Week ahead

TODAYChannel 4's celebrity version of Big Brother will return for a new series, rumoured to be starring Pamela Anderson and Boy George.

Rangers and Celtic are scheduled to clash in the New Year Old Firm game.

Fans of JRR Tolkien will raise a glass in a traditional toast to celebrate the birthday of the creator of The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit. He was born in 1892 in South Africa.

MONDAY

Political pundits expect the general election race to kick off. Conservative leader David Cameron is expected to publish a draft election manifesto, described internally as the "big bang".

The AA and RAC expect their busiest day of the year as cars fail to start after the long winter break.

Saleha Khatun, 23, is scheduled to appear at the Old Bailey to be tried for the murder of her 11-month-old son Mohammed Uddin in an alleged "baby shaking" case.

Paul Marshall, 47, is expected to stand trial for a robbery and the murder of Nasir Ali Turabee 24 years ago in London.

TUESDAY

Comedian Roy "Chubby" Brown, 64, is scheduled to appear before Teesside Magistrates' Court charged with common assault. He is alleged to have assaulted a woman, Kelly Oliver, in a car park in Middlesbrough.

The Costa Book Awards will announce the winners of its five categories before revealing its overall champion later this month.

WEDNESDAY

The Scottish Parliament will get back to work after the winter break.

London's foremost Christmas tree – in Trafalgar Square – will be ceremoniously recycled.

The trial of Syed Fahad Hashmi, who faces terrorism charges after his arrest in June 2006 in London, is scheduled to begin in New York.

THURSDAY

The Royal Mail will issue a set of stamps based on classic album covers from Pink Floyd, The Clash, Mike Oldfield, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, New Order, David Bowie, Blur, Primal Scream and Coldplay.

Travel agents will suffer or enjoy H-day – the most popular day of the year to book summer holidays.

FRIDAY

A biopic of Ian Dury called Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll will open in UK cinemas through Entertainment Film Distributors.

UK-wide auditions will begin in Glasgow to find a budding star to play Dorothy in a staging of The Wizard Of Oz for a new BBC talent contest.

Daniel Dighton, 34, a former teaching assistant, is set to appear at the Old Bailey accused of murdering his father Barry, 61, and his mother Elizabeth, 60, at the home the three shared in Croydon, south London.

SATURDAY

Manilans will celebrate the annual feast of the Black Nazarene. The event will include a religious parade of a 17th century life-size wooden statue of Jesus Christ. The statue was brought to Manila by the first group of Augustinian Recollect friars on 31 May, 1606.

The World Mountain Bike Chariot Racing Championships will be held in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales. The race, now in its second year, requires teams of three people, with two on bikes pulling a chariot carrying the third person. Toga wearing is not an entry requirement, but many teams choose to do so anyway.