Victoria Coren Mitchell

A gambler’s guide to the odds on the next Strictly hosts This week, Victoria is considering who should replace Tess and Claudia

In my TV column today – well, it’s indiscreet, but I’m blowing the whistle on the likely next host of Strictly Come Dancing.

www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2026/01/1...

Perfect evening.

I can see you.

! We pre-date House of Games by about ten years. But that’s okay, we were happy to share.

Tonight is the second semi final of this year’s Only Connect! The final semifinal, if you will. Last chance to join that great historical pantheon of finalists/Third Placers! Or, for you, antepenultimate chance to angrily eat Minstrels while scoring 0.

Pitchers v. Worked Bees, 8pm on BBC Two

The last new Only Connect special of the year is on tonight! Even more important than the Third Place Playoff, it’s the THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF PLAYOFF! If you like threesomes, tune into BBC Two at 8pm.

Yes, that was a repeat of an old special. The new ones are the Pub Quiz and Christmas special from last week, then tomorrow and Wednesday night’s shows.

Tonight’s Only Connect is a normal Monday night episode - back in the main series, and quite the challenge for anyone who’s been mainlining Tia Maria since Christmas Eve. The specials resume tomorrow night!

8pm, BBC Two

Well played!

Happy Christmas Eve! The most festive of the Only Connect seasonal shows – the actual proper Only Connect Christmas special - is at 8 o’clock tonight, on BBC Two.

How did it go ??

Excellent credentials.

The Only Connect specials begin tonight! The first one was something of an experiment. I think we might have broken a few rules so I won’t say more than: I hope you enjoy it. Cheers! 🍻

8pm, BBC Two

From tomorrow night onwards, there’s a series of lighthearted Only Connect festive specials on BBC Two. But there’s a proper episode tonight at 8pm, for anyone who wants a last shot at difficulty before the liqueurs kick in. (When you watch tomorrow night’s, you’ll know how literally I mean that.)

Only Connect is on in half an hour! But don’t worry if you’re doing something else. Whatever it is, it’s bound to be more relaxing.

I can only hope they appreciated the caption.

Very glad to see it in book form! I’ll buy one.

Winter Wonderland is great this year, but I must say there’s a terrible wait to use the phone.

One of my favourite questions of the series appears in tonight’s Only Connect - I’d better not tell you the whole thing, but it starts “A village in Norway, annually.”

And if you can get it from that, I’ll see you next series!

8pm on BBC Two

That’s nice! Thank you very much. I’ll take good morning. Although it’s night.

From the Isle of Wight, here’s an early Christmas present to warm your cockles (and make you cringe) This week, Victoria has been watching The Cockfields

My column today is about Joe Wilkinson, therapy and the Isle of Wight.

www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/the-coc...

Yes! That’s my gambling problem in a nutshell: I need a hand!

It isn’t hard to see why ‘trad wives’ are big business. This fantasy of domestic life is enticing This week, Victoria has been watching Hannah Neeleman’s Ballerina Farm series

My column today is about Ballerina Farm, Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and my rickety past.

www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/trad-wi...

Here’s a recommendation for the cold winter nights: treat yourself to a rich slice of Hamm This week, Victoria has been watching Your Friends & Neighbors

For once, in my TV column, I’ve got a great recommendation for you!

www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/jon-ham...

… although I am now wandering about the house singing it.

I think I must have previously misunderstood the meaning of “wicker”.

Always in my comfort zone when asking awkward questions, tonight I enquire of the unsuspecting teams: *have you ever given blood*?

It’s the closest Only Connect gets to a Halloween special, at 8pm on BBC Two.

Want to play The Traitors at home? All you need is a pen and paper This week, Victoria has been watching The Celebrity Traitors

My column today is about the wonderful Celebrity Traitors. I open with a wistful reflection on what to do when your pumpkins deflate and you pack away your wizards’ sleeves for winter.

www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/traitor...

How come primary school children are encouraged to go to school in costumes, but secondary school children aren’t? Anybody who thinks that 11 (or 13, or 35) is “time to grow up”, is profoundly wrong.

happy Halloween!

I think I’ve found my new stage name