The Graham Norton Show (BBC1, 10.35pm)

HOLLYWOOD icon Johnny Depp is first guest on Graham Norton's couch as he discusses his new mobster movie Black Mass. The thriller is based on the true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.

Depp's co-star in the film is Benedict Cumberbatch, who will be expected to spill the beans on the forthcoming BBC1 Sherlock New Year special, in which the title character and his partner Dr Watson find themselves in 1890s London – the setting for the original books by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Much excitement has followed the announcement that the show will be shown on New Year's Day in the UK and US.

"I can exclusively reveal that the long wait for Sherlock will begin again in the late evening of January 1," writer Steven Moffat told an audience at London ComicCon recently.

"...2024," joked Sherlock co-creator Sedgefield-born Mark Gatiss, before producer Sue Vertue confirmed "and it will go out in America on the same day."

The working title was simply the Sherlock Special (or indeed the Sherlock Christmas Special), while shooting was taking place but we now have a name for the project.

"The special is called the Abominable Bride," announced Gatiss, adding that it is based on "Ricoletti of the club foot and his abominable wife", which is one of the cases Watson refers to in the original Sherlock Holmes stories, but not one that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle actually expanded on.

Sounds a little more than elementary for Cumberbatch to expand on.

Graham's third guest is none other than Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, who is taking another important step to moving away from his association with the boy wizard in the upcoming period film Victor Frankenstein.

Radcliffe and his co-star, X-Men and Shameless actor James McAvoy, will tell the host all about the drama which gives Mary Shelley's legendary tale a dynamic and thrilling twist.

And if that wasn't enough, there's music from recently reformed Irish group The Corrs who will performing a track from their sixth studio album, White Light.

And fans of Mr N will always look forward to the finale where one or two audience members face a tumble from the specially rigged red ejector seat if a funny story they tell isn't interesting enough.

Burt Bacharach: A Life in Song (BBC4, 9pm)

COVERAGE of a unique concert staged at London's Royal Festival Hall celebrating the music of songwriter and performer Burt Bacharach. Some of his most famous songs are performed by artists including Alfie Boe, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Shaun Escoffery, Rebecca Ferguson, Justin Hayward, Michael Kiwanuka, Laura Mvula and Joss Stone. Burt himself also performs, accompanied by his band, and chats to Michael Grade about the art of songwriting and shares the stories behind some of his best-loved hits.

The best advice he ever had was: “Never be ashamed of a melody you can remember.” The fact that 1960s songs like Walk On By and I Say A Little Prayer still create emotion in listeners is proof of Mr B's genius.

Great Continental Railway Journeys (BBC2, 9pm)

MICHAEL Portillo ends his journey by tracing the early 20th-Century roots of the Spanish Civil War, which divided his family and sent his father into exile. Portillo’s father fled in 1939 and Michael talks to a historian whose mother left at roughly the same time: “We both have ghosts,” they agree.

The former politician discovers a nation fractured at the time by social tensions and regional loyalties, which today offer a rich diversity of cultures to delight the tourist. After arriving in Mallorca from Barcelona, Michael spoils himself enjoying spectacular scenic views aboard a 1912 vintage railway and a 1913 tram. He also gets trampled underfoot at the bottom of a Catalan "people steeple" and learns to make the perfect paella.

Viv Hardwick