As Ireland's diaspora streams steadily home for Christmas, Coming Home recalls John Healy's controversial articles on the impact of emigration from Co Mayo, written 30 years ago. Economists and industrialists, as well as EU Commissioner, Mr Padraig Flynn, and former Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey, discuss the effect of Mr Healy's campaign, while today's emigrants, returning via Knock Airport, offer their perspective too, on RTE 1, Tuesday, 7.25 p.m.7.55 p.m.

The cameras are also rolling at Heathrow airport, where the star of the documentary Airport series, unflappable Aeroflot check-in desk supervisor, Mr Jeremy Spake, is still shining brightly. Given the season, he cheerily dons plastic antlers, but refuses to lock horns with irate passengers, on BBC 1, Tuesday, 8.30 p.m.9 p.m.

While Christmas shoplifters are costing stores in Britain millions of pounds in lost revenue, a new system from the US could stop them in their tracks, Here and Now reports on BBC 1, Monday, 7.30 p.m.8 p.m.

From rags to rag-trade riches: the story of designer Gianni Versace's rise from the backstreets of a small Italian town to the world fashion stage features in Secret Lives, Channel 4, Tuesday, 9.30 p.m.10.30 p.m.

The following week the annual review programmes begin. Review of the Year, BBC 1, on Tuesday, December 30th, 10.30 p.m.11.45 p.m., features David Dimbleby's personal view of the year's events, while Decisive Mo- ments, BBC 2, New Year's Eve, 7.30 p.m.8.30 p.m., focuses on the best news photos of 1997.

On RTE 1, Sean Duignan revisits the "Thanks a Million Big Fella" story, amid the best of the annual news crop in News Review 1997, on New Year's Eve, 6.15 p.m.7.15 p.m. TnaG offers its round-up of the year's news as Gaelige, in Nuacht TnaG Speisialta Suil Siar '97, 9 p.m.10 p.m.