The best festive TV, film and radio
DRAMA ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL: CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
This drama series about vets in the chocolate-box Yorkshire Dales is first-class comfort viewing. It’s Christmas Eve and James is trying to come to terms with the fact that Helen is marrying Hugh in the morning – although she doesn’t seem very happy about it. Tuesday 22, Channel 5, 9pm
WORZEL GUMMIDGE: SAUCY NANCY
Viewers of a certain age who recall Jon Pertwee’s Worzel were sceptical about Mackenzie Crook and his reboot, but last Christmas’s two films were a triumph. This time Worzel is helping out his old friend, ship’s figurehead Saucy Nancy (Shirley Henderson here but the late Barbara Windsor in the Pertwee version). Christmas Eve, BBC1, 5.55pm
ROALD AND BEATRIX: THE TAIL OF THE CURIOUS MOUSE
Roald Dahl claimed to have met Beatrix Potter when he was a child. Dahl was a proven fantasist but this imaginative film accepts that the meeting took place and speculates about what might have happened. Dawn French is the middleaged Potter, Harry Tayler the young Dahl. Christmas Eve, Sky One, 8.15pm
BLACK NARCISSUS
A group of nuns attempts to establish a school in the Himalayas but the wild, elemental nature of the place has a disturbing effect on them. Gemma Arterton and Alessandro Nivola star in this brooding, beautifully filmed adaptation of Rumer Godden’s novel, also made into a classic Powell and Pressburger film with Deborah Kerr in 1947. Sunday 27, BBC1, 9pm
UNCLE VANYA
This stage production of Chekhov’s play received rave reviews when it opened in January but its run was cut short by Covid. A special film of it was made during lockdown. Toby Jones is brilliant in the title role, and the themes of regret and wasted lives seem more resonant than ever. Wednesday 30, BBC4, 10pm
DOCTOR WHO
She’s back, of course, and so are the Daleks (in Downing Street), Captain Jack and ruthless businessman Jack Robertson. The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) is actually in a high-security alien prison at the start of this special, which will also see us saying goodbye to companions Graham and Ryan. New Year’s Day, BBC1, 6.45pm
THE SERPENT
Drama series based on the real-life serial killer Charles Sobhraj, who preyed on Western backpackers on the hippy trail of South East Asia in the 1970s. French star Tahar Rahim – so brilliant in The Looming Tower – is Sobhraj, nicknamed The Serpent. Jenna Coleman plays his accomplice. New Year’s Day, BBC1, 9pm
COMEDY UPSTART CROW: LOCKDOWN CHRISTMAS 1603
The plague has hit London again and Will (David Mitchell) and Kate (Gemma Whelan) are in lockdown, in Ben Elton’s festive two-hander. Kate bakes, Will gets cracking on another play – or tries to. As we know, in real life Shakespeare did write some of his greatest plays as the plague raged. Monday 21, BBC2, 9pm
GHOSTS
Excellent episode of the spooky sitcom. The ghosts of Button House aren’t huge fans of Christmas so it seems unlikely that Mike’s plans to make things perfect for his visiting family will go without a hitch. And we learn much more about trouserless MP Julian in flashbacks to one of his Christmases. Wednesday 23, BBC1, 8.30pm
MOTHERLAND CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
How are the middle-class mothers coping this Christmas? It’s alpha mum Amanda’s (Lucy Punch) seasonal soiree, and although the rest of the gang aren’t invited, they turn up anyway and proceed to ignore Amanda’s many rules (dark drinks indoors are verboten, obviously). Chaos – and hilarity – ensues. Wednesday 23, BBC2, 9pm
CINDERELLA: A COMIC RELIEF PANTOMIME FOR CHRISTMAS
There’s a cracking Christmas cast including Olivia Colman, Helena Bonham Carter and Tom Hollander for this panto produced by Richard Curtis and the Comic Relief team. Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page is Prince Charming and The Queen’s Gambit’s Anya Taylor-Joy plays Cinders. Christmas Eve, BBC2, 8.15pm
VICTORIA WOOD: THE SECRET LIST
Years before she died at the age of 62, Victoria Wood made a list of her sketches that she regarded as the best but, for some reason, the ‘best of’ show was never made. Here, better late than never, across two hour-long episodes are the comic’s favourite skits from her first solo series, Victoria Wood: As Seen On TV from 1985. Christmas Day, BBC2, 9.10pm; Boxing Day, BBC2, 9.05pm
MRS BROWN’S BOYS
