The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching
Programmes
A Very Royal Christmas: Sandringham Secrets In this larky documentary, archive footage and interviews with “insiders” reveal the traditions, joke gifts and recipes of a typical Windsor Christmas on the Queen’s Norfolk estate. Mon 30 Nov, C4 21:00 (60mins).
New Elizabethans with Andrew Marr The BBC journalist, who recently wrote a book on this subject, examines attitudes to class, race and sexuality in Britain from the 1950s to today. Thur 3 Dec, BBC2 21:00 (60mins).
Grayson’s Art Club: The Exhibition The culmination of Perry’s lockdown series in which members of the public submitted works for an exhibition curated by the artist. This one-off special goes behind the scenes as preparations get underway at Manchester Art Gallery. Fri 4 Dec, C4 20:00 (60mins).
Waterhole: Africa’s Animal Oasis Expect close encounters with elephants and lions as Chris Packham and biologist Ella Al-Shamahi examine the place of the waterhole in the African ecosystem, with the help of submerged cameras. Fri 4 Dec, BBC2 21:00 (60mins).
The Sound of TV with Neil Brand A three-part exploration of that rarely considered subject – the TV theme tune. It covers everything from Coronation Street to The Simpsons and Game of Thrones. Fri 4 Dec, BBC4 21:00 (60mins).
Films
Monsoon (2019) A young British-Vietnamese man returns to the country of his birth for the first time in 30 years, in this sweet and affecting film. Sat 28 Nov, BBC2 22:00 (80mins).
Coriolanus (2011) For his directorial debut, Ralph Fiennes took Shakespeare’s demanding Roman tragedy and transposed it to a bloody contemporary Balkan conflict. Mon 30 Nov, BBC2 00:50 (115mins).
The Dam Busters (1955) Michael Redgrave stars as Dr Barnes N. Wallis in this classic war film, which covers both Wallis’s development of the bouncing bomb and the RAF mission, led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, on which it was deployed. Mon 30 Nov, Film4 15:35 (155mins).
The Double (2013) Dark psychological drama adapted by Richard Ayoade from Dostoyevsky’s novella, with Jesse Eisenberg as two characters who look uncannily alike yet are emotional opposites. Thu 3 Dec, Film4 01:45 (115mins).
New to Netflix
Mank Director David Fincher’s acclaimed film about Herman J. Mankiewicz – the Hollywood screenwriter who worked on Citizen Kane – is based on a script by his late father. It’s shot in black and white, and stars Gary Oldman in the title role. From Fri 4 Dec.