What’s on TV
ALL STAR MUSICALS ITV
Think of it as Strictly Come Singing, a contest in which celebrities train with seasoned stars of musicals to perform a number from a stage show in front of a live audience. Expect Tony Robinson, Nicky Campbell, Rebecca Front, Sally Phillips and Denise Lewis, with Michael Crawford and Andrew Flintoff in charge.
NIGELLA: AT MY TABLE, CHRISTMAS SPECIAL BBC TWO
We’ll already have been tucking into Nigella’s new, six-part BBC series (her first for two years) by the time the Christmas special arrives, laden with great culinary ideas for you to try during the festive season. What’s great about this TV chef is that her recipes are both delicious and accessible. Christmas is special, though, so expect her to push the boat out with both old favourites and new takes on classics.
ORDEAL BY INNOCENCE BBC ONE Now in its third year, Agatha Christie at Christmas has become an institution. This year, as usual, it’s a glossy, star-studded, three-part adaptation of one of the iconic crime writer’s best-loved stories. This time, it’s the turn of Eleanor Tomlinson and Bill Nighy to head the cast in a dark tale about the aristocratic Argyles, a ‘perfect’ family that falls apart at Christmas. Family. Murder. Christmas? Don’t get any ideas now.
RATBURGER, SKY & GRANDPA’S GREAT ESCAPE, BBC ONE
Children’s books by David Walliams sell, year round, like hot mince pies. Sky will show Ratburger, with Sheridan Smith as the rodent-loving little girl Zoe’s feckless mum, and Walliams himself as shifty Burt the burger man. Meanwhile, the BBC offers Grandpa’s Great Escape, the tale of a Second World War hero (Tom Courtenay) suffering from dementia but planning to flee his cruel care home with the help of his grandson, Jack.