Thinkbox
To paraphrase Harold Macmillan, we’ve never had it so good in terms of what to watch on TV. And that means advertisers have never had it so good.
This year sees the return of some of British commercial TV’s most successful and acclaimed series such as The Masked Singer, Taskmaster, and comedies G’Wed and Extraordinary.
Families will also be gathered around the big screen for sports events such as the women’s football Euros and rugby world cup this summer, not to mention more rural exploits in Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon Prime Video.
And where Mr Bates vs The Post Office got the nation talking about injustice, expect more debate following ITV’s dramas that shine a light on the legal system: A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis and I Fought the Law, starring Sheridan Smith. Plus Channel 4 tackles immigration in a new way in Go Back to Where You Came From - which is more than just Reform supporters doing a riskier version of Race Across the World.
Commercial TV will also be covering the major anniversaries of 2025, with programmes coming up to mark 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz and 20 years since the July 7 London bombings.
As Baby Reindeer and Mr Bates showed last year, often nobody really knows which programmes will pull in the punters, but here are some of the new UK shows expected to hit the headlines over the coming year.
Out There - ITV (19 January)
Martin Clunes is back and this time he’s a farmer. But this is no Clarkson’s Farm rural idyll.
Instead, think a dramatised version of Countryfile meets Crimewatch, as thriller Out There features county lines drug deals in picturesque Wales and widower Nathan (Clunes) battling what ITV describes as “an escalating and insidious crime wave sweeping the British countryside”.
You don’t see that on Return to the Farm with Kate Humble.
The Frost Tapes - Sky Documentaries (February)
Unseen footage of interviews by journalists’ journalist David Frost has been compiled by his son Wilfred for this documentary, which looks back at the career of the prolific broadcaster who died in 2013.
It also features contributions from some of those he worked with and analyses his output, which reflects the social, political and cultural history of the UK.
Bergerac - U/U&Drama (February)
You’re whistling the theme tune already aren’t you?
Iconic Bergerac is back and so is his famous Triumph Roadster. But this contemporary reboot of the 1980s classic (which ended in 1991) sees the Jersey-based sleuth played by Damien Molony, in what looks in the trailer like a grittier, Shetland-style version, directed by Peaky Blinders’ Colm McCarthy.
Another modern update is Charlie Hungerford is now Bergerac’s mother-in-law, not his father-in-law, and played by Zoe Wannamaker.
Cue Jersey receiving a ‘TV tourism’ boost.
Go Back to Where You Came From - Channel 4 (February 2025)
A classic C4 ‘grabby’ title to pull you in but with a serious issue behind it: the series features six ‘opinionated’ Brits with polarising views on immigration following in the footsteps of refugees who have made high-risk journeys to the UK from countries like Somalia and Syria.
You might be thinking this is Reform supporters doing Race Across the World whilst avoiding rocket-launchers, but safety helmets off to makers Minnow Films and C4 for shining a light on a political issue in a ground-breaking way through a series which promises a “life-changing journey” for some.
Celebrity Bear Hunt - Netflix (February)
Holly Willoughby’s first big new show since leaving This Morning, Bear Hunt does what it says on the tin: Bear Grylls hunts down celebrities who are trying to evade capture as they survive in a jungle.
Will the contestants be able to resist saying “But I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here” in this eagerly-anticipated series, which stylistically has hints of Indiana Jones and Lara Croft, and sees Netflix making a significant move into mainstream entertainment.
A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story - ITV (Britbox from February, ITV soon after)
The story of the last woman in the UK to be executed, this four-part real-life drama has shades of the BBC’s The Trial of Christine Keeler in its look at the life of a woman whose case would be treated differently today.
Nightclub manager Ellis (played by Lucy Boynton) began a relationship with abusive racing driver David Blakely (Laurie Davison) whom she murdered in 1955 following a miscarriage after he attacked her. Her hanging contributed to the ending of the death penalty.
King of ‘injustice dramas’ Toby Jones (Mr Bates vs The Post Office) stars as Ellis’ solicitor John Bickford.
My Fault: London - Amazon (February)
A British adaptation starring Asha Banks and Matthew Broome of the first book in Mercedes Ron’s bestselling 'Culpables' trilogy.
This young adult romance follows 18-year-old Noah (Banks) as she adjusts to a new life moving from the US to the UK and falling in love with bad boy Nick, despite her best efforts not to.
A film version of the story in Spanish was Amazon’s most popular film worldwide in 2023 and it has high hopes for this English remake.
A Thousand Blows - Disney+ (February)
Another period drama from the prolific pen of Steven Knight: this one is about bare-knuckle boxing and inspired by true-life tales of those fighting for survival in the criminal underbelly of late 19th century East London.
The knock-out cast is led by Stephen Graham, who suggested the idea for the show to Knight, and who plays one of two best friends around whom the story revolves.
Joe Lycett’s United States of Birmingham - Sky Max and NOW (spring 2025)
Activist, artist, and comedian Lycett shines the spotlight on his native Birmingham by visiting places with the same name in America as his beloved Brum.
Lycett explores what 18 other similarly-monikered locations have in common with his hometown and tries to persuade them to sign ‘friendship agreements’ and launches an International Day of Birmingham.
