The Herald - The Herald Magazine
BOX SETS AND ON DEMAND
Click and Collect (BBC1, 9pm)
questions about the best present they had ever received, what was the best Christmas food and so on. The audience voted on their answers, and the winning items went into a hamper for one lucky punter to take home, with a trip to New York thrown in as well.
It was all silly and cheesy but good-natured, and I can see it coming back next year. People like Armstrong, and the feeling seems to be mutual. You cannot fake that kind of sincerity.
Inside the Christmas Factory (BBC2, Monday, 9pm) sounded promising. Gregg Wallace and his little helpers were finding out about all things festive, from how Quality Street is made to what goes into the creation of fancy tree ornaments.
Wallace spent his time in the Quality Street factory (whatever happened to the BBC not being seen to advertise products?) and managed to last a whole 11 minutes before saying he felt like Roald Dahl’s Charlie.
Historian and co-presenter Ruth Goodman covered the Christmas dinner side of things by visiting a flock of turkeys. In case you did not know what a cooked turkey looked like, she had made one earlier. “A great big roasted bird is surely what we all have in mind for Christmas dinner,” she declared. That includes vegetarians as well, does it, Ruth?
On and on went the show, facts and figures shooting off the production line, tons of this, percentage of that. It was meant to be educational and fun at the same time but it was in fact incredibly boring. The content could have made a short item on The One Show; as an hour-long show it dragged like a sleigh travelling through toffee.
If they ever want to go inside a factory that makes baby bears, I’m in. Otherwise, Gregg, mate, get back to MasterChef.
same day. Meanwhile, Terri tries “micro-blading”, with disastrous results. The impressive supporting cast includes Camille Coduri and Romesh Ranganathan.
CHRISTMAS EVE Child Genius vs Celebrities Christmas Special (C4, 8pm)
We’re not denigrating the intellectual capabilities of the celebrities involved in this programme but we reckon the kids are going to trounce them. While the famous folk probably have a better all-round grasp of general knowledge and the ways of the world, the youngsters are specialists in their chosen field. The brave souls taking them on are Jimmy Carr, Rick Edwards, Charlotte Hawkins and Shazia Mirza.
Bad Move: Festive Cheer (STV, 8.30pm)
Nicky and Steve make a pact not to celebrate Christmas and are determined to treat it just like any other day. However, when Nicky takes pity on Alice, a wily elderly woman from the village, they find themselves hosting a drinks party on Christmas Eve. Nicky’s father is invited, as are Matt and Meena, the world’s smuggest neighbours, but an unexpected turn of events leads to their house guests staying longer than any of them intended.
Are you one of those people who leaves your Christmas shopping until the last minute, then faces a mad dash to find gifts for your loved ones? If so, then you will have some sympathy for Stephen Merchant’s character Andrew in this one-off comedy. It’s Christmas Eve and Andrew has failed to buy the one present his six-year-old daughter really wants – Sparklehoof the Unicorn Princess. As it also happens to be the must-have toy of the season, he can’t track one down in London for love nor money. However, help is at hand from Andrew’s irritating neighbour Dev (Asim Chaudhry), who reveals he’s managed to track down the last one in the UK.
Would I Lie to You? At Christmas (BBC1, 10pm)
Rob Brydon hosts a festive edition of the comedy panel show in which the participants aim to hoodwink their opponents with absurd facts and plausible lies about themselves in a bid to secure a team victory. Joining team captains David Mitchell and Lee Mack for the Christmas fun are Peter Kay’s Car Share star Sian Gibson, former Slade frontman Noddy Holder, comedian James Acaster and singer Lily Allen.
CHRISTMAS DAY Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special (BBC1, 5.30pm)
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman present a festive edition for Christmas Day, which sees the return of six old favourites from past series. Anita Rani, Caroline Flack, Ann Widdecombe, Aston Merrygold, Jake Wood and Michael Vaughan will all be taking to the dancefloor to perform a Christmas-inspired routine, while judges Shirley Ballas, Darcey Bussell, Bruno Tonioli and Craig Revel Horwood assess their efforts and decide who will be this year’s Christmas champions.
Call the Midwife Christmas Special (BBC1, 7.45pm)
As Poplar prepares for Christmas, the nuns travel to the Mother House to elect a new mother superior. Sister Julienne is the obvious replacement and must face this possibility as her future at Nonnatus House hangs in the balance. As they get ready to leave, Sister Mildred, an indefatigable member of their order, arrives unexpectedly with four Chinese orphans en route to the Children’s Home at the Mother House while, back in Poplar, Trixie returns from Portofino with her troubles behind her and Valerie leads the baby ballet Christmas performance.
The Great Christmas Bake Off (C4, 8pm)
Liam Charles may not have won the eighth series of The Great British Bake Off – he went out in the quarter-finals and Sophie Faldo eventually took the
Castle Rock (Amazon Prime Video, available now)
Stephen King fans will love this 10-part psychological horror series. Although it features an original story, the plot is populated by characters and settings familiar to those who have read his novels and focuses on the terrors lurking within a few square miles of Maine woodland. The story begins in 1991 when Sheriff Alan Pangborn finds Henry Deaver, a missing child, standing on a frozen lake. In the present day, a prison guard at Shawshank Penitentiary finds The Kid locked in an underground cage. He whispers Henry’s name, but what could possibly link them, and why was The Kid hidden away? Sissy Spacek, Bill Skarsgard and Andre Holland star.
You (Netflix, from Wed)
Author Caroline Kepnes has written a variety of gripping thrillers during her career. Stephen King described her 2014 novel You as “hypnotic and scary... Totally original. Never read anything quite like it. A little Ira Levin, a little Patricia Highsmith and plenty of serious snark.” So it’s no surprise it has been turned into a TV series, in which Penn Badgley takes the lead role as Joe Goldberg, a New York bookshop manager who becomes obsessed with a customer, aspiring writer Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail). He begins stalking her, using social media to research ways in which he can remove all the obstacles standing in the way of them being together forever. A second series has already been commissioned.