No don’t worry, you haven’t clicked on an old article from last year by mistake, it just so happens that England has been placed into the third national lockdown since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic first emerged.
The only difference this time is that we’re starting to run out of TV shows on our watchlist.
We all have our ‘comfort shows’, our trusty favourites and the ones that never fail to have us cracking a smile or hanging on to every word, but if you watched your fair share of those during the first lockdown and you’re looking for something different to get your teeth stuck into whilst you’re at home for the next few weeks, then here are 12 of the best new shows already airing or set to hit screens this month.
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The Serpent
BBC / BBC iPlayer – Now Airing
BBC / Mammoth Screen
This one’s already got people talking.
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Inspired by real-life events and starring Tahar Rahim and Jenna Coleman, The Serpent tells the story of how conman and killer Charles Sobhraj posed as a gem dealer and, with his girlfriend Marie-Andree Leclerc, carried out a string of crimes across Thailand, Nepal and India in 1975 and 1976, while also becoming the chief suspects in a series of murders of young Western travellers.
It’s a slick drama that’s well worth your concentration, and you can catch it on BBC and BBC iPlayer now.
A Discovery of Witches
Sky One & NOW TV – Airing from 8th January
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Sky UK
Now in its second season starring Matthew Goode and Teresa Palmer – plus a number of new cast members – and adapted from Deborah Harkness’ best-selling trilogy of novels, this is a romantic thriller about a secret underworld of vampires, witches and demons all hiding in plain sight for fear of persecution by humans.
This series sees the two hiding in the treacherous world of Elizabethan London, where they must find a powerful witch teacher to help Diana control her magic and search for the elusive Book of Life.
You can catch it on Sky One or NOW TV from 8th January.
The Stand
Starzplay – Airing Now
CBS / Robert Falconer
This spookily-timely series about a pandemic is adapted from a Stephen King book.
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Not a million miles from the news footage we’ve seen in the last year, the first episode can be hard to watch, although the flu in this series wipes out 99% of the population, and those left have strange dreams involving a mysterious old lady.
It stars Whoopi Goldberg, Alexander Skarsgard, James Marsden and Amber Heard, and you can catch it on Starzplay now.
American Gods
Amazon Prime Video – Airing from 11th January
Amazon Prime Video
American Gods is back once again.
This is the third series of the drama based on Neil Gaiman’s novel of the same name, about a war being waged between the old gods and the new, and after a few shocks at the end of series two, this one starts with the main character, Shadow Moon – played by Ricky Whittle – in hiding and trying to start a new life in a small town.
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Ian McShane and Marilyn Manson have also joined the cast for this season too, and you can catch it airing on Amazon Prime Video from 11th January.
Servant
AppleTV+ – Airing from 15th January
AppleTV+
Servant is made by and starring some industry heavy-hitters.
Executive produced by the Oscar-nominated director M Night Shyamalan, this chilling psychological horror series was one of the first shows to debut when Apple TV + launched in November 2019 with stars Rupert Grint, Lauren Ambrose, Toby Kebbell and Nell Tiger Free.
This second 10 episode series is set to take a supernatural turn, and you can catch it from 15th January.
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RuPaul’s Drag Race UK
BBC iPlayer – Airing from 14th January
BBC / World of Wonder
A lot of people have been waiting for this one.
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK is back with twelve new competing queens – Tayce, Lawrence Chaney, Cherry Valentine, Tia Kofi, Bimini Bon Boulash, Ginny Lemon, Veronica Green, Sister Sister, Joe Black, Ellie Diamond, Asttina Mandella and A’Whora – are at your service and here to show you the very best of what the UK drag scene has to offer.
With weekly challenges to test their make-up skills, fashion sense, sewing abilities, comedy, singing, acting, dancing and lip-syncing, this is the perfect way to cure the lockdown blues.
Catch it on BBC iPlayer from 14th January.
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WandaVision
Disney+ – Airing from 15th January
Marvel Studios / Disney+
WandaVision offers up a unique blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in which Wanda Maximoff and Vision – two super-powered beings living idealised suburban lives played by Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany – “begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems”.
The series has been described as “a love letter to the golden age of television”, and you can catch it airing on Disney+ from 15th January.
It’s A Sin
Channel 4 / All 4 – Airing from 22nd January
Channel 4
Starring musician and actor Olly Alexander, and featuring Keeley Hawes, Stephen Fry, Neil Patrick Harris, Tracy Ann Oberman, Shaun Dooley and Omari Douglas, this is a new five-part drama from the multi-BAFTA-winning writer Russell T Davies follows the story of the 1980s, the story of AIDS, and charts the joy and heartbreak of a group of friends across a decade in which everything changed.
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Tune in to Channel 4 / All 4 from 22nd January to watch the magic unfold.
