TV film of the week

THE BISHOP’S WIFE Thursday, BBC Four, 10pm

This festive fantasy from 1947 isn’t as well-known as other classics like It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street, but it has its charms. Cary Grant is a suave angel who descends from heaven to mend the marriage of a distraught bishop (David Niven) and his wife (Loretta Young). His initial fundraising efforts are welcomed by this man of the cloth, but complexities ensue when he suspects God’s envoy has designs on his wife. Cosy and undemanding, but also likable and witty: ideal for a Christmassy night in.