Strictly Come Dancing
9pm, BBC1
The autumnal weekend staple returns with Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman welcoming 15 new couples to the world of sequins and spray-tans. Among those getting their groove on this year are EastEnders’ Kellie Bright, chef Ainsley Harriott and lust-inducing crooner Daniel O’Donnell. Reality telly wrecking ball Peter Andre is the man tipped to wipe the dancefloor with all of them, but Jeremy Vine might be hiding a mean foxtrot. The first six couples hoof their first dance tonight and the glittery fun continues tomorrow. Hannah Verdier
Piers Morgan’s Life Stories – John Lydon
9pm, ITV
He has courted notoriety – even prompted revulsion – to such an extent that it’s impossible not to hold an opinion about him. And although he decamped to the US, he remains fundamentally, obdurately British to the core. But that’s enough about Piers Morgan. Here, he speaks with that nice John Lydon about his career – two massively influential bands, the second arguably even more groundbreaking than the first – and about his love life, Sid Vicious and turning 60. Ali Catterall
Hot Chocolate at the BBC
10pm, BBC4
Their appearances on adverts and film soundtracks would seem to confine Hot Chocolate to a place in some cheesy TOTP2 universe. In fact, this was a band whose smooth soul-pop granted them a life that was both enormously successful (they wrote their own hits and did well out of them) and very strange indeed (they played at Charles and Diana’s wedding reception). This show comprises clips from across their career, and honours the late vocalist-songwriter Errol Brown. John Robinson
The Graham Norton Show
10.35pm, BBC1
Tonight sees a veritable face-off of chatshow giants: while Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain head to Graham’s couch to plug their new sci-fi flick, The Martian, Alan Carr is joined by their co-stars Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara and Chiwetel Ejiofor on Channel 4 at 10pm. Despite his snagging an appearance from Damon – the film’s leading man – will Norton’s catty wit and fancy facial hair (plus a performance by Canadian R&B crooner the Weeknd) be enough to trump the Chatty Man’s efforts? Hannah J Davies
The Fixer
10pm, FOX
Ellie (Kathleen Robertson) and Carter (Eric Dane) go all “dark web” in the hope of finding the method of communication used by the fixers to coordinate their nefarious terrorist-esque activities. But she soon falls foul of Airlie, and is locked up with others who have ended up in the fixers’ way. On the back foot, Carter has to trace her before Airlie has her taken out. While locked up, Ellie sees just how ruthless her adversaries can be, and discovers their next target. Ben Arnold
House of Fools
11pm, Gold
The charm didn’t really endure into the second series of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer’s sitcom (which was recently cancelled by the Beeb) but this – the first episode of the first series – is a fine reminder of their absurdist comic strengths. Bob is dismayed that his oddball lodger, Vic, is cramping his style. It’s particularly problematic tonight, as his neighbour Beef (Matt Berry) has arranged a date for Bob with a woman “charred, like a tugboat”. The plan is to watch Conan the Barbarian on TV. But what has Vic done with the TV? JR
Film choices
The Drop (Michaël R Roskam, 2014) 11.45am, 10pm, Sky Movies Premiere
This tense and angsty tale of Brooklyn crooks stars Tom “Ronnie and Reggie” Hardy as Bob, a quiet guy behind a bar run by cousin Marv (the late James Gandolfini, in his final role). But Marv is under the thumb of Chechen bad guys who use the bar as a depot for mob cash, and it’s only a matter of time before Bob’s feelings for waitress Nadia (Noomi Rapace) and a cute pitbull puppy lead to bloodletting. Matthias Schoenaerts, Roskam’s brutal lead in Bullhead, makes a big impression. Paul Howlett
The Children (Tom Shankland, 2008) 12.35am, BBC2
This clever and effective British horror film has two families getting together for the Christmas festivities, and their four sweet little moppets turning into murderous little monsters. It’s a nice touch that stroppy teenager Casey (Hannah Tointon) tries to warn the adults – but they ignore her. The spirit of Village of the Damned haunts this disturbing tale, which might have you rethinking those holiday plans. PH
Beginners (Mike Mills, 2010) 1.35am, Channel 4
This quirky family drama stars Ewan McGregor as graphic artist Oliver, whose art-historian father Hal (Christopher Plummer) belatedly comes out as gay at the age of 75. Oliver seems an enigmatic, distracted character, until he meets the beautiful Anna (Mélanie Laurent). There are fine performances throughout – but then, they do have Arthur the Jack Russell to contend with. PH
Today’s best live sport
World Cup of Pool Day four of the annual tournament. 12.30pm, Sky Sports 3.
World Cup Rugby Union Argentina v Georgia 2011 Quarter-finalists Argentina take on Georgia, appearing in their third World Cup. 4.15pm, ITV4
Tennis: St Petersburg Open Highlights of day five of the indoor tournament from the Sibur arena in Russia. 7pm, British Eurosport
Rugby League: Super League Super 8s Coverage of a late-season encounter. 7.30pm, Sky Sports 2