The Masked Singer
ITV – Airing Now
There’s no denying that The Masked Singer was one of the surprise hits of 2020 and now it’s returned to our screens as a must-see Saturday night fixture.
If you’re unfamiliar with the show, it basically sees a bunch of celebrities disguised in some seriously-good fancy dress costumes sing for a panel of judges – Davina McCall, Rita Ora, Jonathan Ross and newcomer Mo Gilligan – who make wild guesses as to who’s behind the mask.
Audience members then vote, chant “take it off” at the end and the panel has the final say on who goes home from the lowest scorers each week.
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You can already catch it airing on ITV every Saturday night now.
Cobra Kai
Netflix – Airing from 8th January
Netflix / Curtis Bonds Baker
Taking place 30 years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament, this long-time-coming sequel spin-off to The Karate Kid – with original stars – has unsurprisingly become a big hit and is set to get underway with season three.
The series starts with the successful Daniel LaRusso struggling to maintain balance in his life without the guidance of Mr Miyagi, and once again facing his previous adversary Johnny Lawrence, who seeks redemption by reopening the Cobra Kai karate dojo.
Log on to Netflix from 8th January to binge the new series.
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Bulletproof: South Africa
Sky One – Airing from 20th January
Sky UK
Noel Clarke and Ashley Walters are reprising their roles as best pals and partners Pike and Bishop for the third instalment of this action-packed buddy cop series.
This time though, they’ve left London for the far sunnier Cape Town in South Africa, and after years of finding themselves in some seriously dangerous situations with hardened criminals, the pair just want a bit of rest and relaxation – but obviously, things don’t quite go to plan.
You can catch the latest series of Bulletproof: South Africa from 20th January.
The Pembrokeshire Murders
ITV – Airing from 11th January
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ITV
This one’s for the true crime fans.
Luke Evans stars in this three-part drama mini series depicting the cold-case investigation into a serial killer that’s adapted from the book The Pembrokeshire Murders and is written by Senior Investigating Officer Steve Wilkins and ITV news journalist Jonathan Hill.
It’s also from the makers of Line Of Duty and Bodyguard, so you know it must be good.
Wilkins reopened the case of two unsolved murders from the 1980s in 2006, and using forensic methods that were pioneering at the time, he and his team found microscopic DNA and fibres that potentially linked the killings to a string of burglaries.
Catch it on ITV from 11th January.
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The best Christmas party food and picky bits from M&S this year
Daisy Jackson
Clear the tables, pop the oven on to pre-heat, and set the paper plates – it’s Christmas, and that can only mean it’s party food season again.
No one does silly little festive nibbles quite like M&S, with their Christmas party food range getting more and more extravagant every single winter.
2025 is absolutely no exception – expect the likes of cubed rice, snowman-shaped bao, tiny Yorkie puds and plenty more delicious madness besides.
We’ve been down in the aisles of everyone’s favourite posh supermarket to see exactly what concoctions they’ve conjured up this year, and did not leave disappointed.
This is not just party food, this is M&S Christmas party food.
A very Marbella Christmas
Have you ever seen a square paella before? No? You haven’t lived mate.
These angular rice bites are one of three Spanish-influenced picky bits in M&S this Christmas, alongside tiny tortillas and patatas bravas stacks (tiny potato rostis topped with tomato sauce and chorizo then served with a garlic sauce on the side).
Don’t be put off by the hot pink prawn curled up on the rice bed like a dog that’s been bought a bed two sizes too small…
A little fishy on a little dishy
Everyone knows that the M&S salmon and potato salad is one of their most elite items, so those hot smoked salmon rosti bites are going STRAIGHT in my basket.
If you like your fish dishes really bite-sized, there’s also the smoked salmon appetisers that look like they’ve been lifted right out of a 1960s cookbook.
And of course, tiger prawns wrapped in various shapes and sizes of pastry, too.
Jingle baos
If you’d told me three years ago that bao would become a staple on every posh Christmas buffet, I’d have sent you to the hospital.
But they’re back for a third year in a new novelty festive shape, and this time, M&S has gone to new heights.
Presenting – double decker bao in the shape of a snowman, complete with cosy green scarf and a veggie pad Thai filling.
Some of them look like they’ve been through the wars, don’t they?
Pam Shipman would buy these
If you’re not a Gavin & Stacey fan, just imagine the following section being read aloud by a flapping (ideally Essex) mother with a fresh blowdry and a waft of YSL Libra about her.
“Those, Bryn, are M&S mushroom vol-oh-vohnts.”
“A little goat cheese tart for you, Smithy?” (“Who you calling a tart Pamelarrr you minx!”)
Basically, these are the posh little nibbles your mums will gravitate towards to show off their hosting gravitas.
