MUST-SEE SHOWS
THE REPAIR SHOP AT CHRISTMAS
Today, BBC1, 6.45pm
IF YOU think the regular Repair Shop programmes are tearjerkers, wait until you get a load of this festive edition.
First up, Vicar Steve and his wife Amanda hope the experts can revive the rocking horse they bought for their daughter when she was five years old.
Tragically she passed away two years later, but the couple hopes the sister she never met will be able to play with it in the future.
Then siblings want to breathe new life into a stereogram that was once at the heart of their family Christmas. A toy truck made by engineers during the Second World War and a vintage musical ornament from the US are also in need of some TLC.
THE SUPERVET AT CHRISTMAS
Tomorrow, Channel 4, 8pm
IT’S a busy time for the staff at Fitzpatrick Referrals, where Noel and the team are trying to make sure that all of their patients can be home for Christmas.
This year, there are also some famous faces, including Will Young, who has rescued Domino and Diamond, two dogs that
were facing euthanasia in America. Noel discovers that both canines have significant joint problems, but can he give them a new lease of life?
Meanwhile, Yasmin Le Bon and her daughters rush in their three-year-old French bulldog Willow, who is diagnosed with a disc extrusion so acute she can’t stand or walk on her back legs.
MEERKAT: A DYNASTIES SPECIAL
Monday, BBC1, 7.30pm SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH lends his dulcet tones to this fascinating documentary, which follows the fortunes of young meerkat queen Maghogho, who lives on the salt pans of Makagikadi in Botswana.
Thanks to the arid conditions, it’s one of the harshest environments on the planet, but she is determined to raise her pups there, with help from her extended family.
PENGUINS: MEET THE FAMILY Tuesday, BBC1, 6.30pm
DEPENDING on which source you rely on, there are between 17 and 20 living species of penguin. Liz Bonnin narrates as viewers are introduced to them all, meeting penguins living in dense forests, desert burrows and city streets, from the Equator to deepest Antarctica.
NOT GOING OUT
Wednesday, BBC1, 9pm
THE festive edition of Not Going Out has become a comedy highlight of the season over recent years. This year’s episode will be especially poignant because Bobby Ball, who plays Lee’s father Frank on the show, passed away in October.
We meet up with Lee (Lee Mack) and Lucy (Sally Bretton) on New Year’s Eve. They’re joined by Frank, Lucy’s parents Geoffrey (Geoffrey Whitehead) and Wendy (Deborah Grant), and friends Toby (Hugh Dennis) and Anna (Abigail Cruttenden).
Everything goes swimmingly until someone comes up with a new parlour game, that involves telling each other how they can improve their behaviour.
JOOLS’ ANNUAL HOOTENANNY
New Year’s Eve, BBC2, 11.15pm
IT WOULDN’T be New Year’s Eve without Jools’ annual shindig.
The Piano Man strikes up his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra for performances by Mercury Prize-winning Michael Kiwanuka, Celeste, Sir Tom Jones, Roisin Murphy, Rick Wakeman, Ruby Turner, Rag ‘n’ Bone Man and
the Pipes and Drums of the First Battalion Scots Guards.
There will also be archive footage of memorable moments from previous years.
DOCTOR WHO
New Year’s Day, BBC1, 6.45pm
JODIE WHITTAKER returns as everybody’s favourite Time Lord and this festive edition reintroduces the Doctor’s most feared foe – the Daleks.
Unfortunately for Yaz, Ryan and Graham, they can’t call on the Doctor’s help because she’s in a prison in some far-flung corner of the galaxy. Instead, the trio must battle the legion of evil themselves.
To spice things up a bit, John Barrowman is back in action as Captain Jack.