Amazing Spaces Snow and Ice Special
8pm, Channel 4
George Clarke launches the seventh series of his offbeat property programme, confirming an apparently bottomless market for such shows. In search of what is doubtless considered a fittingly festive backdrop – ie, snow – Clarke and Will Hardie head to Norway, where building habitable habitats is a challenge, what with it being cold, damp and dark. Solutions contemplated include a mountain retreat, a geodesic dome and a snow hotel. Andrew Mueller
The Crystal Maze Celebrity Christmas Special
9pm, Channel 4
There is a rather obvious imbalance in this week’s celebrity team, with Olympians Nicola Adams and Ellie Simmonds on one extreme and Made in Chelsea’s Ollie Locke on the other. “You look like Guardians of the Galaxy,” says Richard Ayoade, and it does not sound entirely like a compliment. Festive touches include synthetic snow, mince pies in the Medieval Zone, plus Richard being a little more generous than usual with his hints. It is Christmas, after all. Ellen E Jones
Love, Lies & Records
9pm, BBC One
There is a touch of Happy Valley to Kay Mellor’s touchy-feely drama set in a Leeds register office, with earthy dialogue that can pivot from fretting over veruca socks to foiling people-trafficking. In the penultimate episode, big-hearted Kate (Ashley Jensen) is still helping others through emotional turmoil while neglecting her own love life: can she really go along with Rob’s proposal while workmate Rick is still mooning over her? Graeme Virtue
Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain
9pm, BBC Two
“Suddenly people are running like hell … the air is filled with the scream of falling bombs and the thunder of their explosion.” The final part of a people’s history of the Blitz explores the bombing of Bristol in 1940 through personal recollections and diary extracts, such as the above from tobacconist Bill Hares. Blitz spirit be damned: “Every bomb was personal” – and in smaller cities such as Coventry and Bristol depression and trauma were rife. Ali Catterall
The Tunnel
9pm, Sky Atlantic
The third and final series of The Tunnel opens with the grisly discovery of a boat in the Channel, burned out with its deceased cargo of illegal migrants – some of them children – still on board, and their trafficker mutilated. On picking up the case, Stephen Dillane’s Roebuck gets a frosty reception from Elise (Clémence Poésy), and there is a new commander in the French cop shop, a suave, smarmy piece of work. And if you have a thing about rats, have a cushion ready. Ben Arnold
The Orville
9pm, Fox
Created by and starring Seth MacFarlane, this sci-fi comedy-drama set aboard a 25th-century starship feels like an opportunity to do an Airplane! job on Star Trek. However, despite a few amusing touches, including acknowledgment of onboard lavatories and Klingon parodies, the jokes don’t come as thick and fast as you would expect. Tonight’s episode is more about the intrigue, as MacFarlane’s Mercer is assigned his ex-wife as his first officer. David Stubbs
Extraordinary Teens: School of Life and Deaf
10pm, Channel 4
Lewis is 15, he is football mad, “cheeky” and profoundly deaf. He is also our guide to life at Mary Hare, a boarding school for deaf pupils. As well as following Lewis in the wake of his receiving a cochlear implant, we also meet Fae, 18, hesitant and worried about life beyond sixth form, and Andrew, who comes over as Tory Boy standoffish, but is self-aware enough to ask for “a second chance” from his classmates. Jonathan Wright
Film choice
Billion Dollar Brain (Ken Russell, 1967) 12.45pm, Film4
Michael Caine’s third appearance as Her Majesty’s special agent ’Arry Palmer has him breaking out to freelance and helping Soviet commissar Oscar Homolka stymie plans for world domination by devious US army general Ed Begley. Len Deighton’s plot has disappeared over the horizon in the 007 direction and Harry’s lost some of the acid idiosyncrasy of The Ipcress File but, directed with unusual restraint by the lovable maverick Ken Russell, it’s still a classy thriller. Paul Howlett
Live sport
Biathlon: The World Cup 1pm, Eurosport 2. Coverage of the third round of the season from France, featuring the women’s 7.5km sprint.
Darts: World Championship 7pm, Sky Sports Main Event. The opening day of the tournament from Alexandra Palace, London.
Ashes Cricket: Australia v England 2am, BT Sport 1. The second day of the game at the Waca ground in Perth.
