After being banned from going out to celebrate New Year’s Eve tonight, millions of Britons across the UK will be settling on to the sofa and reaching for the remote to see what is on TV.
Instead of partying or watching fireworks, most people will be forced to turn to the small screen for entertainment, with comedy specials and blockbuster films on offer across the terrestrial channels.
Meanwhile those who want to stay up and countdown to the the bells in style can tune into the traditional Jools’ Annual Hootenanny or a special Alicia Keys concert.
Here FEMAIL reveals the best of the offerings tonight as the nation prepares to bid farewell to 2020, for good…
Celebratory shows
Channel 4: The Last Leg of the Year 2020 9pm
Presenters Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker come together for a final show of the year as they say goodbye – and good riddance – to 2020.
The usual Last Leg trio will be joined by Tom Allen, Lorraine Kelly, James Acaster, Clara Amfo, Judi Love and Asim Chaudhry to joke about the last 12 months, and look forward to what the new year might have in store.
The gang will also be accompanied by house band Alex Horne and the Horne Section, who are set to provide the usual musical entertainment.
Presenters Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker come together for a final show of the year as they say goodbye – and good riddance – to 2020
BBC One: The Big New Year’s In 9pm
Paddy McGuinness kicks off the BBC One celebrations to 2021 in his own hilarious style by hosting a star-studded party.
Celebrities will join the funnyman for an evening of light-hearted games, fun, and music, with a virtual quiz which viewers can join in on from the comfort of their own sofa.
BBC One: The Graham Norton Show: New Year’s Eve Show 10.25pm
Graham Norton will be joined in his socially distanced studio by the one and only Tom Hanks, Hollywood stars Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan, double Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain
Join Graham Norton for his traditional Hogmanay chat with a star-studded extravaganza.
Celebrities appearing on the chatshow include the one and only Tom Hanks, promoting new western News of the World, Hollywood stars Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan, talking about romantic Irish drama Wild Mountain Thyme and double Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain, who looks ahead to her new spy thriller The 355.
Meanwhile they will also be joined by food writer Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, telling us how to Eat Better Forever and comedian Nish Kumar, giving us his satirical take on 2020.
Finally, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, whose online kitchen disco shows proved a hit this summer, will perform hit Crying at the Discotheque, before viewers from around the world tell us their New Year’s Eve stories in the big red chair.
New Year Countdowns
BBC One: Alicia Keys Rocks New Year’s Eve 11.30pm
Alicia Keys will perform a very special concert on location in Los Angeles to welcome in the new year.
The multi-award winning singer songwriter introduces the concert, which includes many of her massive hits, as viewers build up to midnight and the arrival of 2021.
BBC Two: Jools’ Annual Hootenanny 11.15pm
For those seeking a more traditional end to the year, Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra have reunited to joyfully welcome in a new year with his annual Hootenanny
For those seeking a more traditional end to the year, Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra have reunited to joyfully welcome in a new year with his annual Hootenanny.
After the thoroughly eventful 2020, Jools will look forward to 2021 by inviting a spectacular cast of guest artists to help put on the best party in town, including Celeste, Sir Tom Jones, Michael Kiwanuka, Roisin Murphy, Rick Wakeman, Ruby Turner, Chris Difford, and the Pipes and Drums of the 1st Batallion Scots Guards.
Meanwhile he will reflect on the years gone by with some of the best performances in the illustrious Hootenanny archive, including the likes of Jamiroquai, Rudimental and Ella Eyre, Madness, ABC and Aloe Blacc,
BBC One: Happy New Year Live! 12am
While London may not be marking the New Year with the usual annual fireworks display, the chimes of Big Ben will ring out to welcome in 2021, with this year’s alternative on show
Films
ITV: Skyfall 9pm
Skyfall sees Daniel Craig reprises his role as 007, with director Sam Mendes at the helm and Javier Bardem as the film’s villain, with the conclusion of the film taking place in Scotland (pictured)
Meanwhile anyone who’d rather enjoy a little escapism on New Year’s Eve has the choice of several blockbusters.
Skyfall sees Daniel Craig reprises his role as 007, with director Sam Mendes at the helm and Javier Bardem as the film’s villain.
He pursues a mysterious criminal mastermind who has orchestrated a terrorist attack on MI6 headquarters and exposed the identities of undercover agents around the world.
The trail leads to a rogue former operative who has a personal vendetta against the intelligence organisation’s leader.
The action roams the globe from Turkey to London, then off to Shanghai, before ending up in Scotland for a splendid climax.
Channel 4: Little Fockers 11pm
Little Fockers is a 2010 American comedy film and the third and final movie in the Meet the Parents film series, serving as a sequel to Meet the Parents (2000) and Meet the Fockers (2004)
Little Fockers is a 2010 American comedy film and the third and final movie in the Meet the Parents film series, serving as a sequel to Meet the Parents (2000) and Meet the Fockers (2004).
It stars Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo, Jessica Alba, Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand.
Quiz Shows and contests
Channel 5: World’s Strongest Man 2020 7pm
The 2020 World’s Strongest Man was the 43rd edition of the World’s Strongest Man competition.
It took place in Bradenton, Florida between November 11 and 15, with New Year’s Eve offering to show the action from heat five of the annual event, as the line-up for the final was confirmed.
BBC: The Great British Sewing Bee: Celebrity New Year Special 8pm
The second of two festive shows from The Great British Sewing Bee sees a host of celebrities show off their needle skills to presenter Joe Lycett and judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young
The second of two festive shows from The Great British Sewing Bee sees a host of celebrities show off their needle skills.