Football: Women’s Euros 2025 - ITV (shared with BBC) (July) and Men’s World Cup 2026 qualifiers - ITV (March)
Remember the groundbreaking moment when England won the Euros in 2022 and it was watched by a peak of 17.4million? The Lionesses are back to defend their title in July in Switzerland. Live coverage of the tournament will be shared between ITV and the BBC, with both airing the final.
It’s a big year for the men too as they kick off their World Cup campaign with their first match under Thomas Tuchel at home against Albania.
I Fought The Law - ITV (later in 2025)
This dramatisation of the true story of a mother trying to change the double jeopardy law is based on Ann Ming’s book For the Love of Julie. Ming’s moving memoir about her hunt for her murdered 22-hear-old daughter Julie Hogg and her campaign to have the man initially acquitted of her murder tried again is dramatised by All Creatures Great and Small writer Jamie Crichton and stars Sheridan Smith.
It taps into that very British quality of perseverance against the odds and the ‘David vs Goliath’ aspect that won over audiences of Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
Game of Wool - More4 (later in 2025)
We’ve had sewing, pottery and baking TV contests so it was only a matter of time before competitive knitting took its place in the spotlight.
And who better to oversee the yarns of Britain’s best amateur knitters and crocheters than one of the hobby’s most famous enthusiasts, retired Olympic medal-winning diver Tom Daley?
Expect plenty of knitting puns, needless to say.
House of Guinness - Netflix (expected late 2025)
Following the shortage of Guinness last year due to the craze for ‘splitting the G’ on glasses of the famous Irish stout, expect even more interest in the Dublin brewery after Peaky Blinders’ creator Steven Knight’s epic retelling of the travails of the Guinness family hits the screen.
Set in 19th century Dublin and New York, the dark beer dynasty’s drama features an all-star cast including James Norton, Jack Gleeson, Dervla Kirwan and Emily Fairn.
Murder Before Evensong - Channel 5 (expected late 2025)
If you’re a ‘cosy crime’ fan then pull up a pew as this adaptation of Reverend Richard Coles’ bestselling books is coming to C5 with Harry Potter actor Matthew Lewis as the detective-in-a-dog collar, Canon Daniel Clement.
With a synopsis that features the line, “When Daniel announces a plan to install a lavatory in church, the parish is suddenly (and unexpectedly) divided: as lines are drawn, long-buried secrets come dangerously close to destroying the apparent calm of the village”, and Midsummer Murders’ writer Nick Hicks-Beach adapting the show, who can resist?
Brian & Margaret - Channel 4 (expected early/mid-2025)
It may sound like the title of a 70s sitcom but this is actually a two-part drama about Brian Walden’s infamous 1989 interview with Margaret Thatcher, which precipitated her resignation and led to the pair never speaking again.
Starring Steve Coogan as Walden and Harriet Walter as Thatcher, it’s written by James Graham, directed by Stephen Frears and based on TV producer Rob Burley’s book Why is This Lying Bastard Lying to Me?: Searching for the Truth on Political TV.
The Puzzle Lady - Channel 5 (expected later in 2025)
Could this be a new Vera?
Based on the novels by American author Parnell Hall, The Puzzle Lady features Downton Abbey star Phyllis Logan as eccentric crossword creator Cora Felton, who is called in to help solve clues after a body is discovered with a crossword puzzle attached to it in the sleepy market town of Bakerbury.
Channel 5 is hoping it will prove a (three letters, sounds like bit) formula.
The Secret Life of Bees - Channel 5 (later in 2025)
Naturalist Steve Backshall investigates the importance of bees to our eco-system as he becomes an apiarist for the first time in this new two-part series.
It features everything you ever wanted to know about bees but were afraid to ask, including the role they’ve played in human history and how their societies work. Fittingly the show is made by production company Honey Bee.
Virgin Island - Channel 4 (expected late 2025)
No, not a series about Richard Branson’s ownership of Necker.
This is another typically titillatingly-titled Channel 4 show you’re likely to hear a lot about as it involves a group of virgins who suffer from intimacy anxiety receiving sex coaching in a luxury island resort.
Peak reality TV or a brave social experiment confronting one of modern society’s last taboos? You decide.
Neil & Martin’s Bon Voyage - Gold (later in 2025)
What do men do when they’ve stopped behaving badly?
They often take up cycling or, if they’re a celebrity, they get a TV travelogue. UKTV and Clarkson’s Farm producers Expectation have cleverly teamed up Men Behaving Badly co-stars Martin Clunes and Neil Morrissey for a timely three-part road trip through France, where Morrissey has a second home.
Gasp as you look at the beautiful landscapes and food. Double-screen as you check out the pair’s ages, wonder if they’ve aged better than the 1990s sitcom they shot to fame in and look up Men Behaving Badly clips; then gasp again at some of MBB’s scenes which might get cancelled post-MeToo. But also be charmed by France, the actors’ reminiscences and the power of enduring male friendship.
Caroline (w/t) - Disney+ (TBC, 2025)
Five years on from presenter Caroline Flack taking her own life, Disney+ will be showing a documentary following her mother Christine as she tries to understand her daughter’s final few months and uncover the truth about the circumstances that led to the tragedy in February 2020.
Featuring contributions from Caroline’s family and friends, the feature length film is being made by Curious Films, who also made the 2021 documentary “Caroline Flack: Her Life and Death”.