Midsomer Murders (ITV, 8pm)

YOU don't need to be a seasoned detective to realise DCI John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon) and DS Charlie Nelson (Gwilym Lee) are back for a six-part series in the rural area that has the highest mortality rate in ITV history... not to mention back-stabbing adulterers, jealous spouses, and the odd UFO encounter.

Barnaby and Nelson are joined by forensic pathologist Dr Kam Karimore, played by Manjinder Virk, and the usual who’s who of acting delivers the famous faces of Helen Baxendale, Diana Quick, Alison Steadman, Michelle Collins and Meera Syal.

We start with a rich landowner's body vanishing on the night of his death, unleashing a sinister web of secrets and lies in the village of Little Malton.

"There is a very mysterious beginning to episode one," says Dudgeon. "It appears that somebody has died but it seems, at first, that they haven't been murdered but have disappeared post-mortem. That must be a first for Midsomer Murders, not starting with a murder. It is a great challenge for the writers and producers of the show, to keep trying to find what you can do within the parameters of Midsomer.”

Newcomer Virk, who has appeared in The Bill, Doctors, Monroe and Ordinary Lies, confesses that joining the popular show was difficult: “It was really exciting and then slightly nerve-wracking because you realise how loved the show is and how much a part of the establishment it is I haven't really done anything like this before. Everyone I have spoken to has a soft spot for Midsomer Murders, it's one of those shows."

ITV's crime saga is such a money-spinner overseas that the format rarely changes.

"Midsomer is reinventing itself subtly without losing what it is. It's not trying to be anything other than what the show is and that's what viewers love. The plots are really complex and it is keeping the stories and the deaths imaginative,” says Virt.

In the past, Midsomer has featured crop circles in an attempt to cover up crimes, but next week there are mysterious lights seen over famous UFO hot-spot Cooper Hill. The one guarantee is that the culprits will not be from another world, or even Tim Peake popping home from the space station for a proper cup of tea.

Dickensian (BBC1, 8.30pm)

BOB Cratchit fights to clear his name to enable him to return home in time for his daughter's wedding, however the evidence is stacked up against him. Meanwhile, Compeyson's behaviour leaves Amelia feeling confused but intrigued. Stephen Rea, Pauline Collins, Caroline Quentin, Tom Weston-Jones, Tuppence Middleton, Anton Lesser and Omid Djalili star in this period drama, which re-imagines the works of Charles Dickens as inter-connected tales, set in a fictional version of 19th Century London.

Empire of the Tsars: Romanov Russia with Lucy Worsley (BBC4, 9pm)

THE Beeb is embracing all things Russian at the moment. On Sunday, its lavish treatment of Tolstoy's War and Peace made its debut, and appears to be a strong adaptation. But to give viewers a taste of real Russian history, they're also broadcasting this series presented by the effervescent Ms Worsley. She takes a look back at the Romanov dynasty, which ruled the country for more than three centuries. Worsley begins by profiling 16-year-old Mikhail Romanov, who was plucked from obscurity to become the Tsar in 1613, and his descendent Peter the Great.

Great Barrier Reef with David Attenborough (BBC1, 9pm)

THE much-loved broadcaster seems to be a genuine silver surfer - a member of the older generation who embraces new technology. To prove it, he uses the latest gadgets in this second episode to explore the shark-infested waters of Osprey Reef before returning to the nesting grounds of the Green Sea Turtle, 60 years after his first visit to Raine Island. He also marvels at manta ray cleaning stations on Lady Elliot Island, and tracks visitors such as dwarf minke whales to discover their surprising reasons for returning, and why the reef is vital for their survival.