Joe Lycett presides as Lesley Joseph attempts to master sewing jargon with the help of judge Patrick Grant.
The Vivienne’s Christmas baubles come unstuck, Sabrina Grant wrestles with the waistband of a small girl’s party skirt, and Sally Phillips recounts her worst ever New Year – involving a hangover, a wafer-thin mattress and a lurcher named Yuri – through the medium of dress-making.
As ever, no wonky seam or errant thread escapes the eagle-eyed attention of judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young, although they are slightly more charitable than usual, even going so far as to help their novice charges.
BBC Two: Only Connect Specials: Doctors: Medics v Gallifreyans 8pm
Host Victoria Coren Mitchell is back in the host’s chair for a one-off special of Only Connect: the series where knowledge will only take you so far
Host Victoria Coren Mitchell is back in the host’s chair for a one-off special of Only Connect: the series where knowledge will only take you so far. Patience and lateral thinking are also vital.
Six favourite contestants from previous series return for a special themed around doctors. The battle is on as a team of NHS professionals take on a team of Doctor Who fans in a competition to draw together the connections between things which, at first glance, seem utterly random.
BBC Two: Christmas University Challenge 8.30pm
Jeremy Paxman hosts as two teams of distinguished graduates compete on behalf of their former universities in the second semi-final of the academic quiz’s festive series
Jeremy Paxman hosts as two teams of distinguished graduates compete on behalf of their former universities in the second semi-final of the academic quiz’s festive series.
Channel 4: Celebrity Crystal Maze 8pm
Pop star Fleur East leads actors John Thomson, Nina Wadia and Natalie Cassidy, and reality star Georgia ‘Toff’ Toffolo, through the twists and turns of the four zones.
Comedy moments
ITV: You’ve Been Framed! Christmas Crackers 7pm
Comedian Harry Hill presents clips of the usual hilarious seasonal slip-ups and festive fiascos.
Channel 5: Britain’s Most Outrageous Comedy 10.55pm
Absolutely Fabulous writer and star Jennifer Saunders narrates a selection of the most shocking and outlandish comedy ever to have graced the TV screen.
BBC Two: Mock the Week 10.45pm
Host Dara O Briain and regular panellist Hugh Dennis will front a special edition of the show featuring unseen material, outtakes and all the usual fun
Host Dara O Briain and regular panellist Hugh Dennis will front a special edition of the show featuring unseen material, outtakes and all the usual fun.
Pre-Covid Escapism
The third part in a series about life in Monaco, which originally aired in May of this year, this episode discovers just how expensive it is to live in principality
BBC Two: Inside Monaco: Playground of the Rich 7pm
The third part in a series about life in Monaco, this episode discovers just how expensive it is to live in principality.
Average property prices are around twice as much as in London’s most exclusive district, Mayfair.
One of the main reasons for this is that to qualify for official residency in Monaco (and the financial benefits this brings), you have to own or lease a residence, so demand outstrips supply.
The episode takes a tour of an extraordinary new home – Villa Troglodyte, which has come onto the market. Built as if carved out of the rock, the price is only £23 million because it doesn’t have a sea view.
The pressure to build more houses in a small country that is so short on space has left Prince Albert with a challenge.
He attends meetings about a huge, new, two-billion-euro land extension project he has initiated.
Extending into the sea is a complex operation but once complete, the largest villas there are estimated to sell for around 100 million euros.
And the cameras get an exclusive invite to the famous Red Cross Ball and go behind the scenes as chefs rustle up 850 desserts, each with the correct amount of edible gold and intricately sculpted chocolate embellishments. Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene arrive to dance the night away and raise money with other celebrities for this annual charity event.
Channel 4: Britain’s Best Selling Toys 7pm
Keith Lemon presents this quintessential countdown of the must-have toys and big crazes from the 1970s to the modern day, from action figures and board games to electronic pets and cuddly best friends.
Channel 5: Britain’s Favourite 80s Songs 8pm
Craig Charles narrates this musical celebration of the eighties, revealing the top 50 songs of the decade as voted for by the public.
There are also interviews with the stars who sang them, the producers who made them and the celebrity super-fans who loved them.
BBC Two: Celebrity: A 21st Century Story 9pm
The third episode in a four part series on modern celebrity, this film tells the story of how celebrities capitalised on a digital revolution in order to sidestep the traditional routes to fame.
The third episode in a four part series on modern celebrity, this film tells the story of how celebrities capitalised on a digital revolution in order to sidestep the traditional routes to fame
BBC Two: Before They Were Famous: Best Bits 10.45pm
A look back at the best of Angus Deayton’s Before They Were Famous, which sees him digging into the archives for clips of some of the world’s most celebrated stars before they had started twinkling.
Soap Specials
BBC One: EastEnders 7.30pm
This New Year’s Eve special sees the residents of Watford prepare to welcome in the new year.
However, all is not well in the Carter household as Mike struggles to cope with emotions about his past, and the enormity of the situation.
ITV: Emmerdale 7.30pm
Marlon has plans, Mandy prepares for a boozy New Year’s, and a vicar arrives in the village.
ITV: Coronation Street 8.30pm
Adam and Sarah end the year with a fresh start, Ray and Debbie offer Nick new premises for Underworld, and Tim recaptures his past for Elaine.