What’s on TV this Christmas? Our guide to the best festive picks this Christmas
Christmastime of course means mistletoe and wine… but it also means the best TV of the year. And there's a lot on! So TV Choice writers Nick Fiaca, Tom Spilsbury, Cecile Metcalf, David Collins, Jim Maloney, Martina Fowler and Mark Peters have scoured the listings for us and picked out the 12 best things to watch on TV this Christmas.
Death In Paradise
BBC1 • Sun 22 Dec 8.30pm
It’s Christmas in Saint Marie and there’s a seemingly impossible case to crack when two Santas are murdered and there’s an attempt on the life of a third. Perplexingly, they were all shot with the same gun in different locations at exactly the same time!
Also complicating matters is that the Honoré police are without a lead detective following Neville Parker’s departure last series with his love interest DS Florence Cassell. Fortunately, Commissioner Selwyn Patterson enlists the reluctant help of DI Mervin Wilson, who is visiting the island, to capture the festive felon. [Nick Fiaca]
Bad Tidings
Sky Max/Sky Showcase • Sun 22 Dec 7.30pm
First, here’s the bad news. There’s no new Not Going Out this year. But if you’re a fan of Lee Mack’s farcical family sitcom, this should prove to be even better – a feature-length comedy adventure, in which he teams up with comedian Chris McCausland!
Lee and Chris play Neil and Scott, two bickering neighbours who must put aside their petty squabbles to foil the plans of a criminal family, the Brennans, who are planning to rob their street at Christmas! [Tom Spilsbury]
All Creatures Great And Small
Channel 5 • Mon 23 Dec 9.00pm
It’s Christmas 1941, and as the war shows no signs of abating, the Darrowby vets are settling in for another frugal festive season. However, everything pales into insignificance when a news bulletin announces that HMS Repulse – the vessel on which Mrs Hall’s son Edward is serving – has been sunk by Japanese warplanes. [Tom Spilsbury]
Tiddler
BBC1 • Christmas Day 2.35pm
This adaptation of Julia Donaldson's children's book is narrated by theatre actor and TV legend Hannah Waddingham. It follows a little blue fish called Tiddler (voiced by Reuben Kirby), who loves to make up stories about why he’s always late for school. After getting captured by a fishing boat, he escapes and finds his way back home through the power of his storytelling. [Cecile Metcalf]
Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special
BBC1 • Christmas Day 3.55pm
She’s a well-known face on stage and screen, and now The Wives star Tamzin Outhwaite hopes to add Strictly champion to her list of accolades. Partnering with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin, Tamzin will compete alongside comedian Josh Widdicombe, drag artist Tayce, racing driver Billy Monger, podcaster Vogue Williams and Gladiators star Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, AKA Nitro.
‘I wrongly thought the Christmas special was a lighthearted version of the main competition but it’s more challenging than expected!’ says Tamzin, 54. ‘I’m loving it already and I’m really enjoying the creative process of rehearsing with Nikita. I don’t think my body could take doing the main show! I thought I’d just pop in, wear some mistletoe, have a dance, then pop out, but it’s tricky not to take it seriously.’ [Cecile Metcalf]
Doctor Who
BBC1 • Christmas Day 5.10pm
Last time we saw the Doctor, he’d just parted ways with yet another companion. So how is he coping now? The festive episode finds him at the mysterious Time Hotel, which promises its guests the chance to experience ‘Christmas, everywhere, all at once’. The Doctor is a seasoned time traveller, of course, but this hotel has turned different periods of history into tourist attractions! Nicola Coughlan guest-stars. [Tom Spilsbury]
Wallace & Gromit: Murder Most Fowl
BBC1 • Christmas Day 6.10pm
It’s more than 30 years since they last encountered their supervillain nemesis, Feathers McGraw, but now he’s back to cause havoc for Wallace and Gromit in their latest feature-length adventure. Despite being behind bars, Feathers works out a way to sabotage Wallace’s latest invention, a smart gnome… [Nick Fiaca]
Gavin And Stacey: The Finale
BBC1 • Christmas Day 9.00pm
Nessa got down on one knee and proposed to Smithy five years ago, and fans of popular comedy Gavin & Stacey have been waiting ever since to see what happened next. It now returns for a final episode to answer that question – and maybe even reveal what really transpired on Bryn and Jason’s mysterious fishing trip! [David Collins]
Call The Midwife
BBC1 • Christmas Day 8.00pm & Boxing Day 7.30pm
The festive season is all about tradition – and so is this much-loved show, which has been lighting up our Christmas Day viewing schedules since 2012. This year, Fred dons his Santa outfit to visit kids in hospital, Nonnatus House continues to fight cutbacks, Trixie pops in, and there are heartwarming births – plus a liberal sprinkling of jeopardy, romance, carol singing and snow! [Jim Maloney]
Outnumbered
BBC1 • Boxing Day 9.40pm
The Brockmans are back – and middle-aged couple Pete (Hugh Dennis) and Sue (Claire Skinner) are living in a downsized house and have become grandparents, as oldest son Jake is a father.
‘He’s dealing with the usual things that new parents might experience, such as a lack of sleep,’ says Tyger Drew-Honey, 28, who plays Jake. ‘In the grand scheme of things, he’s doing well. He seems to have turned out a nice rounded young man, and I think that’s largely due to the fact that – as people witnessed over the years – he was part of a very loving family.’ [David Collins]
Vera
ITV1 • New Year's Day 8.00pm & Thurs 2 Jan 8.00pm
After 14 years in the role, Brenda Blethyn is stepping down from playing the grumpy-but-kind-hearted detective. Vera’s final two cases see her called to the banks of the Tyne, where a body has been found by anglers, and to the foot of three mythical monoliths known as ‘The Dark Wives’ to investigate a student’s death and a missing girl. [Martina Fowler]
EastEnders
BBC1
A Christmas murder and a psychotic ex-husband are just two of the hurdles Suki and Eve have encountered on their path to wedded bliss. But despite everything that’s been thrown at them, their love has endured and it’s all systems go for their New Year’s Day wedding – if they can stay out of Nish’s clutches. Having escaped from prison, he’s now hell-bent on revenge… [Mark Peters]