Nigella’s Cook, Eat, Repeat Christmas Special

BBC2, 8pm Other cooking shows you watch for simple tips. When it comes to Nigella (right), you might turn up for the sophisticated recipes, but you stick around for the extravagance and eccentricity of her lifestyle.

Look elsewhere if you want plain old turkey with all the trimmings. Instead, Nigella’s Christmas feast is drawn from all over the map but mostly Europe. The delights begin with Linzer cookies, which it turns out are in essence Austria’s luxury version of Jammie Dodgers. Then it’s on to Norwegian pork ribs with crackling to die for and a Swedish potato gratin, accompanied by cucumber salad and pickled red cabbage.

It’s a filling meal, but there’s always New Year’s Eve, when you can tuck into Dutchstyle donuts. Throughout it all, Nigella adds large dollops of the most important ingredient: festive fun.