Merry Texmexmas
M&S always seems to lean over to the States for inspiration for its party food and this year is no different.
They’ve got a real Tex-Mex flavour going on in 2025, with Christmas party food including mini vegetable tacos filled with peppers and sweetcorn.
There are also those impossible-to-eat-why-are-you-sliding-everywhere miniature beef burgers, back to piss me off for another year.
Ee by gum it must be Christmas
‘Ey up! Has M&S recruited an actual Northerner to help put together the party food for Christmas this year?!
We all know the deal with British pub food – a little bit stodgy, very comforting, and incredibly filling. Okay, now picture that, but not remotely filling.
M&S has brought back a couple of its miniature bites inspired by classic British fare – pies that fit in the palm of your hand (beef and ale, or chicken and leek), and Yorkshire puddings so small they must’ve been baked in a cupcake tin. Cute.
The most important picky bit of the day
Whether or not to bother with breakfast on Christmas morning seems to be a bit of a hot topic – what’s the point in a bowl of cornflakes when you’re readying to slam the biggest meal of the year in a matter of hours?
Well, M&S is making sure the most important meal of the day infiltrates all the way through to party time with these two.
A stack of miniature pancakes and slivers of bacon, plus pint-sized ham and cheese croissants. Has anyone ever handed you a croissant on a dancefloor before? This might be the year.
Better than your mum’s turkey curry
Oh now we’re cooking with tandoor! Not one, but two picky bits inspired by Britain’s national dish – curry. And the most British curry of all, a chicken tikka masala.
For Christmas this year M&S has created the world’s smallest naan breads, which are topped with tikka chicken and pickled pink onions.
And in the other hand, there are spiced potato and spinach dosa rolls, which we have literally never seen on any buffet spread before ever, but sure.
Get it before it’s scone
If your hand impulsively twitches towards a Christmas sandwich every time you’re shopping for a meal deal, get a load of this – tiny mini turkey feast toasties. Yay!
These tiny square sarnies have got pulled turkey, stuffing, ham hock, Emmental cheese, cranberry sauce AND gravy in them, somehow. When did M&S unlock a cheat code to overcome sandwich physics?
There are also miniature mature Barber’s cheddar scones, with honey and mustard pulled ham inside. They sound like a sheer winner.
That’s not a hambush, it’s a charcutertree!
Oh, look who’s back to make a mockery of your flat cheese board again. It’s the Christmas Charcuter-tree. Sigh.
Real fancy people present their cured meat and cheese selection in the shape of a Christmas tree (obviously) and M&S have got a build-you-own kit available for £23 (that’s actually two quid cheaper than last year).
I can only begin to imagine the meltdown I’d have as another piece of salami refused to act like tinsel and unravelled onto the table.
UK’s ‘happiest’ job is recruiting and will pay you £30k to travel and review holiday cottages
Emily Sergeant
Looking for a career change? Is 2026 the year you finally want to get yourself a side hustle? We might have just what you’re looking for.
That’s because holidaycottages.co.uk is on the hunt for one lucky individual for what could, quite frankly, be the dream job and is launching a nationwide search to find the UK’s first ‘Joy Seeker’ – a year-long content creator role offering £30,000 to explore the nation’s happiest destinations and share the joy along the way.
What exactly is a ‘Joy Seeker’ then? Well, the lucky applicant will become the face of the holiday cottage rental company’s new Happy Place campaign, and will embark on a 12-month journey to the UK’s 10 happiest destinations as voted for in a recent survey.
This will include stays at properties in some of the country’s most-popular holiday destinations like Cornwall, Pembrokeshire, and North Yorkshire.
The role requires the successful individual to share their adventures through photography, long and short-form social media content, and blog writing, all with the aim of ‘showcasing the joy’ of these places through ‘authentic’ storytelling.
From wandering the cobbled streets of Devon’s coastal villages, to hiking hidden trails in Welsh national parks, the role is about uncovering local stories and the country’s most unique charms.
All throughout 2026, the Joy Seeker’s content will be shared across holidaycottages.co.uk’s social media channels.
The UK’s ‘happiest’ job is recruiting and will pay you £30k to travel and review holiday cottages / Credit: Marie M (via Unsplash)
As part of the contract, the chosen candidate will receive a £30,000 content creator contract, get to stay for free in a minimum of 12 stunning holiday cottages, and have all travel expenses covered in the process.
Thinking of applying? You’ll need to be a confident and creative storyteller with a passion for travel, the outdoors, and celebrating local culture within the UK, and you’ll also need to be experienced in creating engaging content across various formats.
“This is more than just a job,” said Sarah Pring, who is the Digital PR Manager at holidaycottages.co.uk.
Emily Sergeant -
7th January 2021 
