Steve Corbett is the editor of The Sun TV Magazine and TV Soap. Here Steve previews the TV highlights for 2017 and reveals who he would have on his Gogglebox sofa.

What big TV hits can we look forward to in 2017?

If you thought 2016 was good, you ain’t seen nothing yet. I have to be a little careful not to give too much away, as TV Magazine will frequently know about new shows before anyone else. You might have heard the BBC announce a new Mrs Brown’s Boys chat show – TV Magazine broke that news, courtesy of an exclusive interview with Brendan O’Carroll, in our Christmas Eve issue, and whether you’re a fan or not, you just know All Round To Mrs Brown’s will be watched by millions.

You could break it down this way:

And that’s just on terrestrial.

On Sky/’digital’ channels there’s Game Of Thrones, Billions, The Americans, Twin Peaks, X Men: Legion. On All4 loads of Walter Presents – look out for Valkyrien – and Netflix and Amazon Prime will be investing more than ever – obviously there’s Stranger Things 2, The Crown 2 might make it into 2017, Star Trek: Discovery, and then Britannia, Amazon’s co-production with Sky, should please a lot of people. And hayu is really flying under the radar but it’s absolutely loaded with reality shows and should see some growth (my guilty pleasure is Million Dollar Listing).

How many TV hours do you clock up per week?

Having a long commute means I can watch almost four hours of shows every day. I get home fairly late so will try to catch ‘event TV’ live – and don’t believe what you read, there’s still so much of that and will be for a long time to come – and as Editor of TV Soap, I have to find time to watch all of the soaps too. Something does occasionally happen in EastEnders outside of debates about bins, so it’s important to tune in. Then I’ll preview what I need to in the office, as we have to be sure that if we’re going to recommend a show, it’s because we know it’s good, not because a press release or a tweet insists it is. So it’s hard to put a figure on it, but let’s just say I’m right up there with The Sun’s Ally Ross in hours of TV watched.

Who has been your juiciest TV Mag interview?

That’s an interesting question because TV Magazine has a very distinct role within The Sun and serves a specific audience. We get exclusive access to the biggest names on TV – Ant and Dec, Cowell, Walliams, Barlow, McIntyre, Attenborough, Cumberbatch – and will deliver fantastic newsworthy lines, but more often than not in relation to the TV show they are on. Remember, that’s our raison d’être. If we have a Sherlock cover and an interview with Benedict Cumberbatch, the audience will want to hear all the secrets of filming, what happened on set, what the storylines are, who the new characters are, who lives and who dies, who returns, what Benedict thinks of this series and whether he’ll do more.

Who would you choose to sit alongside you on a Gogglebox sofa?

Any of our readers. The most important opinion I need to hear is theirs, as knowing what they watch, and hearing what they enjoy and what they don’t can help us make better decisions when it comes to the shows we cover. Failing that, Prince Philip. I’m fascinated to know what the Royal Family watch and hear them comment on it – a Gogglebox-style show with the Duke of Edinburgh tuning in to the likes of Fleabag would be the best thing you have ever seen.

What are your three TV watching essentials?