TV ON DEMAND

Robin Wiggs’s guide to the best TV and movies on iplayer, Netflix and more…

DRAMA A CHRISTMAS CAROL

BBC IPLAYER ★★★★

Peaky Blinders’ Steven Knight is the force behind this dark take on the Dickens tale, with Guy Pearce as a convincing Ebenezer Scrooge – ‘the man with an ice pick for a heart’ – and Stephen Graham as Marley.

SUSAN HILL’S GHOST STORY

MY5 ★★★★

Gothic adaptation of Susan Hill’s unsettling 2010 novel The Small Hand, starring Douglas Henshall as a book dealer who is confronted with his past by a ghostly child.

COMEDY THE GOES WRONG SHOW

BBC IPLAYER ★★★★

A hapless acting troupe stages six doomed plays for TV in this slapstick-filled series from Mischief Theatre, starting with a visit by Father Christmas to a family home.

WORZEL GUMMIDGE

BBC IPLAYER ★★★★

Environmentally conscious revival of the scarecrow comedy, with Mackenzie Crook as an endearing Worzel and Vicki Pepperdine on fabulously creepy form as Aunt Sally.

FAMILY THE TIGER WHO CAME TO TEA

ALL 4 ★★★★★

Judith Kerr’s tale of a hungry tiger is finely brought to life for this delightful animation. Robbie Williams sings the theme tune (the appropriately titled Hey Tiger!) and David Walliams provides the narration, while Benedict Cumberbatch, David Oyelowo and Tamsin Greig are the voices of the characters.

THE SNAIL AND THE WHALE

BBC IPLAYER ★★★★★

Magic Light Pictures continues its march through the works of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler with this festive treat. Look out for the stunningly animated underwater scenes as the snail (Sally Hawkins) embarks on an epic trip on the back of the whale (Rob Brydon). The moment when lightning flashes above the water is pure Blue Planet.

DOCUMENTARY DOLLY PARTON – HERE I AM

BBC IPLAYER ★★★★

Dolly tells her own story in a rich, featurelength profile that’s particularly insightful on the difference between persona and person.

LAST CHANCE THE WAR OF THE WORLDS

BBC IPLAYER ★★★

The BBC’S three-parter isn’t big on spectacle, but it’s a solid piece of drama. Until Monday.