Six Nations Live (STV, 2.45pm)
AT the end of February, Ireland’s Six Nations match against Italy in Dublin was cancelled as the coronavirus pandemic began to take an increasingly devastating grip around the world. Now, seven months on from the last fixture, the competition is finally ready to resume at the Aviva Stadium.
This is both teams’ fourth match of the championship, with Ireland winning both their home fixtures, against Scotland and Wales, but losing at Twickenham. However, they will be expecting to get back to winning ways today as the Italians have not won a Six Nations contest since 2015.
Strictly Come Dancing (BBC1, 7.25pm)
LAST week, we got the launch show and found out which celebrities had been paired with which professionals. Now it’s time to see the partnerships in action as the 12 couples take to the floor to make their debut performances in the first live episode. The pandemic means there have been some changes – for a start, there are only three judges, Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse, as Bruno Tonioli is set to miss some of the early live shows due to the difficulties of commuting between Britain and the US.
However, there will still be glitz, fancy footwork and presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. Plus, as in previous years, the celebrities won’t face being booted off this week. Instead, their scores will be carried over to next week, when the public will get a say in who stays and who goes.
DNA (BBC4, 9pm)
AN impressive cast, including Britain’s Charlotte Rampling and rising Polish star Zofia Wichlacz, appear in this new Danish crime thriller from Torleif Hoppe, the co-creator of The Killing. It follows Rolf Larsen, a respected Copenhagen detective whose life changes forever when his baby daughter goes missing.
Five years later, a serious flaw is uncovered in the Danish police’s DNA basis that offers a new lead and raises hopes Rolf’s daughter may be alive. Will investigating a parallel case lead him to the truth about what happened to his child?
Inna de Yard (Sky Arts, 10pm)
WRITER and director Peter Webber’s joyous, vibrant film had its world premiere at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival and set against a backdrop of the lush green mountains of Jamaica. It sees a superstar group of reggae legends – including Ken Boothe, Kiddus I, Cedric Myton, Winston McAnuff and Judy Mowatt – join together to record a new album of hits in an unplugged style that harks back to their roots. The documentary also doubles as a love letter to and retrospective of reggae music, as it recounts the history and cultural importance of the genre.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here