle has big plans for her brokerage and won't let anyone or anything get in the way of making her dreams a reality.
Ending Today
Work in Progress, 9.00pm, Sky Comedy
Streaming on NOW
Masking up to brave the outside world, Abby wills herself to overcome her fear of germs and the unknown to visit Edward in the hospital.
Father and daughter reflect on their fraught relationship, acknowledge newfound similarities, all while searching for a bit of hope, humour, and, eventually, healing.
Then in the season finale, Abby and Julia venture into uncharted waters, the family throws a party, and Abby finds herself ending one relationship just as she begins a new one.