Agnes Brown and family prepare for Christmas and New Year and… well, you know the drill. Expect all the usual mugging to camera, the ad-libbing and the broad (as a barn door) double entendres. Christmas Day, BBC1, 9.10pm; New Year’s Day, BBC1, 10pm
NOT GOING OUT
Ahead of the 11th series, the zinger-packed Lee Mack sitcom returns along with Hugh Dennis, Abigail Cruttenden, Deborah Grant and the late Bobby Ball, who died in
October. Lee and Lucy are hosting New Year’s Eve but seasonal goodwill is not much in evidence when New Year’s resolutions are mooted. Wednesday 30, BBC1, 9pm
ENTERTAINMENT MIRANDA’S GAMES WITH SHOWBIZ NAMES
Robbie Williams and Shirley Ballas are among the names joining Miranda Hart for what the comedian describes as a ‘half-hour of silliness’. Celebrity couples take part in daft challenges in their own home. Christmas Eve, BBC1, 9.45pm
STRICTLY COME DANCING
The 25 most popular dances from 16 years of the show (including last year’s winner, Kelvin Fletcher), as voted for by viewers, including the perfect performances and the routines that have made us laugh. With commentary from Tess Daly, Claudia Winkleman, the judges, professionals and contestants. Christmas Day, BBC1, 4.45pm
BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR
For once, David Walliams and his fellow judges Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and Ashley Banjo take their turn on the stage. Christmas Day, ITV, 8pm
HO HO SEW: Esme Young, Joe Lycett and Patrick Grant in The Great British Sewing Bee. Below: Callum Woodhouse in All Creatures Great And Small; Brendan O’Carroll
THE REPAIR SHOP AT CHRISTMAS
This gentle show in which beloved heirlooms are renovated has become a viewers’ favourite. Among the items in this emotional episode is a rocking horse that belonged to a little girl who died. Boxing Day, BBC1, 6.45pm
THE MASKED SINGER
The start of the second series of the surreal singing show. Twelve new celebrities disguised in weird elaborate costumes will be singing as viewers and the panel – Davina McCall, Rita Ora, Jonathan Ross and Mo Gilligan – try to guess who they are. Joel Dommett hosts. Boxing Day, ITV, 7pm
THE GREAT BRITISH SEWING BEE
Who knew competitive sewing could be so entertaining? Joe Lycett presides over two festive season specials featuring celebrities such as Sara Pascoe, Denise Van Outen and Sally Phillips. Judges Patrick Grant and Esme Young unpick their mistakes. Boxing Day, BBC1, 7.45pm;
New Year’s Eve, BBC1, 8pm
WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?
Among the celebrities trying to win a million for charity is Mail on Sunday columnist Piers Morgan, whose relationship with quizmaster Jeremy Clarkson has been… ahem… chequered. Clarkson promises ‘some skilful game play, some wild stabs in the dark and some moments of toe-curling embarrassment’. Boxing Day, ITV, 9.30pm; Sunday 27, ITV, 9.15pm
JOOLS’ ANNUAL HOOTENANNY
Jools Holland’s guests, including Tom Jones and Róisín Murphy, provide a soundtrack to seeing in the New Year. The next day, don’t miss the best of the programme from 28 years. New Year’s Eve, BBC2, 11.15pm; New Year’s Day, BBC2, 10.45pm
DOCUMENTARIES MICHAEL PALIN’S HIMALAYA: JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME
The pandemic has meant that there’s a lot of ‘revisiting’ going on in the schedules but Michael Palin is always a welcome presence. Here he revisits his 2004 show about the Himalayas.
Sunday 20, BBC2, 8pm
MARCUS RASHFORD: FEEDING BRITAIN’S CHILDREN
Documentary about footballer Marcus Rashford’s hugely successful campaign this year to raise awareness about child food poverty. Monday 21, BBC1, 7pm
JENNIFER SAUNDERS’ MEMORY LANE
Saunders takes the Welsh star Michael Sheen for a drive into his past in Port Talbot, where he grew up. The town also gave us Richard Burton, Anthony Hopkins and Rob Brydon. Is it something in the water? Wednesday 23, ITV, 9pm
BILLY CONNOLLY: IT’S BEEN A PLEASURE...
The comic, battling Parkinson’s disease, is retiring from performing. This documentary looks at his career as a standup and features interviews with fans such as Paul McCartney and Whoopi Goldberg. Monday 28, ITV, 9.30pm
STEPHEN FRY’S 21ST- CENTURY FIRSTS
Fry looks at the advances and cultural changes of the past two decades and considers how they have changed our lives – not necessarily for the better. Wednesday 30, ITV, 8.30pm
CHITTY FLIES AGAIN WITH DAVID WALLIAMS
The superfan wants to fly the car but he also considers what made the 1968 film a classic – including, of course, the Child Catcher. New Year’s Day, Channel 4, 7.30pm