Stick to festive schedule
THIS year’s Christmas Day schedules have taken some stick. Come to think of it, so did last year’s. And the ones for the year before that. And the year before that. In fact, the last time I remember anyone saying: “These Christmas Day TV schedules look splendid to us,” they were celebrating with goblets of mead and starting their sentences with “verily”.
The truth, of course, is that the BBC, ITV etc are never going to put out their finest work ( and never have) on a day more commonly associated with eating, drinking and drifting in and out of consciousness. Instead, it’s about dishing us up an assortment of harmlessly undemanding stuff which, for the most part, will keep us quite amused and leave us with a nice warm glow. Well, that and the soaps.
On BBC1, that means a one- off ( for now) revival of BLANKETY BLANK ( 7pm), hosted by the ever reliable Bradley Walsh, that is immediately followed by this year’s Christmas special of CALL THE MIDWIFE ( 7.40pm), where it’s 1965, there’s a circus in town and Sister Monica Joan’s rather miffed to be laid up in hospital after taking a tumble ( no, not a tumble at the circus, don’t be silly).
BBC2, meanwhile, has the first in a new two- parter, VICTORIA WOOD: THE SECRET LIST
( 9.10pm, concluding Boxing Day), celebrating some of the sketches Victoria was most proud of.
ITV’S big- hitter, meanwhile, eating up the best part of two hours, is their BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT CHRISTMAS
SPECTACULAR ( 8pm), bringing back some of the most memorable acts since the show began 13 years ago.
A bit of variety, a bit of Ant and Dec – it actually seems like a rather nice idea. Unless, of course, you can’t stand variety shows and you can’t stand Ant and Dec, in which case it’s obviously a terrible idea and I’m sorry I even mentioned it.
That’s followed by IT’S CLARKSON ON TV ( ITV, 9.55pm), which is Jeremy’s personal pick of 2020’ s best, worst and weirdest telly moments.
As for ITV’s Boxing Day line- up, that includes the return of THE MASKED SINGER ( ooh, people in masks, that’ll be novel…) at 7pm, and a further dollop of Jeremy at 9.30pm, where his former nemesis Piers Morgan joins him for a WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? CELEBRITY SPECIAL.
Meanwhile, over on BBC1, a particularly heartrending edition ( just so you’re warned) of THE REPAIR SHOP AT CHRISTMAS
( 6.45pm) is followed by THE GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE CELEBRITY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL ( 7.45pm), finally revealing the answer to such age- old mysteries as whether or not Strictly’s Shirley Ballas is any good at making Christmas pyjama bottoms.