At-a-glance guide to the best holiday television

Christmas Eve

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Animated adaptation of Michael Rosen’s well-loved tale. C4 7.30pm (30mins). Repeated 25 Dec, 5.25pm. Alan Bennett’s Diaries In a series of encounters filmed over a year, the playwright reflects on his childhood and the state of the world today. BBC2 8pm (60mins).

Christmas Day

Dancing the Nutcracker: Inside the Royal Ballet A behind-the-scenes look at the preparations for this season’s performance of the Tchaikovsky classic. BBC2 4pm (90mins). Dallas Buyers Club (2013) True story of a Texan cowboy, Ron Woodroof, who helped transform HIV treatment. With Matthew Mcconaughey. C5 10.30pm (135mins). Vertigo (1958) James Stewart and Kim Novak star in Hitchcock’s superb psychological thriller. Film4 1.20am (160mins).

Boxing Day

West Side Story (1961) Bernstein and Sondheim’s musical transports Romeo and Juliet to 1950s New York. C5 2.15pm (185mins). Revolting Rhymes Two-part animation based on Roald Dahl’s popular rhymes. BBC1 6.30pm (30mins) and Tue 27 Dec, 6.30pm. Pride (2014) Uplifting drama about an unlikely alliance between gay-rights activists and striking miners in the 1980s. BBC2 10.30pm (115mins). The Witness for the Prosecution New twopart Agatha Christie adaptation with an all-star cast. BBC1 9pm (60mins) and Tue 27 Dec, 9pm.

Wed 28 December

The Arrivals Touching documentary about the lives of travellers passing through Heathrow. Julie Walters narrates. C4 7pm (30mins). Ethel and Ernest (2016) Charming animated film based on Raymond Briggs’s graphic memoir of his parents’ lives. BBC1 7.30pm (90mins).

Thur 29 December

To Walk Invisible Drama about the Brontës, with Jonathan Pryce. BBC1 9pm (120mins).

New Year’s Day

Titanic: The New Evidence In this film, Titanic expert Senan Molony examines evidence that a major fire broke out on the doomed ship shortly before she sank. C4 8pm (60mins). Sherlock Benedict Cumberbatch returns as the eponymous detective. BBC1 8.30pm (90mins).

Mon 2 January

The Halcyon Eight-part wartime drama set in a glamorous London hotel, with Olivia Williams and Steven Mackintosh. ITV1 9pm (60mins).

Wed 4 January

Black Souls (2014) Gripping Italian thriller about a Calabrian mob family at war. Film4 1.25am (135mins).