The twelve best of Christmas: programmes guaranteed to have us all glued to our festive box of delights
The Great Christmas Bake Off
Christmas Eve, C4, 7.40pm
THE jolly GBBO team is joined by host Tom Allen in the famous tent, which welcomes back some of the show’s most popular past contestants for plenty of yummy festive bakes including Ruby Bhogal, finalist from the 2018 series.
Call the Midwife
Christmas Day, BBC1, 7.40pm
THE popular period drama sees the nurses in 1965 and the Christmas feast at Nonnatus House is in for some grief, a surprise reunion and an unexpected visit to hospital.
Gogglebox: Best of 2020
Christmas Day, C4, 9.10pm
ALWAYS guaranteed to raised a smile and a chuckle, tune in to be reunited for a highlights episode that brings together the Siddiquis, the Malones and the Michaels. Also be on the lookout for Gogglebox: Festive Special on New Year’s Day.
Angela’s Christmas Wish
Christmas Day, RTE1, 5.15pm
THE 45-minute animated tale, set in 1900s Limerick, stars Ruth
Negga, Jared Harris and Caitriona Balfe. It tells the touching story of a determined little girl who sets out to reunite her family in time for December 25.
Mrs Brown’s Boys
Christmas Day, BBC1 and RTE, 10pm and 9pm respectively
PERHAPS set to be the biggest ratings winner for 2020, tune in to see how Mrs Brown and all the gang in Finglas are coping with lockdown life. Fans can expect a second helping of cheer and antics from the Irish matriarch on New Year’s Day.
The Masked Singer
Boxing Day, ITV, 7pm
GET ready for another 12 celebrities to don wonderful and bizarre costumes to confound the panel and viewers alike in a bid to win the show’s title. Mo Gillian joins Jonathan Ross, Davina Mccall and Rita Ora on the panel
Give My Head Peace
December 27, BBC One NI, 10.30pm
BACK with the first of four brand new episodes, and it’s
Christmas for Da, Cal, Ma, Uncle Andy, Billy and Dympna, who are reflecting back on the big event of the year — not Covid, but when everyone gathered in the Knee Breakers for the reading of Big Mervyn’s will. And it seems he may have left a surprise gift!
Black Narcissus
December 27, BBC One, 9pm
A classy three-part remake of the 1947 Powell & Pressburger film in which a group of young nuns attempt to establish a mission at a remote clifftop palace once known as the House of Women. Haunting mysteries awaken forbidden desires that appear to suggest tragedies are destined to be repeated. Gemma Arterton and Game Of Thrones actor Aisling Franciosi star.
Gloria: My Life On TV
December 28, BBC One NI, 10.30pm
THIS special programme marks the 80th birthday of Northern Ireland broadcasting legend Gloria Hunniford, and celebrates the television star who helped pave the way for women in broadcasting.
Gloria talks about her amazing small screen career spanning six decades, and the programme also hears from the star’s friends Sir Cliff Richard, Daniel O’donnell, Eamonn Holmes and Christine Lampard.
Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina New Year’s Eve, Netflix
PERFECT for those who prefer Halloween to Christmas, this final series of the hit show based on the comics about a teen witch navigating high school and her destiny is certain to go with a fiery exit. Expect these latest batch of episodes to begin where the last series left off, with two Sabrinas: one in Greendale and the other ruling hell.
Doctor Who
New Year’s Day, BBC One, 6.45pm
WE join Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor trapped in an alien prison as her three companions battle adversaries minus her help. Expect a new look for the Daleks who make a welcome return.
The Serpent
New Year’s Day, BBC One, 9pm
BASED on the true story of conman and killer Charles Sobhraj, who travelled across Asia throughout the mid-1970s evading the law, it stars Tahar Rahim as the murderer and Queen Victoria’s Jenna Coleman as his lover and accomplice, Marie-andree Leclerc.
An eight-part series, this crime drama was a joint production between the Beeb and Netflix. Expect it to be the series on everyone’s lips at the start of 2021.