There's Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualifier against the Netherlands, the Strictly Come Dancing: Blackpool Special, a Blondie night on the Beeb, the return of The Weakest Link, Kin and news Oz drama Scrublands . . .
Pick of the Day
Live International Football, 7.00pm, RTÉ2
Streaming on RTÉ Player
It’s the Netherlands v Ireland (KO 7.45pm) in a UEFA Euro 2024 Group B qualifier at Amsterdam ArenA.
It’s the final game for the Irish in this campaign, and could well be the last competitive fixture for coach Stephen Kenny. The thoughts of him being replaced by some dinosaur is depressing though.
Ireland will be looking to end what’s been a difficult campaign on a high – though the Netherlands will be aiming to seal their qualification with a home win.
And it won’t be easy against the Dutch, who won 2-1 when the two countries met two months ago in Dublin. They also have much better players!
Don’t Miss
Strictly Come Dancing: Blackpool Special, 6.40pm, BBC One
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman host the annual show live from the Blackpool Tower, in what’s always one of the most eagerly anticipated episodes during the contest.
It promises an incredible opening routine from the Strictly cast before the remaining couples take to the most famous sprung floor in the UK and pull out all the stops with some spectacular routines.
Blondie at the BBC, 8.00pm, BBC Two
This compilation opens a night dedicated to American punk/pop act Blondie, who are still going strong with singer Debbie Harry out front.
Harry's inimitable cool and the band's pioneering sound, made them one of the most significant bands of the era - and gave them an impressive six number one singles.
This programme takes a trip through the BBC archives to sample the best of Blondie over the years, with appearances from the late-1970s up to more recent times.
That’s followed at 9pm by When Blondie Came to Britain, exploring the band's enduring relationship with the UK, revealing how they left an indelible mark on British pop culture.
Featuring interviews with band members past and present including Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Clem Burke (below), Gary Lachman, Jimmy Destri, Frank Infante and Nigel Harrison.
Then there’s The Old Grey Whistle Test at 10pm, featuring Blondie performing live at the height of their powers – such a great live band - in 1979 at the Apollo Theatre in Glasgow.
After Later . . . with Jools Holland (10.40pm), Blondie at Glastonbury 1999 at 11.25pm closes the night.
Blondie's first-ever appearance at the Glastonbury Festival came just months after the release of comeback album No Exit and the band's sixth UK Number One single Maria.
New or Returning Shows
The Weakest Link, 5.55pm, BBC One
Romesh Ranganathan returns with a new season of the quiz show, as eight EastEnders cast members show off their general knowledge skills to win money for their chosen charity.
The contestants are Natalie Cassidy, Kellie Bright, Brian Conley, Ross Boatman, Danielle Harold, Tony Clay, Lorraine Stanley and Delroy Atkinson, all aiming to raise up to £50,000.
David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived, 8.00pm, Sky Documentaries
Streaming on NOW
This is the coming-of-age story of stuntman David Holmes, a prodigious teenage gymnast who was selected to play Daniel Radcliffe’s stunt double in the first Harry Potter film.
Over the next ten years, the two formed an inextricable bond, but on the penultimate film a tragic accident on set leaves David paralysed with a debilitating spinal injury, turning his world upside down.
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Featuring candid personal footage shot over the last decade, behind-the-scenes material from Holmes’ stunt work, scenes of his current life and intimate interviews with David, Daniel Radcliffe, friends, family, and former crew.
The film also reflects universal themes such as living with adversity, growing up, forging identities in an uncertain world, and the bonds that bind us together.
Movie Megastars: Made in the 80s, 8.00pm, Sky Max
Streaming on NOW
It was a time of big hair, big muscles and even bigger movies – now the Sky Cinema team present a look at the biggest stars to come out of the 1980s.
Join famous faces including Peter Andre and Sinitta as they go through the biggest names to come out of Hollywood during the decade of excess.
They include Tom Cruise (above), Arnold Schwarzenegger, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and Coreys of both Feldman and Haim varieties.
Kin, 9.35pm, BBC One
If you’d like to see it all again – this time without ads – here's the Irish crime drama, starring Aidan Gillen, Clare Dunne, Charlie Cox and Ciarin Hinds.
The Kinsellas are a small but tight-knit crime family in Dublin, increasingly at odds with a powerful drug cartel.
When the hotheaded son of boss Frank Kinsella gets into a violent confrontation, the rival gang retaliates.
Part two follows at 10.35pm, where the Kinsellas deal with the fallout of Cunningham's retaliation.
Scrublands, 9.00pm, BBC Four
Here’s a new Australian drama, starring Luke Arnold, that looks pretty good.
It’s set in an isolated country town, where a charismatic and dedicated young priest (Jay Ryan) calmly opens fire on his congregation, killing five parishioners.
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One year later disenchanted investigative journalist Martin Scarsden (Luke Arnold) arrives in Riversend to write what should be a simple feature story on the anniversary of the tragedy.
But when Martin's instincts kick in and he digs beneath the surface, the previously accepted narrative begins to fall apart and he finds himself in a life and death race to uncover the truth.
New to Stream
Little Dixie, Sky Cinema & NOW
Frank Grillo, Eric Dane, Peter Greene, Beau Knapp, Sufe Bradshaw and Annabeth Gish star in director John Swab’s drama.
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When Brian Conway, a successful businessman whose family relationships have suffered, gets in a car accident on Christmas Eve, Santa gives him twelve chances to redo the day and repair the relationships in his life, including with his daughter Michelle.
Saturday Cinema
Die Hard, 10.20pm, RTÉ2
Whether or not you consider this a Christmas film, it’s still great fun.
And that’s what’s important about this classic action thriller, starring Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman and Bonnie Bedelia.
Willis plays New York cop John McClane, who visits Los Angeles to see his family over the Christmas holiday.
Stopping off at his wife's place of work, he realises armed men have taken over the building and are holding the corporation's staff to ransom - and only he has the ability to fight back.
