From Six Puppies and Us to Smiley's People: What to watch on TV tonight

You can also catch Billionaire's Paradise: Inside Necker Island on BBC2 at 9pm

It's puppy love in BBC2's Six Puppies and Us (BBC)

Six Puppies and Us

8pm, BBC2

Every year more than a quarter of a million British households take in a puppy – often fashionable but lively cross-breeds such as “Yorkie-poos” and “Labradoodles” – and many struggle with the young dog’s “difficult” first 12 months.

This two-parter follows six families and their struggles with bitey and indefatigable new four-legged members, and you can’t help feeling that perhaps this should have aired before Christmas as some sort of reality-check.

Billionaire’s Paradise: Inside Necker Island

9pm, BBC2

Necker, a 74-acre private island in the middle of the Caribbean, may be paradise to its owner, Richard Branson, who lets rooms out to paying guests at £30,000 a week (if you prefer, the whole island can be yours for £280,000 a week), but it looks like aspirational hell on earth to me.

This free advert for Branson’s holiday business talks to the man himself, and various guests who fancy treading in the footsteps of Princess Diana, Kate Moss and Harry Styles.

Smiley’s People

10pm, BBC4

John le Carré himself came on board as joint writer for this follow-up to the BBC’s 1979 adaptation of his Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Alec Guinness reprises his role as George Smiley.

Count Arthur Strong

10.35pm, BBC1

Steve Delaney’s titular “variety legend” makes a welcome return – having been promoted to BBC1. As Michael (Rory Kinnear) struggles with writer’s block, Count Arthur has completed his “racy novel for the over-seventies.”